What is a sustainable business?
A sustainable business is an organisation that operates in a way that minimises environmental impact and contributes positively to society. Sustainable businesses look holistically at environmental, economic and social factors when making decisions. Rather than focusing solely on short-term profit, sustainable businesses prioritise things like:
• Reducing carbon emissions
• Building resilient, ethical supply chains
• Investing in green skills and sustainability capability
• Reducing resource use, and investing in sustainable materials and recycling
• Improving social outcomes for employees and communities
Sustainability, previously considered a ‘nice to have’ and separate from core business objectives, is now a fundamental driver of competitiveness. Global regulations, investors, customers and employees all increasingly favour organisations that integrate corporate sustainability into everyday decision-making.
How can a business be more sustainable?
Becoming a more sustainable business requires both clear strategic direction and the right workforce capabilities. Key steps include:
1. Upskilling your workforce with sustainability skills
People make sustainability happen, and central sustainability teams alone cannot transform an organisation into a sustainable one. Equipping employees across the entire organisation with a foundational understanding of sustainability, and green skills relevant to their role, means sustainability becomes embedded into everyday decisions, behaviours and processes. This leads to more aligned actions across teams and ensures your organisation has the required capabilities to meet its long-term sustainability goals.
2. Aligning sustainability with business strategy
For sustainability efforts to deliver meaningful results, they must be connected to core business objectives. This involves setting clear, measurable targets and aligning them with recognised environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks, such as GRI, CSRD, SBTi or TCFD . Sustainability should be integrated into long-term planning to help organisations future-proof their growth.
3. Measuring and reducing environmental impact
A sustainable business is one that reduces their environmental harm. Businesses should begin by mapping their impact across their entire value chain and identifying hotspots. Organisations can then develop scope 3 emission reduction plans, adopt circular economy principles and invest in more efficient technologies.
Reliable data collection and performance tracking enable better decision-making and ensure progress can be reported confidently to regulators, customers, investors and internal stakeholders. Over time, this approach drives continuous improvement and helps organisations achieve both compliance and competitive advantage.
4. Creating a culture of sustainable leadership
Strong leadership and an engaged workforce are critical drivers of corporate sustainability. Creating a culture of sustainable leadership starts with clear expectations from senior leaders, responsible decision making and a willingness to invest in long-term change. However, sustainability leadership is not confined to the executive level.
Employees across all departments should be empowered to champion sustainability initiatives and drive progress within their remit. Creating a network of green champions encourages open collaboration across teams, while providing a platform for new ideas to be shared. Ensuring everyone in the business has the same level of understanding, through training and resources , helps to ensure sustainability is seen as a shared responsibility.
What are green skills, and why are they important?
The term ‘green skills’ refers to the knowledge, competencies and behaviours needed to support environmental sustainability, climate action and the low-carbon or net-zero transition. These skills enable employees to:
• Understand environmental impacts and risks
• Implement sustainable solutions and technologies
• Make decisions that support long-term resilience
• Lead sustainability projects and change programmes
• Align business operations with global climate and nature goals
Green skills are essential across every sector, from infrastructure and construction, to healthcare, consultancies and the public sector.
How do green skills drive sustainable business?
Green skills sit at the heart of sustainable business. They ensure that sustainability ambitions translate into real-world impact by enabling employees to:
• Turn ambition into measurable progress
Green-skilled teams can deliver decarbonisation, waste reduction, biodiversity protection and sustainable procurement initiatives at speed and scale.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement
Teams with strong sustainability capability are more likely to identify new efficiencies, cost savings and opportunities for sustainable innovation.
• Build a consistent sustainability culture
When staff understand why sustainability matters and how they can contribute, sustainability becomes embedded across all departments and job roles.
• Strengthen organisational credibility
Externally validated professional standards, accredited training and independent assessment, such as those offered by ISEP, helps businesses demonstrate trusted, globally recognised sustainability competence.
Ready to accelerate your organisation's sustainability progress?
ISEP’s corporate partnership programme provides access to world-class guidance, accredited training, professional standards and global networks - ensuring your sustainability journey is credible, effective and ready for future challenges. We support organisations to:
• Secure buy-in across the whole organisation – an ISEP corporate partnership engages employees at every level. With a dedicated Account Manager and access to the global ISEP network, your teams receive the support, insights and development they need to embed sustainability across the business.
• Map current and future sustainability skills requirements – ISEP’s Skills Gap Analysis provides a clear view of your organisation’s current green capabilities and future requirements. This allows you to strategically close gaps through targeted professional development, training or recruitment.
• Embrace training and develop robust green-skills training pipelines – Access ISEP’s training courses to build specialist sustainability expertise or become an accredited ISEP Training Centre to deliver high-quality sustainability training in-house.
• Engage with ISEP’s expert community for guidance and collaboration – Access peer-to-peer learning and benchmark progress through ISEP’s corporate partner network. Share insights and learn from peers through our Educate and Elevate webinar series – exclusive to our corporate partners.
