Sustainability is becoming a necessity for corporations. Governments are tightening their regulations to address environmental issues, and corporations have a duty to reduce their negative impact on the planet.
By implementing a corporate sustainability strategy, customers, investors, and partners expect organizations to demonstrate ethical and responsible behavior.
If you’re a business owner unsure where to start, here are several sustainability practices to implement for your company.
1. Use Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is one of the best ways organizations make progress in reaching their environmental goals. As a company, you have several options:
- Onsite installation: Your business invests in renewable energy infrastructure on the corporate property.
- Temporary installation: Many businesses require traveling to remote locations or new places to perform their service. For example, construction companies work in off-grid locations with limited power. Fortunately, there are a variety of solar panels to choose from, ranging from portable options to permanent solutions.
- Power purchase agreements (PPAs): These are contracts with energy producers, allowing your business to access renewable energy supply at favorable rates.
2. Embrace Hybrid Remote Culture and Invest in Flexible Office Designs
Allowing employees to work from home can significantly decrease electricity and water usage, and car emissions. The hybrid remote culture is becoming increasingly popular and may align with your corporate strategy to globalize your brand, such as hiring talent outside your local region.
Executives can also invest in flexible office spaces for sustainability. These workspaces are designed with modular furniture and adaptive layouts, allowing for easy reconfigurations of collaboration areas, work zones, and meeting spaces. This versatile design allows for the efficient use of space and materials.
Other strategies include incorporating upcycled materials for furniture and low VOC materials for interior finishes to improve indoor air quality.
3. Adopt Green Buildings
Sustainability isn’t just good for the environment. Investors see a strong correlation between financial performance and corporate sustainability performance – so they’re using sustainability data to make investment decisions.
If you need loans or looking to raise capital, you may want to show investors you’re serious about sustainable initiatives such as investing in green buildings. Buildings consume 75% of the country’s electricity and 40% of total energy.
LEED-certified green buildings minimize waste, such as energy, water, and carbon, while consuming fewer resources. They also promote better public health with improved indoor air quality.
Green buildings work by incorporating sustainable construction, design, and operational practices to reduce environmental impact and improve the quality of life for occupants.
Wrapping It Up
According to Mckinsey, a strong Environmental, Social, and Governmental (ESG) proposition can help improve your business in many ways, such as:
- Reduce costs due to lower energy consumption.
- Achieve access to resources like government subsidies through better government relations.
- Attract talent through better social credibility.
- Enhance investment returns by allocating capital for long-term gains such as solar-powered generators or sustainable plants.
However, most corporate business leaders know its importance but fail to implement it.
In fact, 90% of executives believe sustainability is essential, but only 60% of organizations have a sustainability strategy.
By implementing these sustainable strategies, you’ll be lightyears ahead of your competition and can reap the benefits.
Also Read: Project Canary: Ushering Sustainability within Industries with ESG Data
