Sustainability: business, life, environment

Securing financing and investment dollars is one of the most pressing issues facing any start-up or business seeking to grow.  The ability to entice funding or ensure needed credit almost exclusively depends on meeting the qualifications defined by the lender.  As the future stability of business becomes further intertwined with sustainability ‘risk and reward’, investors now place business sustainability qualifications atop their list as a dominant determinant of return. 

According to the Financial Times, companies that don’t spend time and money on sustainability initiatives will lose out to their savvier competitors.

While some business executive take into account other pressing concerns in making decisions, all investors evaluate long-term returns when considering investments.  This profit potential is becoming more and more dependent on future energy cost, potential tax risk, and revenue incentives, among a list of other business sustainability-driven concerns.

•    How are you going to manage cost in escalating price environments?

•    How are you going to mitigate increasing environmental and social risks?

•    Are you positioned to increase revenue or lose market share in a shifting marketplace?

The definitions of ‘sustainability’ are no longer, in the eyes of investors, simply soft actions that add to the marketability or business reputation.  Business sustainability planning drives to the very heart of stability and future profitability.  How your organization chooses to address the pressing issue of today may ultimately affect its ability to secure investment dollars tomorrow.