The business case for sustainability awareness

Companies pursue sustainability for a whole host of reasons, including to drive innovation, reach customers, attract and retain employees. In addition, the pursuit of various sustainability goals enables the company itself to evolve in important ways.

The benefits of sustainable development

Taking sustainability seriously requires businesses to adhere to the four pillars of sustainable development: society, the environment, the economy and intergenerational equity. This means businesses must ensure that:

·      Societal wellbeing needs such as fair wages and healthy working conditions are met

·      They adopt practices that are the most favourable to the planet’s health and ecosystems

·      Their product or service provides good value for money, taking into account environmental and social costs like land use and pollution

·      They have a long-term outlook about what future generations may need and want beyond what is tangible today.

Let’s look at how sustainability benefits various corporate concerns:

Revenue & cost optimisation

For-profit organisations are continually aiming for lower costs and higher revenues, and businesses can achieve both through critical approaches in sustainability. For example, when a company reduces waste, it also reduces its waste bill. Companies can also attract new customers who value sustainability attributes, thereby increasing revenues.

Brand & reputation management

46 per cent of consumers are buying more sustainable products as a way to reduce their impact on the environment, according to a 2024 PwC survey. Brands can therefore improve their image through sustainability pursuits.

Employee retention

Companies can attract and retain talent by showing that sustainability is integral to their business model. More than two-thirds of staff want to work for a company that is trying to have a positive impact on the world. One third of employees have resigned from their jobs because they felt the efforts by their company to tackle environmental and societal challenges were insufficient.

Employee performance

A 2024 Culture Amp survey found that employees at companies deemed genuinely committed to sustainability reported a substantial 16 per cent increase in engagement levels. Sustainability practices, therefore can lead to better productivity at work.

Case study: DC Water

Here is an example of an organisation that has hired based on sustainability goals. Bill Brower previously worked at DC Water as a resource recovery manager. DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest of its kind in the world.

The facility treats hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater, serving residents across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. DC Water aimed to establish itself as a leader in sustainable waste management, a vision that aligned well with Brower’s expertise. With a background in engineering for sustainable development, Brower had a deep understanding of the engineer’s role in driving sustainability and implementing technological solutions within a business framework.

Reflecting on how he secured his role at DC Water, Brower shared that “it was my mentality towards biosolids and my understanding that this was a sustainable resource and not just ‘gross sludge’ that won me the position”. His specialised knowledge and commitment to sustainability allowed him to make meaningful contributions to both the organisation’s goals and societal well-being.

The environmental benefits of his work included transforming waste into nutrient-rich soil fertilisers; the social benefits included job creation during the construction and operation of the enhanced biosolids facility; the economic benefits included creating a marketable product that offset the initial investment. Additionally, his work has long-term generational value by reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, paving the way for a more sustainable future.

As this case study exemplifies, sustainability should be seen not merely as a compliance requirement for organisations, but rather something to actively pursue in order to make business and society better. Sustainability awareness should, therefore, be a core element of business education in order to instil sustainable mindsets and skillsets into the next generation of leaders.