What is Sustainability?

Sustainability can be defined as “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level”. Sustainability is a reminder for us to progress along with taking care of the environment, seeing justice for society and creating economic value. The concept of sustainability can be associated with various concepts such as protection of the planet, end of climate change, diminishing wildlife extinction, promotion of social life, etc. The objective of sustainability is to cater the needs of the present without compromising resources for the future.

Pillars of Sustainability

There are 3 pillars or strategic objectives that businesses set for their progress along with sustainability. They are:

• Environmental: Any company needs to balance its ecological performance and need to make efforts to minimize the negative effects caused by them to the environment. Here, sustainability indicates that it is necessary to assume and consider that nature and the environment are exhaustible resources and needs to be protected and used rationally.
• Social: Social impact focuses on maintaining a healthy relationship with employees, suppliers, customers and all other communities affected by the company. Sustainability encourages social development and cohesion among various cultures and industries.
• Governance: The goal of governance is to analyse various aspects of the industry such as leadership, internal controls, audits and all other government practices.

Origin of Sustainability

The concept of sustainability was written in the Brundtland Report (1987) for the first time. This report, also known as Our Common Future, for the first time warned about the negative consequences of economic development and globalization to the environment. It also made an attempt to give solutions to complications that arose due to industrialization and growth in population. In 2010, the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) also raised the same concerns at the summit of the United Nations. They offered various solutions to different problems and formed various goals.

Importance of Sustainability for the Companies

It becomes important for the company to direct itself towards the resources and its management as social and environmental risks can have a negative impact on the success and security of the companies in the long run. Sustainability not only acts as a strategic move but also enables the companies to counter various emerging challenges. With the help of sustainability, the company can transform it from a simple corporate to solid strategic company for a longer period of time. Sustainability arms the company with a comprehensive look which makes them better equipped for understanding and assessing their operations. This better understanding leads to development of innovative ideas and helps the company to make vital changes.

Value of Sustainability

Sustainability does not mean to incur losses or stop the success rate. Instead, it has become a powerful strategy for the organizations. The firms that do not have sustainability factors tend to have risks and retention of employees.

Sustainable Business Strategies

The main focus of sustainable business strategies is to have a positive impact both on the company as well as the environment by addressing the problems of the world. Some of those global issues addressed by those companies are:

• Climate Change
• Income Inequality
• Diminution of Natural Resources
• Issues related to Human Rights
• Fair working conditions
• Pollution
• Racism and gender inequality.

Nowadays, many organizations have included a concept called ‘triple bottom line’. This concept recommends the firms to focus on more than just profits and measure their impact on the environment and society. This focus can be termed as the 3Ps which means People, Planet and Profit.

Benefits of Sustainability for the Companies

Following are some of the benefits of sustainability for the companies:

1. Protection of Brand: Improper practices done by the companies not only affects their image and relations with the customers but also leads to problems in public relations and loss in financial resources. Forming a sustainable strategy helps in protecting the environment, the workers and the company from damages.
2. Being Purpose-Driven is Advantageous: Sustainability helps the company to inculcate purpose which can attract seasoned workforce and increase financial success. Establishing a good image of the company in front of the world helps to get the best talents and increase recommendation and satisfaction rate.
3. Growing Market for Sustainable Products: In recent times, consumers from all over the world want to change their habits and help in lessening the negative impact on the environment. Due to this, there is a huge demand for sustainable products. Consumers are ready to pay more for sustainable goods or those which claim inclusion of social responsibility. Thus, it becomes advantageous for a sustainability-minded company to increase sales and gain profit.
4. Cooperation can lead to Change: It is impossible to bring change being an individual. Thus, many powerful, purpose-driven and successful people are collaborating to solve public good problems and obtain success.

Take away

This is the brief explanation about sustainability and its importance for the companies. Please let us know through your valuable feedback and the suggestion in the drop box.