How can a startup or SME build a sustainability strategy without a dedicated team, extensive reporting systems or a large budget?
Impact and sustainability strategist Heather Lynch shares lessons from helping a fast-growing business turn its mission into measurable practice, internal decisions and public advocacy.
What you’ll learn
- How to define the problem your business wants to help change
- How to understand the wider system surrounding it
- How to identify where your business has genuine influence
- Why focusing on a few meaningful actions matters
- How to measure and communicate progress credibly
- How leadership support and shared ownership turn plans into action
Watch this if
You want your business to make meaningful progress but do not have the budget, team or infrastructure of a large company.
Chapters
- 0:00 From PwC to Oddbox
- 0:15 Starting sustainability in a small business
- 0:45 Measuring impact and avoiding greenwashing
- 1:08 Building purpose into business strategy
- 1:56 Looking at the root causes of food waste
- 2:30 Systems thinking beyond your own business
- 3:21 Why sustainability can feel overwhelming
- 4:11 Focus, ownership and leadership buy-in
- 5:12 Finding your sphere of influence
- 6:10 Embedding sustainability across a business
- 7:11 Why sustainability is more than carbon
- 7:49 Using B Corp as a business framework
- 8:20 Taking sustainability one step at a time
- 9:17 The value of carbon literacy
- 10:18 Making space for difficult conversations
- 10:47 From overwhelm to hope and action
What to do next
Identify the one issue your business is best placed to influence. Decide what sits within your control, then choose one action you can genuinely follow through on.