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16 December 2025

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Procurement’s Vital Role in Sustainability

For decades, procurement was viewed primarily as a cost-control function. Responsible for securing goods and services at the best price, quality, and speed. This paradigm is shifting.

For most organisations, the biggest sustainability risks and the greatest opportunities, lie in their supply chains. Tackling them demands a proactive approach. Procurement is a powerful lever to deliver that change.

The Changing Landscape of B2B Procurement

Several forces are reshaping the B2B procurement landscape:

Regulatory pressure

Governments are tightening rules on supply chain transparency, carbon disclosure, and due diligence. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the UK’s Modern Slavery Act are examples of how compliance is becoming more complex.

Stakeholder expectations

Investors, customers, and employees increasingly demand that companies align their procurement practices with sustainability goals. Ethical issues in the supply chain can damage reputations and erode trust.

Risk and resilience

Climate change, geopolitical instability, and pandemics have exposed the fragility of global supply chains. Ethical sourcing is now seen as a way to build resilience by diversifying suppliers, localising production, and reducing dependency on high-risk regions.

Digital transformation

Advances in data analytics, blockchain, and AI are enabling greater visibility into supplier practices, emissions, and compliance. Procurement teams can now track ESG performance in real time and make data-driven decisions.

The Rise of Sustainable Procurement

Sustainable procurement involves integrating ESG criteria into every stage of the sourcing process; from supplier selection and contract negotiation through to performance monitoring and contract renewal.
We’re seeing key trends including:

From rationalising to results: The conversation has shifted from having to justify sustainability to having to implement it. Procurement teams are now focused on operationalising ESG through tools, scorecards, and supplier engagement programs.
Local and circular sourcing: Emphasis is growing on sourcing from local, diverse, and circular suppliers. In order to reduce emissions, support communities, and close material loops.
Transparency and traceability: Buyers expect full visibility into supply chains, including tier 2 and 3 suppliers. Technologies like blockchain and digital product passports are gaining traction to verify ethical claims.
Supplier collaboration: Rather than penalising non-compliant suppliers, leading organisations are investing in supplier development. Offering training, co-innovation, and incentives to improve the ESG performance of key suppliers.

Frameworks and Standards for Ethical Procurement

To navigate this complex terrain, procurement teams can use established frameworks and standards. Frameworks help procurement teams streamline decision making, ensure consistency across suppliers, and build credibility by aligning ethical practices with globally recognised benchmarks.

ISO 20400

The international standard for sustainable procurement, offering guidance on integrating sustainability into procurement policy and practice.

UN Global Compact & SDGs

Many companies align their sourcing strategies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

EcoVadis & CDP

These platforms provide supplier sustainability ratings and carbon disclosure data, helping buyers assess ESG risks and opportunities.

Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

A global climate action organisation that helps companies set greenhouse gas reduction targets aligned with the latest climate science to limit global warming and achieve net zero by 2050.

ESG scorecards and KPIs

Procurement scorecards can track supplier diversity, emissions, human rights, labour practices, governance compliance, and alignment with global ESG standards. Turning sustainability into measurable accountability.

Change as a Human Journey

At its core, organisational change is a human journey. It involves uncertainty, hope, and adaptation. People must let go of familiar ways of working, learn new skills, and often reimagine their roles and how they fit into the new world. This emotional terrain requires empathy, trust and an ongoing dialogue.

Bringing everyone with you means recognising that people are more than implementers of change… they must be the co-creators of it.

Individuals are more likely to wholeheartedly engage with the transformation, when they understand the “why”, see their values reflected in the change and feel that their voices are heard.

The Future: Procurement as a Force for Good

Procurement will continue to evolve from a transactional to a transformational business function. Ethical sourcing will be central to how companies manage risk, drive innovation, and build stakeholder trust. Procurement professionals will be expected to:

Act as stewards of corporate values
Champion supplier diversity and inclusion
Drive decarbonisation across the value chain
Foster regenerative and circular business models

This transformation will require different skills including; data literacy, systems thinking and stakeholder engagement.

Procurement as Catalysts for Change

The future of procurement is ethical, data-driven, and relies on human connection. As sustainability becomes a core purchasing measure, procurement teams are emerging as powerful agents of change.

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

25 November 2025

Bringing Everyone with You: The Human Core of Organisational Change

Organisational change is more than strategy, structure, and systems – it’s about people. Leaders invest heavily in process redesign, governance frameworks, and performance metrics, believing these will steer the organisation toward a new future.

While these elements are essential, lasting transformation needs more.
Change that endures, reshapes culture, unlocks innovation and builds resilience needs people to believe in it, take ownership and participate.
Change lasts when people feel a part of it.

Why it takes more than systems to deliver change

Process and governance changes are the scaffolding of transformation. They provide clarity, consistency, and accountability.

Whilst governance can aid compliance, it doesn’t necessarily inspire commitment. Processes can define how work should flow; they cannot generate the energy and creativity needed to navigate difficulty. People do that.

Without emotional buy-in, even the most elegant systems can become brittle, resisted, or quietly ignored.

For sustainability to take root, people need to see themselves in the change. When teams feel heard and involved, systems and processes become functional, resilient and regenerative.

Sustainability Transformation Collaboration

JA Consulting and Cala Sustain have joined forces to offer a powerful new approach to sustainability transformation. Our approach combines deep technical sustainability expertise with a proven understanding of organisational culture and change. Together, we help organisations unlock the full commercial and cultural potential of sustainability. 

Sustainability Maturity Assessment

We’ve created a Sustainability Maturity Assessment. It’s a structured, diagnostic framework that evaluates how deeply sustainability is embedded across your organisation. It looks at operations and processes and vitally, it looks at the cultural, behavioural, and leadership factors that drive sustainable outcomes. 

Our assessment diagnoses both the systems and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour. This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives launch – and continue to deliver long-lasting value. 

Our sustainability Maturity Assessments enables clients to gain: 

Clarity: Understand where sustainability is working – and where it’s not 
Focus: Prioritise investments and initiatives based on strategic value 
Engagement: Build buy-in across leadership and employees 
Alignment: Navigate frameworks with confidence
Impact: Embed sustainability in policy and culture.

Change as a Human Journey

Bringing everyone with you means recognising that people are more than implementers of change… they must be the co-creators of it.

Individuals are more likely to wholeheartedly engage with the transformation, when they understand the “why”, see their values reflected in the change and feel that their voices are heard.

Inclusion as a Catalyst

Inclusive change is about creating space for diverse perspectives, surfacing concerns early, and building shared understanding. It’s not necessarily about pleasing everyone or consensus (although those things help).

The key is listening – really listening – to the hopes, fears, and ideas of those affected. This means involving frontline employees in shaping solutions and recognising informal influencers and engaging them.

Inclusion also means acknowledging the emotional impact of change. People may feel lost with a change in team structure, fear obsolescence, or feel overwhelmed by new expectations.

It’s vital to create psychologically safe environments where vulnerability is met with compassion rather than judgment. In doing this, leaders can build the trust necessary for people to move forward together.

Storytelling and Creating meaning

One of the most powerful tools for inclusive change is storytelling. Facts and figures help to inform, but stories inspire.

Organisations need to create a narrative arc that people can join. Storytelling helps people make sense of change, see their place in it, and imagine a better future.

Equally important is helping teams connect the change to their own values and aspirations. For example, a sustainability transformation is more likely to succeed if employees see how it aligns with their desire to leave a positive legacy, not just reduce emissions. When change is framed as a shared mission rather than a corporate initiative, it taps into intrinsic motivation.

Building Change from the Inside Out

To bring everyone with you, change must be built from the inside out.

