The majority of the projects I do involve certifications, ratings, and assessments from a third party organization, such as B Lab and EcoVadis. These programs drive action and allow companies to set communicable metrics. Something that I emphasize, however, is that a company’s work does not stop once the certification has been received. Keeping the momentum after the initial project has ended is crucial to maintaining standards, ensuring recertification, and taking advantage of all that certifications offer. In this article, I am going to share the advice I give to my clients to keep progressing after certification.
Set your system up for success
Often, certification comes with a fair amount of document creation, location, and organization. A company may also make commitments to reporting, training, and other tasks that are important but not part of day to day operations. It is vital that as you make these changes, you are doing so in a way that will ensure follow-through. Set reminders in your calendar and company organization systems. Ensure documents are placed in the correct folders and are easily accessible. Have a plan for how to execute on upcoming projects. How far in advance does training need to be scheduled? Are you going to hire someone to give the training? Who needs to be involved in the annual impact report? When are we doing our stakeholder engagement processes? Who is responsible for monitoring communications from the certifying body?
Get stakeholders involved before you submit
A major part of this system, of course, is the people. Your certification team should be small enough that communication is easy and the project can move quickly, but at some point, everyone in the company should be aware of the certification. Your board, c-suite, management, and all others should have a basic understanding of what you are doing and why. You can bring people in at different stages of the process and to different depths, but you don’t want to get certified and realize your stakeholders have no idea of the weight or importance of that certification. These are the people you will need by your side as you make changes. Keeping them in the loop will make that easier.
Make changes that align with your organization, clarify which ones you want to revisit after submission
No company is perfect, and going through an assessment will reveal to you which gaps you have in your sustainability practices. Remember, though, that any changes you make will have to be sustained into the future. Otherwise, you will not receive credit in the assessment or the full business value of those actions. When making any changes to documentation, operation, culture, or strategy, aim first for the ones that align most easily with the company as it is. Get the easy wins that do not require significant work to make them stick. While going through the assessment, you will see actions that interest you but don’t fit on your timeline for certification. Make note of these, and return to them as the starting place for post-certification improvement.
Challenge your organization’s thinking and sustainability practices
You may not reach the certification or rating standard you wanted. You may find that your business operations, culture, or even model are incompatible with the certifying body’s expectations. This does not inherently mean you are a horrible company that should be shut down. You may have limitations or priorities not reflected in the assessment, and as the sustainability leader, you have to make informed decisions about what actions are worth pursuing. However, be open to the idea of change. Be ready to challenge your organization’s current thinking and practices. It may be that to become truly sustainable, you will need to make significant changes. The certification can be a driver in achieving that by providing an external assessment, pressure, and community support. However, the best certifications are going to challenge you. If it was easy, achieving the standard in the first place wouldn’t be meaningful.
Engage in the certification community
The challenge of reaching the certification standard and taking actions to improve your company is made easier with community support. Often, organizations that run these programs also provide community forums and events of which you can take advantage, including cohort programs. There are also often opportunities through consulting companies, universities, and trade associations. Use the resources and network to motivate and execute on your post-certification activity.
Aim for improvement
Getting certified is only the first step. It is not the end goal. You should aim for continuous improvement. Sustainability is constantly evolving, so make it a priority to identify the new opportunities that emerge. Keep track of what gave you trouble on the assessment and put effort into fixing that. Communicate with your stakeholders about what is important to them and see how it aligns with what you and the certifying body prioritize. For your reassessment, aim for a higher standard than what you had previously.
Don’t forget your wins
Getting certified is a major achievement. It can take a lot of documentation, coordination between different teams, patience with the auditing process and online questionnaires, and even a total reimagining of the company. Celebrate yourself! And keep that energy with you as you move forward. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. You have made it this far. You can go even farther.
I work with many clients on a project basis, so I want the changes made to stick around even after my contract ends. If the impact only exists when I am in the room with them, we have a problem. Companies sometimes hire me as a longer-term resource to execute on the above advice, but it is a still a company-wide effort to get full value out of a certification. If you are exploring a certification or have found success with a particular method, I would love to hear about it!