Have you already experienced the real taste of becoming a sustainable business?
Sustainability has been a buzzword for the last few decades starting from the nature conservation strategy in the 1980s to Greta Thunberg’s climate campaign today.
While it seems to be a social trend to simply follow, you also want to know about the real impact of becoming sustainable in business.
In this blog, you will find 6 advantages of being sustainable that gives a competitive edge and scales up your business.
1. Positive brand perception
Being sustainable is the key to positive brand perception according to the current consumerism.
Today’s consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impacts they can create by living sustainably. This indicates the adaptation of eco-friendly design and a green image of the brand is increasingly important to companies and their profits.
In fact, CPG data showed 54% of growth in sales from sustainably marketed products from 2015 to 2019. Moreover, a research insight from IBM found 84% of consumers would consider the sustainable brand image when purchasing products.
You cannot underestimate the impact of becoming sustainable in business. However, keep in mind that misuse of sustainability in your branding strategy damages your reputation as consumers are also becoming better at detecting “greenwashing” brands.
2. Investment and fundraising
If consumers are more attracted to sustainable business, so are investors and fundraisers.
Business funds rally to where is rightful, responsible, and purposeful as people like to make ethical decisions. 2007 investment research conducted by Goldman Sachs found that companies with environmental social policies outperformed the benchmark number by 40% in investment acquisition.
Express the responsibility you are taking to protect nature and to reduce environmental impact on both business and employee levels. Your investors and fundraisers will be more willing to be associated with you when your business has a green implication.
3. Cost reduction
Another financial advantage of sustainability is that it can reduce the cost spent all over your company.
There are a number of ways to reduce your expenses easily. For instance, you can switch one-time-use coffee cups to reusable cups and using digital crowd systems to store documents rather than printing out thousands of them every day.
An average worker uses nearly 1kg of paper daily and roughly 10,000 sheets of copy every year. Although it would not be realistic (you can still try, of course!) to entirely eliminate papers from your office, imagine how much money you could have saved if most of your documents went digital?
Sustainable transition in your office or company itself may require some investment in the beginning, but it will pay off enormously in the long run. Start by paying attention to the smallest things you can change to create a sustainable environment in your business.
4. Improves employee retention and talent acquisition
Promoting sustainability in business can even turn your company into a talent hub.
Talents are what drives your business further and sparks innovations to differentiate your market position from the competitors.
Sadly, you have to face the reality where many companies are actually struggling to retain existing talents and acquire new talents to scale up their businesses. But what if I told you there is one secret to keep your employees fulfilled and attract new talents?
Carrying out outstanding sustainable business is not only accomplished by incorporating sustainable designs into your products and services but also by investing your employees in environmental and social causes to live up to its mission.
A great example is Patagonia’s “Employee Internship Program”, and it helped them reduce the turnover rate to 4%.
Furthermore, the proactive image of sustainable business attracts more talents because people are naturally inclined to be a part of positive impacts. Consider how you can invest in your employees to maximize their happiness in the workplace through sustainable causes.
5. Long term risk reduction
The last but not least, becoming sustainable in business contributes to reducing the risk of natural disasters that may disrupt your business practice in the future.
Natural disasters are one of the risks that slow down your business development and operation. Current climate change and human development are causing a multitude of natural catastrophes such as wildfires due to the extremely dry weather and climatic anomalies from rapid climate change. If your business is, for instance, dependent on land transportation or oversea trading, the disruptions caused by natural disasters can damage your whole business ecosystem.
As the goal of becoming a sustainable business aims to reduce environmental impact on the planet, it contributes to preventing natural disasters from breaking out more frequently. Clearly, the impact your company creates would be very small on a global scale, but you can still be one of the butterflies to trigger a positive phenomenon.
Think about how you can invite your employees and community and collaborate with other organizations to raise more environmental awareness and increase the impact you want to create in the world.
Conclusion
As the 21st century is highlighted by eco-friendliness, it is increasingly important for your business to take sustainable measures to respond to the current societal and market needs.
Successful implementation of sustainability in your business will provide you a host of advantages from promoting a positive brand image and even HR benefits.
It is, indeed, a holistic process, and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method to make your business more sustainable overnight. However, after finding your own unique way to become a sustainable business, you will enjoy the advantages and opportunities provided by that innovative status.
Don’t forget to share this blog with your sustainable community!