Investing in change agents at every level

People who can:

Bridge strategy and culture
Translate vision into action
Model the behaviours the organisation seeks to cultivate

Equipping and empowering managers

Empowering managers is key to lasting change. This means:

Clear KPIs
Coaching Skills
Empathy
The ability to lead through ambiguity

Pacing change

It’s key to pace changes in a way that respects people’s capacity. Change fatigue is real.

Organisations that succeed in transformation do so by:

Sequencing change thoughtfully
Celebrating small wins
Creating feedback loops that allow for course correction
Treating change as a continuous, adaptive process

The Role of Leadership

Leadership is pivotal in bringing people along. Culture is shaped by what leaders celebrate, reward, and reinforce.

For sustainability transformation to be meaningful, it must become part of performance metrics, leadership KPIs, and everyday conversations.

Culture also thrives on storytelling. Leaders who focus on why they care about sustainability, sharing their own journey and the trade-offs they have wrestled with, create emotional resonance. This approach invites others to connect with sustainability on a deeper level.

By championing sustainability with clarity, conviction, and consistency, Leaders can set off a ripple effect that transforms culture, operations, and impact.

Change That Sticks

Bringing everyone with you is the difference between change that fades and change that flourishes. When people feel seen, heard, and valued – they commit. That commitment unlocks the power of transformation

Make sustainability transformation a reality 

Together Cala Sustain and JA Consulting help organisations translate sustainability into measurable value and competitive differentiation. 

If you’re ready to unlock the full value of sustainability, we’d love to talk. Whether you’re a CSO seeking strategic clarity, a CEO looking to drive long-term value and commercial advantage, or a procurement lead navigating ESG criteria, our partnership brings the tools, insight, and support to make it happen. 

Get in touch. 

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

11 November 2025

The Power of Leadership in Driving Sustainability

Sustainability transformation is a strategic imperative.

Its success hinges on a blend of:

Policy
Technology
Systems and processes
People
Culture
And vitally – leadership

When leadership teams champion sustainability with clarity, conviction, and consistency, they unlock a ripple effect that transforms culture, operations, and impact.

Vision Starts at the Top

Leadership defines the horizon. When the Exec Team articulate a compelling sustainability vision (that aligns with purpose, values, and long-term strategy) they create a beacon for the entire organisation.

The aim is to embed sustainability into the core purpose and narrative of the business.

Consider Patagonia’s leadership, which has long positioned environmental stewardship as central to its brand. Their leaders went beyond endorsing sustainability, they lived it, from supply chain transparency to regenerative agriculture. That authenticity built trust and loyalty, both internally and with customers.

Modelling Values Through Action

Leadership teams can set the tone by showing that sustainability matters through their behaviour. When leaders make sustainability visible in their decisions, it signals that these values are non-negotiable. Whether it’s choosing low-carbon travel, prioritising circular design, or investing in community partnerships, these choices speak loudly when aligned with policy and values.

This modelling also creates psychological safety. Employees feel empowered to innovate, challenge norms, and propose bold ideas when they see leaders doing the same. It shifts sustainability from a compliance exercise to a creative frontier.

Embedding Sustainability into Culture

Culture is shaped by what leaders celebrate, reward, and reinforce. When sustainability becomes part of performance metrics, leadership KPIs, and everyday conversations, it moves from aspiration to expectation.

Culture also thrives on storytelling. Leaders who share personal journeys. Focussing on why they care about climate justice, how they’ve wrestled with trade-offs helps to create emotional resonance. These stories humanise sustainability and invite others to connect with it on a deeper level.

Sustainability Transformation Leadership Example

Dame Alison Rose, former CEO of NatWest Group, embedded sustainability into banking strategy and governance.

Alison Rose positioned NatWest at the forefront of sustainable finance. She declared climate change “the biggest existential threat we face” and launched a clear climate strategy that reshaped lending, operations, and customer engagement. Under her leadership, NatWest achieved net-zero operational emissions by 2020, committed £100 billion in climate and sustainable funding by 2025, and supported SMEs in transitioning to low-carbon models.

Rose championed circularity through green financing for energy efficiency, renewable infrastructure, and sustainable housing. She also tied executive accountability to ESG metrics and advocated for industry-wide climate action. Her approach combined data-driven tools, customer empowerment, and systemic change, making finance a force for good.

Rose’s legacy reflects how financial institutions can drive climate resilience and sustainability transformation at scale.

Unlocking Cross-Functional Collaboration

Sustainability is inherently cross-functional. It touches procurement, finance, marketing, HR, and beyond. When leadership sets the tone, they break down silos and foster collaboration across departments. This is especially powerful when sustainability is framed as a catalyst for innovation. Leaders can convene diverse teams to reimagine packaging, rethink logistics, or redesign services with circularity in mind. These collaborations often yield unexpected environmental and economic breakthroughs.

Moreover, when leaders champion inclusive sustainability, they ensure that diverse voices are heard. This includes frontline workers, Indigenous communities, neurodivergent thinkers, and others whose insights are often overlooked. Inclusion is both an ethical choice and a strategic one.

Building External Credibility and Influence

The tone set by the leadership team does more than shape internal culture, it influences external ecosystems. When companies take action on climate, biodiversity, or social equity, they raise the bar for their industries. They attract like-minded partners, influence policy, and inspire consumer loyalty.

Take IKEA’s leadership, which has committed to becoming climate positive by 2030. Their executives have not only invested in renewable energy and circular design, but have also advocated for systemic change in supply chains and legislation. That kind of leadership amplifies impact far beyond the company’s walls.

Navigating Complexity

Sustainability is complex. It involves trade-offs, uncertainty, and systemic challenges. Leaders who set the tone acknowledge this complexity rather than glossing over it. They invite dialogue, embrace transparency, and make space for learning.

This courage to do this is especially vital in moments of tension; when sustainability goals clash with short-term profits, or when progress stalls. Leaders who stay the course, communicate openly, and adapt with integrity in turn build resilience and trust.

It’s key to recognise that perfection isn’t the goal. Progress is. By celebrating incremental wins and learning from setbacks, leaders can foster a growth mindset across the organisation.

Legacy and Long-Term Impact

Ultimately, leadership tone shapes legacy. Leaders who embrace a long-term view inspire others to think beyond their roles and timelines.

They ask: What will our grandchildren say about the choices we made? How will our business be remembered—not just for its products, but for its principles?

This legacy lens transforms sustainability from a compliance checklist into an imperative.

Make sustainability transformation a reality 

Together Cala Sustain and JA Consulting help organisations translate sustainability into measurable value and competitive differentiation. 

Get in touch. 

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

30 October 2025

Leveraging Value From Sustainability Transformation

We recently announced our collaboration between JA Consulting and Cala Sustain. This partnership is powerful because it enables us to fuse technical solutions and the human dynamics that ensure that change takes root.

JA Consulting are specialists in employee engagement, change management, and organisational design. They specialise in building cultures that support transformation. 
Cala Sustain are technical experts in sustainability and climate strategy. They bring scientific rigour and policy insight to sustainability planning and execution.

Through our collaboration, we combine strategic thinking, technical depth, and cultural intelligence to offer a holistic approach that embeds sustainability into the very fabric of your organisation.

Sustainability Maturity Assessment

We’ve developed a fresh approach to sustainability transformation through our Sustainability Maturity Assessment. It is designed to quickly assess where your organisation is on its sustainability journey.  Our assessment diagnoses both the systems you have in place and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour.

The framework covers eight core areas. Each area is scored on a five-point maturity scale, from ad hoc to optimised. The result is a clear picture of where you are, where the valuable wins are and what it will take to achieve them.  

