Implementation of Sustainability Practices in Early-Stage Startups
Startups can benefit from integrating sustainability practices and building Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into their early-stage business, rather than seeing it as a marketing tool.
Different tools and frameworks help founders develop a strong sense of purpose, match the purpose with ESG, and avoid associated sector-specific risks. It can even lead to a competitive advantage by reducing risk and cost of capital, regulatory intervention and by fostering growth, as well as talent attraction and retention.
Some founders may see sustainability practices as a distraction for startups that are cash-strapped and time-constrained. On the contrary, startups have an advantage over larger companies since they can build sustainability practices into their businesses from the start, avoiding costly rework later.
The consideration of sustainability practices can be supported through a selected number of free tools and frameworks for startups in the DACH region. In this context, the following five sources are presented:
Sustainability Playbook Startups
The Sustainability Playbook comprehensively guides startups to leverage sustainability in their business. It helps them integrate sustainability into their strategy and throughout the entire value chain from the necessity to take action to communication. With this playbook, startups are accompanied in their sustainability journey and unlock new strategic advantages and long-term business upsides.
Levo
LEVO is a one-stop solution to integrate sustainability into the company's DNA. The solution gives founders all the tools they need to assess, monitor, and continuously improve their sustainability and impact. Furthermore, LEVO guides founders every step of the way to adjust their operational sustainability and external impact. The framework therefore helps to better understand whether the startup is using and managing resources - physical and human - responsibly and how it is impacting customers, users, society and the planet - positively, negatively, intentionally or unintentionally.
ROSE Framework
The ROSE is an end-to-end sustainability management software, providing a complete solution from data gathering to targets implementation and cross-departmental collaboration. Therefore, the software helps startups set their goals, operationalize their actions, and track their progress to align with EU sustainability regulations and requirements.
Leaders for Climate Action
LfCA is a peer-to-peer climate knowledge platform to achieve sustainability targets as a collective effort by joining the knowledge hub and participating in events. Collaboration and peer learning are at the heart of the community, but third-party advice can also be accessed through the platform.
At BV4, we are convinced that startups addressing the sustainability challenge early on have clear advantages that can help them grow faster and succeed in the long run. This includes competitive advantage through differentiation, long term cost savings, access to funding, a positive brand reputation, and attracting top talents.
Do you have any thoughts or feedback? Please e-mail us at info@bv4.ch.