Once in a while, an article grabs my attention for the right reasons and last week was one of those occasions.

As a sports lover and someone who has become increasingly aware of the environmental impact our sport is having, I have started questioning how sustainable sport is at the highest level.  There are many organisations and clubs who are starting to realise the impact they are having and are making changes. One example of this is Manchester City and their plans to be become net zero.

I would like to point out that I am not a “Man City” supporter, but as a starting point, they are working towards installing over 10,000 solar panels to offset the annual power required by their academy. Read more about it in this recent BBC article. But they are not the only club doing this and they follow the likes of Ajax, Galatasaray and Plymouth Argyle. What we need to see now is more of this type of initiative and across all sport.

There are additional benefits for the clubs outside of their environmental credentials and the mere fact that I am writing this post shows that it is generating positive media coverage for the club.

I have long been an advocate of all aspects of social responsibility and sustainability and not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes business sense. Creating good news content will attract new followers, sometimes in new sectors of the population, which can only be good for a business. With more and more awareness and recognition that we have to make considerable changes if we are to have any chance of protecting the environment, this type of initiative is good for us all and is what we need to see more of.

So, when you are thinking about why your business should engage with social responsibility and sustainability activity, look at it another way, how can you afford not to. Your customers of the future are becoming more aware of businesses that are not doing anything and loyal to those businesses who are. And it is not just your customers, it is also prospective employees, as well as existing staff.

To find out how to put a sustainability strategy in place for your business, to obtain new business, attract new staff and retain your existing staff, as well as one that will meet your CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) requirements, give me a call, or email me  owen@ewo.uk.com