Proving SROI Through a Pilot Programme

A pilot programme is the most effective way to demonstrate SROI, combining real-world data, behavioural insights, and measurable impact. By tracking the outcomes and communicating them clearly on a small scale, you can show how sustainability engagement creates lasting organisational and environmental value.

Here, we’re going through the best ways to measure and communicate the SROI of a pilot sustainability programme, and why this approach builds both internal buy-in and long-term success.

What is SROI?

SROI stands for Sustainable Return on Investment. It is similar, but distinct from the Social Return on Investment. SROI factors in the long-term business, environmental, and social value generated by sustainability initiatives. The ROI of sustainability includes gains beyond profit, such as energy savings, employee engagement, and risk reduction.

Additional research has also shown that companies integrating sustainability into their business practices achieve higher resilience and shareholder value. We advocate for sustainability engagement ourselves, because we believe in the power of people to make a difference, and because our research shows that is beneficial for businesses.

Why a Pilot Programme Builds Confidence in SROI

Leadership are often quick to sign-off a short term campaign, but hesitant to sign off a lasting programme. With a pilot programme, you get the best of both worlds.

A pilot lets you prove your case before committing to a full roll-out. A pilot programme provides tangible data and helps you show clear SROI across engagement, wellbeing, and operational impact.

When designed well, a pilot does three key things:

• Creates a foundation for behaviour change and participation initiatives.
• Provides data on engagement, carbon savings, and cost efficiency.
• Builds a business case that connects sustainability outcomes to measurable ROI.

By capturing early successes, you can demonstrate how small shifts in behaviour drive both environmental and financial value. Below, we’ll outline the steps to a successful pilot programme that proves SROI.

Design Your Pilot for Measurable SROI

Before launch, align your pilot’s objectives with your organisation’s definition of “return.” For some, this means energy cost savings; for others, improved engagement or retention. The key is to quantify both financial and non-financial benefits.

Align With Organisational Strategy

Meet with finance, HR, and sustainability leads to identify what counts as value. Use the same language your leadership team already uses when discussing ROI. Aligning sustainability metrics with business goals makes your SROI story stronger and more relatable.

Define Clear KPIs

Your KPIs should track both engagement and outcomes. For example, you could measure

• Actions logged per member on your sustainability platform.
• kWh energy avoided from sustainable actions.
• KG waste avoided from sustainable actions.
• Members who have interacted with sustainability comms.

As an aside, all Team Jump programmes measure actions and convert these into impact data measurements backed up by trusted research from credible sources. This allows you to see the energy saved, CO2e avoided, KG waste reduced and more as a result of member actions. These metrics allow you to connect behaviour change directly to measurable SROI.

Establish a Baseline and Control Group

Before the pilot begins, record baseline data and, if possible, compare it to a control group. This makes it easier to isolate your programme’s effect and prove its contribution to SROI.

Step 2: Measure and Optimise for Continuous Improvement

Throughout the pilot, your goal is to measure, learn, and adapt. Real-time monitoring helps you understand which actions drive engagement and which deliver the highest SROI

Test and Refine Your Approach

Try different communication styles, incentives, or challenges. Behavioural science research shows that small design changes, such as reminders or visual feedback, can dramatically improve participation. A/B testing helps you discover which methods inspire the strongest behaviour change, building a foundation for long-term SROI.

Capture Qualitative Feedback

Numbers tell part of the story, but member feedback reveals why people act. Combining data with insight builds a richer understanding of what drives participation and how to sustain it over time. For example, CIPD research highlights how employee involvement enhances both engagement and wellbeing.

Step 3: Calculate ROI

At the end of your pilot, it’s time to translate data into value. You can use the following framework to calculate SROI

ROI = (Net Benefits / Total Costs) × 100%

Include both direct financial savings, such as reduced energy bills, and indirect gains, such as improved wellbeing or retention. Many sustainability programmes deliver multi-layered returns that go beyond the balance sheet.

Examples of measurable benefits include:

• Financial: Lower operating costs and energy savings.
• Environmental: Reduced CO₂e emissions and waste.
• Social: Improved wellbeing, inclusion, and retention.

When you show how these combine, you create a persuasive, data-driven narrative that connects sustainability to measurable business performance, demonstrating SROI. For best practices in measuring value, see Earth Finance’s guide on linking sustainability to ROI.

Step 4: Present the Business Case with Confidence

Lead With What Matters Most

Focus on the outcomes that resonate most with decision-makers. If finance teams prioritise cost savings, lead with those numbers. If HR values wellbeing, highlight engagement and retention metrics.

Use Data Visualisation

Charts and dashboards can illustrate participation trends, energy savings, and behaviour change. Simple visuals make SROI easier to grasp and remember. In our Essential Guide to Sustainability Engagement, we highlight the importance of measuring impact and making it visual, based on our own research.

Combine Data With Human Stories

Member testimonials or quotes help make the data real. For example, a member who starts cycling to work and inspires their department to join shows the ripple effect of engagement. Human stories make sustainable change tangible and relatable.

Demonstrating SROI in Practice

We’re no strangers to running pilots ourselves. Many of our clients started with a pilot programme and scaled up to become a permanent part of their sustainability strategy.

Take, Gatwick Airport Limited. They launched a pilot of Be The Change early in 2025, but after their sustainability engagement manager saw clear benefits and engagement with the ‘high-fives’ system in their workplace, they decided to sign on for a long-term programme.

This early success demonstrates that even modest engagement can deliver measurable SROI, especially when benefits are projected over several years of continued behaviour change. The Sustainable Brands ROI study supports this, showing consistent positive correlations between sustainability investment and financial performance.

The Long-Term Value of Proving SROI

When you use a pilot to test your sustainability engagement strategy, you turn ambition into evidence. You build trust with decision-makers, empower employees to take action, and lay the foundation for long-term cultural and environmental impact.

A well-designed pilot proves ROI and demonstrates your organisation’s capacity for SROI. As mentioned previously, we’re always happy to run pilot programmes with organisations to prove the efficacy of sustainability engagement.

If you’d like to see this in action, get in touch now, to discuss how we can create a culture of sustainability in your organisation.