Sustainability isn’t solely about the environment
It’s also about social and financial factors, being compliant, and connecting with members.
Incorporating sustainability into business culture and operations is nothing new. Organizations have been weaving in small-scale solutions for decades. “Think before you print” taglines popped up in the early 2000s. I can remember washing solar panels on top of my parents’ bakery in San Francisco in 1989. Now, some cities in which we operate require zero waste systems (which create separate landfill, recycling and composting streams) and waste reduction training for employees.
Much like any other business strategy, with sustainability, you must constantly learn, adapt and grow. And all studies point to consumers and potential new employees demanding more—more purpose, more positive impact and more giving from the businesses they engage with and work for.
Premier Members Credit Union hired its first sustainability specialist in 2018, and when I took over in 2019, many impact projects had already begun. A 10kW solar array was installed on our main branch in Boulder. We rolled out zero waste stations at all locations and at our corporate office. Employees were trained on waste diversion, and we were off and running.
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