Search online and you’ll find no shortage of articles and blogs with ways to improve your business. But while millions of results promise tips and tricks to effectively give your business a competitive edge, few are mutually beneficial. Whether they’re mistakenly citing high costs or simply have a resistance to change, many businesses are missing out on the chance to take on green initiatives and sustainability policies that can enhance their practices and even bring in new business.
Understanding Sustainable Policies
In short, sustainable policies are guidelines or practices that businesses follow to operate in a way that’s good for the planet, people and their own long-term success. Instead of being solely concerned with immediate returns, sustainable policies consider a business’s social and environmental impact on the future, from saving resources and operating efficiently to treating workers fairly and ensuring their products don’t cause harm.
There are plenty of metrics that businesses can use to measure their sustainability, but the international standard laid out in ISO 26000 takes out the guesswork and provides a voluntary framework that helps implement social responsibility principles.
What can adopting these policies ultimately do for your business?
Enhance Brand Reputation
Apart from the obvious positive impacts sustainable policies can have on the environment, embracing them can boost your brand recognition and attract like-minded customers. As consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of doing business, they prefer to support businesses that align with their values. By demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, your business can leverage these efforts to enhance its brand image and set a powerful example for others to follow.
Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency
Improving your brand’s image is a nice perk of adopting sustainable policies, but it’s meaningless without doing the actual work. In fact, it can have the opposite effect if you’re accused of simply “greenwashing”. But with so many other benefits, including cost savings and overall efficiency, it’s the obvious direction to take your company. For example, by adopting energy-efficient technologies and reducing waste, you can lower utility bills and minimize disposal costs. In the long term, those savings can significantly impact your bottom line.
Inspire Innovation and a Competitive Advantage
If you’re running a business that is willing to prioritize sustainable policies, you’re also likely to explore new technologies and processes that reduce environmental impact. Early adopters of such tech are also the driving force for innovation, shaking up their industry while leading the charge. Unsurprisingly, this can lead to new business opportunities and a competitive edge in the market. Taking the time to learn new ways in which you can do business means tapping into practices that can set your business apart from competitors stuck in the old ways.
Make Smart Choices for Your Business
The cost of doing business is more than a dollar amount; it also includes the impact on our environment, the well-being of our communities and the long-term viability of our resources. Adopting sustainable policies and an international standard can negate some of these negative effects, but what you may not know is that by doing the things that contribute to a healthy planet and foster social change, you can also position your business in a new light and ensure that our operations remain resilient and future-proof.
