Climate Justice: Let’s Talk About the Unequal Impact of Climate Change
While all businesses should strive to be more environmentally conscious and responsible, there are significant financial incentives to be sustainable. And this is one of the reasons why it’s such a buzzword today. Whether it’s done purely for profit or with a true sense of responsibility, the results are the same. If you were trying to reduce your costs while improving your brand’s perception, going green is the way to go, but there are many other reasons why it makes sense business-wise. Here are a few of them.
Benign Sustainable Could Boost Your Stock Prices
It has been shown that sustainability has a direct and positive effect on company share prices. According to a recent study, European and American portfolios that had companies with good Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and good Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performed better than those that didn’t. This may be due to their perception of the public and increased sales, but it may also have to do with lower overheads and waste.
Competitive Edge
Sustainable companies are also able to gain a significant advantage over the competition. More people than ever put a premium on sustainability and will refuse to spend money on a company that isn’t doing its part. And this is only going to grow over the next few years as Gen Z and millennials are getting serious about voting with their dollars. Expect them to push back against companies that have a poor environmental record.
Run a Leaner Operation
Lean philosophy and methodology came about to increase productivity, but the main goal was to limit waste at every level, organizational or physical. Waste can greatly slow down an operation and gobble up resources while hurting the environment. Especially when we talk about businesses that generate a lot of waste like manufacturing, retail, or the food business.
Sustainability also means creating processes that require as little energy as possible, which increases throughput while reducing a company’s carbon footprint. Less stress is put on employees, which improves morale and reduces turnover. Changing habits and adding more energy-efficient solutions and equipment will also translate into important savings.
Better Brand Image
Some businesses do it purely for the image, but being sincerely invested in the environment could make you the first or only option for many shoppers. As a matter of fact, the Natural Marketing Institute found out that around 58% of the 53,000 customers they surveyed stated that a company’s environmental impact played a major role in their buying decisions. This is not something you can afford to ignore.
You should also follow through with your commitment if you decide to go green and always take new steps towards more sustainability. That’s what will allow you to stay in your customers’ good graces.
These are all direct benefits of committing to being more sustainable. If your company hasn’t done its part yet, you should do so immediately as you’ll be able to get many benefits on top of reducing your burden on the environment.
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Related Articles and Resources:
- 6 Reasons To Be Environmentally Friendly
- 5 Reasons You Should Be Environmentally Friendly
- Four Ways Sustainability Can Boost Business Finances
The post The Business Benefits of Sustainability first appeared on Institute of Ecolonomics.
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