BYSTRONIC
never looked at current initiatives and data through the lens of sustainability strategy or reporting ,” says Michael .
“ This creates a lot of momentum and often companies can identify people who are really willing to go the extra mile – and those people can help form a sustainability council in the company , which is what we did at Bystronic .” Thus , you can decentralise sustainability and help transform the organisation in making sustainability the way each function and employee does the business .
More on the ESG performance management system Much of the conversation about sustainability in business focuses on reporting and ratings and to achieve regulatory compliance . But Michael wants the emphasis to shift towards focusing on the necessary actions – it is more important to work on the most important initiatives and on positioning sustainability as a business opportunity .
“ We need to demystify sustainability and integrate it into the business strategy . We don ’ t need separate sustainability strategies – we need sustainable business strategies ,” he says .
He adds : “ We need sustainability to be in the DNA of the company . They need to move away from central reporting to decentralised execution .”
At Bystronic , sustainability is embedded into the core of the business . The company now has decentralised sustainability into the functions – like sustainable procurement or sustainable engineering as part of the daily functional
activities . Also , there is no extra sustainability budget for R & D , instead , Sustainability , circularity , and resource efficiency is already included in the product development process .
The final link in the chain is credibility , Michael says . “ You need credibility . If you are not compliant , you are out of business – and not fulfilling the necessary regulations and frameworks will put pressure on your licence to operate . Customers and investors want to see that you are fulfilling requirements ”. Michael adds a word of caution , though . “ When sustainability is not managed as a business function , but more out of the lens of functional excellence , there is a huge risk of over-compliance and unnecessary work for work .”
66 December 2024