You're trying to promote sustainability. How can you engage clients without coming off as preachy?

Sustainability is a strategic tool, not an ideology. I engage clients by highlighting tangible benefits—cost savings, operational efficiency, and enhanced brand reputation. Using data-driven case studies, I demonstrate how sustainability drives real-world results. By aligning these initiatives with the client’s business objectives, I turn the conversation into a value-driven partnership, making sustainability a shared goal rather than a mandate.

1. Walk the talk: demonstrate how you are practicing what you "preach" on environmental and social performance which will give credibility to your pitch around the benefits of investing in sustainability. 2. Make it count: provide concrete business and impact metrics to demonstrate the value of your sustainability solution for your client 3. Listen: make sure you really understand your client's pain point and adapt your pitch to their priorities and key drivers

To engage clients in sustainability, my approach focuses on inspiring curiosity and personal connection. Rather than imposing ideas, I create spaces where clients can naturally explore the benefits of sustainable practices. It's about guiding them to see the value in protecting our environment, both for their business and the world. By framing sustainability as an opportunity for growth and innovation, I encourage clients to take meaningful steps on their own terms, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and progress.

Making the idea of sustainability sound as relatable as possible works best. Don't speak about it as an academic or ideological concept, but as something that can and will tangibly benefit multiple aspects of a client's operations. Link it to their specific use case and provide examples. Works much better than being theoretical and high-level!

One positive way of convincing clients is to share experience of introducing sustainable solutions and products in the relevant industry for e.g. how has a client in FMCG industry adopted sustainability to reduce GHG emissions emissions by introducing sustainable products within their setup and in their supply chains. Scope 3 emissions are critical in reducing impact of GHG emissions and reducing through encouraging suppliers to adopt sustainable practices can go a long way!

Firstly, I will start by highlighting examples from peers who are already leading the way, setting benchmarks that are shaping the future of their industry. This approach shows that sustainability is a growing trend among their competitors. Secondly, I will emphasise that with tightening regulations, early adoption isn’t just about compliance - it’s a strategic opportunity to gain an edge. By framing sustainability as a means to become an industry leader, driving innovation and differentiation, I can present it as a proactive strategy that not only future-proofs the client's business but also unlocks new opportunities for success.

Engaging clients in sustainability is about meeting them where they are and speaking their language. I start by understanding their business challenges and goals, then illustrate how sustainable practices can directly address these areas. By framing sustainability as a solution to their specific problems—whether it’s improving brand reputation, attracting talent, or optimizing resources—I make it relevant and actionable. This approach helps clients see sustainability not as an external pressure, but as a practical, customized strategy that fits seamlessly into their existing operations.

I’ve seen this most effective with practical examples of product or services that have taken the evolution of integrating sustainability into their design and lifecycle. Demonstrate those, outline advantages. And, when speaking with customers, never forget to link sustainability to their economical goals also. This way we support sustainable products and practices put into action and not being seen as a reporting and complaint topic only.

Inspiration always comes from a motivational story, a story which makes you feel part of it. Similarly, for inclusion of your stakeholders , make them feel like they are also part of it. The best way is that just make them a hero of entire conversation. You can start with, - what’s the background, - what’s importance, - why they and how it will be beneficial to them Unless you make them feel motivated, it’ll be like preaching only.

As with other issues you must tailor your messaging to fit the audience in front of you and remember you’re trying to capture “hearts AND minds.” Concrete examples via storytelling that speak to both allow you to address the interests of both constituencies and provide enough to pique the interest to either learn more and/or to see the benefits (as it resonates with them, e.g. community, purpose, risk mitigation, profitability).

Simply put, we as sustainability professionals have failed to speak the language of value. We have long preached to our clients to undertake sustainability initiatives for the sake of sustainability. When we articulate the value of being more sustainable in the language our clients speak, which may be in terms of pounds and pence/dollars and cents, we will find we have an audience ready and willing to hear what we have to say.

To not come off as preachy lead with the business story. How can sustainability help your client meet their business objectives. Whether that be cutting costs (FD client), driving brand engagement (CMO client), increasing your ability to attract top talent (HR client). Translate your sustainability goals into their goals.

Lead with policies that impact your client, presently or in the future. Ask what their biggest challenges in compliance are. Let the conversation flow to share expertise and learn about opportunities to advance their goals together. Don’t pitch.

