Why should companies have sustainability in their DNA?

Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare / Unsplash.

At its core, sustainability is maintaining or supporting a process continuously over time. But what sustainability means in the business? In companies, sustainability indicates doing business without negatively impacting the environment and society - humanity. These are immense words.

In Finland, numerous corporations have already embraced sustainability in their core DNA. According to Good news from Finland, seven Finnish companies, like Neste, KONE, and Nokia, were included in 2022, the 100 most sustainable globally. Sustainability practices were requested by their customers, or internationally responsible investors demand long-lasting, sustainable strategies to censure their investments. These companies demonstrate that #sustainability and financial performance need no trade-off. On the contrary pursuing sustainability can be a powerful path for reinvention on many levels.

What are the components that companies with sustainable DNA hold? Here are three that we consider crucial: #transparent in circular business models that openly communicate their sustainability targets and improvement areas; #collaborative, meaning entities co-creatively innovate with their customers and stakeholders' sustainable product/services portfolio, and #ecosystem focused by widening organisational boundaries mutuality with external stakeholders.

If you are not convinced yet, why sustainability should be a business driver for your company in 2023, then read Forbes (Talal, 2021) five reasons why companies should focus on sustainability:

- to add brand value and have a lasting competitive advantage

- to reduce costs, and increase efficiency, for example, operating profits by as much as 60%

- to create new market opportunities and expand existing ones with a sustainable products/services portfolio

- to attract highly motivated talents drawn by sustainability and

- to meet customers' demands requesting sustainable products.

During the transformation period, the company should indicate opportunities with investors, stakeholders, and suppliers when establishing a sustainability culture, strategy, and corporate identity. To do that, it should integrate sustainability capabilities into the daily jobs of C-level, and employees across the entire organisation.

References

- Good news from Finland (2022) Finns are among the world's most sustainable companies

- Talal (2021) Why corporate strategies should be focused on sustainability, Forbes