Here is the thing about sustainability: you need to devote resources to sustainability efforts if you want them to work. This is especially true if you want to derive business value from them. Good intent and good ideas will not carry you far if you don’t commit to executing them. This truth doesn’t make it easy.

Having a full-time sustainability employee is not an option for many companies, especially small ones. Providing benefits, enough work to fill a full-time position, professional development, and competitive pay is a challenge. It does not make sense to fully dedicate a role when resources are so scarce to begin with. And yet, sustainability work still needs to happen. So what do we do?

The good news is that there are many independent sustainable business consultants. Hiring an external consultant for sustainability fits well with other commonly outsourced business functions such as accounting, marketing, and HR. An external consultant is constantly getting new experiences and knowledge from her work outside the company. She provides her own benefits and doesn’t need full-time pay from individual clients, as she has multiple sources of income for the consulting business. This is a growing field, which means you can choose from many different consultants. There are people who specialize in particular industries and impact areas, are active in your geographical region, and will have connections to organizations that are valuable to you. Outsourcing your sustainability work can make good intent become good action.

Let us then talk about how to make the best of your external consultant. Hopefully, you have hired someone who will guide you in this and will let you know what will enable them to be effective. You should make time to check in at least once a month, and you should have your employees form relationships with the sustainability consultant as well. A huge amount of sustainability work is dependent on people working together, and developing strong connections is essential to getting that work done. Include your consultant at the executive level. This will give her the proper access to decision making and crucial information to guide the company’s sustainability efforts. It will also keep sustainability from being siloed or treated just as a cost center.

Be prepared to follow the ebbs and flows of the work. Some tasks, like preparing an impact report or certification, will require more hours and engagement from the company. Be prepared to take that time to make the most of your consultant’s expertise. In downtimes, the consultant can be your expert on call. When you are evaluating a new project or changing a policy, bring in your sustainability resource for perspective. Your consultant should be familiar with your industry and sustainability, as well as how this will impact your metrics around people, planet, and profit.

Lastly, get inspired by the work your consultant is doing. You have chosen this person to facilitate progress, but the biggest actions will involve many people. As your capability in sustainability grows, you can take on greater tasks and build emotional investment in your company’s mission.

And if you want to hire Spearpoint Strategies, you can contact us here!