The benefits of our maturity assessment are:

Fast Assessment
Strategic Alignment 
Gap Analysis
Roadmap

Unlocking strategic opportunity

Many organisations we come across, approach sustainability from a compliance perspective and as a cost of doing business.
We take a different approach. We know that within sustainability transformation there are a wealth of strategic opportunities to reduce cost and add lasting value to the bottom line.

Leveraging Value

We help organisations to make informed choices on how to engage with sustainability. We provide the clarity and expertise needed for boards to make those critical decisions with confidence.

Our framework enables us to assess strategic alignment and where your organisation is currently and what the opportunities are. We can then determine the size of the prize.

We’ll evaluate the possible sustainability measures from their impact, ease of implementation and the positive impact on your business performance. This approach is ‘Win:Win’, because it both improves your sustainability credentials and saves the organisation money – increasing profitability. 

Some of the sustainability measures that deliver value to the bottom line may be obvious. If for example your company has large energy expenses or exposure to regulations and compliance.

Sometimes the value may not be immediately clear or might be harder to measure. But the advantage it offers can still be substantial. We explore the connections and model the impact to determine the value.

Examples of areas where companies can leverage value from sustainability initiatives

Risk Mitigation

Improved sustainability can insulate your business from negative market movements, saving money. Using cleaner energy sources / renewable energy could protect a business from energy price volatility or fuel shortages, providing competitive advantage. By investing in supply chain due diligence, companies can safeguard their reputation and avoid costly PR crises.

Operational Efficiency

Efficiencies, like waste reduction and circularity can reduce input costs and waste disposal fees while unlocking new revenue streams.
By reducing water use or recycling wastewater companies can lower utility costs and mitigate risks in water-scarce regions.

Companies that adopt lightweight, recyclable, or compostable packaging can reduce shipping costs and appeal to eco-conscious consumers.

Brand Equity & Market Differentiation

Achieving standards like B Corp, Fair Trade, or FSC can build trust and justify premium pricing with customers.

Sustainability-aligned brands often enjoy deeper emotional resonance with their customers, especially among Gen Z and millennials who prioritise values-driven consumption. This drives brand loyalty and repeat purchases which reduces the cost of acquisition of your customers. Loyal customers are also more likely to become brand advocates and ambassadors. Improving your organic reach.

A strong sustainability ethos improves employer branding. Strong employer branding means candidates come to you, lowering marketing spend and reducing time-to-hire. Helping your organisation to attract top talent, especially younger professionals seeking purpose-driven work. In sectors facing skill shortages, sustainability can be a decisive factor in winning over candidates.

Innovation & Product Development

Designing for sustainability by creating products with lower lifecycle impacts can open new markets and reduce long-term liabilities. Biomimicry and nature-inspired innovation can create breakthroughs in efficiency and resilience. This in turn can reducing production and disposal costs.

Financial Performance & Access to Capital

Accessing green bonds or loans with favourable terms tied to ESG performance can reduce capital costs. ESG performance is increasingly scrutinised by institutional investors, and strong sustainability metrics can boost valuation and shareholder confidence. By proactively managing Scope 1,2 & 3 emissions through Carbon Accounting and Offsets, companies can reduce future liabilities and position the company for regulatory incentives.

Regulatory Alignment & Future-Proofing

Early adoption of low-carbon practices can avoid future compliance costs and penalties.

By designing products with end-of-life in mind companies can pre-empt regulatory burden from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR regulations) and create reverse logistics opportunities. EPR regulations often require producers to pay for the collection, recycling, or disposal of their products. Designing for disassembly, recyclability, or reuse reduces these potential costs. Being ahead of regulation also signals responsibility and foresight, strengthening stakeholder confidence and brand equity.

These are just some of the ways we can help you leverage value from your sustainability transformation programme. Our experienced consultants are able to cut through the complexity, with relevance and proportionality applied to your organisation. To deliver the biggest impact from your sustainability initiatives.

We’ll ensure your sustainability transformation boosts your bottom line while building long-term resilience.

Embedding change

Once we’ve unlocked the strategic opportunities, our experienced consultants will support your organisation in designing and delivering a change programme that embeds sustainability across the business. This includes

Defining what sustainability means for your organisation
Setting appropriate targets and governance
Aligning sustainability practices with business strategy
Building capability and engagement with your people
Measuring progress and adapting over time

Whether you need a light-touch diagnostic or a deep-dive transformation programme, we tailor our approach to your context, ambition, and pace.

Why JA Consulting and Cala Sustain?

Because together, we offer more:

Integrated expertise – Strategy, culture, and sustainability together in one team
Pragmatic delivery – Relevance, proportionality, and hands-on implementation
Credibility – Senior consultants with real-world experience
Flexibility – Scalable solutions tailored to your needs
Impact – Change that sticks and delivers lasting value.

If you’re ready to unlock the full value of sustainability, we’d love to talk.

Get in touch. 

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

20 October 2025

Amplifying expertise – the benefits of collaboration

Sustainability is firmly on the strategic agenda. Customers, investors, regulators, and employees alike are demanding more from organisations. Yet despite widespread commitment, many organisations still struggle to embed sustainability in a way that delivers lasting value.

That’s where our collaboration can make a real difference.

Sustainability Transformation

JA Consulting and Cala Sustain have joined forces to offer a powerful new approach to sustainability transformation. Our approach combines deep technical expertise with a proven understanding of organisational culture and change. Together, we help organisations unlock the full commercial and cultural potential of sustainability.

“This partnership offers those organisations who really want sustainable change to work the opportunity to embed it in a way that is both strategic and enduring – combining the science of sustainability with the art of organisational change.”
– Joint statement from JA Consulting and Cala Sustain

Complementary strengths, amplified impact

The collaboration between JA Consulting and Cala Sustain is a fusion of complementary strengths that delivers greater value than either company could alone.

JA Consulting are specialists in employee engagement, change management, and organisational design. They understand how to shift mindsets, align behaviours, and build cultures that support transformation.
Cala Sustain are technical experts in climate strategy, net zero pathways, resource efficiency, standards, legislation and ESG reporting. They bring scientific rigour and policy insight to sustainability planning and execution.

Powerful Partnership

What makes this partnership so powerful is its ability to bridge the gap between technical solutions and the human dynamics that determine whether change takes root. Too often, organisations focus on compliance and technical frameworks while overlooking the cultural enablers that make sustainability stick.

By combining strategic thinking, technical depth, and cultural intelligence, we offer a holistic approach that embeds sustainability into the very fabric of an organisation. Our shared commitment to senior-level delivery ensures continuity, trust, and relevance throughout. The people you meet at the outset are the ones who guide you through the journey.

“Sustainability is about unlocking opportunity. By combining technical rigour with cultural insight, we help organisations turn sustainability into a strategic advantage.”
– Mark Hedges, Managing Director, Cala Sustain

The challenge: Embedding sustainability

Many organisations have sustainability strategies. Some have targets. A few have certifications. But far fewer have embedded sustainability in a way that drives real change.
The biggest challenge? People.

“Real change happens when people understand what sustainability means for them personally. Our partnership ensures that sustainability is embedded and delivers lasting value.”
– John Moss, Managing Director, JA Consulting

Governance and process can only take you so far. If your people aren’t bought into the journey – if they don’t understand what sustainability means for them personally – then even the best-designed initiatives will falter. That’s why our approach puts culture at the heart of sustainability.

We help organisations answer critical questions:

Are your sustainability goals aligned with your business strategy?
Do your people understand and support those goals?
Are behaviours and incentives reinforcing sustainable practices?
Is sustainability embedded in your operations, procurement, and decision-making?

Moving beyond compliance

For us, sustainability transformation is as much a human journey as it is a technical one. Our partnership enables organisations to move beyond regulatory checkboxes and embrace sustainability as a strategic driver of value.

