Companies must integrate environmental sustainability strategies into their DNA. That is, not only in their action protocols, but also in their corporate culture, corporate values and mission. But why? The answer is simple: it is not only beneficial for the organization itself, it is inevitable to ensure the survival of the organization and its economic, social and environmental surroundings. Let us explain a little more.
Environmental sustainability as a value and a competitive factor
There can be no business sustainability, i.e. the guarantee of a company’s future, if there is no prior environmental sustainability.
What does environmental sustainability consist of? Although the answer is well known, here is a reminder: it consists of ensuring the needs of the present without compromising those of the future. This was first stated in Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, known as the Brundtland Report, 1987. The definition of sustainable development goes back a long way, but not the awareness of it.
What we are trying to explain is that only in a stable scenario where, for example, the supply of raw materials is not at stake and the instability of uncertainty does not arise, are companies able to develop their full potential.
An environmental sustainability strategy has a positive economic and social impact on companies.
Thus, those companies that favor, with their values and criteria, environmental sustainability, will be favoring competitive advantages such as higher levels of innovation, investment possibilities, assimilation of the new regulatory framework…, in short, of continuity.
Not to mention the weight that brand image currently has on companies as employers, producers of goods and service providers.
A company that adopts a rigorous and effective sustainability strategy is a company that attracts particularly committed and qualified human talent. But it is also a brand capable of aligning itself with the values of consumers, positioning itself above its potential competitors.
SDGs or the principles of environmental sustainability in a company
The Sustainable Development Goals for this decade set the pace for public institutions, but also for private organizations. The pillars of environmental, social and economic sustainability are built around them.
In fact, the 17 sustainable development goals give us the clues on how to practice sustainable development at all levels, including business, around various challenges:
- The mitigation of harmful effects of the impact of business activity on the environment, thus resulting in the improvement of the health and well-being of employees and society as a whole.
- Social justice through transparency and non-discrimination, equal opportunities and social inclusion, leading to more diverse and enriching work environments and a fairer and more equal society.
- The structuring of a more efficient economic system, of an economy that transforms the current system of linear production and consumption into a circular one, thus achieving higher levels of optimization, efficiency, productivity and savings.
It is not in vain that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals has become the bedside book for those entities that know why environmental sustainability is important for a company and why companies should commit to incorporating a perfectly defined sustainability strategy.
To take on these strategies as their own, companies must move towards:
- Identifying strategic sustainable objectives.
- The adaptation of the business model and corporate culture to them.
- The design of action plans, indicators and analysis methods, and improvement plans in favor of sustainability.
- The provision of the necessary tools and protocols to implement these plans and achieve the designated objectives.
- The creation of strategic alliances with collaborating companies or entities.
Implementing a sustainable strategy goes far beyond responding to a growing climate concern; it responds to the need to preserve the future of companies.
