Time for change as South West firms take action on sustainability

November 26, 2008
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South West businesses will start to see the financial benefits of improving the sustainability of their operations with the help of a unique guide, produced by sustainable business experts Envirowise and the Government Office for the South West.

By advising businesses on managing the change necessary to improve sustainability and corporate responsibility within their organisation, the guide helps turn positive environmental actions into real cost-savings. It also offers guidance on understanding the impact their business has on the wider community.

Simon Best, Envirowise spokesperson for the South West, said: “As fuel, energy and raw material costs rise, businesses can become more competitive and profitable by saving resources, which in turn also reduces their environmental impact. The ability to manage the process, and implement these changes effectively is a vital commodity for every business.

“Our guide, which has hit the 100,000 download mark, is based on the practical experience of working with companies over many years. It takes a new, fresh and innovative approach to the whole subject of change management to really help business owners and managers think creatively about how they handle the need for change while avoiding many of the pitfalls that other companies have encountered.”

Also included are tips and techniques businesses can use to manage change in-house more effectively. For example the ‘Change Management Matrix’ is a simple and effective tool to help business owners and managers identify their current status on implementing change and to track progress within their organisation in a structured way. The matrix helps to highlight where there is room for further improvement and serves as a highly effective route map to drive progress.

Phil Harding, Senior Policy Adviser, Government Office for the South West and one of the guide’s authors, adds: “In the current economic climate businesses are looking for ways to cut costs and reduce environmental impact. However, in order to get maximum cost savings from environmental improvement organisations need to permanently change the way they do things.

Change can be hard to implement, but by following the advice in the guide and taking a systematic approach, managers can be more successful, get critical ‘buy-in’ from staff and ultimately achieve their objectives.”

To access a free copy of the Managing Change guide log on to www.oursouthwest.com

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