THE MATCHA INITIATIVE STARTER KIT

How to kickstart your sustainable transformation?

Engaging sustainable practices in your company is engaging it for the future.

There are countless reports, analysis, websites and theories out there. We know how
overwhelming it is, how strong is the temptation to go back to “business as usual” and leave
it to others.

You landed here because you wanted or needed to make a change. Good news: it is easier
than it may look at first sight, if you take it one step at a time.
Based on our combined experience, we came up with guidelines to help you along the
journey.

Why should you start?

Embracing sustainability brings a number of benefits:
- Attracts talents and customers: 62% of millenials want to work for a company with a
positive impact on the world. A study finds out that ~80% of the respondents have
supported “just” companies (through purchase, work, investment, etc).
- Generates financial returns on investment: companies with highest ESG ratings
outperform others by up to 40%.
- Saves money. Sustainability can lead to massive cost savings. Walmart expected to
save $1 billion in 2015 compared to 2005, by improving the efficiency of its fleet.
- Fosters innovation along the supply chain by thinking differently and introducing
new constraints.
- Develops your capacity to mitigate, adapt and limit the risks to come. Mitigating the
reputation risk is the biggest driver (61% in BSR survey) for sustainability practices.

Read more on How sustainability benefits the bottom line.

6 steps to start your transition and make it last

1. Get support from internal/ external stakeholders

a. Buy-in is critical for creating the momentum for your sustainability
transformation.
- The more strategic support you will get, the easier it will be.
- Build rapport with stakeholders to identify what is the most important
for them and which factors have the most impact on the business.
- Provide them with good reasons to trust you:
▪ Why do you want to do it?
▪ What does it require? (time, budget, other resources)

Starter Kit – 2020. www.thematchainitiative.com

 ▪ What are the benefits for the company, short term and long term?
(see above Why should you start?)
b. Whether you have been assigned the responsibility of Sustainable
transformation, or you are carrying the initiative and need to convince your
hierarchy: you don’t have to do it alone!
- Remember that most people wouldn’t mind your project, or would
appreciate your effort without taking part in it, and some people will
openly criticize you (worst case scenario: they fight against your idea).
- Surround yourself with the right people to drive change: create a
“Green Team” composed of colleagues who will proactively help you
because they share the same values.
- As for any transversal project, it is important to bring other teams,
departments or services onboard to succeed. Collaboration is key.
- Engage with decision-makers who also support your vision.
- Reach out to them, involve them, update them.

2. Assess your company’s situation in the present

a. Change happens when you fill a gap between a given situation and a new
situation. You need to know where the company stands today to be able to
lead it to where it must be tomorrow.
- Start measuring: bills, equipment usage & expenses, practices… Check
out our templates to see how you can do it.
- Assess your company’s footprint, preferably for the full lifecycle of your
products/ services. You can use online corporate calculators or hire
consultants. Although free tools are not 100% accurate, they will help
you understand which factors play a major role.
- Understand the 3 scopes of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: for many
companies, most of their GHG emissions and cost reduction
opportunities lie in Scope 3 - it is however the hardest to tackle.
b. Identify your key areas of intervention: according to the Pareto Principle,
“roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes”. Find your 20%
thanks to the work you did in 2.a.
c. Compare your company with your competitors:
- How are you doing in your industry?
- What are your improvement areas?
- Who are the best-in-class companies that you can get inspiration from?

3. Set realistic targets

a. Set SMARTER objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-
sensitive, Evaluated, Reviewed) to define your sustainability strategy,
prioritizing on your 20% factors from 2.b. To keep the teams’ morale high,
build on quick wins that will lead them to a major milestone.
b. Planning can be a challenge: be aware that the sustainability journey takes
time and you will encounter setbacks. Be persistent. Move forward step by
step: break each goal into sprints and set 3, 6, 12 months targets. Then
adjust whenever necessary.
c. Browse the solutions you can implement and find the right suppliers.
d. Be careful about good-at-first-sight ideas that eventually turn to be poor
ideas: for instance, organising an internal event to raise awareness about
food waste but providing pointless goodies. The waste and footprint
generated by the goodies may cancel out the effort.

Starter Kit – 2020. www.thematchainitiative.com

4. Agree on a Sustainability Policy
a. A Sustainability Policy is your company’s statement about its commitment to
sustainability: it describes your strategy and goals, and the actions you
intend to take to accomplish them.
Your Sustainability Policy should be a comprehensible document,
communicated to all employees, stakeholders, customers and partners
(including building management, suppliers…) and inspire change over time.
It also fosters Trust through Transparency & Commitment, resulting in
customers and employees loyalty as well as business opportunities.
Note: Sustainable Procurement has a major impact on your global policy,
learn more about How to write a Sustainable Procurement Policy.
b. Identify an appropriate set of sustainability KPIs that can be an integral part
of the company’s strategy (fully part of every team’s KPIs and valuable for
employee evaluation). E.g.:
c.

Source: mdpi.com, The Role of Sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in

Implementing Sustainable Strategies

5. Monitor your progress

a. Monitor your achievements:
- In terms of positive impact, cost savings, time savings, employees’
engagement, awareness, roadblocks, etc.
- Have a clear view of what worked and what didn’t, assess the
reasons why. It is a test-learn-adjust process.
b. It is essential to share meaningful reports to update all involved
stakeholders on a regular basis, and welcome any insight on your actions.
Take the opportunity to make sure your goals are still aligned with the
company’s strategy.

6. Promote your efforts

a. Internally:
- Use internal newsletter, monthly meetings, town halls, events, etc.
to promote your work. Your achievements will improve the
company’s image towards the employees and create more loyalty.
You will raise more awareness and gain engagement from your
colleagues.
- You may recruit more volunteers in your Green team.

Starter Kit – 2020. www.thematchainitiative.com

 b. Externally:
- As mentioned previously, a more sustainable company sends a
better image and attracts more talents and partners - including
investors.
- It is an opportunity to influence your peers and suppliers.
- Spread your best practices to encourage others to follow your path,
become a leader and a model. Check out our Buddies section to
read some examples.
- Beware of greenwashing: trust is very hard to gain back when it is
lost. Don’t embellish or lie about your sustainability journey.

Start your journey now

- Use our templates
- Browse our solutions

Photo: dayne-topkin, unsplash

One step further

Read the Toolkit for Non-Executive Directors.
Knowledge is power: More resources available.

Glossary
Understand the main ideas and notions.

Get a shot of inspiration from others

Dare & Share (Buddies).

Reach out to us
team@thematchainitiative.com

Starter Kit – 2020. www.thematchainitiative.com