We work with clients to benchmark their progress and performance across strategy, operations, culture, and behaviours, providing a comprehensive view of where they stand and where they can go.

By engaging both leadership and employees in meaningful, people-centred change, we help build the internal momentum needed for lasting transformation.

Unlocking Value

Our approach ensures that investment decisions are guided by strategic priorities, balancing environmental impact with cultural readiness. We also support alignment with globally recognised and evolving frameworks and broader ESG expectations. Most importantly, we help embed sustainability into the everyday decision-making and cultural fabric of the organisation, ensuring it becomes a core part of how the business operates and grows.

That’s responsible business.

Our framework: the Sustainability Maturity Assessment

At the heart of our service is our Sustainability Maturity Assessment. It’s a structured, diagnostic framework that evaluates how deeply sustainability is embedded across your organisation. It looks at operations and processes as well as assessing the cultural, behavioural, and leadership factors that drive sustainable outcomes.

The framework covers eight dimensions. Each dimension is scored on a five-point maturity scale, from ad hoc to optimised. The result is a clear picture of where you are, where you could be, and what it will take to get there.

Our assessment diagnoses both the systems in place and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour. This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives take off – and deliver long-lasting value.
The benefits of this combined approach are tangible and strategic. Our clients gain:

Clarity: Understand where sustainability is working – and where it’s not
Focus: Prioritise investments and initiatives based on strategic value
Engagement: Build buy-in across leadership and employees
Alignment: Navigate frameworks with confidence
Impact: Embed sustainability in policy and culture.

Ultimately, this is about making sustainability stick – turning good intentions into operational reality.

Real-world relevance

We’ve worked with organisations across sectors including defence, aerospace, professional services (financial to legal), oil and gas, and food. We understand the pressures of regulation, market forces, and stakeholder expectations. And we know how to deliver change that works – from boardrooms to operational environments.

Embedding change and lasting value

Following the Maturity Assessment we support organisations with the design and delivery of change programmes. That includes:

Defining what sustainability means for your organisation
Setting appropriate targets and governance
Aligning sustainability with business strategy
Building capability and engagement
Measuring progress and adapting over time

Whether you need a light-touch diagnostic or a deep-dive transformation programme, we tailor our approach to your context, ambition, and pace.

Why JA Consulting and Cala Sustain?

Because together, we offer more:

Integrated expertise – Strategy, culture, and sustainability together in one team
Pragmatic delivery – Relevance, proportionality, and hands-on implementation
Credibility – Senior consultants with real-world experience
Flexibility – Scalable solutions tailored to your needs
Impact – Change that sticks, not just initiatives that start

Together Cala Sustain x JA Consulting help organisations translate sustainability into measurable value and competitive differentiation.

Make sustainability transformation a reality

Get in touch.

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

20 October 2025

Introducing Our Sustainability Maturity Assessment

JA Consulting and Cala Sustain recently announced our strategic partnership. This partnership blends our complementary strengths to offer a new innovative ‘Sustainability Transformation’ service.

JA Consultants are specialists in employee engagement and change management. Cala Sustain are technical sustainability experts in climate strategy, net zero pathways, resource efficiency, standards, legislation and ESG reporting. 

Our collaboration offers a powerful new approach to sustainability transformation. One that blends deep technical expertise with a proven understanding of organisational culture and change.

A Fresh Approach to Embedding Sustainability

We’ve developed a fresh approach to sustainability transformation through our Sustainability Maturity Assessment. It is designed to quickly assess where your organisation is on your sustainability journey. Our assessment diagnoses both the systems you have in place and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour. We then identify and help you unlock the opportunities that sustainability can offer.

This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives take off and deliver long-lasting value. 

What is a sustainability maturity assessment?

A sustainability maturity assessment evaluates an organisation’s current sustainability performance and readiness. It identifies strengths, gaps, and risks in ESG practices and provides a roadmap for improvement. The goal is to embed sustainability into core operations, strategy, and stakeholder engagement.

About Our Sustainability Maturity Framework

Our Sustainability Maturity Assessment offers a framework to evaluate how deeply sustainability is embedded across your organisation. It assesses the operational factors that make implementation possible and the cultural, behavioural, and leadership factors that drive sustainable outcomes. 

The framework covers eight core areas. Each area is scored on a five-point maturity scale, from ad hoc to optimised. The result is a clear picture of where you are, where the wins are and what it will take to achieve them. 

Systems and People

Our assessment diagnoses both the internal systems and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour. This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives take off – and deliver long-lasting value. 
Our Maturity Assessment offers an all-encompassing review of your organisation including:

Framework Dimension	Description
Leadership and governance	Strategic commitment, alignment of leadership with sustainability goals . Organisational framework and structure reflecting and enabling sustainability outcomes. Board oversight and accountability structures.
Goals and objectives	Are sustainability goals in place
Culture and behaviours	Shared values, behavioural norms and management. Practices and incentives. Stories and symbols.
Capabilities and skills	Knowledge, training and capability building, across levels. Specialist and expertise areas to deliver against sustainability goals.
Operations and process	Integration of sustainability into processes, procurement, project delivery.
Measurement and data	Metrics, KPIs, internal and external reporting, use of data to drive action, integration of data between sustainability and operations outcome.
Stakeholder engagement	Transparency, communication, partnerships and responsiveness to external and internal levers of change.
Compliance	Transparency and responsiveness.
Market	Competitive advantage and peer benchmarking.

Benefits of Sustainability Maturity Assessment

We’ll equip your organisation with a clear view of where you stand today. Along with a strategic pathway to unlock untapped potential, amplify impact and create lasting value.

Our assessment empowers organisations to:

Bridge the gap between ambition and reality — revealing where processes fall short and where transformation can begin.
Benchmark cultural engagement and sustainability performance — so you can measure what matters and track progress with confidence.
Target investment and effort where they’ll drive the greatest change — ensuring resources are aligned with strategic priorities.
Navigate complexity with clarity — aligning your approach with leading frameworks like TCFD, CSRD, SBTi, and ESG policies.
Ignite organisation-wide engagement — embedding sustainability into culture, decision-making, and everyday action.

How our Sustainability Maturity Assessment Works

Fast Assessment – We quickly assess your organisation’s ability to act on sustainability risks and opportunities.
Strategic Alignment – We review alignment with culture and behaviours, people, operations, and the wider market. We uncover the blockers to achieve better outcomes.
Gap Analysis – We look at how well your organisation is doing, and compare this to what it could be achieving with targeted changes.
Roadmap – We advise what should be done, why your people should care, and how your organisation can get there.

How we are different

Our approach puts culture at the heart of sustainability.
By combining strategic thinking, technical depth, and cultural intelligence, we offer a holistic approach that embeds sustainability into the very fabric of an organisation. Our shared commitment to senior-level delivery ensures continuity, trust, and relevance throughout. The people you meet at the outset are the ones who guide you through the journey.

Why choose us

Successful sustainability programmes rely on employee engagement at all levels of your organisation. True change happens when individuals understand what sustainability means for them personally in their role. That’s where transformation becomes real.

When it comes to recommending sustainability measures, we’re pragmatic.

Cutting through complexity with relevance and proportionality.
Our partnership blends deep expertise in sustainability with deep expertise in human behaviour and change. This collaborative approach integrates world-class facilitation, organisational design, and practical implementation.

We ensure your people understand what needs to be done and why. Most importantly we ensure they are empowered to deliver results.

Get in touch.

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

14 October 2025

Balancing business and environmental scales

New Partnership Delivering Sustainability Transformation

Cala Sustain and JA Consulting are delighted to announce our new strategic partnership. This partnership blends our complementary strengths to transform our clients’ businesses. Combining cultural insight with technical expertise enabling organisations to operate sustainably and add value to the bottom line.

