Sustainability

What is business sustainability?

With reports showing that sustainability can drive business success, doing good is considered good business.⁴ Socially conscious investors look to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics to understand how the organization takes responsibility for its impact on nature, and how it interacts with people, be they employees, managers, board members, suppliers, customers, or the community.⁵ A recent investment performance report from Morningstar showed that, out of the 56 unique ESG indexes, 41 (73 percent) outperformed their non-ESG counterparts.⁶ This investment growth is due to a combination of factors, such as business opportunities afforded by ESG issues, the role it plays in mitigating risk, rising pressure from society, and a younger generation of investors forcing business leaders to take ESG concerns to heart.⁷

Because of this, leaders are paying attention to the triple bottom line in their strategy developments: a reporting tool used to measure an organization’s impact on people, profit, and the planet. The insights can be used to propel positive social and environmental change. When organizations are good stewards of their customers, staff members, or suppliers, there is less staff turnover, greater customer loyalty, and fewer trade disputes. Being mindful of the planet could mean less waste, with greater regulatory compliance achieved.⁸ All of these contribute towards saving money, boosting reputation, advancing innovation, and increasing profit.

Sustainable practices

Sustainable practices are critical for businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact and social footprint. Sustainability practices include using renewable energy sources, conserving resources, reducing waste, and increasing recycling efforts.⁹

The sustainability advantage

Sustainability has become a business imperative as society increasingly expects organizations to operate responsibly and minimally impact the environment. In fact, sustainability is essential to long-term business success.

Sustainability-focused organizations enjoy a number of advantages over their competitors, including:¹⁰

• Reduced costs from increased resource efficiency
• Increased revenue from new products and services
• Improved brand reputation and customer loyalty
• Attract and retain top talent
• Greater regulatory compliance
• Enhanced innovation capacity

If you’re interested in learning more about sustainability practices for businesses, browse one of GetSmarter’s online sustainability courses.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development refers to a holistic approach to progress that meets the needs of current generations while also protecting future generations. The concept of sustainable development was first introduced in 1987 by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), also known as the Brundtland Commission.¹¹

Today, sustainable development is widely accepted as the best way to promote economic growth while also protecting natural resources and reducing environmental impact. At the heart of sustainable development is a commitment to adopt practices that help achieve long-term social, economic, and environmental goals.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In 2015, the United Nations member states adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.¹²

The SDGs are interrelated and must be addressed together in order to achieve sustainable development.

GetSmarter offers a number of courses that can help businesses achieve sustainable development. Explore the portfolio of sustainability courses to learn more about these valuable concepts and how they can help your organization achieve long-term success.

Environmental sustainability in business

The goal of sustainability concepts, like the green economy and circular economy, is to reconcile economical, environmental, and social objectives.¹³ The detrimental impact of rapid industrialization and urbanization on the environment has resulted in a surge of activity towards aligning organizations with a more sustainable circular economy.¹⁴ This is to achieve several Sustainable Development Goals, such as clean water, clean energy, economic growth, sustainable cities, sustainable consumption and production, climate change, sea life, and life on land.¹⁵

• The green economy is defined by the United Nations Environmental Programme as “one that improves human well-being and builds social equity while reducing environmental risks and scarcities.”¹⁶ As far as environmental sustainability is concerned, the green economy serves as an umbrella term that includes parts of the circular economy and bioeconomy (for example, concepts such as eco-efficiency and renewables)¹⁷
• A circular economy is a development strategy that allows for economic growth without an increase in resource consumption and with a lower impact on the environment.¹⁸ The International Standards Organization defines it as an economy that’s restorative or regenerative.¹⁹ This is already evident in supply chain management, where large organizations are making themselves accountable for, and giving visibility into, their entire supply chain. However, a circular economy can also apply to talent management in the workplace, when a ‘hire to retire’ model shifts to a more sustainable ‘hire to retire to re-hire’ approach. This allows past employees to return after leaving, forgo the onboarding stage, and become productive immediately. It also talks to sustainability and flexibility within roles, entrusting employees with the freedom to work from anywhere. For this to occur, a significant degree of trust between suppliers, businesses, employees, and consumers is required. This has resulted in the term ‘the trust economy’, where transparency and accountability are key²⁰

