For many Australian small and medium businesses, sustainability sits somewhere between important and overwhelming. Rising costs, regulatory uncertainty, and daily operational pressure push corporate responsibility down the priority list. The result: SMEs delay action, worried they’ll get it wrong or that the effort won’t pay off.
Pamela Jabbour, founder and CEO of Total Image Group, has seen this hesitation firsthand. Her argument is that sustainability doesn’t require large-scale change or big budgets.
It can happen one step at a time.
“We did not begin with a complete overhaul of the business,” Jabbour said. “Instead, we focused on incremental, practical improvements embedded into everyday decision-making.”
Small changes that built momentum
Total Image Group eventually became B Corp certified. The certification process forced it to formalize what it was already doing, improve transparency, and commit to accountability across governance, workers, community, and environmental impact. It wasn’t about hitting a single milestone, she said, but about embedding better practices.
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The firm set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent by 2030, using 2023 as a base year. That kind of target is more common at larger organizations, but she approached it in a way that made sense for her business size and operations.
That meant focusing on realistic changes. It eliminated unnecessary packaging, introduced compostable and recycled materials, reviewed waste management processes, and developed clothing recycling programs that divert uniforms from landfill based on fabric type and condition.
It also made a deliberate decision to offer a sustainable alternative as part of its standard quoting process and to design uniforms with their end of life in mind.
None of these initiatives were complex in isolation. But taken together, they’ve allowed it to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and divert more than three tonnes of CO₂ emissions from landfill since introducing circular initiatives.
What this means for other SMEs is that the barrier to entry is lower than many assume. The hesitation often comes from imagining a full operational overhaul, when in reality most businesses already have a handful of processes they could adjust without major disruption. Picking one area — packaging, suppliers, or energy use — and starting there is often enough to create a foundation.
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Progress over perfection
For businesses unsure where to begin, her advice is straightforward: focus on progress rather than perfection. Start with one operational area at a time. Choosing something already within your control reduces risk and makes action easier.
She also recommends measuring before committing. Even a basic understanding of where waste or emissions exist can help prioritize efforts that deliver meaningful impact rather than surface-level wins.
“The biggest mistake I see businesses make is waiting for the perfect plan,” Jabbour said. “Sustainability does not have to be perfect. But it does have to be intentional.”
She argues that sustainability is far more effective when it’s part of existing processes — procurement, logistics, daily operations — rather than treated as a separate initiative. When small, consistent changes are embedded into how a business already runs, the impact builds over time.