Investing in Sustainability Pays Off

'𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 (...) 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’ - 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯

It’s a blunt yet pointy way to sum up the business case for sustainability, one we often times use in our client engagements as well.

In his article, 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?, Andrew Winston eloquently lays out why, despite it being challenged, the business case for sustainability is still sound. However, what is often forgotten or misunderstood is the following:

🍕There is no free lunch in sustainability: Sustainability investments aren’t free just like strategic investments in e.g. marketing, R&D and HR, yet we are not questioning the business cases for those investments in the same way

⏰ Delivering on strategic value takes time: Sustainability investments, like other strategic investments, aren’t always a win in the short run but they create strategic value in the long run

📊 Check your metrics: Using merely financial metrics to measure value creation such as ROI or NPV will overlook value created from e.g. brand loyalty, increased employee engagement, innovation and talent retention

Among other things, a well executed sustainability strategy can help to:

• Lower your operational costs

• Reduce overall risk

• Drive innovation

• Increase overall business and supply chain resiliency

• Attract and retain talent

• Boost corporate reputation and trust

In short, investing in sustainability pays off!

Photo Credit: Wix