The Sustainable Core Model: Sustainability at the heart of your business

MAXIMILIAN MAURACHER

06.06.2024

A plan that gives you a head start; with actions that are good for people, planet, and business.

Organisations need a strong and sustainable core. This is critical in a world where external forces such as competition, regulation, customers and disruptive trends increasingly impact organisations. These challenges require a proactive rather than reactive approach. This will keep your business resilient and fit for the future. The Sustainable Core Model provides a clear roadmap for embedding sustainability strategically in the business and achieving long-term success.

What is the Sustainable Core Model?

The Sustainable Core Model is an analysis process and tool for sustainability in companies and organisations, developed by us in partnership with WeSurrender. A comprehensive assessment and systematic approach results in a clear, actionable plan. The holistic approach takes a close look at the six most relevant areas inside (core) and outside (identity) of an organisation. This often reveals undiscovered 'blind spots'. These can represent opportunities, risks or untapped potential, and are located particularly at the interfaces between the 12 areas.

In addition to the qualitative analysis of the internal status, we work with sustainability-related KPIs. Using the UN Sustainable Development Performance Indicators, we determine where the company stands regarding sustainability. The result is an objective assessment of the status quo and a classification of whether your organisation is, for example, overshooting naturally defined limits or meeting thresholds set by the UN. This could be in relation to water consumption and availability in a region, or CO2 emissions.

The newly acquired information can usefully complement your regular sustainability reporting in the future and ensure that stakeholders better understand your sustainability performance.

We believe that companies with sustainability at their core are resilient and sustainable organisations - especially in the face of increasing crises.

To strengthen your sustainability strategy and your company's economic or market position, the Sustainable Core Model takes into account not only the sustainability practised within the company but also what it radiates outwards: the Sustainable Identity. Only when both are aligned will your company be perceived by your stakeholders as authentically sustainable, and greenwashing-free communication is possible.

Who is the Sustainable Core Model for?

The model is best suited to companies with 50 or more employees. In the initial test phase, we successfully implemented the process with companies from various sectors, including industry and consumer brands (lifestyle, food). The model is particularly effective for two types of companies:

1
As a COMPANY WITHOUT A SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY, you lack an actionable plan. The model offers an intensive but efficient approach to sustainability. The clear structure of the action plan with concrete recommendations for action provides orientation in a complex environment and prioritises topics and measures. It takes less than 10 hours to complete the process, from the digital kick-off workshop to the action plan. This allows you to move quickly from thinking to action and to deploy human and financial resources where they will have the greatest impact.

2
As a SUSTAINABILITY PIONEER, you can use the model to identify the extent to which your core and identity - i.e., internal and external - are aligned and what potential results from this to consolidate or expand your pioneering role in the market and how you can also be economically successful with sustainability in the long term. Companies that started early with sustainability but did not stay on the ball can be overtaken by disruptive start-ups or better communicating competitors - the model shows these gaps and suitable solutions.

Why have we developed the Sustainable Core Model?

In our work, we see time and time again how organisations get lost in the details because of a lack of focus - and how sustainable transformation comes to a standstill. Based on this experience, we developed the Sustainable Core Model to identify and overcome common and individual challenges.

One example: In the case of a responsible family business with a beehive on the roof but few relevant measures to the business model, we see that the self-perception and the external perception of sustainability are far apart. The company needs to act quickly—and pragmatically—to avoid being left behind by the competition on the one hand and comply with legal requirements on the other.

The model ends ineffective piecemeal measures that fail to address the urgency of change. Instead: A systemic view of your business. The result: a plan that gives you a head start with actions that are good for people, the planet, and business. Integrated and effective, whether it is new ways of creating value or communicating with impact.