Delivering a sustainability plan
The ecological definition of sustainability originated with the Brundtland Report in
1987, which defined sustainable development as meeting the present needs without
adversely impacting the conditions for future generations.
Sustainability has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic and social. Many authorities state that the environmental dimension is the most important. For this reason, sustainability is often focused on countering major environmental problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystems, land degradation, and air and water.
A holistic sustainability report is intended to disclose an organization’s impact, goals and performance and typically concerns social and environmental criteria. Environmental criteria can focus on waste, water, carbon, energy, greenhouse gases, recycling, and offsetting activities. Typical social issues include community
engagement, human rights, poverty mitigation, education, health and safety, labour and management.
Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Still, a plan is required to show milestones achieved, present ones currently being delivered and those that the business is aspiring to in the future.
Linking tree planting to your business activities
Integrating tree planting into a company’s product/service offering delivers many
sustainable benefits. Trees play a significant role in mitigating climate change by
sequestering carbon (locking it up for many hundreds of years), but they deliver many
other sustainable, positive benefits:
- Combating climate change
- Helping to deliver national tree planting targets
- Habitat creation - locally and globally
- Mitigating biodiversity loss - locally and globally
- Clean air
- Flood prevention
- Education- growing trees, growing minds!
- Community engagement - tree planting events
- Poverty Mitigation - globally (Africa)
- Making the world a greener place - (Trees that are planted in schools, parks and wildlife reserves play a major role in the well-being of this and future generations)
- Creating an ecological heritage for many hundreds of years.
A sustainability report needs quantifiable statements regarding the business impact, the measures taken to reduce their impact, and the additional environmental, educational and social benefits delivered.
When a Tree Appeal partner has decided upon their annual tree-planting target, we can quantify the many sustainability benefits of planting trees in schools, UK biodiversity sites and Africa. We will cite the places where the trees are planted and will be planted along with emotive imagery, which will add sizzle to your company’s sustainability plan.
In summary, a sustainability plan is meant to convey that you have a handle on all of your business activities, both the positive and negative impacts - to quote an applicable if overused mantra: What you can’t measure, you can’t manage!