Strategic Planning.

Sustainability-oriented strategic planning is the process of defining an organization's long-term goals, objectives, and strategies for achieving them in a way that minimizes negative environmental impacts and promotes social and economic equity. It is a systematic approach to making decisions about the future of an organization that takes into account the triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.

The strategic planning process for sustainability-oriented organizations typically involves the following steps:

  1. Define the organization's mission and vision. The mission statement should reflect the organization's commitment to sustainability. The vision statement should articulate the organization's aspirations for a sustainable future.

  2. Conduct an environmental scan. This should include an assessment of the organization's environmental impacts, as well as the opportunities and threats posed by climate change, resource scarcity, and other environmental challenges.

  3. Analyze the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). This should include an assessment of the organization's internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it faces in the external environment, including the environmental arena.

  4. Set goals and objectives. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Objectives should be aligned with the organization's mission and vision, and they should be based on the results of the environmental scan and SWOT analysis.

  5. Develop strategies. Strategies should be specific actions that the organization will take to achieve its goals and objectives. They should be based on the organization's strengths and weaknesses, and they should be aligned with the opportunities and threats it faces in the external environment.

  6. Implement the strategies. This involves allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and tracking progress.

  7. Evaluate and revise the plan. The strategic planning process is not a one-time event. The plan should be regularly evaluated and revised to ensure that it is still relevant and achievable.

Sustainability-oriented strategic planning can help organizations to:

  • Reduce their environmental impacts

  • Improve their social and economic performance

  • Increase their resilience to environmental challenges

  • Attract and retain customers and employees who are committed to sustainability

  • Gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace