“I thought that being green was something that big companies did.”
Businesses are increasingly aware of the need to recognise and manage their social and environmental impact. Employees are looking for workplaces with values that align with their own and customers are demanding sustainable products and services. However, only the largest businesses can invest in extensive environmental, social and governance (ESG) teams or consultancies to navigate the complex landscape of sustainability. Small business leaders in our network at Aston Centre for Growth told us they did not know the extent of their business’ environmental impact, or how to go about developing sustainability strategies that were right for their business.
A major challenge around business support for sustainability is making it relevant and actionable in a wide range of business contexts. This was a particular focus for Aston when it set out to provide an open programme that would enable smaller businesses to think strategically about their social and environmental impact. The result was the Green Advantage programme, which takes business leaders through six workshops building a comprehensive view of sustainability topics from circular economy strategies to the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions. It is taught in an interactive learning environment and supported by one-to-one coaching to aid the practical application of ideas.
Feedback from programme participants highlights four key considerations that have been critical to successful outcomes and could be adopted by any institution looking to develop a similar programme.
1. For business leaders, the divide between academic disciplines is meaningless
“I was feeling a bit like sustainability was simply recycling, but there’s so much more to it.”
There are many aspects to social and environmental sustainability; giving learners a broad picture and encouraging a holistic approach opens their minds to possibilities they have not previously considered. At Aston that meant getting our engineers talking to our business strategists. Green Advantage was designed with a steering group of institutional experts in energy, the circular economy, operations management, leadership, strategy, and small business growth, collaborating with external business leaders. That meant course content benefited from a variety of perspectives with deep dives into specific topic areas.
“We’ve looked at things from people to energy to productivity, all geared towards improving the business”
The topics were joined together with a thread guiding learners to develop a strategic and holistic approach supported by a facilitator linking the modules and themes.
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2. Am I green enough? Boost confidence and learning with interaction and diversity
“Being able to interact with other business owners and leaders within organisations to better appreciate the challenges that they have…helps to inspire all of us to look at more creative solutions.”
Sitting in a classroom with a group of people you have just met is nerve-racking even for seasoned business leaders, and with a topic such as sustainability people worry about saying the wrong thing or not knowing enough. Creating a safe and collaborative course culture is essential. For open programmes, a diverse range of people and businesses in the room provides a rich source of live case studies. If learners feel confident and safe to share their experiences and listen to others, ideas spark and people develop skills in the language of sustainability that they can take back to the workplace.
3. Embed a long-term approach and the quick wins will look after themselves
“I was expecting it to be a very regimented course just talking about green issues and how you can make your business more sustainable. What I actually got was a course that was geared towards improving the entire strategy of a business, big or small.”
Sustainability practices need to be strategic to have lasting impact. There is excellent support helping businesses to reduce carbon emissions through business grants, but this only tackles one part of the story. Meaningful long-term change comes when the business decisions are driven by a clear understanding of its purpose, vision and values. This may mean unpacking a whole business model to get to the heart of what drives the business and then putting it back together with sustainability embedded throughout.
“What it’s ended up doing is helping reflect on our own what, how and why, and to realise that actually we can integrate a sustainability thread into our own objectives and our own strategies.”
4. Provide wrap-around support to bring it all together
“The mentoring was really good because what you learnt in the actual coursework you were able to then digest and really get to grips with.”
The power of executive education is in its applicability and so ensuring application of the learning is baked into the course design is essential. Business leaders will share challenges with fellow learners but will also have issues and blockers individual to the business that need to be worked through. In the case of Green Advantage, learners are paired with an experienced practitioner who acts as their business coach, helping them to work through their ideas, overcome challenges, and make strategic choices about the future. A sustainability roadmap tool provides a framework to help those on the course develop an outline plan in a format that is simple to discuss with others in the business.
More than 250 participants have now completed Green Advantage. They have gone back to their workplace with a sustainability roadmap for their business developed with colleagues and the support of a programme coach, plus the confidence, language and clear sense of purpose for driving meaningful change. We are inspired by their stories and motivated to help others on their own sustainability journey.
Paula Whitehouse is a professor of practice in business growth and innovation and director of the Aston Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Aston University.
Aston University has been shortlisted in the Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership in the THE Awards 2025. The full list of nominees can be found here. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 13 November.
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