Building the Business Case for Sustainability

One of the key components in getting senior management to green light strategic and tactical work in environmental and social responsibility is a well-supported business case. Some areas of sustainability are readily subject to a fairly traditional ROI-based business case, but in some other instances you’ll need to make some “soft” arguments as well. And in some areas, your case will rest heavily on the risk mitigation and/or brand value benefits from your sustainability work. Let’s look at best practices in building your business case in each of these situations.

In all instances, your case will be stronger if you remember the following:

• gather and present as much data as you can and cite your sources for cost and revenue projections or estimates
• include in your narrative language about your commitment to the project and, if possible, cite the commitment of your team to the project’s success
• articulate the project-management aspects of the initiative, just as you would any business project: resources required, personnel assigned, projected timeline

The second two bullets are parts of your argument that often carry as much weight as the financial/analytical portions. Don’t assume that your business case can rest on hard data alone. And run your argument by a sustainability professional who has experience in a variety of situations and can vet the soundness of your proposition. You’ll be glad you took the time to have a set of trained eyes take a look.