Waste As Value | Why Sustainability Efforts Fail | Compliance as Distraction
The Purpose Edit
by Wild-Built Consulting
Curated insights for business leaders who want to contribute to building a liveable future. Every fortnight we handpick the most interesting reads and resources from 75+ newsletters on strategy, innovation, and sustainability. We then lovingly wrap it all up with a digital bow, a sprinkling of systems thinking and a healthy dose of urgent optimism. Any business can be a force for good - and now is the time for wild but considered change. All hands on deck πͺ
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The Purpose Edit
Edition #32β β
Hello Reader,
Just checking - it is only February, right? What a lot that's happened in such a short space of time. To us, it feels like 2025 is just beginning, as we've made our way across the country to set up our new life and are getting into new routines only this week.
With all that's going on around this VUCA world of ours, it's a stark reminder that a clear-headed, calm and strategic approach to fewer, more impactful efforts will serve us well as we ride this wave.
As promised at the end of last year, we've revamped The Purpose Edit because we felt like we could be providing far more value and insight. You'll see that new format below and we would love and appreciate your feedback (there's a spot at the bottom of the email to share your thoughts with us).
Here's Melissa with a quick explanation of what's changed and what our intent is π
Bring us a food waste solution and we're all ears. Toast Brewing has reimagined beer production by turning surplus bread into a core ingredient, replacing 25% of malted barley. This reduces demand for agricultural land, water, and energy while cutting carbon emissions. Their circular approach ensures waste is repurposed - spent grain becomes animal feed, and all profits go to environmental charities. By monetising surplus bread, they transform waste into value, tackling the βlast mileβ problem in food systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
π ROI & Impact: Toast Brewing's transparent carbon reporting sets a high standard for accountability, showing avoided emissions of 5.3 tCO2e and freeing 71 acres of agricultural land since 2016. Their profit-for-purpose model has directed Β£116k to charities, reinforcing their commitment to systemic change.
π Transferrable Ideas: Identify new potential value/revenue streams or cost-saving initiatives that use byproducts of existing processes.
π Minimum Viable Adaptation:
How might your business waste generate value?
How could adopting purpose-driven models create new value?
What impact could increased transparency in reporting have across stakeholders?
Even starting with one waste product and finding a partner to co-create a solution could open opportunities to drive value creation and meaningful change. Toast Brewing proves that innovation, sustainability, and profitability can brew a better future.
π€ The Cynical Questions:
Why is there so much surplus bread in the first place?
What opportunities might exist to solve the problem at the root?
HBR reveals most companies are tackling too many sustainability issues at once, with research showing companies trying to address an average of 11.8 "priority" issues simultaneously (ranging from 2 to 43 π€―). The article presents a "Four Lenses Framework" (business value, stakeholder influence, science/technology, and purpose) to help companies focus their sustainability strategy on what truly matters.
Signal Strength: π²π²π²π²π³ (4.5/5) - Very strong signal with clear strategic implications. Well-supported by evidence, real-world examples, and immediate business relevance. Worth significant leadership attention and strategic consideration.
Why it's a Signal: Many sustainability efforts are failing - and in some cases, companies are abandoning their goals. It's no surprise - when everything is a priority, nothing is. Such a scattered approach could be leading to:
Diluted resources and attention
Failure to generate meaningful impact
Increased risk of greenwashing
Missed opportunities for strategic advantage
The Insight: Your sustainability strategy might be failing not because you're doing too little but because you're trying to do too much. Ask questions about the materiality of each initiative.
Questions for Leaders:
How strategic is your approach to sustainability?
How might evaluating your sustainability efforts through the Four Lenses Framework help you do less, not more?
How might that help you gain greater buy-in (from the top and the bottom)?
Mandatory Climate Reporting is now in effect in Australia, with companies in 'Group 1' (those meeting at least two of three of the following criteria: +500MM consolidated gross revenue and/or $1BN consolidated assets, and/or +500 employees) on the hook for lodging financial reports from January 1. Don't get us wrong - we're all for increased transparency and accountability. What we're not for is a focus on reporting and compliance at the expense of solving actual problems and making genuine progress.
Signal Strength: π²π²π³ (2.5/5) - Weak signal that's hard to distinguish from noise. May have potential importance but will need a discerning leader to see past the distraction.
Why it's Noise:
Risk of organisations prioritising compliance over impact
Could lead to resource allocation toward reporting rather than action
May create false sense of progress through documentation
Danger of treating climate action as a reporting exercise rather than strategic imperative
This is a book about breaking up with the obsession with βbusyβ and instead, finding ways to cultivate practices that allow us to do our most impactful work without burning out in the process.
Written by a wonderful human and buddy of mine, Nicky recently also did a TEDx talk (check it out below), which is certainly worth a watch (especially if youβre feeling like youβre sliding back into all those habits you intended to drop at the start of the year!).
Packed with loads of practical exercises and a visual pleasure to read, I know Iβll be referring back to this as a resource to reset my thinking regularly.
We're not taking this spot in your inbox lightly, so with this new, more in-depth structure, we'd love to know if you found it valuable and are taking something useful away.
We pay our humble respects to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. We acknowledge the Melukerdee people of the Huon River and the Lyluequonny people of the Far South, the Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work in beautiful lutruwita/Tasmania, Australia. We extend our respect to all Palawa/Pakana People throughout the state and recognise that it always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.
Curated insights for business leaders who want to contribute to building a liveable future. Every fortnight we handpick the most interesting reads and resources from 75+ newsletters on strategy, innovation, and sustainability. We then lovingly wrap it all up with a digital bow, a sprinkling of systems thinking and a healthy dose of urgent optimism. Any business can be a force for good - and now is the time for wild but considered change. All hands on deck πͺ
