A sustainable business is any organization that participates in Environmentally friendly or green activities to ensure that all processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address current environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. In other words, it is a business that meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

It is the process of assessing how to design products that will take advantage of the current environmental situation and how well a company’s products perform with renewable resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Striving to Meet the Triple Bottom Line

A sustainable business is a business that meets the economic, social and environmental needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 

Green Business

Eco-Effectiveness

Sustainable Scoring Platform

 

 

 

 

A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has a both strategically and tactically  positive impact on the economy, society and environment. Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies.

Sustainable development within a business can create value for customers, employees, investors, and the environment. A sustainable business must meet needs of investors and customers while, at the same time, treating the environment well. To succeed in such an approach, where stakeholder balancing and joint solutions are key, requires a holistic approach (→ Example).

 

Circular Economy

Harmonious Mega-Innovation

Circular Business Models

Green Entrepreneurship

Sustainable Technology

Green Jobs

Green Procurement

UN SDG

 

 

 

 

  

 

 




SOCIAL SPHERE
Organizations that give back to the community, whether through employees volunteering their time or through charitable donations are often considered socially sustainable. Organizations also can encourage education in their communities by training their employees and offering internships to younger members of the community. Practices such as these increase the education level and quality of life in the community.

For a business to be truly sustainable, it must sustain not only the necessary environmental resources, but also social resources—including employees, customers (the community), and its reputation.

 

Corporate sustainability strategies
Corporate sustainability strategies can aim to take advantage of sustainable revenue opportunities, while protecting the value of business against increasing energy costs, the costs of meeting regulatory requirements, changes in the way customers perceive brands and products, and the volatile price of resources.

Not all eco-strategies can be incorporated into a company's Eco-portfolio immediately. The widely practiced strategies include: Innovation, Collaboration, Process Improvement and Sustainability reporting.

1. Innovation & Technology
This introverted method of sustainable corporate practices focuses on a company's ability to change its products and services towards less waste production and sustainable best practices.

2. Collaboration
The formation of networks with similar or partner companies facilitates knowledge sharing and propels innovation.

3. Process Improvement
Continuous process surveying and improvement are essential to reduction in waste. Employee awareness of company-wide sustainability plan further aids the integration of new and improved processes.

4. Sustainability Reporting
Periodic reporting of company performance in relation to goals. These goals are often incorporated into the corporate mission.

Sustainable Scoring Platform
 

5. Greening the Supply Chain
Sustainable procurement is important for any sustainability strategy as a company's impact on the environment is much bigger than the products that they consume. The B Corporation (certification) model is a good example of one that encourages companies to focus on this

 

Additionally, companies might consider implementing a sound measurement and management system with readjustment procedures, as well as a regular forum for all stakeholders to discuss sustainability issues.[42] The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement and management system aiming at balancing financial and non-financial as well as short and long-term measures. It explicitly integrates strategically relevant environmental, social and ethical goals into the overall performance management system [43] and supports strategic sustainability management.

 

Circular business models
Further information: Circular Economy
While the initial focus of academic, industry, and policy activities was mainly focused on the development of re-X (recycling, remanufacturing, reuse, recovery, ...) technology, it soon became clear that the technological capabilities increasingly exceed their implementation. To leverage this technology for the transition towards a Circular Economy, different stakeholders have to work together. This shifted attention towards business model innovation as a key leverage for 'circular' technology adaption.[44]

Circular business models are business models that are closing, narrowing, slowing, intensifying, and dematerializing loops, to minimize the resource inputs into and the waste and emission leakage out of the organizational system. This comprises recycling measures (closing), efficiency improvements (narrowing), use phase extensions (slowing or extending), a more intense use phase (intensifying), and the substitution of product utility by service and software solutions (dematerializing).[

 

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Sustainability is often confused with corporate social responsibility (CSR), though the two are not the same. Bansal and DesJardine (2014) state that the notion of ‘time’ discriminates sustainability from CSR and other similar concepts. Whereas ethics, morality, and norms permeate CSR, sustainability only obliges businesses to make intertemporal trade-offs to safeguard intergenerational equity. Short-termism is the bane of sustainability.