Questions to consider for developing your sustainability work

All the questions from all four sections are collected here.

Business models for sustainable business

In what way is your company’s business model sustainable?
What trends in society affect your business model?
Can you find a way to earn more money when you sell/buy fewer products or a smaller quantity of materials?
Can you earn money from helping people to live more sustainably?
Can you solve a problem on the market by means of a digital service instead of a physical product?
Who can you collaborate with to create even more value for your customers?

What can you do to ensure your business makes more efficient use of resources?
Is there a need to develop more sustainable products or services in your industry that satisfy customer needs in a better way?
Can you charge a higher price for your product if you clarify the value that the customer receives?
What can you do to ensure your employees are happy, have the chance to develop and remain with the company?

Is it attractive for investors who want to support sustainable development to invest in your business? If yes, have you described it in a clear manner in your communication?
Do the values of investors and other funders align with what you want to achieve as a business?

How can you reduce the use of raw materials, energy or chemicals?
Can you assess what type of environmental impact your service or product will have by studying life cycle analyses for similar services or products?
Has the product been designed so that it can easily be shared by multiple users, or be repaired, upgraded, reused or recycled?
How can you inform users how to use the product in order to minimise environmental impact?
Can you find new customer groups who want to purchase your product after its initial use?
If you intend to rent a product, how can you make this more attractive than buying it?

What does your company's energy, water, heat or chemical consumption look like in production and how can consumption be reduced?
How can you reduce waste or surplus material arising from production?
Can you reuse any of the surplus material in your process?
Which nearby companies could you collaborate with to share resources or make use of surplus material?
Can you produce your products or services in a new and smarter way compared to your competitors and what is traditional for the industry?
What equipment should you replace or purchase next? Investigate the potential for improving your resource efficiency.
Can you avoid stoppages in production though improved maintenance?

What scope is there for reducing transport or choosing transport that generates less climate-impacting emissions?
Do you have any customers who often order small batches? Could you suggest a larger order to reduce the number of transport journeys?
Is the transport company used by your business taking an active approach to sustainability?
How can the products be packaged to take up as little space and packaging material as possible?
Can you use reusable packaging?

Why have you chosen your particular suppliers?
Do you demand an active approach to sustainability from your suppliers?
How do your suppliers approach sustainability?
Do you know what the work environment and working conditions are like at your suppliers?
Do you buy eco-friendly materials and raw materials?
Do you opt for organic, eco-friendly and Fairtrade products when purchasing?
Are there things your business can hire or subscribe to instead of purchasing?

Do you know which sustainability issues are most relevant for your business to work on?Where would sustainability efforts by your business yield the most benefit?
What scope is there for your business to reduce transport within purchasing and distribution activities or to reduce business travel by staff?
Have you identified which sustainability issues are important to your stakeholders?
Which external issues relating to sustainability affect your activities? Consider both risks (climate change, supply chains, etc.) and new opportunities. How is the business responding to these challenges?
What scope does your industry have to be more sustainable?
Does your business have up-to-date policy documents for the environment and the work environment?
Are you aware of which EU laws and regulations that affect or will affect your company's operations?
If your company is affected by new or upcoming EU legislation - what adaptations or changes might your company need to implement in order to meet the legal requirements?

Are there measurable goals for your business’ sustainability work?
Are there any larger companies in your industry that produce sustainability reports that you can draw on for inspiration for your own business’ sustainability goals?
What do you already measure within the business and can it be used to monitor your sustainability goals?
Are there any digital tools that would make it easier to gather sustainability information from your activities?

Who or what function is currently working on sustainability issues? Do they have the right expertise to deal with all elements of sustainability? Is there a need for skills development or new recruitment?
Who has overall responsibility for the sustainability work?
Are you an approachable and inspiring leader when it comes to sustainability?
How do you encourage employees to put forward suggestions and ideas?
How can sustainability work be integrated into the organisation so that it is not just incidental to the business’ ordinary activities?
Do all managers in the organisation have responsibility and a mandate to incorporate sustainability into their decisions and their day-to-day work?
How do you monitor sustainability issues and developments in the wider world?

Have you identified what sustainability aspects are most important to your customers?
Do you explain to your customers the ways in which your offering helps in making sustainable choices?
How can you make it easier for your customers to make sustainable choices?
Do you tell your customers what you are planning to do moving forward and what your objectives are?

Are you aware of which EU laws and regulations that affect or will affect your company's operations?
If your company is affected by new or upcoming EU legislation - what adaptations or changes might your company need to implement in order to meet the legal requirements?

This page was last updated: 8 April 2024

From: Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth