From Surviving to Thriving: Why Sustainability Starts with People and Partnerships
Reflections from our Inverclyde workshop, organised by CVS Inverclyde, exploring how sustainability can strengthen third-sector organisations, build valuable partnerships and unlock new opportunities for funding and growth.
Responsibility starts with ourselves
At the beginning of the 'From Surviving to Thriving' workshop in Inverclyde, I asked everyone to introduce themselves, share what they hoped to gain from the morning and tell us one thing they were already doing to act more responsibly and sustainably.
It was a simple way to start a conversation about a subject that can mean very different things to different people. What struck me was that three participants independently gave essentially the same answer when reflecting on their own sustainability efforts:
“Looking after my own wellbeing"
It was an unexpected but powerful reminder that sustainability starts with people. We often associate sustainability with reducing emissions, managing resources, protecting nature or demonstrating social impact. All are important. But what about the sustainability of the people responsible for delivering those ambitions?
If we neglect our own physical, mental or financial wellbeing, how can we continue supporting the organisations, families and communities that depend on us?
This resonated personally.
When I shifted my career towards purpose-led business in 2021, I became so focused on helping other organisations achieve their missions that my own health and financial resilience sometimes took second place.
I've learned that sustaining a mission also means sustaining ourselves. It was a fitting starting point for a workshop exploring what it really takes for third-sector organisations to move from surviving to thriving.
Sustainability is what we're working towards. Responsibility is how we get there. Impact is how we know we're making a difference.
Building knowledge, confidence and resilience
Commissioned and organised by CVS Inverclyde, the workshop brought together third-sector organisations in Port Glasgow, each working to make a positive difference in their communities.
Our aim was to provide practical knowledge, fresh perspectives and opportunities to learn from others facing similar challenges and working towards shared ambitions.
We wanted participants to leave with a stronger understanding of how sustainability can help them operate responsibly, build organisational resilience and develop more valuable relationships with the people and organisations whose support helps them deliver their missions.
Across the morning, we explored five interconnected subjects:
Responsible business and net zero
Understanding our responsibilities, environmental impacts and opportunities to operate more sustainably.
Circularity and nature-positive thinking
Making better use of resources, reducing waste and considering our relationship with the natural environment.
Social impact and community wealth building
Recognising, measuring and communicating the positive difference organisations make.
ESG and reporting
Understanding how environmental, social and governance practices can build trust, accountability and confidence.
Funding and partnerships
Understanding what matters to funders, supporters and businesses, and identifying opportunities to create shared value.
The workshop combined practical learning with exercises, group discussions and peer-to-peer reflection. Importantly, it wasn't about expecting every organisation to become an expert in sustainability or adding another layer of work to already stretched teams.
It was about recognising that sustainability, approached practically, can help organisations become stronger, more resilient and better equipped to deliver their purpose.
Responsibility means different things to different people
One of our first exercises asked a straightforward question:
What does responsibility mean to you?
The discussion quickly demonstrated just how broad the concept really is.
Participants spoke about supporting families, listening to communities, creating volunteering opportunities, looking after staff, demonstrating impact, being accountable for funding and ensuring their organisations could continue delivering essential services.
Environmental responsibility featured, but so did personal wellbeing, governance, relationships, financial resilience and community impact.
These weren't abstract sustainability concepts. They were the everyday responsibilities faced by people running organisations that communities rely upon.
It reinforced something I strongly believe: responsible growth isn't simply about environmental performance. It's about understanding how our decisions affect people, communities, the environment and the long-term viability of our organisations.
Sustainability should strengthen an organisation's mission, not become another burden.
From asking for support to creating shared value
One of the most important themes of the workshop was the relationship between third-sector organisations and the businesses, funders and partners that support them.
Many organisations understandably approach potential supporters by explaining their mission, the good work they do and why they need funding.
But we challenged ourselves to look at that relationship from a different perspective.
What if we spent more time understanding what matters to the organisations we're asking to support us?
What are their priorities, pressures and ambitions?
What commitments have they made to their employees, customers, communities and the environment?
What challenges are they trying to overcome?
And how might our organisation help them achieve something that matters to them?
This is what I mean by walking in your partner's shoes.
Rather than beginning with what we need, we start by understanding the world of the person or organisation we're hoping to work with.
We explored the importance of researching potential partners, listening before proposing solutions, identifying shared priorities and building relationships based on mutual value.
One exercise invited participants to imagine walking into the boardroom of a potential funder or corporate partner.
They were asked to consider that organisation's priorities, identify where their own mission might contribute and commit to one practical next action.
Don't just ask businesses to support your mission. Understand how your mission can help them deliver theirs.
This change in perspective can transform a conversation.
It moves the relationship beyond a request for funding towards a discussion about shared ambitions, mutual benefit and opportunities to work together.
And those opportunities may be much broader than financial support alone.
Walking in a potential partner's shoes: understanding their priorities, identifying shared opportunities and agreeing one practical next action.
Industry, communities and the third sector are connected
We were fortunate to have a practical example of responsible business to support our discussions.
One of Think Partnership's long-standing clients, Irvine-based engineering and technology company Booth Welsh, kindly provided copies of their Impact Report for participants. View it here.
Working across sectors including energy, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, Booth Welsh helps organisations design, modernise and operate complex industrial systems.
Their approach to responsible engineering combines innovation, safety and sustainability, helping clients improve performance while reducing environmental impacts.
But responsible business extends far beyond engineering and environmental performance. As their Impact Report demonstrates, it also encompasses how a company supports its people, works with suppliers, engages with communities and contributes to the places in which it operates.
This is where industry and the third sector have an important opportunity to work together. Businesses increasingly need to demonstrate positive social and environmental impact, while third-sector organisations often possess the local knowledge, trusted relationships and practical experience to help them turn those ambitions into meaningful action.
And the benefits can flow in both directions.
Partnerships may involve funding, but they can also bring volunteering, mentoring, specialist expertise, equipment, facilities, skills development and collaboration around shared challenges.
For third-sector organisations, this means recognising that their value to businesses extends well beyond being worthy recipients of charitable support. They can become trusted partners, helping companies deliver on commitments to their employees, customers and communities.
For businesses, it creates opportunities to make a meaningful difference locally while strengthening relationships and delivering against their own responsible business objectives.
The strongest partnerships are built when we understand what matters to one another and recognise what we can achieve together.
Sustainability as a practical route to resilience
We also explored how responsible practices can help organisations become more resilient and better equipped for the future.
Using resources efficiently can reduce avoidable costs.
Understanding environmental and operational risks can help protect the continuity of essential services.
Looking after employees and volunteers can strengthen an organisation's ability to deliver.
Good governance and credible evidence of impact can build confidence among funders, partners and the communities they serve.
And collaboration can help organisations achieve outcomes that would be difficult to deliver independently.
None of these ideas requires an organisation to abandon its mission or take on an entirely new agenda. In many cases, sustainability is about improving how we already operate, recognising opportunities and making more informed decisions. It also means understanding what supporters and partners increasingly expect, and being able to demonstrate how our organisations respond to those expectations.
The objective isn't simply to do more. It's to become better equipped to sustain and deepen the impact that an organisation exists to create.
Learning from one another
One of the most rewarding aspects of the workshop was the openness of the conversations.
The participating organisations had different missions, experiences and priorities, but many of the challenges they described were shared.
How do we build sustainable income?
How do we demonstrate the difference we're making?
How do we strengthen relationships with supporters and partners?
How do we balance immediate pressures with longer-term planning?
And how might we collaborate rather than tackle every challenge independently?
These are important questions for organisations that often operate with limited resources while carrying significant responsibilities.
The exercises encouraged participants to share experiences, challenge one another's thinking, consider different perspectives and identify practical opportunities. One of the benefits of bringing organisations together is the chance to learn from people who understand those pressures firsthand.
The value of a workshop like this isn't simply the information shared by the facilitator.
It's also the knowledge, experience and relationships already present in the room.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible
A big thank you to CVS Inverclyde for commissioning and organising such an engaging and worthwhile workshop.
Special thanks to everyone who joined us. Your openness, enthusiasm and willingness to share experiences made the morning particularly rewarding.
A special shout-out to Inverclyde Community Development Trust, our hosts at 7½ John Wood Street, Port Glasgow, for providing excellent facilities, warm hospitality and fantastic catering.
And thank you to Booth Welsh for kindly providing copies of their Impact Report, helping demonstrate the important connections between industry, communities, the environment and the third sector.
A final reflection: thriving together
Our aim was to help third-sector organisations build the knowledge, capability and confidence to use sustainability as a practical way of strengthening their organisations and the missions they serve.
Across responsible business and net zero, circularity and nature, social impact, ESG and reporting, and funding and partnerships, one message connected everything:
Sustainability can help us build stronger organisations, deepen relationships, reduce risks and create opportunities to achieve more together.
But understanding sustainability is only part of the challenge.
We also need to understand the people and organisations around us: what matters to them, what they are trying to achieve and where our ambitions might align.
The next step is to turn that understanding into action.
Identify one opportunity to strengthen your organisation.
Understand one potential partner better.
Start one conversation that could lead to something valuable for both of you.
Moving from surviving to thriving isn't necessarily about becoming a bigger organisation.
It's about becoming more capable, more resilient, more trusted and better equipped to sustain the positive impact we exist to create.
And perhaps the most important reminder from the morning came right at the beginning.
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