Show metrics, show impact and potential impact, and have a clear implementation plan. Finally keep it simple and easy to understand for anyone that comes across it (whether a written document or multimedia file). Keep it simple.

I always offer bespoke programming when pitching partnerships, including a variety of end results and avenues of impact. This way, collaborators can choose to invest in the aspects that inspire and excite them, and they feel ownership over the activation.

That goes down to creativity and innovation skills. In order to offer a choice you must have it originally!! Having your own treasure of creative ideas and innovative solutions is the key..

I often, share with them the economic benefits that include implementation of sustainability standards into their business. So far, when a company has a long term vision, they can prevent risk and minimize their impacts. Also, nowadays, worldwide governments have several options for reducing taxes.

As a sustainability consultant, you can engage clients by offering tailored options rather than mandates. For example, instead of insisting on solar panels, you might suggest various renewable energy sources and let them choose what fits best. Educate them with success stories, like a company that reduced waste through simple changes, and frame your advice as a partnership. Asking, “Which option aligns with your goals?” makes them feel involved rather than preached to. Highlight the flexibility of gradual implementation, showing you're mindful of their specific needs and constraints.

I believe in the power of positive reinforcement when promoting sustainability. Celebrating even the smallest steps that clients take towards sustainable practices helps to reinforce their positive actions. By acknowledging these small victories, we not only show appreciation for their efforts but also encourage further commitment. Highlighting incremental improvements can lead to larger, more impactful changes over time. This approach fosters a supportive and motivating environment, making clients feel proud of their journey towards sustainability rather than feeling pressured.

Proposez des actions faciles à intégrer dans leur quotidien, comme le recyclage ou l’achat de produits locaux. Montrez que même de petits gestes peuvent avoir un grand impact. Offrez des incitations pour encourager les comportements durables, comme des réductions pour l’utilisation d’emballages réutilisables ou des programmes de fidélité axés sur des actions vertes.

Include a gamification element in your project implementation, allowing for rewards related to short-term and longer-term results. The right implementation of gamification will - in general - keep people interested to reach a next milestone. Furthermore, in order to track progress and impact made with the project, I recommend using a digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) system in order to keep track of the project in real-time. The latter allows for people to be more motivated on deliverables as they can conduct an analyses on the impact made.

Focusing on Continuous Improvement Emphasize that sustainability is an ongoing journey of continuous improvement. While quick results are desirable, the most impactful changes often take time to implement and measure. Celebrate incremental successes and keep the focus on long-term, sustainable outcomes.

Celebrate progress by highlighting the small, achievable steps clients have already taken toward sustainability. Recognize their efforts, like adopting paperless billing or using energy-efficient appliances, and showcase how these actions contribute to broader goals. For example, if a client switched to reusable packaging, emphasize the reduction in waste they've accomplished. By celebrating these milestones, you motivate clients to continue their journey, reinforcing that every step counts and demonstrating that sustainability is a series of feasible, rewarding actions, not an all-or-nothing approach.

Actions speak louder than words and office politics. It's easy to pat yourself on the back for banning plastic bottles in the office, but let’s be honest – you have zero real-time data to show how much you've actually reduced carbon emissions. Want to know the real environmental culprits? Look at employee transportation, look at your inventory waste, look at food consumption – that’s where the big emissions hide. Facility Managers, you have the power to change this. You need DIKSHA ONE – AI वाला अच्छा Facility Management App, Bharat's #1 platform for real impact. Track, calculate, and slash your carbon footprint across everything – from food waste to transportation and beyond.

There are some practical steps which have proven helpful for me: 1. Take the Leaf out of the Client's book - Understand which of his top KRAs are linked to sustainability. From what I have observed, you can link energy savings, customer satisfaction and even attrition to the sustainability culture followed by the client, which if addressed properly would also help in achieving these KRAs. 2. Create a realisation of how small tweaks in a process or a policy design can result in reducing carbon emissions without impacting the bottom line, and how it is good news for the company. 3. Give examples of what competition is doing well in the sustainability space.

Collaborating on sustainability ideas is great, however, would also include an overall business perspective to it, as the latter would also showcase to various stakeholders that sustainability may also have a positive impact in revenue and opening up of new markets.