Businesses which put sustainability practices at the core of their organisations will benefit from an enhanced reputation and corporate brand image and are more likely to survive in the current economic climate according to Gary McFarlane, Director Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) in Northern Ireland.

CIEH has demonstrated its global leadership by being the first organisation to achieve NQA’s new Sustainable Development Management Scheme (SDMS) and is now calling on other enterprises whether public, private or NGO to follow its lead and integrate a comprehensive sustainability programme into all aspects of their operations in order to deliver measurable financial results.

According to Gary, “Essentially the SDMS scheme is about developing and living out values and principles that ultimately make any organisation sustainable. Sustainable practices must be driven by top management and include stakeholder engagement both internally and externally; managing resources including staff efficiency and adequate risk assessment across all aspects of an organization.

“Becoming truly sustainable requires a method of bringing corporate responsibility initiatives together in a cohesive way that aligns with a business strategy, strengthens a brand and demonstrates a return to shareholders. This in turn will lead to an increased sense of ownership, while enhancing the credibility and transparency of an organisation’s performance. In the current tough trading conditions addressing sustainability principles now will deliver long term success and help to drive economic competitiveness for the future.

“Sustainability is not a fad – it’s a new way of doing business. Incorporating sustainability as a business practice not only gives your organisation a competitive advantage but will increase your companies brand value, improve employee satisfaction and enhance stakeholder relations,” said Gary.

ENDSFor Further Information contact Shane Finnegan or Caroline Murphy at Aiken PR on 02890663000 or shane@aikenpr.co.uk