Why Businesses are at the Core of Sustainable Transformation
For a long time, sustainability’s focus has been on spotlighting individual actions and lifestyle choices. Whilst we all do have individual power and capacity to contribute to the transition to a sustainable and circular economy through our daily micro-actions, it ignores the root cause: business.
The decisions that leaders make within organizations, the business structures, the innovations, the products and supply chains, customer relationships and communication — these are where many of the biggest environmental impacts occur. Thus, presenting the greatest opportunities for achieving the massive transformation necessary for us to address climate change and the myriad of significant environmental and social issues that make up the goal of sustainability.
The Vision 2050 report from the World Business Sustainable Development Council (WBCSD) sets the agenda for full systems transformation in business, detailing the need, and opportunity that sustainability has for a positive future for work, industry and society. For 9+ billion people to live well within the planetary boundary, then “business, government and civil society must change the systems that have created the challenges we now face — and change them so profoundly that we can legitimately call it transformation.”
“Transformation means root cause-level change. It means reinvention, re-creation, and the emergence of completely new ways of thinking and acting based on fundamentally new premises and new sources of value.” - WBCSD, Time for Transformation 2050 Report, 2021
From my years of working with businesses starting and progressing along their sustainability journey, I’ve experienced just how overwhelming and confusing the process can be for business leaders. Where do we start? How do we know what we are doing is leading us in the right direction? Are we doing this right?
I have taken these insights and created a new framework to help organizations progressing along the sustainability pathway to circularity. Sustainability is a process of transformation from unknowing your impacts (perhaps never even thinking about them!) to being fully aware and taking action to reduce and eliminate them. Like anything new, the unfamiliarity can be confusing and a bit overwhelming at first, but once you gain confidence and experience, the process becomes enjoyable.
Since sustainability is all about innovation, it’s an incredible opportunity to do things better. It's about responding to demands (from customers, society and workers), working within parameters (defined by the limits of Earth and all ecosystems) and developing new ways of meeting human needs, contributing to the economy and ensuring that these activities are not done at a deficit to the systems that sustain life on Earth.
That’s why achieving sustainability in business is one of the greatest opportunities of our time. By embracing this transformation, we can design products, services and systems to be circular and regenerative.
The future of the workplace is already demanding companies step up and make change, now. Research conducted as part of our Future of Workplace Sustainability report for Unily showed that 65% of workers were more likely to work for a company that had a strong environmental policy, and 75% of workers expressed concern about environmental ethics. Linkedin commissioned research＊ in March this year and found that 17% of employees believe sustainability policies, such as their companies’ recycling policies, action on climate change, and circular economy policies require the most change in the world of work.
These types of findings are appearing as a broader trend, with research by Greenprint finding 75% of Millennials are willing to pay more for an environmentally sustainable product, compared to 63% of Gen Z, 64% of Gen X, and 57% of Boomers.
So, there is strong interest and demand, but a massive gap in the application and uptake — which brings us back to that classic question: where do we begin?
It’s long been known that 80% of the impacts of a product are made in the design stage. The way we make, sell, consume and discard absolutely everything produced to meet human needs, has impacts on the natural world and on many communities along the value chain. But this does not rest solely on the shoulders of the design team—the type of business model they are operating under, the level of interest their team has in exploring sustainable pathways of production and the status quo of the organization all contribute to this impact.
Previously, businesses interested in sustainability would mostly focus on their energy/waste/water impacts (the operational impacts) in their offices or factories. Very few companies sincerely take the plunge into full product and service redesign. But if we are to transition to a circular economy, then the vital changes that need to be made are in the way we create, produce and sell products.
Once this has been addressed, then the experiences that customers have, along with the collective experiences of the entire supply chain, become the final piece of a three-dimensional sustainability nexus.
These three dimensions of operations, products and experiences make up my 3D Framework of Sustainability in Business. As part of my collaboration with Linkedin as a #changemaker, I am excited to share this #ConversationsForChange as a 3-step-how-to guide for getting started on your sustainability in business journey.
Here are the three best first steps to take:
Assess where you are at currently. Even if you have started your sustainability journey, this will help you take stock of where you are and set you up for success as your continue to progress along your journey. > Learn more about changes to the workplace and use our free sustainability assessment tool
Benchmark successes in your industry and assess where you're at in relation to your competitors or closest allies in your sector. This will further support you in gauging where you are at and where you should/can be. Is leadership or following suit a priority for you and your company? > Download our free toolkit for taking action or explore our free report on the 3 steps to taking action for sustainability in business now >
Set ambitious goals and a plan to get to them. Aspirations are important, and with the combination of benchmarking, self-assessment and goal setting, you can bring everyone along on the journey. > Start your journey with our 4-week Sustainability in Business Sprint, the course offers all the resources you need to take your business to the next level of your sustainability journey.
What's most critical is that there is a holistic transformation within the organization. Doesn’t matter if your company is 2 or 20,000 people, the type of change necessary to be a part of the green and circular economy is from the DNA out. You can’t just change one aspect of operations or start to consider product design; organizations must integrate sustainability--the social, economic and environmental impacts of their actions--into their DNA, so that the scapegoating and deflection of responsibility is replaced by the excitement and opportunity that the transformation towards a circular economy can bring.
It may seem like a hard task to get started, but it’s actually an incredible opportunity for a reset. Remember, sustainability is a process of transformation, with many untapped opportunities just waiting for you to uncover them. Whatever you are at now, just starting out or leading the way, your current position should not be the end of your actions — it’s the beginning. The journey to a better future is always ongoing.
