Sustainability: business, life, environment

The past year has seen a significant shift in eco awareness and the debate on climate change.  In the world of business and finance, climate change has developed from a sidebar topic to a mainstream conversation.  While many discussions on climate change may appear debatable by some, it is becoming clearer that business sustainability is creating a bright spot of opportunity for leading businesses.
 
Within our sustainability consulting practice, we find that integrating sustainability concepts into core business functions makes companies more nimble in a fast-changing world.  It also makes a business’s brands more attractive to consumers and its executive management more respected by employees, regulators and the financial markets. In short, the drivers for improved business sustainability equate to improved performance and cost savings:
 
Improve Sales: Business reputation matters. Developing and delivering commercially successful products and services that build customer loyalty are essential in today’s markets. 

• Integrate sustainability concepts into product and service development
• Shift sustainability from a cost add-on to a value driver
• Change perceptions to build stronger brands

The result: increase sales, new revenue streams, and improved brand loyalty.

Reduce business cost: Sustainable business strategies of waste reduction, energy efficiency, and other operational efficiency measures reduce costs and enable competitiveness.   By adding general eco awareness or simply incorporating a few sustainability concepts into and existing supply chain as best practices, companies can proactively address supply stability and quality issues from a different perspective.
 
As offered in our business sustainability programs, following are 15 Sustainable Business strategies that integrate sustainability concepts into the business to positively impact the bottom line and the environment. 

1. Office Energy Consumption – Evaluate the average energy use per square foot of office space and implementing best practices to reduce: energy consumption studies, efficiency practices, equipment modifications, etc.
2. Employee Commuting – Offer employees incentives to ride public transportation or participate in car/van pooling.  Consider a bike commuting program.
3. Employee Telecommuting – Reduced office space and transportation as a potential win-win-win practice for businesses, employees, and the environment.
4. Sustainable Design – Consider materials selection, energy consumption, manufacturing, product use and operation, and final disposition, early in the product development process.
5. Water Conservation – Manage water entering the company and look for opportunities to reuse water.
6. Management Systems  – Raise eco awareness and company commitment through established sustainability policies, standards, metrics, and self audits.
7. Environmental Philanthropy – Beyond just corporate volunteering efforts provide access to technology, engineering support, information and research that benefits the local community and the environment.
8. Packaging – Focus on using as little packaging material as needed and making packaging as recyclable as possible.
9. Pollution Prevention – Keep attention on both source control and waste reduction
10. Recycling and Waste Reduction - Anywhere there is a trash can, there should be a recycling bin.
11. Resource Conservation – Consider material and energy consumption across the entire value chain…reduce, reuse, recycle.
12. Printing Less – Paper makes up about 35% of a typical company’s total waste stream
13. Go Digital – Reduce paper use and get contracts and documents signed more quickly by using electronic signatures.
14. Sustainable Partnering – A key aspect of business sustainability is making sure that you manage your supply chain and partner with companies with similar values.
15. Sustainable Education and Development - There is always more you can do to make your business more sustainable.  Encourage education and innovation within the organization.

 
Taking proactive steps to anticipate change in the business world can not only create an opportunity to capture immediate value but can position and organization favorably in the future.  Our sustainability consulting works with clients to define business sustainability value drivers and integrate them into existing processes and evolving business models.