Moving Beyond ‘Just’ Compliance

To us, sustainability transformation is both a technical and human journey. This partnership empowers the businesses we work with to go further than regulatory checkboxes. Together, we help clients:

Benchmark progress and performance across strategy, operations, culture and behaviours
Engage leadership and employees in authentic people-centred change
Prioritise investment based on strategic value – balancing environmental impact with cultural readiness
Align with globally recognised and evolving frameworks including TCFD, CSRD, SBTi, and ESG expectations
Embed sustainability into everyday decision-making and organisation culture

Combining Cultural Insight with Technical Expertise

We deliver practical science-based solutions that embed real change.
JA Consulting are specialists in employee engagement and change management. Cala Sustain are technical experts in climate strategy, net zero pathways, resource efficiency, and ESG reporting.

This collaboration brings the best of both skill sets to our clients.
We have a shared ethos, choosing to bring senior experienced consultants to our projects. All of our people have deep experience in their fields.

Our Framework Goes Deeper

We’ve developed a unique Sustainability Maturity Framework. A diagnostic tool that efficiently identifies how our clients can move from ‘box ticking’ and ‘compliance costs’ to unlocking opportunity and value.

Our assessment diagnoses both the systems in place and the underlying mindsets that shape behaviour. This approach ensures that sustainability initiatives take off and deliver long-lasting value.

Embedding lasting change

Mark Hedges Managing Director of Cala Sustain said of the collaboration,

“I’m delighted to be collaborating with JA Consulting. After more than 25 years delivering sustainable business solutions, I’ve seen that true, long-term success comes from effective change management. I’m genuinely excited about the impact this partnership will have – for us, and for our clients.”

John Moss of JA Consulting said,

“Partnering with Cala Sustain is a natural fit for JA Consulting. JA brings deep expertise in culture and behaviour change – the human side of transformation. With Cala’s technical strengths and our shared values, this collaboration is an exciting opportunity to support organisations with a joined-up, thoughtful and lasting approach to sustainability.”

Together, JA Consulting and Cala Sustain are redefining what sustainability transformation looks like. Making lasting change.

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

22 August 2025

Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions Icon, Cala Sustain, Green Consultancy

Carbon Footprint

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is a calculation of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly by a person, organisation, event, or product.

There are six key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities that contribute to global warming, but to make things easier we measure everything in relation to CO2 because it is the most common.

Everything we do leaves a carbon footprint, from the cars we drive, the food we consume, or the clothes we wear.

One way to gain a quantifiable understanding of the impacts of our actions, for good and bad, is through what is known as a carbon footprint. But while the concept is gaining traction – Googling “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?” yields almost thirty million responses – it is not always fully understood.

Personal Carbon Footprint

The average carbon footprint per person in the UK, per year, is 12.7 tonnes CO2e, which is around double the global average. To put that into perspective, you would need to drive 23,000 miles in the average car to emit 12.7 tonnes of CO2e (that is once around the world).

To limit climate change and remain within the IPCCs target of 1.5C warming, it is estimated these emissions need to be reduced to around 2.3 tonnes CO2e per year.

Calculating our carbon footprint, enables us to understand the measures we can take to reduce our footprint.

There are a number of free resources online that show how to calculate your carbon footprint. One useful resource is Carbon Footprints carbon calculator. By combining the various aspects of your life, from energy used in the household, transport to spending habits, it provides an overview of your carbon footprint and where you emit the most carbon in your life.

Business Carbon Footprint

Within a few short years, knowing your organisations’ carbon footprint has gone from a niche ‘nice to have’ to a common occurrence in business. Large UK companies and larger energy users have had to report on their carbon emissions by law for over 10 years. Many organisations are making carbon a key part of their procurement process.

Measuring Carbon Footprint

When it comes to measuring your carbon footprint, data collection is the trickiest part of the process. It requires you to obtain data for every component of your business’s carbon-releasing activity. A bottom-up approach is frequently applied to carbon footprint calculations to manage emissions and evaluate carbon policies. By considering individual contributors separately and progressing from lower-level stakeholder towards high level management, more accurate calculations can be made.

Reducing Carbon Footprint

Once you’ve collected the data, it is a case of analysing what you can and cannot reduce. Factors including:

Energy usage
Transportation and logistics
Supply chain choices
Product design
Employee and facility practices.

Where your focus lies will differ depending on the size, sector, and industry your business is in.

Reducing or offsetting emissions

In some sectors, technologies exist that can bring emissions to zero.

By using Renewable energy, electricity generation can be reduced. Basing industrial processes on renewable energy rather than gas can help bring emissions to zero.

In some industries, such as aviation, agriculture, or manufacturing the switch to clean energy is harder. The emissions are unlikely to become zero. Therefore, emissions from these sectors will need to be offset, with equivalent CO2 being removed from the atmosphere.

Why companies should reduce their carbon footprint

Economic cost of not acting

In the UK, the Climate Change Committee estimates that delivering net-zero will cost 1% of UK GDP, with the investment delivering £90 billion a year in economic benefits. The costs of not acting are much higher, with reports suggesting that the global economy could be 7-10% smaller in 2050 because of climate costs.

Effective Climate Action

We have entered an era where companies big and small are making public environmental commitments. Alongside those commitments, you’ll have heard the terms carbon neutral, net-zero, and climate positive a lot. Your company might be tempted to jump on the climate commitment bandwagon. The key step before making commitments or inadvertently greenwashing is to measure your emissions.

When it comes to sustainability, measurement and tracking help break large, complex sustainability goals into smaller, manageable steps. You will also be able to identify strategies and interim goals to support those big ambitions.

Scope 1,2,3 Emissions

Emissions use a classification system.

Scope 1 Emissions

These are the emissions from sources you own and control and are therefore directly responsible for. For most businesses, this will be any gas heating or fuel oil you burn on-site, and the fuel you use in your company vehicles. If you use industrial refrigeration or air conditioning, refrigerant losses would also be included here, along with any emissions that may be released directly during a manufacturing process.

Scope 2 Emissions

These are the emissions you indirectly produce through the energy you purchase, which for many businesses is solely electricity. By using electricity, you are indirectly responsible for the greenhouse gases generated at source by the energy producer.

Scope 3 Emissions

These are any other emissions you are indirectly responsible for from sources outside your direct control, e.g., the goods and services you purchase, the distribution and use of your own goods and services by customers, the disposal of your waste, employee commuting or business travel.

A carbon audit is key to begin to start tackling your emissions.

Reducing Scope 3 Emissions

Scope 3 emissions are the largest part of overall emissions. For manufactured products, typically 60-80% of the total emissions will be Scope 3.

Scope 3 Emissions are also the most difficult to track because they occur across a company’s entire value chain. This includes suppliers, distributors, and end-users, which makes data fragmented, indirect, and often out of the company’s control. Whereas with Scope 1 and 2, a company will normally have the source data needed to convert direct purchases of gas and electricity into a value in tonnes of GHGs.

The challenges in achieving net zero value chains

There are five key challenges to achieving net-zero value chains for businesses:

A lack of carbon accounting foundations
Over Reliance on secondary data for Scope 3 emissions
Uncertainty over cost and technical feasibility of carbon-reduction levers
Lack of industry-wide collaboration to address sources of emissions
The need for sustained engagement by internal and external stakeholders

Tackling Scope 3 Emissions

One of the difficulties in evaluating Scope 3 emissions is that companies use different methodologies and data sources which reduces comparability.

Addressing the data gap in supplier-emissions tracking requires collaboration between multiple players in the value chain.

