Sustainability Focus is a Business Imperative

Sustainability Focus is a Business Imperative: Why Companies have to be Holistically Sustainable 

 

As the world is approaching the end of its second year of living and surviving in the global pandemic, more and more people have realized how the new normal and the changes in lifestyle are not temporary. Years from now, the human race will have to brace for the fact that the new normal is here to stay, changing the way we perceive, approach, and do things, structurally changing the public order like never before. While we now understand, even more than ever, the importance of personal hygiene and fast adaptation to digital technology, another point is also to be well noted: the emerging urge for sustainability.

The pandemic has made us realize how vulnerable we are as humans, dependent and connected to one another. As a society, we need to collectively work together, because for everything that happened, we also collectively carry the burden of the problem. In the recent years, more and more attention has been given to the urge of being sustainable: to seek the balance between people and environment, to shift to a more sustainable digital process of things, and for businesses to stop treating it just like another trend. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 highlighted the world’s Top 5 Risks are all environmental: extreme weather events, natural disasters, climate change, human damage to the environment, and major biodiversity loss (World Economic Forum).

For businesses, the call for action on sustainability should be more than mere marketing efforts. Consumers are increasingly taking sustainability into factor in their online and offline purchasing decisions (Goldman, 2021). Younger consumers or Generation Z are the leader for this change. The pandemic, which happened around the time where most of the kids in this generation are entering their teens / early 20s and increasing purchasing power and access to technology, boosted global awareness of environmental issues and demanded real commitment, from corporations, government bodies, and the society as a whole, to find solutions. According to Deloitte's latest survey, Generation Z consider the environment as their top personal concern, ahead of both unemployment and disease prevention, even during the pandemic (Deloitte, 2021). 

People are now paying attention to firms’ ethical practices and are not afraid to call them out (with their power as micro-influencers, where everyone has a platform) publicly. More people are willing to pay more from sustainably-sourced products and companies, forcing businesses to start taking sustainability seriously. Big brand names are no longer the big factor of purchasing decisions, and this trend will move even further away from this in the near future.

Moreover, sustainability is now more than just taking care of the environment and being cruelty free or plastic free. Sustainable also includes ethical sourcing by paying the proper wages to the workers, innovation for new and sustainable technologies, and improving diversity within the companies, empowering the human resources. According to Peter Bragg, Canon EMEA Sustainability and Government Affairs Director, corporate sustainability has to also include the company’s people, customers, and suppliers (African Business, 2021). He implied the need for change not only in the end products, but also bring change across the entire business operation. Bragg continues, that ethical supply chains are proven to be more resilient, especially to prevent risk at scale. 

Another report from Deloitte on business views of corporate sustainability found that 46% of businesses surveyed had experienced revenue growth as a result of their sustainability efforts (Delotte, 2021). Not only increasing profit, these companies also experienced improved relations with stakeholders, better financial performance, increase in efficiency, and an overall more resilient supply chain. By being holistically sustainable, a company gains way more in the long run. Governments will also prefer to open itselves up to companies which are committed to also protecting the natural resources of their country.

In conclusion, as the collective society gains awareness on the importance of sustainability within every aspect of human life, companies need to recognize that directing their goals and future plans towards a more sustainable world is not only a marketing act to increase sales, but it is imperative in order to continue to survive the competition. Sustainability focuses should include not only recycling packaging or using less plastic, but also addressing the climate action, health and wellness, gender and race equality, water, sanitation, and hygiene, responsible production, circular economy, poverty, affordable and clean energy, among others. This change needs to be done fast, starting now, and companies who don’t keep up will have no choice but to be kicked out of the market in the long run. 

 

Reference

2021 climate check businesses views on environmental sustainability. Deloitte. (2021, May 19). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/risk/articles/2021-climate-check-business-views-on-environmental-sustainability.html

A call for accountability and action. Deloitte.com. (2021). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/human-capital/at-millennial-survey-2021.pdf

Bernard, J. (2021, October 1). Corporate Sustainability Trends for 2021. Resonance Global. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.resonanceglobal.com/blog/corporate-sustainability-trends-for-2021

Goldman, J. (2021, December 18). Consumers to make sustainability a business imperative. Insider Intelligence. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.emarketer.com/content/consumers-make-sustainability-business-imperative-2022

Hamill, A. (2020, January 28). Sustainability: No longer a trend but a business imperative. WARC An Ascential Company. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://origin.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/sustainability-no-longer-a-trend-but-a-business-imperative/3388

Sustainability takes centre stage. African Business. (2021, December 16). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://african.business/2021/12/apo-newsfeed/sustainability-takes-centre-stage/

The global risks report 2020. World Economic Forum. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020