Making sense of environmental and sustainability tools for business
There is a plethora of tools and services available to help businesses understand, manage and mitigate their environmental impacts. These tools, if appropriately selected and used, can help reduce costs, improve processes, create market value and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to robustly proving environmental credentials of organisations and products ... but choosing the right tool to achieve these goals can be tricky.
To help businesses avoid the “paralysis” that comes from a long and confusing menu of options Landcare Research has compiled a searchable database of information about the environmental and sustainability tools and services available. The database primarily covers tools that can be used across sectors by small and large corporations alike.
Information about each tool or service is intended to provide insights into its application and robustness and includes:
- A short description and scope
- The level of independent certification
- Cost and resource requirements
- Market uptake
There are approximately 50 tools and services covered in this overview and more will be added as they become available. They originate from a range of government, local authority and business practice approaches. Many of the tools reviewed address a single issue, with greenhouse gas emissions being the most common one. One in five tools requires third-party certification.