There are improvements in this area, the Value Chain Carbon Transparency Pathfinder for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) was launched by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

This is a global initiative designed to enable the exchange of product-level carbon emissions data across entire value chains. It helps companies track and share verified Scope 3 emissions using primary data, rather than relying on industry averages, making carbon accounting more accurate and actionable. The Pathfinder Framework provides consistent guidelines for calculating emissions and fosters collaboration among businesses, tech providers, and standard-setting bodies to accelerate decarbonisation.

Forging alliances is such a pivotal element in achieving sustainability and decarbonisation.

Measuring the carbon footprint of a business and its extended value chain is a necessity for most organisations. Those that succeed, will provide their business with a safer future and new value in a world with limited resources.

The Benefits of decarbonisation

Reducing a company’s carbon footprint unlocks strategic opportunities and delivers tangible business value. It lowers energy and resource costs, boosts operational efficiency, and enhances brand reputation with increasingly eco-conscious consumers.

Regulatory compliance becomes easier, and companies may gain access to green funding or preferred supplier status. It also builds resilience against climate-related risks and fosters innovation through sustainable practices.

Employees tend to engage more when companies reflect values they support, which improves retention. Importantly, tackling emissions – especially Scope 3 – helps strengthen partnerships across the value chain, setting businesses up for long-term success in a low-carbon economy.

Cala Sustain can help you to Scope your 1,2,3 Emissions

We are experts at delivering carbon reduction programmes. We are helping the Ministry of Defence (MoD) achieve its Net Zero commitments.

Cala Sustain will help you to quantify, analyse and report your carbon footprint, whether that is direct emissions (Scope 1) or indirect emissions (Scope 2 &3). We help you navigate the complexity of emission accounting, helping to reveal emissions drivers, emissions by facility or region and year-on-year trends.

We will work with you, providing guidance on your carbon accounting and reporting by:

Helping to define the scope of reporting
Reviewing your processes, controls and data
Providing recommendations on best practice in monitoring and reporting
Providing independent assurance over your carbon reporting and disclosure in your Annual Report
Assisting you with creating a strong reporting and communication strategy

Find out how we can help

If you think we could be a good fit for your organisation or project get in touch.

Get in touch

22 July 2025

Integrating Circular Economy, Header image

How to integrate a circular economy into your business

The Circular Economy is an economic system designed to eliminate waste and keep materials in use for as long as possible.

Benefits of Circluar Economy

Circularity is sensible from a sustainability perspective – it also makes good business sense.

The circular economy can:

Give businesses a competitive advantage by leading the innovation curve,
Open up new markets,
Improve brand reputation and value
Improve customer perceptions and relationships
Reduce risk from price volatility and pressure from new legislation to supply chain failures.

We look at how you can integrate circularity into your business.

Using sustainable procurement

Sustainable procurement plays a critical role in building a circular economy. Supply chains account for a significant share of an organisation’s environmental impact, particularly in sectors reliant on imported raw materials.

Circular procurement involves sourcing goods and services that align with circular principles. This means prioritising

Durability
Reparability
Recyclability
Shared ownership models

The two core pillars of Sustainable Procurement are:

Stimulating circular supply chains by increasing demand for circular products and services
Supporting innovative, resource-efficient business models that enable product-as-a-service and closed-loop systems

Adopting circular procurement transforms purchasing into a strategic tool. It pushes organisations to look beyond upfront costs and consider the full lifecycle of what they buy. These kinds of questions become central to decision making:

Should we lease this equipment rather than buy it?
Can we procure materials with recycled or certified sustainable content?

By embedding circularity criteria into procurement, it becomes a lever for risk reduction, cost optimisation, improved resilience, and greater impact.

This evolution gives procurement a more strategic role across the supply chain.

It changes how suppliers are chosen, how performance is measured, and how relationships are managed. This paves the way for more transparent, circular value networks.

Product design

Product design is the engine room of the circular economy. It determines around 80% of a product’s environmental impact. When done right, it keeps materials in use, reduces waste, and enables new business models that are regenerative by design.

Here’s how product design promotes circularity:

Design for durability: Products are made to last longer, reducing the need for frequent replacements. Think Patagonia jackets or Vitsoe shelving.
Modularity and repairability: Components are easy to replace or upgrade. Fairphone, for example, lets users swap out parts like batteries or cameras with a screwdriver.
Material selection: Designers choose materials that are recyclable, biodegradable, or already recycled. This minimises virgin resource use and simplifies end-of-life recovery.
Design for disassembly: Products are assembled in ways that allow easy separation of parts and materials, which is crucial for effective recycling or remanufacturing.
Product-as-a-service models: Design supports leasing or subscription models (e.g. lighting as a service), where ownership stays with the manufacturer, incentivising longevity and reuse.
Closed-loop thinking: Designers consider the entire lifecycle – from sourcing and manufacturing to use and recovery – ensuring materials flow in loops, not lines.

Ensuring the product has a sustainable design requires innovation. If the product design is durable and / or modular, this can greatly reduce the raw materials needed to replace or repair broken parts.

Packaging

According to Accenture, 40% of plastic pollution comes from packaging, and if circular solutions don’t scale, we could see more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. That’s why businesses are under growing pressure from regulators and consumers alike.

Packaging plays a pivotal role in a circular economy. Here’s how packaging supports circularity:

Use of renewable or recycled content: Circular packaging often incorporates biobased or post-consumer recycled materials, reducing reliance on virgin resources.
Reuse and refill models: Reusable containers for groceries and refill stations for cleaning products. These models reduce single-use packaging and foster long-term material loops.
Compostable solutions: For packaging that can’t be reused or recycled, compostable materials offer a biological route back into the ecosystem, especially for food-contaminated items.
Right-sizing and minimalism: Reducing excess packaging both cuts down the use of materials and lowers emissions from transport and disposal.
Design for recyclability: Packaging should be made from materials that are easy to recycle, like mono-material plastics or paperboard, and avoid complex laminates or mixed materials that hinder recycling.

Distribution

Distribution plays a crucial role in enabling a circular economy. Distribution in a circular economy is about more than moving goods from point A to B; it’s about reimagining logistics to support reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling.

Here’s why distribution matters:

Reverse logistics: In a circular system, products and materials need to flow back through the supply chain – for returns, repairs, or recycling. Efficient reverse logistics are essential to close the loop.
Localisation and decentralisation: Circular models often favour local production and consumption. Smart distribution networks reduce transport emissions and support local economies by shortening supply chains.
Product-as-a-service models: These require flexible, responsive distribution systems to deliver, maintain, and retrieve products. Such as leased appliances or shared mobility services.
Inventory and material flow optimisation: Circularity demands
real-time tracking of materials and components to ensure they’re reused or reallocated efficiently, reducing waste and idle stock.
Collaboration across networks: Distribution becomes a connector between manufacturers, refurbishers, recyclers, and consumers, facilitating shared value creation across the lifecycle.

As one recent study points out, the potential to distribute value and power in circular systems is just as important as the flow of materials. Without equitable and transparent distribution networks, circularity risks becoming extractive in new ways.

End of life

Managing a product’s end-of-life in a circular economy is all about keeping materials in use and their value circulating, rather than letting them slip into landfill or incineration. Instead of seeing end-of-life as the end, circular thinking treats it as a new beginning.

Here’s how it works:

Repair and refurbishment: Products are restored to working condition and reintroduced into the market. This extends their lifespan and reduces demand for new resources.
Remanufacturing: Components are disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt to original specifications. This is common in sectors like automotive and electronics.
Recycling and material recovery: When reuse isn’t possible, materials are recovered and reprocessed into new products. The goal is to maintain material quality and avoid downcycling.
Product take-back schemes: Brands collect used products from customers such as IKEA’s furniture buy-back or Apple’s device recycling – to ensure responsible recovery and reuse.
Design for end-of-life: Products are created with disassembly, recyclability, and material separation in mind, making recovery easier and more efficient.
Cradle-to-cradle systems: Materials from one product’s end-of-life become the input for another’s beginning – closing the loop entirely.
Ease for consumers: For these systems to work, they must be intuitive and convenient for consumers. That means:
- Clear labelling and transparency about recycled content or repairability.
- Easy access to take-back schemes, repair services, or refill stations.
- Seamless digital platforms for renting, sharing, or reselling products.

