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Every individual and every business is going to have different reasons why they consider sustainability to be important. The most obvious reason is an ethical one. People are becoming more conscious about waste, climate change, and the effects that their decisions have on the environment. As a result, they seek out products and businesses that match their values. The number of people searching online for sustainable products and services has increased 71% in recent years.
From a business standpoint, sustainability could be an ethical initiative as well. It also could be a marketing and growth initiative. With so many consumers seeking out sustainable businesses that match their own values, it’s just good business sense to match the wants and needs of potential customers.
There are also internal benefits to focusing on sustainability. Employees can feel better about they work that they do if they also feel the company’s values align with their own. There is also a cost benefit to sustainability which could come in a range of ways including reducing waste, cutting back on consumable products, and lowering regular expenses like heating and cooling.
With customers becoming more conscious about social responsibility, failure to embrace sustainable methods risks your business losing your customers to competitors.
Acknowledging customer behaviour towards the environment, green initiatives have extended to businesses, with one-third of FTSE 100 companies joining the UN-led ‘Race to Zero’ campaign in 2021, which pledges to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. By corresponding your brand values to those of your customers, you will enable yourself to create both transparency and more meaningful relationships with your customers, which will aid retention.
A report by Forbes found that 92% of customers said they were more likely to trust brands that are environmentally friendly or socially conscious, so employing sustainable marketing practices allows businesses to stand out in their industry by building a unique brand identity in relation to leading an ethical business, which differentiates them amongst competitors who don’t deploy sustainable practices in their business.
Displaying commitment to sustainable causes also attracts and retains employees that share the values of the company, as revealed by Anthesis who found that over half (53%) of the UK’s workforce stated that sustainability is an important factor when choosing a company to work for.
Senior executives are facing a clarion call to scale sustainable business models amid unprecedented pandemic disruptions and a looming climate crisis. Today, business leaders are faced with increased pressure from their peers, stakeholders, employees, and the government to address environmental issues and take responsibility for their actions. According to recent surveys in Singapore, the country’s environmentally-friendly initiatives, which were emphasised in the recent Budget 2022, are gaining traction.
Officially launched in 2021, The Green Plan 2030 is a strategic framework introduced by the Singapore Government to promote the country’s mission of catalysing sustainable development. The five pillars of the Green Plan 2030 are City in Nature, Energy Reset, Green Economy, Resilient Future, and Sustainable Living. With Singapore’s investment in businesses to promote sustainability and create more business opportunities, there is a growing opportunity for stakeholders to capitalise. Sustainable developments not only benefit communities, but they also allow organisations to be more forward-looking.
In the latest McKinsey Global Survey, 83% of C-suite executives and investment professionals believe that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) programs will generate more shareholder value in five years’ time than they do today. As expectations for corporate responsibility increase and transparency becomes prevalent, companies are realising the significance of joining the sustainability movement. The first step to this is to address the gap between knowledge and action by embracing sustainable business practices. Simply put, the message from COP26 rang loud and clear for corporations: align your business strategy to sustainability targets and reap monetary rewards. Drag your feet and you’ll lose out!
Individual efforts can greatly contribute to achieving sustainable goals, and being environmentally responsible not only contributes to saving our mother earth but also creates a better world to live in for us all. When we contemplate and doubt how we can positively influence our socially responsible behavior, we should keep in mind that the problem is not confined to large corporations alone. After all, this is the world we live in, so we should all contribute to our grain of sand.
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About Aventis Graduate School
Aventis is a Global Graduate School, headquartered in Singapore with more than 60,000 learners across the world. Established since 2007, Aventis collaborates with leading universities across the United Kingdom and the United States to deliver best in class graduate education for working professionals across Asia. Aventis offers an exciting suite of business programmes including Master of Science in Global Human Resources Management , Graduate Diploma In Business Sustainability & Environment, Social And Governance (ESG).