ALUMNI STRATEGIC PLAN | ENGAGING COMMUNITIES
Why Talk Sustainability in Business?
April 18, 2023 ·
Contributed by: Olivia Stankovich, DeGroote Contributor
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Lindsay Hampson, EMBA ’22, is no stranger to speaking about sustainability while considering the business implications. Since launching her own environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy advisory firm, ThisRock, Hampson has been helping businesses save money and generate new revenue by incorporating green practices and becoming more socially-conscious.
For Earth Month, we asked Hampson to give us more insight about sustainability and how it relates to business. Firstly, why talk sustainability at all?
Sustainability is something that we feel at our core that we need to act on, like climate change, but it also revolves around social justice and social injustice too.”
Secondly, she talks about why businesses are becoming more sustainable.
The first force pushing businesses to be more sustainable are customers. Customers are starting to ask businesses to become more environmentally and socially conscious.“
Finally, Hampson walks us through three steps businesses can take to become more sustainable. The good news – being good to the planet and to people is good for profitability.
Number one, do a review of your business as it relates to ESG and sustainability. Number two, do an assessment and figure out the gap. What are you not doing great on today that you could create some initiatives to improve on? Number three, communicate and be transparent at your business. You could even share how you’re doing along the way, maybe in a quarterly newsletter or on your website. It’s not marketing, it’s information. It can help your business and help your customers make better decisions.”
Hampson’s consulting firm, born right in DeGroote’s EMBA program, works with small and mid-sized businesses to assess ESG practices and build measurable action plans. Learn more about how the EMBA helped Hampson find her passion for the environment.