When circular options are the most convenient ones, adoption accelerates and so does impact.

Examples of good practice of circular economy

Within the UK, there are many examples of positive circular economies in practice.

Interfloor

Interfloor, one of Europe’s largest underlay manufacturers, have adopted a circular economy for their products.

The Renu underlay reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and is 100% recyclable at the end of its life, allowing for a circular economy of materials. As it is made from sustainably sourced sugar cane, it can be considered proactively green, with the sugar cane actively capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. This particular underlay won the Flooring Innovation Award 2021.

Winnow

Within commercial kitchens food waste is a serious issue. Winnow’s solution to this is innovative. Using AI to provide an easy way to weigh, categorise and analyse the underlying reasons for food waste, Winnow’s technology increases awareness within the kitchen.

A typical client can expect to reduce waste by 40-70%, with an average reduction of about 50%. The AI system can help identify situations where overproduction has occurred, or work out the monetary value of the food waste. This helps staff to understand the causes and cost of food waste.

Winnow’s food waste technology is currently used in nearly 2,000 locations worldwide, helping to save the equivalent of 36 million meals annually, which translates to around $43 million in food cost savings. Environmentally, this equates to preventing 61,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions and saving 4.4 billion litres of water each year.

It’s a standout example of how digital tools can drive circular economy outcomes by cutting waste, saving money, and reducing environmental impact all at once.

Teemill

Teemill is a standout example of circular fashion in action. Their closed-loop system is designed to eliminate waste by ensuring that every product is made to be returned, remade, and re-worn.

Every Teemill product comes with a label that encourages customers to send it back when it’s worn out. Returned items are then reprocessed into new garments, creating a continuous material loop.

Teemill only prints garments after they’re ordered, which eliminates overproduction and unsold stock – two major sources of waste in traditional fashion.

They only use organic materials and renewable energy. Products are made from GOTS-certified organic cotton in factories powered by wind and solar energy which reduces environmental impact from the start.

Teemill’s dyeing process uses a closed-loop water filtration system which is so effective that the wastewater is drinkable at the end.

They share their technology with other brands, helping scale circular fashion beyond their own operations.

Lastly, they’ve built software to manage reverse logistics. So, when a product is returned, it’s tracked, sorted, and remade efficiently. It’s a full-circle approach that redefines what sustainable fashion can be.

Embracing circular economy

If you’re ready to embrace the idea of a circular economy for your business, or are figuring out where and how to start, we can help to turn your circular ambitions into reality.

Our experienced circular economy team can help you to develop and apply a circular economy strategy, we will create a bespoke plan that is tailored to your organisation, including:

Mapping how resources move through your business
Identifying resource hot-spots such as raw materials with supply risks
Assessing and developing areas for improvement

References

[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43615-024-00379-1

Second to None

We have collaborated successfully with the Cala Sustain team on a number of occasions. We have always found them to be knowledgeable, reliable, enthusiastic and very experienced.

In Defence, their understanding of environmental and sustainability policy and standards is second to none.

Marc Brule-Walker

Integrated Logistic Support Manager

Red Scientific

Always Add Value

The Cala Sustain team has been our trusted support service for all things “responsible business”. They are able to quickly understand and meet our challenges, understand our business and they always add unexpected value.

The Cala Sustain team is trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Jerry Beeston

Facilities Manager

Nisbets Plc

We couldn’t have done it without you

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you gave us with the renewal of our Royal Warrant.

We all breathed a big sigh of relief when we found out that we had been successful, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Kate Gough

General Manager

Mitre Linen

Great people to do business with

Mark’s knowledge and understanding of corporate sustainability issues is extensive. His ability to provide practical solutions to difficult problems through the application of analytical and lateral thinking makes him a great person to do business with.

Phil Harding

MBE

In depth Knowledge

Mark has substantial knowledge and experience of environmental and sustainability management issues, an in-depth knowledge of the Ministry of Defence’s processes and procedures, and a sound knowledge of the wider defence industry.

Tommy Mason

QINETIQ

Great Partner to work with

Cala Sustain have been a great partner to work with on Sustainable Procurement projects, including for the NHS, Defra and under a variety of Frameworks. They demonstrated a wealth of knowledge, experience, tenacity and a clear understanding and practical application of the client’s needs.”

Philip Duddell

Sustainable Procurement Limited

Would recommend them

We’ve worked with the team at Cala Sustain over the last few years. We’ve valued their expertise, plus their highly professional and ethical approach and would recommend them to any organisation seeking to develop a company-wide sustainability strategy.

Matt Roper

GREENBUYING

Second to None

We have collaborated successfully with the Cala Sustain team on a number of occasions. We have always found them to be knowledgeable, reliable, enthusiastic and very experienced.

In Defence, their understanding of environmental and sustainability policy and standards is second to none.

Marc Brule-Walker

Integrated Logistic Support Manager

Red Scientific

Always Add Value

The Cala Sustain team is trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Jerry Beeston

Facilities Manager

Nisbets Plc

We couldn’t have done it without you

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you gave us with the renewal of our Royal Warrant.

We all breathed a big sigh of relief when we found out that we had been successful, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Kate Gough

General Manager

Mitre Linen

Great people to do business with

Phil Harding

MBE

In depth Knowledge

Tommy Mason

QINETIQ

Great Partner to work with

Philip Duddell

Sustainable Procurement Limited

Would recommend them

Matt Roper

GREENBUYING

22 July 2025

Circular Economy

What is the Circular Economy?

The Circular Economy is an economic system designed to eliminate waste and keep materials in use for as long as possible.

The circular economy model is a shift away from the linear economy, where fossil fuels and raw materials are used once and then discarded.

Key Principles of Circular Economy

The key principles of a circular economy include:

Eliminating waste and pollution by designing products that can be reused or repurposed.
Circulating materials at their highest value, ensuring they remain in use rather than becoming waste.
Regenerating nature, supporting sustainable practices that replenish ecosystems.

This means that everything is used at its highest possible value for as long as possible and that natural systems are regenerated.

The concept of circularity closely mimics nature, where there is no waste: all materials have value and are used to sustain life in a myriad of ways.

Why do we need a circular economy?

We need a circular economy to avoid the risk of environmental collapse.

If we continue with current consumption trends, we’d need the resources of three Earths by 2050 to sustain ourselves. The circular economy offers a smarter, more sustainable path forward.

Every year humans generate billions of tonnes of waste much of which ends up in landfill or the ocean. At the same time the earth’s natural resources are being extracted at unsustainable rates. The use of natural resources increases pressure on the environment risking environmental collapse.

According to the Circularity Gap Report, of the 100 billion tonnes of resources used by the global economy each year, only 8.6% are cycled back.

By embedding circular economy principles in major policy frameworks, the UK could deliver 80% of the additional emissions cuts needed to meet its fifth carbon budget, which covers 2028-2032.

In terms of monetary value, it is reported that a comprehensive circular economy could boost the wider UK economy by £75 billion, while creating half a million new jobs.

Benefits of A Circular Economy

A circular economy is beneficial to the environment, the economy, and socially. Here are some key advantages:

Environmental Benefits

Reduces waste and pollution: By designing products for reuse, repair, and recycling, a circular economy minimises landfill waste and pollution.
Cuts carbon emissions: Circular practices can significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Conserves natural resources: Instead of continuously extracting raw materials, circular systems keep resources in use, reducing strain on ecosystems.

