This information is based on a guide we wrote with the Sustainable Business Council and Kaitiaki Collective.

It’s a situation we know many manufacturers face. You want to make your business more sustainable. (Bravo!) You can see the many benefits of manufacturing products that reuse resources, avoid modern slavery and create fewer environmental impacts.

But – here’s the kicker – you’re struggling to get the business case for making these changes ‘over the line’ with your accountant or finance team. These ten tips will help you.

Tip 1. See becoming more sustainable as an investment

Sustainable businesses are excellent businesses. They create value in the short and long terms – economically, environmentally and socially. Treat your sustainability programme as an investment and manage it as one.

Tip 2. Identify your stakeholders

Consider the many people who have a ‘stake’ in your business succeeding sustainably. You will naturally think of your investors, customers, suppliers, team, local community and regulators.

Think longer term and wider too. Include the environment and people who will live many years in the future.

Tip 3. Confirm where to focus with a materiality assessment

Your business case needs to reflect the views of all these stakeholders and your business too. Start with a ‘materiality assessment’. It’s a practical way, using interviews and surveys, to home in on the sustainability activities that your stakeholders and business care about and to prioritise the ones that matter most.

A materiality assessment takes a broad view of sustainability and covers environmental, social and economic topics. Include your top priority topics in your business case.

Tip 4. Understand who you need to convince

Who do you need to influence to get your business case over the line? What are they interested in? What are they concerned about? Who else has their ear?

Some people’s sustainability concerns may need time to work through. Acknowledge concerns, address them with data and examples and reach consensus. These conversations will pay off in the long run.

Find your allies. Is there someone in your business who truly ‘gets’ the long-term, intergenerational value of sustainability and will champion your ideas? Look beyond roles and titles. The most effective champion may be someone from your factory floor.

Andrii Yalanskyi from Getty Images.

Tip 5. Do your research

Desk-based research is a good place to start but will get you only so far. Talk with the people who understand what operating more sustainably involves in a practical sense.

What does it mean for the people who design your products? Operate your machinery? Buy your materials? Deal with your customers? Manage your transport supplier?

Tip 6. Identify the high-level costs and benefits of your investment

Let’s assume you’re thinking of investing in new energy-efficient equipment. Start by listing the benefits. For example, if you use less energy, you’ll reduce your carbon footprint and the risk of being ‘pinged’ with a carbon tax.

Your new equipment will be more reliable and fewer breakdowns will reduce your costs. Customers will value your lower-carbon products and you may increase your sales.

Then consider your costs. They’ll include the costs of investing in your new equipment, retraining your team and adapting your processes. Bring all these costs and benefits together in your business case.

Tip 7. Do the numbers

A business case supports a business decision. That means it’s about numbers. Your finance team or accountant can help you with the traditional measures that decision-makers want to see, such as Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI).

Attach numbers to every part of your business, including your ‘intangible assets’ (e.g. the value of your brand). These assets are becoming increasingly important. Be careful not to double-count. Use sensitivity analysis to test how robust your figures are.

Tip 8. Make your business case inspiring, strategic and practical

Create a vision of what your business will look like when you’re operating more sustainably. Show how the investment supports your wider business strategy. Tell a story.

What will your people be doing (and feeling)? How will your suppliers and customers be involved in your new ways of working? What will your business be known for?

Tip 9. Show that you know how to manage the investment long term

Show your decision-makers that you have a plan to maintain your investment. If it’s a physical investment like machinery, you’ll need a maintenance plan.

If it’s an intangible investment like a responsible procurement strategy, you’ll need to show who will manage the strategy and how, plus how you’ll know your strategy’s working.

Tip 10. Focus on action and create a sense of urgency

Your decision-makers want results. Confirm a simple plan that shows you’ve considered the roadblocks you need to overcome and the opportunities you need to grasp. Who will lead this work? Where will you start? What needs to happen in years one, two and three?

We wish you success in this important step to becoming a more sustainable business!