Sustainability has many advantages for your business. It can provide an improved brand image, greater employee retention, competitive advantages, and tax benefits, as well as minimize business costs and increase productivity and efficiency. Caring about sustainability has become more prominent in recent years, and consumers are more aware of a company’s impact on society, the economy, and the environment. Taking action to create a more sustainable company can increase customer loyalty and help to grow a successful business.
This article will break down sustainability into its three main pillars; social, economic, and environmental. These pillars are also sometimes referred to as people, profit, and planet.
Social Sustainability
What is Social Sustainability?
Social Sustainability focuses on how business operations impact people; including employees, suppliers, and partners. Social Sustainability can improve business strategy, supply chain, and consumer perception of the business. It can also help attract business partners, improve employee morale, risk management, and can help a business lead their industry and stand out against the competition.
Businesses that focus on social sustainability tend to prioritize things such as:
Human rights
Fair labor practices
Healthcare access
Workplace safety
Diversity
Equity
Proper work-life balance
Cultural empowerment
Community engagement & volunteering
Questions to ask yourself:
Does my business aim to meet the needs of a disadvantaged and/or marginalized group?
Does my business recognize cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity?
Does my business welcome diverse viewpoints, opinions and beliefs?
Does my business practice and encourage community contribution?
How does my business demonstrate commitment to an improved quality of life?
Economic Sustainability
What is Economic Sustainability?
Economic Sustainability focuses on a business’s environment and economic wellbeing. Economic Sustainability promotes the idea of providing long-term benefits by growing the company in a way that is efficient and responsible to ensure consistent, ongoing profit without degradation.
Businesses that focus on economic sustainability tend to prioritize things such as:
Profit
Cost savings
Efficient resource use
Long-range planning
Smart economic growth
Taxes
R&D spending
Questions to ask yourself:
Am I tracking my business expenses, profit, and savings?
How can my business meet my present economic needs without diminishing future economic opportunities?
Am I reinvesting my business?
How much of my resources go to waste?
Does my business contribute to the financial welfare of the owners, employees, and the community it operates in?
Environmental Sustainability
What is Environmental Sustainability?
Environmental Sustainability focuses on maintaining business functions without jeopardizing the environment and the future of the planet. A business should responsibly interact with the planet to ensure natural resources are maintained and an environment that can continue to support human life is kept a priority. Environmentally sustainable business practices can also help to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Businesses that focus on environmental sustainability tend to prioritize things such as:
Resource management
Emissions reduction
Renewable energy sources
Recycling, composting
Natural alternatives
Questions to ask yourself:
Are my decisions reducing my business’s negative impact on the environment?
Am I developing strategies and processes that will lead to my business becoming more sustainable in the future?
How can my business lead the community and other businesses towards environmental sustainability?
Am I looking at short-term gain instead of focusing on my business’s long term impact?
How and where does my business source its materials and resources?
Does my business publish an annual environmental report?
