Sustainability is no longer a buzzword but a necessity for business operations. It has been touted as a marketing scheme over the years but is now a prerequisite for companies who want to stay competitive and relevant. So, your company should consider sustainability as a core strategy in your operations. Here are five reasons you should adopt sustainability and how strategic design can help you.
Benefits of sustainability
Sustainability impacts people, businesses, and productivity across the world. According to the United Nations Global Compact report, companies that adopt sustainable practices experience revenue increase, cost reduction, and enhanced brand reputation.
Here are the top five benefits of sustainability:
1. Brand value and competitive advantage
Sustainability enhances a brand’s reputation and creates a positive image in the minds of users. Companies that prioritize sustainability are perceived as socially responsible and environmentally conscious. This typically attracts likeminded people who value those attributes. As such, it gives brands a competitive advantage, making them more appealing to people concerned about the environment.
2. Meeting consumer demands
Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable products and services. According to a study by Nielsen, 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products. Also, 81% of global consumers believe companies should help improve the environment.
By meeting consumer demands for sustainability, businesses can increase customer loyalty and retention. We will support you to develop product and services that are good for your business, for the people and the planet.
3. Increased efficiency
Sustainability can help businesses increase efficiency and reduce costs by 60%. For example, you can lower utility bills and reduce the carbon footprint of your business by reducing energy consumption.
By adopting sustainable practices, your business will minimize waste and reduce the need for energy and resources lowering production and functioning costs. In addition, sustainability can promote innovation by encouraging businesses to find new and more efficient ways of operating.
4. New opportunities
Sustainability can create new opportunities for your businesses by opening new markets and creating new revenue streams. Companies specializing in sustainable products and services can tap into the growing demand for solutions that do better. For example, sustainability can create opportunities for businesses to collaborate with other companies, NGOs, and governments to achieve common goals.
5. Attract talent
Younger generations are increasingly concerned about the environment and social responsibility. If you prioritize sustainability, your business can demonstrate its commitment to those values and attract employees who share them. We can design for sustainability to help you improve employee morale and engagement, creating a sense of purpose and a shared mission.
Best practices for designing for sustainability
You need a strategic approach that considers your business and its impact from a holistic point of view. This includes internal processes and initiatives, and external or people-facing products and service.
1. Define a purpose for your company and a sustainability strategy aligned with what you believe
A business strategy that focuses on sustainability consults and has inputs from stakeholders that are not only human or directly related.
A truly innovative strategy design needs to use research as done in "strategic design," which is qualitative and explorative. Generally speaking, sustainability strategies are more than consulting and taking into account one type of stakeholder.
2. Define a path of those strategies you need to work on
Weaving a business's past, present, and future into a plan is helpful for progress. Set a clear plan with objectives, time frames, and success metrics.
Without a plan you might do things here and there, but sustainability is never going to be truly core to your business. Create a plan that aligns with what you believe, keep your eyes on the plan, constantly checking the progress and reviewing where necessary.
Here are some questions to ponder:
How do we connect with players who can help us shorten the time?
What can we leverage to achieve goals and objectives?
What horizon of time are these strategies to be work on?
What better state am I measuring against to know things are going in the right direction?
3. Set the right governance
Setting the right governance model to make the strategy everybody’s business is vital. You need to create something that might challenge your current governance model.
4. Invite a creative team to work on those challenges and find ways to innovate and deliver true value
Hiring qualified employees is one thing, and getting results is another. Aim at working with professionals who can help you solve the challenges you've identified in your plan. Hire people who are inspired by what you are in terms of sustainability. You either hire the people with the right mindset, or you must educate them to think like you.
Create a holistic working environment where all employees feel welcome. That way, they’ll be more committed to the business's success.
When looking for a creative team, here’s what you should ask yourself:
Any reference on how strategic design can take you to deliver value?
How do we follow an iterative where we are constantly learning?
How does adopting a design thinking approach help you better understand your client’s users and deliver better for them, and how can that be applied to initiatives aligned with sustainability? When we work with sustainability, our framework is wider than just users. We think of actants.
How nxtting can help
At nxtting, we believe that sustainability is crucial for the success of any business. We help businesses design for sustainability by:
Discussing your sustainability strategy and finding places where we can add value: We seek to understand your sustainability strategy before implementing it. Our team of professionals will evaluate your strategy from different perspectives. They'll fix any weaknesses to make it more robust. If you don't have one, we can also create one for you.
Help you make real or tangible your sustainability targets and goals: At Nxtting, we help you realize your sustainability targets and goals. That's the magic behind our strategic design approach.
Support the change needed in the organization to get sustainability at its core: We help businesses have teams that prioritize sustainability at their core. We have the expertise and resources to train and support sustainable practices and behavior.
Contact us today to discuss sustainability
Designing for sustainability is no longer an option or buzzword but a must-have for businesses. By designing your business for sustainability, you can reduce costs, improve brand reputation, drive innovation, and promote sustainable behavior.
At nxtting, we believe that sustainability is a strategy that every business must adopt to remain relevant and competitive in today's market. We will help you achieve your sustainability goals by designing customized sustainability that aligns with your values and objectives. Contact us for more information about how we can help your business design for sustainability.