What is business sustainability and how to develop it

Over the past few decades, we have become aware of the need to change the current economic model to one that incorporates sustainability at the center, guaranteeing social and environmental balance. For this reason, the concept of business sustainability is becoming one of the key lines of business in small and large companies. In this article we tell you what is the business sustainability and some of its keys.

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What is business sustainability?

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The concept of sustainability refers to “balance” and can be viewed from different perspectives: economic, social and environmental.

When we talk about business sustainability, we refer to the company's contribution to sustainable development: its ability to meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

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Characteristics of business sustainability

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Companies are one of society's great agents of change. As such, they have a responsibility to incorporate environmental and social practices into their activities. However, there are different levels when it comes to incorporating the sustainability in companies:

• Hygienic or minimal: At this level are those companies that comply with current legislation, monitor their social and environmental performance and report it accordingly.
• Strategic Level: corresponds to those companies that incorporate aspects of sustainability into the company's decision-making.

Business sustainability encompasses this last group of companies that have the following keys:

1. They have a solid sustainability strategy that takes into account their material aspects and which, therefore, are relevant to the company.
2. Based on this strategy, ambitious environmental and social objectives are set and work to achieve them.
3. Sustainability is integrated into the different areas of the company as a management element that goes beyond communication to the outside world.
4. The most relevant aspects of sustainability are reported to the highest governing bodies of the organization, both to monitor their performance and to incorporate them into their decisions.

For these types of companies, sustainability presents itself as an opportunity to improve their business results, their positioning and their long-term permanence.

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How to develop business sustainability?

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When it comes to work sustainability strategies in companies, it is necessary to establish some previous objectives. This will help us to specify the actions that we will later implement in the organization. Once we have defined the objectives, depending on the needs of the company, different actions can be implemented. Here are some of the most commonly used strategies:

• Involve senior management From the company
• Incorporate the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to your business and prioritizing.
• Perform a materiality analysis to determine which aspects are most relevant to the company's business and its stakeholders and on which therefore focus should be placed.
• Define a strategy of solid, rigorous and attainable sustainability that marks the direction in which the company must move.
• Establish your own objectives to transform them into business objectives and integrate them into the company's strategy.
• Integrate sustainability aspects into different areas of the company, as well as in the governance of the company.
• Inform and communicate to the rest of the company, which will facilitate the work of disseminating corporate information, access to such information by interested parties and general knowledge about the set of shared priorities.

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Advantages of applying sustainability in companies

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Business sustainability has become a strategic asset for companies because:

• Improves resource efficiency, reducing costs for the company and the end user.
• Generate new sources of income derived from the circular economy, such as the identification of waste that can be used by other companies as raw materials.
• Participate in the value chain of other organizations (such as suppliers and customers), including public administrations, which have begun to include environmental clauses in their purchasing and contracting processes and to develop measures to promote the industry towards the development of increasingly sustainable and safe products for health.
• Develop higher-quality innovative products and processes through the incorporation of the environmental and social variable in the design process, which will differentiate them from those of the competition, will make it possible to access new markets, etc.
• Improve your reputation, which can allow you to get more customers and reduce the risk of losing those you have due to a bad image of the company.
• It can become an improvement in the employee engagement, since they will be contributing to objectives beyond the company's economic benefit.
• It attracts investment.

The commitment of Spanish companies is increasing. La sustainability in companies has become a key strategic resource and a competitive need. Organizations that operate in a sustainable way are now more profitable and resilient.

Find out more about business sustainability on our blog and How to develop it in your social impact strategy!