Sustainability: why you should talk about it more even if you don't feel you're doing enough (yet)

I have never met a business owner who is proud of all they're doing to make their business more sustainable. Not even the gold-starred, award-winning ones. Everyone feels like they're not quite doing enough. Some feel guilty. Others fear that someone will come along at any moment with a big waggy-finger and tell them off. 

It's true: we could all do more. But doing something, anything is better than not doing anything. None of us will ever do enough - that's the reality but...

In the meantime, very few businesses talk about what they are doing. This means that visitors are left thinking that nothing is happened or that we don't care. 

So let's change this. 

No-one expects you to do everything.

It's fine for you to acknowledge that you're just getting started, or to talk about your plans, or even invite suggestions. 

Just be honest. Talk about what you are doing. Give details and as much information as you can. 

Make sure you have a page on your website with appropriate information.

Talk about what you're doing on social media. You might even mention the things you've tried, and perhaps failed at, or ask for help in some way to get a conversation going. 

When I speak to tourism businesses, many say they're not doing much. Then I dig deeper and ask a few questions and usually find they're doing far more than they acknowledge, but it's just become part of their daily activity. 

Whether you want some more ideas or a checklist of what you're already doing, you might find these pages helpful.