Blog #21: Sustainability - today and tomorrow

By Lars Dörhage
reading time: 4 Minuten

It's been a while since I've published a blog post, but now I have to speak out on a topic that is very close to my heart. 
Sustainability is a topic that concerns me every day. It is so complex and affects companies in all areas that we sometimes find it difficult to clearly prioritize the individual aspects in order to set the "right" priorities. The best news I am happy to announce is that we have managed to complete our second sustainability report.  This report has made many things clear to me and it is certainly no exaggeration to say that new challenges have arisen and our to-do list has expanded. I would like to share my reflections on this with you in today's blog post. 

The sustainability report from Med-X-Press 2022 
We will be publishing our new Sustainability Report 2022 next week. It is the second that we have published voluntarily. The focus is, of course, on our data from the individual areas, valid key figures for our future strategy. My conclusion: we have already achieved a lot, but there is still a lot to do. I don't want to reiterate any content now - you can read and evaluate it yourself in a few days. Instead, I would like to draw attention to the difficulties and their solutions. 

Sustainability" project group 
We have set up a project group to implement all the requirements. This was an important step in order to keep the threads in one hand. The aim is to put all sectors to the test according to international standards, develop suggestions for improvement and implement these in a transparent and comprehensible way for everyone. Until now, we have lacked a standardized framework for data collection, which meant that documentation was both labor-intensive and time-consuming. As we are not yet required to report, our trial and error results had no noticeable consequences and gave us the opportunity to optimize our processes, which we can take advantage of. Although the majority of the necessary data is available, it cannot be accessed centrally. Some criteria were not collected at all, and in some cases there was simply a lack of awareness of the relevance of key figures for determining the current status. 

Sustainability costs 
And I have also learned that Med-X-Press needs to invest money to create an infrastructure, we need human resources and we need to set up a communication system that keeps everyone in the company informed and on board for the journey. This will be an ongoing task with the participation of everyone in the company. The outlook in our new 2022 report states: "We have continued a long journey that is far from over..."

A year earlier, the wording for looking to the future was: "It is important to us that the management team and employees pull together on the issue of sustainability and that together we achieve an efficient balance between ecology and economy for the environment." We are working on this and anyone who has responsibility in a company knows how difficult it often is to set such processes in motion.

In this context, I would like to mention two aspects that seem indispensable to me:

Raising awareness of sustainability issues in the team by the respective management personnel 

and

The importance and consequences of sustainability issues for the financial and funding framework of companies 

I have already mentioned the establishment of a communication system. The entire management team is required to engage in a constructive exchange with the workforce. Communication on ESG criteria must be established throughout the company. Informal exchanges, information on legal requirements, but also the development of individual strategies in a kind of ideas workshop can contribute to anchoring them in the company philosophy and must lead to everyone acting in an environmentally conscious and resource-conserving manner in the long term. And - and this is also my experience - sometimes the small things that each individual can contribute are the most effective measures. There is no doubt that the megatopic of sustainability will occupy us for years to come and even if we develop a certain routine in handling it, it is ultimately about a learning process in small steps and each step offers the opportunity for improvement.

And finally, I want to use powerful arguments to call for the topic of sustainability to be put on the agenda of every company. There are good reasons for doing so.

There are companies that are not quite so small that are not included in the reporting obligation by law. But it is precisely these companies that I would like to recommend. A few days ago, I read the results of a survey conducted by the Deutsche Bundesbank. The representative survey of 30 banks and savings banks revealed that the vast majority of institutions have tightened their lending criteria. More emphasis is being placed on sustainability features, which are on a par with other factors and are becoming increasingly important for financing investments. This also affects the smaller painting business, the carpenter or the drinks shop around the corner.

Another recent announcement fits in with this. Compliance with environmental standards is to be monitored more closely and violations sanctioned accordingly. I think this affects all commercial enterprises, whether small or large, regardless of turnover and number of employees. The keyword is "greenwashing". The now inflationary use of the terms "climate-neutral" or "CO2-neutral" should not be taken lightly. Empty phrases are of no use to the environment and can result in serious penalties. That is why I can only appeal to all those involved in the management of companies: Make the sustainability complex your topic, communicate your goals and measures internally and draw up strategies together, because after all, we only have this one earth and a responsibility for future generations. 

I am very interested in an exchange of information and arguments. How do you deal with sustainability in your company, what are your experiences with decisions and what feedback do you receive from employees? 
Write to me at:blog@med-x-press.de