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 the future generations to meet their own needs.”[2][3] 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.
The Brundtland Report emphasized that sustainability is a three-legged stool of people, planet, and profit.[2] Sustainable businesses with the supply chain try to balance all three through the triple-bottom-line concept—using sustainable development and sustainable distribution to impact the environment, business growth, and the society.[5][6]
Everyone affects the sustainability of the marketplace and the planet in some way. Sustainable development within a business can create value for customers, investors, and the environment. A sustainable business must meet customer needs while, at the same time, treating the environment well.[7]
Six Essential Characteristics
A mature and authentic sustainable business could contain these six essentials. These essentials are rooted in many sustainability principals but are also dynamic as well. There is no reason in the future for essentials not to shift or adjust as we evolve our understanding of a sustainable business.
1. Triple Top-line Value Production
"The TTL Establishes three simultaneous requirements of sustainable business activities - financial benefits for the company, natural world betterment, and social advantages for employees and members of the local community - with each of these three components recognized as equal in status." Though this is sometimes called the Triple Bottom Line, triple top line stresses the importance of initial value rather than after the fact effects.
2. Nature - Based Knowledge and Technology
"This biomimicry-based principal involves the conscious emulation of natural-world genius in terms of growing our food, harnessing our energy, constructing things, conducting business healing ourselves, processing information and designing our communities"
3. Products of Service to Products of Consumption
"Products of service are durable goods routinely leased by the customer that are made of technical materials and are returned to the manufacturer and re-processed into a new generation of products when they are worn out.(These products are mostly non-toxic to human and environmental health but toxic materials that are used will be kept within a closed loop type system and not be able to escape into the environment). Products of consumption are shorter lived items made only of biodegradable materials. They are broken down by the detritus organisms after the products lose their usefulness.(These are also non-hazardous to human or environmental health). This principal requires that we manufacture only these two types of products and necessitates the gradual but continual reductions of products of service and their replacement with products of consumption as technological advancements allow." See Cradle to Cradle for other thoughts on Technical(Products of Service) and Biological(Products of consumption) nutrients.
4. Solar, Wind, Geothermal and Ocean Energy
"This principal advocates employing only sustainable energy technology - solar,wind,ocean and geothermal - that can meet our energy needs indefinitely without negative effects for life on earth."
5. Local-Based Organizations and Economies
"This ingredient includes durable, beautiful and healthy communities with locally owned and operated businesses and locally managed non-profit organizations, along with regional corporations and shareholders working together in a dense web of partnerships and collaborations." See examples of the importance of local business.
6. Continuous Improvement Process_________________________________________________________________________________
"Operational processes inside successful organizations include provisions for constant advancements and upgrade as the company does its business. The continuous process of monitoring, analyzing, redesigning and implementing is used to intensify TTL value production as conditions change and new opportunities emerge."[13]
Now all of that sounds fantastic, and may seem larger than life, but it's not; this is how I see it.
- This is simple, make a profit, do something that benefits the world and has social advantages for your employees and the local community.
- Take inspiration from nature to solve human problems.
- Manufacture products that are consumable and fewer that are service products.
- Where possible, use alternative energy to manufacture your products
- Being locally owned and selling locally enhances the community
- Constantly strive to improve your processes and business practices.
Deloitte | Three Things Your Chief Sustainability Officer Won’t Tell You
Be well, ddse+m
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Product Promotion: Seaside Foot Butter
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