Sustainability and finance

The value of a triple bottom line has grown in importance in recent years, and now forms an important part of organizational strategy and operations.²¹ Historically, many large organizations viewed sustainability as an optional extra, with efforts ranging from small internal changes to billion-dollar decisions. However, a radical shift is taking place in terms of how organizations view themselves and what they perceive as risk. This is resulting in a rise in demand for those with expertise in finance and the environment.²²

Sustainable finance, a concept launched in 2014 by the United Nations, refers to a blend of financial services contingent on ESG criteria.²³ It’s expected to continue to grow as more investors begin to base their investment decisions around climate risk, which is why there’s an increase in green bonds and responsible investment in Europe and Asia Pacific.²⁴

Sustainability and leadership

Organizations with strong ESG ratings have policies and systems in place that hold leadership accountable, protect employees and the environment, and ensure transparency.²⁵ The most effective leadership skills reflected in successful sustainable organizations are:²⁶

• Collaboration and teamwork
• Creativity
• Resourcefulness
• Proactivity
• Preventing or managing crises
• Effective communication, removing ambiguity, and active listening
• Strategic planning
• Authenticity
• Building trust
• Transparency
• Building relationships
• Self-control
• Responsibility

Careers in sustainability

Accenture estimates that the global growth opportunity presented by the transition towards a circular economy could be $4.5 trillion by 2030.²⁷ The International Labour Organization reports that a greener economy could create 24 million jobs worldwide in the same period, depending on organizational commitment to deploying sustainable policies.²⁸

Industries such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, tourism, and pharmaceuticals are dependent on a thriving environment and, with that, the 1.2 billion jobs around the world that carry these out. It’s estimated that 72 million jobs will be lost by the end of the decade due to climate changes that will cause shorter working hours, especially in agriculture.²⁹ As more young people identify climate change as the defining issue of their generation, more will seek careers that will have a positive environmental impact.

Regardless of industry, sustainability skills are becoming part of everyone’s role. These skills could be the critical differentiator towards being hired or promoted, particularly for supply chain management professionals and those in human resources management.

By taking a sustainability online course with GetSmarter, you can earn a certificate in various sustainability topics, such as business sustainability, leadership, management, and finance. You could also learn energy efficiency skills and concepts that will help you create a greener work environment, or discover how to leverage sustainability, innovation, and value creation in supply chain management.

GetSmarter’s flexible learning model allows you to study while you balance work and life responsibilities, empowering you to create a safer, cleaner, and more sustainable future.

Sources

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²Spiliakos, A. (Oct, 2018). ‘What does ‘sustainability’ mean in business?’. Retrieved from Harvard Business School.
³Holcraft, J. (Nd). ‘The importance of skills for the sustainability of business’. Retrieved from British Plastics Federation.
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¹⁸D’Amato, D. et al. (Dec, 2017). ‘Green, circular, bio economy: a comparative analysis of sustainability avenues’. Retrieved from Science Direct.
¹⁹Patil, R. et al. (Jan, 2020). ‘Circular economy, sustainability and business opportunities’.Retrieved from The European Business Review.
²⁰Hackenberg, J. (Nov, 2019). ‘2020 will be the year of sustainable business: here’s why’. Retrieved from Forbes.
²¹Hackenberg, J. (Nov, 2019). ‘2020 will be the year of sustainable business: here’s why’. Retrieved from Forbes.
²²Thompson, J. (Feb, 2020). ‘Big investors’ sustainability push drives demand for environmental expertise’. Retrieved from Financial Times.
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²⁷(Apr, 2019). ‘Green economy could create 24 million new jobs’. Retrieved from the United Nations.
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²⁹Thompson, J. (Jan, 2020). ‘Big investors’ sustainability push drives demand for environmental expertise’. Retrieved from Financial Times.