Business Sustainability: Why You Need It And Best Practices

As the world moves to a progressively digital realm, maintaining and having sustainable business systems is a must. There are several ways that you can ensure your brand’s long term sustenance, that includes practices that help our planet stay greener. Sustainable developments to a company can actually help it to run in the larger scheme of things. The reason why businesses fail is because they fail to take decisions that can be fruitful even in the long run. To maintain morale and keep working to expand a business is a difficult task, but your purpose is what keeps you going through the whole process. There are more reasons why businesses should take up sustainable techniques for production, management, logistics and other business functions. This article is a mini guide to the current state of sustainability in the business sector and how you can maintain your business while staying true to the initial purpose that you began with. Today, consumers and investors alike expect companies to go beyond profits and consider their impact on society and the environment. Business sustainability isn’t about sacrificing profit; it’s about finding a path where purpose and profitability go hand-in-hand & we are here to show you exactly how you can crack this code. 

What is Business Sustainability?

Business sustainability involves managing a company’s operations in a way that balances financial success with social and environmental responsibility. A proper combination of the two is required to get a business model that keeps running for long. 

• Economic Sustainability: Maintaining profitability while investing in long-term growth and innovation. This would allow your business to stay afloat and hence should be maintained as sacred.
• Social Sustainability: Acting ethically and contributing positively to the lives of employees, customers, and the community. Your brand’s social acceptance also affects the way that people respond to your sales campaigns. 
• Environmental Sustainability: Reducing your company’s environmental footprint and using resources responsibly. In the current scenario, maintaining an eco-friendly stand is of utter importance for brands and businesses. 

This “triple bottom line” approach is the heart of sustainable business practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A Pillar of Sustainability

Corporate Social Responsibility (,or CSR) is a core concept pertaining to sustainability and its practices. CSR programs involve initiatives that benefit society and the environment, such as:

• Charity Programs: Donating money, resources, or employee time to charitable causes. Business giants like Amazon, Microsoft, etc. are known for their philanthropy, contributing effectively to the positive development of societies and communities across the globe.
• Ethical Sourcing: Ensuring suppliers adhere to fair labor practices and environmental standards is something that is unavoidable. If you decide that your business shall not hurt the environment, then one of the first things that you need to do is to ensure that your production process is ethically managed and procurement of raw materials does not cause disruptions.
• Volunteering: Encouraging employees to engage in community service. Many brands have been known to hit the streets and get into volunteer work which allows them to directly address the community’s problems and pains.
• Transparency: Reporting on the company’s social and environmental impact. When a company or a brand is transparent about the way it functions, it entices more audience confidence and creates a connection with the customers.

CSR not only helps communities but also enhances a company’s reputation, attracting customers and investors who value responsible practices. 

Environmental Sustainability: The Green Advantage

Environmental sustainability is critical for the planet’s health and a company’s future. If the planet ceases to exist, the business falls apart as well. So businesses have taken certain stands and set benchmarks that are being followed across the globe, ensuring a healthier planet!

• Energy Efficiency: Reducing energy consumption through technology and better practices. Energy production and dissipation takes a heavy toll on our planet, usually because electricity was conventionally produced by burning fossil fuels. Though times have been changing and businesses are taking up greener energy sources to meet their electricity needs.
• Renewable Energy: Switching to solar, wind, or other renewable sources. In order for us to achieve more energy efficiency, green energy is the solution that the world has been looking up to. 
• Waste Reduction: Implementing recycling programs and minimizing waste generation. Around 50 million metric tons of e-waste has been generated in the year 2019 according to Statista. This should be a wake-up call for all businesses across the globe to reduce their waste generation through creative techniques. Reusing things, reducing consumption, recycling used products for other purposes are some of the common ways that people and brands adhere to their environmental pledge. 
• Carbon Neutrality: Carbon is a greenhouse gas that severely impacts the planet. It raises the standing temperature of our planet, risking the rapid melting of glaciers. All of the methods mentioned in this section are to be used in amalgamation to get the intended effect. Reducing business’s carbon footprint would involve reducing the usage of one-time plastics, production techniques that can reduce machine hours. 

Environmental sustainability can also lead to cost savings through resource efficiency. It can also appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, a growing market segment.

How Businesses Can Integrate Sustainable Practices

Sustainable practices need to be deep-rooted into a company’s structure for the best result. However, it is very difficult to maintain all of the below mentioned factors. We suggest taking up the practices that you can afford to or implement easily and putting them into force. We will still help you with a quick guide that helps you to integrate sustainability in business. 

