Living In The Times Of Sustainable Businesses

Sustainability isn’t just a trendy term anymore; it’s a business imperative. 

Sustainability as a concept draws its origin a little way back in time. In fact, to the times of Carl von Carlowitz, the Saxony-based accountant who coined the term in the context of forestry in his book Sylvicultura Oeconomica in 1713. The theme has since evolved massively through many favorable milestones such as Brundtland Report, Agenda 21 and others.

Today, sustainable development is considered as an integral framework of three pillars – environmental, social, and economic. 

Business organisations across the world are under pressure to reorganise their activities to suit the mandates of this framework. 

Today, climate change, inequality, and globalisation demand long-term thinking and transformative action.

Understanding consumers’ attitudes to sustainability and how to influence change is important. A survey conducted by Deloitte shows that consumers continue to become more environmentally conscious. Companies from every industry are facing increasing calls from their consumers, investors and employees to play a greater role in accelerating the transition to more sustainable business practices.

Examples from the sustainable business world

There are three areas where organisations with a sustainability culture typically focus on. Let’s take a look at each with simple examples that help us understand these focal points.

• Sustainable production: – Take BMW, champions of sustainable mobility. 

The BMW Group directly influences the CO₂ emissions of its own plants and sites, where it already sets the benchmark for the efficient management of resources. So how did the auto manufacturer implement sustainability in its production area? 

They’ve slashed CO2 emissions in their vehicles by 141 grams per kilometre, grown their electric car portfolio, and source electricity for European cars carbon-free.

Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management BMW AG states “We are reducing CO₂ emissions per vehicle over the entire value chain. This is what sets the BMW Group apart.”

Having already lowered emissions per vehicle produced by more than 70% since 2006, the BMW Group now aims to reduce its emissions by a further 80% from 2019 levels by 2030. CO₂ emissions will then be less than 10% of what they were in 2006. BMW is committed to the lowest possible level of resource consumption in production. 

• Sustainable consumption:

  – In patterns of consumption, there has always been a difference between the developed and developing countries. How do organisations consume sustainably? 

A simple case will help us understand sustainable consumption. Ben & Jerry’s, an American premium ice cream brand, exemplifies how business can be used as a tool for social and environmental change in an industry that is dependent on agriculture and dairy farms for its ingredients. 

In an attempt to reduce its impact on climate, Ben & Jerry’s sources its ingredients (such as cocoa, vanilla, sugarcane, bananas, nuts etc.) from the developing countries through the Fairtrade. The company has been committed to making ice cream from Fairtrade Certified ingredients since 2005. They have had a socially-aligned sourcing policy since the ’80s.

Even while adopting local sourcing for ingredients produced locally, such as in the case of Ben & Jerry’s Europe, the procurement is done through the Caring Dairy programme. 

Caring Dairy has twelve categories that make up sustainable farming practices: animal husbandry, biodiversity, nutrient management, soil fertility and health, soil loss, pest management, farm economics, energy, water, farm workers, farmer and farm family and community (https://www.benjerry.com, 2017).

By 2025, Ben & Jerry’s aims to have 100% of their packaging be free of petroleum-based plastic and all of it to be reusable, compostable, or recyclable!

• Sustainable organisation of activities:-

 A great example of how an organisation can bring sustainability into every thread of its existence is exemplified by a 57-year-old Indian chain store that retails in fashion and ethnic products – Fabindia. 

What is profound is not the fact that it is a retailer with more than 327 stores in different Indian cities and at least 14 abroad, but the fact that it has played an enormous role in linking the rural artisans of India to the urban markets. 

Fabindia was successful in building a strong ecosystem with ideal linkages for the artisan communities – the supplier base thus became the company’s greatest asset and has since evolved into a sustainable business model.

Such organisational endeavors clearly open up the idea that sustainability is important in the corporate world and is not a term that can be comfortably sidelined to the environment glossary.

Conclusion:

The future belongs to businesses that embrace sustainability as a core value, not just a marketing tactic. By prioritising the well-being of people, the planet, and profit, we can build a world where prosperity and responsibility go hand in hand.

Sustainable Technology Businesses

References

Benjerry.com, 2017. Dairy Statement: January 2017. [Online] Available at: https://www.benjerry.com/values/how-we-do-business/caring-dairy/dairy-statement-january-2017

Bmwgroup.com, 2018. Sustainability at the BMW Group. [Online] Available at: https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/responsibility/sustainability-at-the-bmw-group.html

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