A circular economy policy is a company’s statement about the commitment to sustainability and environmental transition that a SME is prepared to make. Having a formal green policy shows to employees and customers that managing environmental issues is a high priority for the SME.
A circular economy policy usually contains the following components:
- A declaration of the company’s commitment to the environment (environmental vision).
- A concise description of what the company is trying to achieve with the circular economy goals and how it will accomplish these goals.
- A commitment to prevent pollution and to continuously improve environmental performance.
- A commitment to keeping employees and community members safe.
- A statement of the strategies and actions the business is willing to undertake to meet its commitments.
Green policies don’t have to be lengthy or wordy. The most effective policies are written in plain language that is motivating and inspires people to change. The policy should be communicated to all employees, stakeholders and customers as a commitment to improving environmental sustainability over time.
Here below is reported a policy planning workflow.
Step 1: Think about what your company wants to achieve through a green policy. Brainstorm a list of action words or very short phrases that reflects your company’s environmental commitment to employees, customers, and the community.
Example:
Throughout the company, not a separate program but a way of doing business, stop driving as much, recycle, compost, better office energy efficiency, “think green” all the time, make it a way of life, build a green image in the community, show measurable results, be green leaders for our customers and community, train our employees.
Step 2: Drawing on the list of words and phrases you have brainstormed above, put them together into a one or two sentence statement.
Example:
At ABC, we apply green thinking to every action and every decision to benefit our customers, our community and our employees. We are committed to making a positive impact on the environment by becoming pros at developing and implementing effective green practices.
Step 3: List the ways that your company is, or plans to, achieve the commitment(s) expressed in the statements above.
Example:
Reduce waste in day to day office operations. Implement a green training program for all employees, including all management personnel. Focus on reducing carbon footprint by reducing energy use (electricity and gas) and reducing vehicle emissions.
Step 4: Draw on the list you developed in Step 3 to put together a statement of how your company will fulfil its environmental commitment(s).
Example:
We are dedicated to taking the following actions to achieve our green vision:
• Reduce our company’s carbon footprint;
• Reduce the amount of waste our company produces;
• Increase our green knowledge.
Step 5: Combine the statements you developed in Steps 2 and 4 and fine tune them to make your complete green policy.
Example:
At ABC, we apply green thinking to every action and every decision to benefit our customers, our community and our employees. We are committed to making a positive impact for the circular economy transition by becoming ABC at developing and implementing effective green practices and procedures as a rule, not as an exception. We are dedicated to taking the following actions to achieve our green vision:
• Measurably reduce our company’s carbon footprint;
• Reduce the amount of waste our company produces;
• Increase our green knowledge.
The Guidelines for an Action Plan for circular economy for SMEs as well as the policies developed by each of the involved organization in the project can be downloaded in the “results section” of the project website (https://www.2good2go.eu/).