Here’s a roadmap to integrating sustainability into your business:

1. Set Clear Goals: Define specific, measurable sustainability targets. Knowing the exact end result that you require can truly help you plan better for the whole integration. Each and every step can then be optimized to get to the result even more easily. Starting off without a plan can lead to budgetary wastage which should definitely be avoided. Reasonably low waste is a hallmark of sustainable business meaning that setting a plan is absolutely imperative.
2. Engage Employees: Encourage employee participation in sustainability initiatives. Delegation is known as the secret to a smoothly functioning organization. So it is also suggested that you pass over some of the responsibilities to the your mid-level and primary level managers. This way the whole organization can participate in the spirit of business sustainability. 
3. Measure and Report: As it is with every function, you need to keep a report of the results that are being achieved. Also, maintaining a proper check on the progress by comparing it to the created plan is a primary method to reach analytics that can help your business grow exponentially and responsibly. 
4. Partner and Collaborate: Everything turns out better when everyone works together and moving to more eco-friendly practices is something that needs all hands on deck. You will need to partner with your sister companies, stakeholders and other people to make channelized decisions that lead to uplifted business sustainability. 
5. Innovate: Putting in some research will help you to find newer methods to save energy and our planet. Innovation sits at the heart of sustainability since we have been able to take strides in green initiatives because of the creativity and innovation of individuals. If you are up on innovation, sustainability for business will become a cakewalk!
6. Communicate: Communication is always imperative for any operation to succeed. Similarly, in order for your business to become an eco-friendly one you need to have clear lines of communication with your stakeholders, employees, investors and people who are in any way vested into your operation. 

The Benefits of Business Sustainability

Apart from being excessively helpful for our environment, business sustainability can have other positive effects on your bottom-line. You will need to understand the benefits that each step provides to gain a better perspective on running your business. Running a business with eco-friendly methods can be a bit different from conventional methods but they will surely provide you with advantages that you might not have thought of. 

Here are some of the advantages of incorporating sustainability in business:

• Competitive Advantage: Customers like to purchase products from brands that share their beliefs regarding eco-friendly stances and responsible practices. You will find a lot of brands promoting their product’s environment friendliness. 
• Cost Reduction: You might even find that taking out some of the unhealthy practices will bring an overall reduction in costs that your business incurs. It has been seen that the use and implementation of green practices have historically brought down costs for international brands. We will speak about a few of them here below.
• Innovation: Sustainability can drive the development of new products and services or for major modifications to your already launched product. For example, automobile companies like Hyundai, Honda, etc. have started releasing the electric version of their already famous cars, allowing customers to shift to a better solution with the same comfort and utility. 
• Risk Management: If you have a sustainable system in place for your business, it is less likely to be disrupted by minor discrepancies. There are several such processes like packaging, distribution, etc. which can become autonomous with the help of sustainable systems in place. For example, if your delivery fleet uses green vehicles then you can avoid any disruptions caused due to unavailability of fuel.
• Talent Attraction and Retention: Employees are more engaged with purpose-driven companies because everyone wants to be a part of something this great. Companies that have a greater value system in place, tend to have more employee morale and productivity.
• Investor Appeal: Sustainable companies are alluring for investors since they get to put their money into a driving purpose. Investors always look for meaningful businesses and solutions to ensure that their money gets used in something useful.

Real-World Examples of Business Sustainability: What is a Sustainable Company?

Countless companies are proving that sustainability is a path to success. Here are a few examples:

• Patagonia: This outdoor apparel company is renowned for its commitment to environmental and social causes.
• Unilever: This consumer goods giant has made significant strides in reducing its environmental footprint and improving social impact.
• Tesla: This electric vehicle manufacturer is revolutionizing the automotive industry with sustainable technology.

The Future of Business Sustainability

The demand for sustainable business practices will only intensify. As regulations evolve, consumers become more discerning, and environmental challenges escalate, businesses that prioritize sustainability will be best positioned to thrive. The future of business is undoubtedly sustainable.

Conclusion

Business sustainability is a journey, not a destination. It requires continuous effort, adaptability, and a commitment to making a positive impact. By embracing sustainability as a core principle, businesses can secure their future, build stronger relationships with stakeholders, and contribute to a better world.