Business Sustainability: Optimizing the Flow

Have you ever observed a once thriving business, product line, or an innovative idea suddenly begin to falter and eventually disappear? Often viewed as a failure in management or neglected operations, we instead ask the question: was sustainability an engrained part of this company’s strategies and operations?

Business sustainability has traditionally been put into the box of environmental or social action. While these are certainly two very important areas of focus, business sustainability is really about taking action to maintain the on-going health and profitability of the company.

Also viewed in terms of risk, sustainable business actions are really activities which have a positive impact on the flow of money and resources through an organization.

Think of it as a forward flow of product and a backward flow of money. Business sustainability action increases the volume, efficiency, and stability of product flow out, bringing more money in. At the same time, applied sustainability concepts effectively improve internal and external business practices to slow the flow of money out.

•    Increase responsiveness to customer expectations.
•    Expand into new markets with innovative products and services.
•    Increase internal and external process efficiencies.
•    Increase employee productivity.
•    Reduce procurement and supply chain expenses.
•    Reduce business and operational waste.
•    Reduce environmental and social impacts.

In far too many cases, business models and strategies become misaligned with some basic business sustainability concepts. Cash flow eventually slows and may even come to a stop.
By regularly reevaluating the company’s business model and its applied sustainability concepts, sustainable organizations are able to respond to the critical questions affecting the flows through the business.