6 Sustainability Steps to Take to Be More Profitable

It’s getting harder to run a successful – or profitable – business without a sustainability strategy.

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, according to one McKinsey Global Survey.

Here’s what else organizations stand to lose by not making sustainability a priority.

1. Their workforce.

The Cone Communications Millennial Employee Study found that 64% of millennials won’t take a job if it doesn’t have a strong corporate social responsibility policy, and 83% would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues.

2. Their profit margins.

74% of institutional investors said they were more likely to divest from companies with poor sustainability performance, while 90% said they would now pay more attention to a company’s sustainability performance when making investment decisions, according to the 2021 EY Global Institutional Investor Survey.

3. Their customers.

Globally, 85% of people indicate that they have shifted their purchase behavior towards being more sustainable in the past five years, and more than a third of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainability, reports Business Wire.

Sustainable Steps to Take

If you want to have a stronger competitive advantage in the job market and consumer market, take these profitable steps to increase your sustainability.

• Pinpoint where you use the most resources to see where you can be a better environmental steward.
• Hire a sustainability consultant to help you identify areas for improvement and create an action plan.
• Get clear on environmental compliance regulations for your region and be sure to keep up with them as they change.
• Start with small, achievable milestones and build over time in ways that are most meaningful for your area or industry.
• Involve your team and stakeholders to better understand what sustainability tactics are most important and most urgent.
• Set goals you can measure, so you know when you’ve gotten off track or made impactful progress.

The expectation that companies participate in sustainable business practices is only likely to grow in the coming years. If you don’t want to become obsolete, now’s the time to start going green – and enjoying the increased profits that come with it.

Content created and provided by ONEAFFINITI.