Business sustainability is related to the company's perception of the direct and indirect impacts of its operations on the society in which it operates. The more conscious this perception is, the more positive the public's reception of your brand will be.

In this sense, the best way to implement this perception throughout the team is by adopting measures capable of transforming employees' routines, highlighting good innovation and sustainability practices. If you have difficulty imagining how your team could benefit from these changes or even how to start this transition, read our full article and see how to implement these improvements in your corporate routines.

Encourage innovative practices and create a culture of sustainable development

In this sense, the concepts worked on will naturally be inserted into all of the company's operations. We list the main measures to create a culture of sustainable development within the company:

• – Encourage a culture of innovation among professionals through training, lectures and meetings;
• – Encourage contribution among employees;
• – Create feedback mechanisms;
• – Hold social events that unite employees, family and society;
• – Reward the best ideas.

The relationship with suppliers

A good relationship with suppliers is essential for implementing good practices aimed at sustainable development and innovation. Such practices, when carried out by suppliers, add more value to their products, services and brand. Therefore, look for suppliers that have a corporate culture similar to your company.

If your supplier has not yet initiated changes in its organizational culture, in order to practice sustainable and innovative actions, encourage it – as well as everyone else stakeholders – to learn more about good sustainable practices and join your company, strengthening this initiative and building a process of collaborative growth. Therefore:

• – Define mechanisms to encourage the chain to innovate;
• – Accelerate innovative ideas from social entrepreneurs.

Communication and transparency are key

The goals and objectives designed for planning sustainable development and innovation, as well as any results obtained, must be disseminated in full and across all sectors.

In fact, disclosure should not be restricted to the internal public: achievements need to be communicated to the market, for positioning purposes, and to partners and suppliers, encouraging them to act in the same way. Furthermore, a strong culture of transparency never excludes or incisively segments its employees. Everyone must have the right and access to all areas of the company and common spaces, as well as information that leads to professional growth and continuous improvement practices. We have separated some methods that can be used for this purpose:

• – Participate in Innovation and Sustainability awards;
• – Show the company the actions that are being implemented in each department;
• – Develop specific reports;
• – Create an area on the Intranet exclusively for discussions on the topic;
• – Prepare information on best practices and results that can be obtained;
• – Avoid closed-door meetings;
• – Do not separate management from operational teams;
• – Encourage interaction and exchange of experiences;
• – Encourage a respectful environment that promotes integration and the exchange of ideas.

About everyday life

The adoption of sustainable practices is linked to all company processes. In the relationship between employees, in the execution of operations, in internal communication and in the use of available resources. This includes proposing alternative solutions to daily habits that are seemingly unimportant, yet harmful in the medium and long term.

With this in mind, we point out some measures that you can use when implementing in your company to improve your corporate day-to-day life, save money and reduce possible negative impacts of the operation. For example:

• – Encourage carpooling (carsharing);
• – Encourage employees to save energy by turning off inactive computers and unplugging charged cell phones;
• – Use more durable objects, instead of disposable ones, such as changing plastic cups for mugs. You can even distribute a company mug among employees, reinforcing the brand and associating it with these new practices;
• – Encourage healthy practices, such as climbing two flights of stairs, instead of always using the elevator;
• – Motivate employees to take the new habits acquired at the company home, teaching their families about recycling, saving water and resources, among others.

After applying these measures, build evaluation and measurement mechanisms to identify the results obtained and the points that should be improved. It is always interesting to document through reports to support new measures and show results, through free initiative, to leadership and employees.

If you want to have a complete overview of how sustainability and innovation can go together in corporate routine, read our Sustainability Guide for Companies – Innovation.