A Practical Approach to Sustainability at RMA

Sustainability means different things to different organizations, and we don't pretend there is one universal definition. At RMA, sustainability is about making practical, credible improvements that fit your operations. That might mean reducing waste, improving efficiency, tightening up resource management, or formalizing values you already believe in. We keep it business-focused and realistic. The goal is steady progress you can maintain, not a flashy program that fades after a few months.

Sustainability is not a legal requirement, it's a business decision. You might pursue it because customers are asking questions, leadership wants to be more intentional, or you see opportunities to cut waste and run a tighter operation. If sustainability feels like a distraction right now, that is okay. We help companies that want to do a little better without going overboard, and we meet you where you are.

Compliance is the baseline. It is the rules you have to follow. Sustainability is what you choose to do beyond the minimum, like reducing waste, improving efficiency, or formalizing responsible practices. We keep these connected on purpose. A sustainability program is not very credible if basic compliance is messy. If you have compliance gaps, we can help address them, but we do not sell sustainability as a compliance service. Think of compliance as the foundation, and sustainability as the next layer.

We focus on practical, advisory support that helps you turn good intentions into something your team can actually keep up.

That often includes:

• Clarifying what sustainability means for your organization

• Helping set realistic goals and priorities

• Drafting sustainability mission statements, internal policies, or simple program plans

• Identifying opportunities like recycling, waste reduction, resource management, and operational efficiencies 

• Setting up light tracking and accountability where it makes sense

• Ongoing guidance as goals evolve

We are not trying to sell you a massive transformation to how you operate. We are here to help you build a sustainability program you can maintain.

Usually, no. Our sustainability work is intentionally simpler and more operational. If you need highly technical carbon accounting, investor-driven ESG reporting, or a full net-zero strategy, that is a different kind of engagement than what we typically deliver. What we do well is helping companies create credible, manageable sustainability programs that fit real operations. If you are not sure what bucket you are in, we can talk it through and point you in the right direction.

It depends on what you want to accomplish and how formal you need things to be.

Cost usually comes down to:

• How defined your goals already are

• Whether you need help writing policies or building simple programs

• How many sites or departments are involved

• How much tracking or internal accountability you want

• Whether there are compliance issues that need to be addressed first

After an initial conversation, we can give you a clear scope and a realistic range so you can make a decision without guessing.

Most practical sustainability programs can be outlined and launched in months, not years. If you are starting with a few focused initiatives, like waste reduction and recycling, it can move quickly. If you want something more structured across multiple locations, it takes longer because alignment and consistency matter. We keep the process simple: define goals, identify realistic opportunities, build the basic program structure, then support you as it evolves.

We keep it straightforward:

1) Clarify what sustainability means to you and what you want out of it

2) Understand your baseline and identify realistic opportunities

3) Turn ideas into simple programs, documentation, and responsibilities

4) Provide ongoing guidance as priorities change and the program matures

Compliance is woven in as a foundation, but the focus stays on practical, maintainable improvements.

We do not believe in dropping a generic template on your desk and calling it done. We can absolutely provide structure and examples, but we tailor the final policies and program documents to how your business actually operates. That is how you get something people will follow. The goal is plain-language guidance that fits your team, not a glossy document that lives in a folder.

Yes, and that is often where we start. Most sustainability programs fail because the goals are too big, too vague, or too hard to maintain. We help you choose a small set of initiatives that are realistic for your staffing, operations, and budget. That might look like tightening waste handling, launching a recycling program that actually gets used, or setting simple targets around resource use. Small wins build momentum and credibility.

Yes. Multi-site sustainability is less about big announcements and more about consistency. We help you set a common direction and shared expectations, then allow room for site-specific realities. If you already have environmental programs in place, sustainability can plug into that structure. If things are inconsistent across sites, we can help you standardize without making it heavy or corporate.

That is common. A lot of companies start strong, then priorities change, champions leave, or nobody is sure what to do next.

We can help you refresh the program by:

• Reconfirming goals and what matters now

• Simplifying anything that is too complicated

• Reassigning ownership so it is clear who does what

• Updating documentation and light tracking

The aim is to make the program usable again, not to rebuild everything from scratch.

We can help you write and organize the basics, like a mission statement, internal policy language, or a simple description of what you are doing and why. We keep the tone grounded and credible. No hype, no grand claims. Just clear communication that matches what you are actually doing. If you need full marketing campaigns or public-facing ESG reporting, that is usually outside our typical scope, but we can still help you get the foundation right.

You are a strong fit if you want practical sustainability that complements your operations and existing compliance work.

We work best with teams that want to:

• Do better without going overboard

• Reduce waste or improve efficiency

• Formalize values and expectations

• Build programs that are manageable and maintainable

If you are looking for a full-scale net-zero transformation, complex reporting, or a highly technical sustainability analytics program, we may not be the best match. We will be straightforward about that in the first conversation.

To get started, we mainly need to understand your goals and what is already happening today.

Helpful items include:

• Any current sustainability initiatives, even if they are informal

• Stakeholder drivers (customer questions, leadership priorities, corporate expectations)

• Where you see obvious opportunities (waste, recycling, resource use, efficiencies)

• A quick sense of how solid your compliance foundation is

From there, we define a realistic scope and next steps without pressure.