This is a continuation from last weeks post and work done identifying opportunities for our concreting sub-contracting company, Tradesmate Pty Ltd, to deliver on its responsibilities as a business towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

For any SME or small business to think about growth, innovation and improving the company in regards to the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to be mindful of the current operational commitments, cashflow and economic climate it is trading in.

As Tradesmate Pty Ltd is a small specialist concrete construction company in Sydney, the first thing we had to look at in relation to the audit was the cashflow of the company and the current depressed residential property market including the time of year being just after the Xmas break.

To create an actionable plan for Tradesmate to deliver on its first wave of SDG’s actionables, we gave them a ranking of 1-3 relating to the realistic time frame we would be able to attempt them in regards to the companies current size and structure. 1 being the most realistic current actionable and 3 being the least.

After isolating the 1’s we ranked them on their ease and cost of delivery to give the company and team the quickest way to get some progress on the list and build momentum.

Current Workable Solutions

Work opportunities for the homeless- 2
Gym membership- 3
Skills Training- 3
Educate the team on SDG’s- 1
Women in workforce- 2
Water Stewardship program- 1
On-site solar power- 1
Apprenticeships- 2
Refugee opportunities- 2
Recycle program- 1
Supply chain audit- 1
Sustainable concrete program- 1
Waterway Pollution measures- 1

First Actionable Solutions

Educate the team on SDG’s
Water Stewardship Program- 2
On-Site Solar Power- 1
Recycle Program- 4
Supply Chain Audit- 5
Sustainable Concrete Program- 6
Waterway Pollution Measures- 3

The lowest hanging fruit and most important of the SDG’s is clean power, so our first small purchase was for our on-site solar panel charger for the work van. This was actually an excellent addition to our tools as occasionally we do project home slabs form the excavation, meaning there is no onsite power what-so-ever. This has saved us from buying a bulky generator which not only needs fuel to run but takes up 3x as much room in the van and is 4x more expensive on the initial purchase, also needing continuous purchases of fuel and full petrol cans in the van creating fumes. This was a very easy purchase.

The Water Stewardship Program was the second most pressing actionable with the current water restrictions in Sydney. First, we had to ring up Sydney Water and request a lift on restrictions for us to use the water in the first place which is absolutely paramount for pouring concrete. A lot of businesses and particularly builders might not even consider that they need to talk to Sydney Water about their water use, which has given us another bit of value that we are able to deliver to our clients, in a saturated and competitive market, every bit of value you can provide will give you the extra inch you need to keep them for the long haul, which should always be the goal in business… a focus on building long term relationships across the board.

The third actionable was our water pollution measures. This again was a very simple addition to the van in the way of an extra pack of empty sandbags from Bunnings and a couple of bags of pre-packed sand which we occasionally use for patching as well. A lot of jobs we go to have substandard water pollution measures or none at all from the builder. Now we are able to cost-effectively control our own water pollution, which is not only a better outcome from the environment, it has also helped distinguish us from the competition with our clients. An environmental fine for water pollution starts at $8000 to the builder the minute a ranger reports it, with our clients having the peace of mind knowing we are conscious of the situation, we stand a much better chance of retaining our client base for the future, all for the cost of $15 for the bags.

This is where we are currently with our delivery of the actionable’s. Our next step is creating a recycling policy and framework that is not only good for us, the framework can be promoted and provided to our clients which further delivers value, raises education of the SDG’s and gives us that extra inch in front of our competition.

The next 3 actionables are going to involve us going out to recycling yards and suppliers to first gain a real understanding of their position and operation as a business, and then work out a way of building this into a strategy for developing a more just and sustainable business model. and again, delivering more value to our clients to build long term relationships and grow our business.