Economic and commercial benefits

Boosts economic growth: Transitioning to circularity could generate £3.4 trillion in global economic benefits by 2030, creating new business opportunities.
Encourages innovation: Companies develop new models for product longevity, repairability, and material recovery, driving sustainable innovation.
Supports job creation: Circular industries, such as re-manufacturing and recycling, create employment opportunities in sustainable sectors.
Enhanced brand reputation: improve brand reputation and value by improved customer perceptions and relationships.
Reduces risk: from price volatility and pressure from new legislation to supply chain failures.

Social Benefits

Job creation: By shifting toward reuse, repair, re-manufacturing, and recycling, the UK alone could see up to over 450,000 new circular jobs by 2035.
Inclusive employment: Circular jobs span all skill levels from refurbishing electronics to managing reuse hubs. This creates opportunities for both skilled professionals and those entering or
re-entering the workforce.
Lower cost of living: Products designed to last longer and be repaired easily can save consumers money over time. Think refurbished phones, shared tools, or clothing rental models.
Community resilience: Local repair cafés, sharing platforms, and reuse centres foster stronger community ties and empower people to participate in sustainable living.
Healthier environments: Reducing pollution and waste improves air and water quality, especially in lower-income areas often hit hardest by environmental degradation.
Empowerment through design: When products are made to be repaired or reused, people gain more control over what they own. With a less throwaway culture more value is retained.

A circular economy can help build a fairer, more resilient society – where prosperity is shared, not extracted.

Circular Economy Package

The Circular Economy Package (CEP) UK is a set of policies aimed at transitioning the UK towards a more sustainable, resource-efficient economy. It was introduced to align with the EU’s Circular Economy Package before Brexit and was transposed into UK legislation in December 2020.

In the UK, compliance with the Circular Economy Package (CEP) primarily affects businesses involved in waste generation, product manufacturing, packaging, and resource management. The CEP sets out obligations that apply across sectors. Here’s a breakdown of who’s most affected:

Manufacturers and producers
Retailers and importers
Waste management and recycling firms
Construction and demolition firms
Public sector bodies

How to integrate a circular economy

We look in depth at how you an integrate a circular economy in this article. The top line information is below.

Using sustainable procurement practices: Supply chains account for a significant share of an organisation’s environmental impact, particularly in sectors reliant on imported raw materials.
Product design: Product design determines around 80% of a product’s environmental impact. When done right, it keeps materials in use, reduces waste, and enables new business models that are regenerative by design.
Packaging: According to Accenture, 40% of plastic pollution comes from packaging. Businesses are under growing pressure from regulators and consumers alike.
Distribution: It’s vital to reimagine logistics to support reuse, repair, re-manufacturing, and recycling.

Embracing circular economy

If you’re ready to embrace the idea of a circular economy for your business, or are figuring out where and how to start, we can help to turn your circular ambitions into reality.

Our experienced circular economy team can help you to develop and apply a circular economy strategy, we will create a bespoke plan that is tailored to your organisation, including:

Mapping how resources move through your business
Identifying resource hotspots such as raw materials with supply risks
Assessing and developing areas for improvement

References

[1] https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/what-is-circular-economy-and-how-it-helps-fight-climate-change

[2] https://resource.co/article/circular-economy-could-boost-uk-economy-75bn-says-wrap

[3] Ellen MacArthur Foundation

[4] https://green-alliance.org.uk/press-release/transforming-approach-to-repair-and-remanufacture-would-create-thousands-of-jobs-and-help-define-levelling-up-report-finds/

Second to None

We have collaborated successfully with the Cala Sustain team on a number of occasions. We have always found them to be knowledgeable, reliable, enthusiastic and very experienced.

In Defence, their understanding of environmental and sustainability policy and standards is second to none.

Marc Brule-Walker

Integrated Logistic Support Manager

Red Scientific

Always Add Value

The Cala Sustain team is trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Jerry Beeston

Facilities Manager

Nisbets Plc

We couldn’t have done it without you

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you gave us with the renewal of our Royal Warrant.

We all breathed a big sigh of relief when we found out that we had been successful, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Kate Gough

General Manager

Mitre Linen

Great people to do business with

Phil Harding

MBE

In depth Knowledge

Tommy Mason

QINETIQ

Great Partner to work with

Philip Duddell

Sustainable Procurement Limited

Would recommend them

Matt Roper

GREENBUYING

Second to None

We have collaborated successfully with the Cala Sustain team on a number of occasions. We have always found them to be knowledgeable, reliable, enthusiastic and very experienced.

In Defence, their understanding of environmental and sustainability policy and standards is second to none.

Marc Brule-Walker

Integrated Logistic Support Manager

Red Scientific

Always Add Value

The Cala Sustain team is trustworthy, reliable and knowledgeable. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Jerry Beeston

Facilities Manager

Nisbets Plc

We couldn’t have done it without you

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you gave us with the renewal of our Royal Warrant.

We all breathed a big sigh of relief when we found out that we had been successful, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

Kate Gough

General Manager

Mitre Linen

Great people to do business with

Phil Harding

MBE

In depth Knowledge

Tommy Mason

QINETIQ

Great Partner to work with

Philip Duddell

Sustainable Procurement Limited

Would recommend them

Matt Roper

GREENBUYING

Shoestring

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Posts by :

Procurement’s Vital Role in Sustainability

The Changing Landscape of B2B Procurement

Regulatory pressure

Stakeholder expectations

Risk and resilience

Digital transformation

The Rise of Sustainable Procurement

Frameworks and Standards for Ethical Procurement

ISO 20400

UN Global Compact & SDGs

EcoVadis & CDP

Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

ESG scorecards and KPIs

Change as a Human Journey

The Future: Procurement as a Force for Good

Procurement as Catalysts for Change

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Find out how we can help

Bringing Everyone with You: The Human Core of Organisational Change

Why it takes more than systems to deliver change

Sustainability Transformation Collaboration

Sustainability Maturity Assessment

Change as a Human Journey

Inclusion as a Catalyst

Storytelling and Creating meaning

Building Change from the Inside Out

Investing in change agents at every level

Equipping and empowering managers

Pacing change

The Role of Leadership

Change That Sticks

Make sustainability transformation a reality

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Find out how we can help

The Power of Leadership in Driving Sustainability

Vision Starts at the Top

Modelling Values Through Action

Embedding Sustainability into Culture

Sustainability Transformation Leadership Example

Unlocking Cross-Functional Collaboration

Building External Credibility and Influence

Navigating Complexity

Legacy and Long-Term Impact

Make sustainability transformation a reality

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Find out how we can help

Leveraging Value From Sustainability Transformation

Sustainability Maturity Assessment

Unlocking strategic opportunity

Leveraging Value

Examples of areas where companies can leverage value from sustainability initiatives

Risk Mitigation

Operational Efficiency

Brand Equity & Market Differentiation

Innovation & Product Development

Financial Performance & Access to Capital

Regulatory Alignment & Future-Proofing

Embedding change

Why JA Consulting and Cala Sustain?

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Why Choose Cala Sustain?

Find out how we can help

Amplifying expertise – the benefits of collaboration

Sustainability Transformation

Complementary strengths, amplified impact

Powerful Partnership

The challenge: Embedding sustainability

Moving beyond compliance

Unlocking Value

Our framework: the Sustainability Maturity Assessment

Real-world relevance

Embedding change and lasting value

Why JA Consulting and Cala Sustain?

Make sustainability transformation a reality

Make sustainability transformation a reality 

Make sustainability transformation a reality 