What is Sustainability in Business? Understanding the Components, Principles, and Benefits

From energy-efficient agriculture to solar glass and green buildings, sustainability has become a vital component of every business strategy. Most businesses have placed formal governance to monitor sustainability practices to ensure meaningful results that benefit the environment, society, and profitability. But what is sustainability in business? What are some of its primary components and principles? And how is it beneficial for enterprises in the modern world?

When it comes to the world of business, sustainability involves maintaining operations without having any kind of a negative impact on the community or society. The impact that any business has on society and the environment plays a significant role in its success as a sustainable enterprise.

The primary objective of sustainability is to enable business organizations to reduce fuel costs and eliminate the severe health impacts of air and water pollution. Moreover, it supports the idea of securing a sustainable future through a determined and result-oriented approach that is adopted across public and private sectors.

Last but not least, sustainability ensures the long-term growth of any business enterprise. With climate concerns gaining traction on a global level, sustainability has become a priority for organizations, individuals, and the government. Businesses have acknowledged that survival in the future would heavily depend on the construction and implementation of sustainable strategies.

Now that we know what is sustainability in business, let us understand the principles that govern its working mechanism. The principles of sustainability in business comprise three major components:

• Environment: This is the most popular principle of sustainability among business enterprises. Many companies are working towards minimizing their carbon footprint and making the necessary advancements in their operations to promote sustainability.
• Social: Effective support from stakeholders, employees, and the community is paramount to the success of any sustainable strategy. Enterprises across the globe must focus on becoming reliable and trustworthy community members on a local and global scale.
• Economy: Profitability is a crucial principle of sustainability. Success as a sustainable business should align with profitability. However, economic viability should not ignore the other two pillars of sustainability. Risk management, regulatory compliance, and the right governance should be on the priority list for every business organization eyeing sustainability.

Moreover, investors and other stakeholders must be informed about the company’s transparent accounting system and equality in board member selection. The economic pillar ensures the long-term survival of a business enterprise and offers a safeguard in situations where businesses are forced to transform immediately rather than making the changes in phases.

A plethora of enterprises take part in adopting sustainable practices; however, the strategies differ across different business operations. Here are some ways that businesses can participate in sustainability:

• For some enterprises, participation would translate to making the effective use of sustainable materials in the manufacturing process[2]
• Some businesses work towards optimizing their supply chain to minimize greenhouse emissions
• Business enterprises can sponsor education drives for youth and adults in the local community
• Enterprises can fully rely on renewable energy sources to meet the power needs of the facility

• Adopting sustainable practices can minimize the negative impact of operations on the environment and assist enterprises in improving their public image. A sustainable approach to business creates and improves trust and allows business owners to improve their client base.
• With the advent and proliferation of sustainable technology across the globe, business owners have witnessed an apparent dip in costs and improvement in productivity. Better productivity translates to improved output, and a reduction in costs cites the right use of resources and machinery.
• With the impact of climate change taking centre stage all over the world, the need for an immediate response has seen governments tightening regulations. A sustainable business strategy enables businesses to easily comply with any form of regulation with maximum ease
• There cannot be a sustainable business that does not keep a check on its waste generation. One of the great benefits of sustainability is that it helps with waste reduction across operations. Any enterprise that decides to transition to sustainable means would work towards reducing its total generated waste by switching to sustainable products both in terms of consumption and production.
• Apart from having a significant impact on costs and overall productivity, sustainability also has a huge effect on the company’s profits. Sustainable strategies have the potential to enhance the revenue figures of the company that further helps with the complete gratification of stakeholders, consumers, and employees.
• Sustainable businesses are proven to attract a better workforce and a slew of investors. The reputation of a sustainable business coupled with a strong financial history contributes directly towards the enterprise becoming a favourable place to work and invest in. The workforce can witness ample growth and have the liberty to work with innovative technology.
• Executing sustainable strategies is not a one-person job. It requires constant brainstorming and support from the entire team to assure success. This collaborative approach fosters a healthy work environment and leads to innovative developments and performance breakthroughs in the entire organization.

Schneider Electric’s Green Yodha program is determined to construct a community that works collectively towards adopting practices in energy efficiency, automation, solar and renewables, and digitalization. We have empowered organizations worldwide to enhance and strengthen their commitment to sustainability.

As a brand that has pledged to become operationally net-zero by 2030, our programs enable decision-makers to improve the sustainability quotient of their enterprise through premium green products, reliable and resilient sustainability solutions, expert consultancy, home automation, and more.