Nowadays, you hear about Sustainable business Management frequently. However, it is a relatively new trend.   

A sustainable business has a positive impact on the environment, surrounding community, and sales growth, too.   

Most customers favor sustainable companies, too. So, you can also build your brand’s reputation if you invest in sustainable Business Management. At the same time, investors have recently preferred to invest in sustainable businesses.   

IBM performed a global survey in 2024. It was found that 51% of the customers from 10 important countries said sustainability matters to them.  

They thought sustainability was much more critical now compared to 12 months back. Therefore, it’s a challenge for leaders to secure their bottom line. To do so, they need a meaningful strategy ASAP!  

Natural benefits of sustainability in 2024  

Modern companies use many sustainability measures. Most companies are careful about their bottom line. If your business is sustainable like Zara, you will retain customers.  

Impact of sustainable HR practices   

Sustainable companies have a happier workforce in 2024. Sustainable businesses do not exploit workers.   

The Ministry of Labor in Brazil recently discovered that 300000 workers are recruited in slave-like conditions in that country. Most of them work for Zara’s third-party suppliers. As an outcome, global calls for boycotting Zara’s products were heard.  

However, some companies like NVidia offer 22 weeks (about five months) of allowance and bonuses to new parents, among other policies. As a result of these fair labor practices, NVidia’s brand value grew to 163% in 2024.  

Impact of environmental sustainability  

Companies that care about the environment are the most popular now. Many companies use solar or bio-fuel power to recycle waste.   

There are many specimens of other ecological practices. For evidence, IKEA is committed to reducing its emission rate by 70% by 2030. The bottom line is that the brand popularity of IKEA became 33% in 2023.   

In conclusion, you can easily link your sustainability goals with profit. Customers recognize your brand if you implement unique measures of sustainability. Again, it boosts your brand awareness.   

Social impact of sustainable business  

Socially responsible companies help local communities to grow. For instance, many companies support community education and health needs. Many others look after people with low incomes in the community.   

CVS Health is one of the most famous examples in this regard. The company realized that the sale of tobacco causes harm to society. Therefore, CVS decided overnight that they would not sell cigarettes from their 7600 stores.   

Ben & Jerry’s is a comparatively new brand. This company raises voice about the latest social issues like:  

• Marriage equality  
• Reform of criminal justice in the USA  

The company also supported the Black Lives Matter campaign profusely.   

Business Impact  

Some sustainable decisions increase the profits, too. Many companies recently introduced innovative lighting features in their offices. As a result, they saved on electricity bills. Experts say that there are many ways to save money in your company. In 2024, hybrid working will undoubtedly be one of those methods.   

Other methods include reducing paper use and shared vehicles.   

What does Sustainable Business Management look like?  

To make your business sustainable, you need a strategy first. Some companies use AI and IoT to decide the best sustainability strategies.   

By doing so, they are creating more efficient companies. For example, I showed how to link your sustainability strategy with business growth. Experts say most companies have many responsible customers. All of them want their favorite brands to have Sustainable Business Management.   

For instance, Kate Fletcher introduced the concept of slow fashion. It is a protest movement. Its motto is to inspire people to buy less from the high street brands. Most of these brands run sweatshops. People work in pathetic conditions in these sweatshops.   

This is an unconscious bias. Many companies carry on this legacy of exploiting workers for their benefit, as this strategy has been going on for years.

Read the article, Overcoming Unconscious Bias: Training and Tools for Modern Leaders to learn more about unconscious bias.   

Steps to create a sustainable business  

• The first step is to create a vision for Sustainable Business Management. You must identify an area where you can contribute to sustainability.   

Business services like IBM Garage work with emerging brands to help them identify and work on their sustainability challenges.   

• Secondly, you need to implement a timebound framework approach. This approach allows you to develop quick steps to spread the Sustainable Business Management approach across all departments.   
• Finally, you take short and measurable actions to make your business more sustainable.   

• It would help to link your sustainability strategy with a business goal. For instance, you can increase brand popularity by 25% by promoting sustainable action. You can release short videos or pictures of your sustainable action on social media to inform customers about it.   

Which areas can be more sustainable?  

Research shows that there are five areas to focus on. If you concentrate on these areas, you will undoubtedly become a responsible and famous brand.   

Managing climate risk  

It’s time for global brands to recognize the actions that cause damage to the environment. Incidents like the Exxon Valdez oil spill will impact the environment for a long time.   

Experts say that you can collect data from various sources. These sources will inform you about the areas that are impacted due to your business activities. You have proprietary company data. You also have third-party data, such as data from suppliers and customer feedback. Then, you have geospatial data from software and analytics platforms. Lastly, there is IoT data, too.   

All these data sources can inform you how you impact the environment and community with your business actions. For evidence, if the pollution level of the atmosphere surrounding your factories is beyond acceptable limits, your geospatial sources will report it,  

If your suppliers torture the workers and force them to work inhumanly, you can ask them to send HRM reports. You can also learn about such issues from public media.   

Building better infrastructure   

You have a great sense of responsibility towards your customers. So, it would help if you protected them against challenges like data and privacy breaches. It mainly applies to you if you are a bank or a similar company. It would help if you secured their online transactions.  

Brands like Visa use a two-layer security feature in their payment methods. In this way, they are more responsible towards their customer community.   

Sustainability In Supply Chains   

It would help if you amended your supply chain to reduce wastage and pressure on existing resources. More brands should publish newsletters, social media posts, and other content to make their customers aware. It is high time that customers became aware of the benefits of reuse and stopped wastage.   

Brands like H&M allow customers to exchange old clothes for up to 40% discount on new ones. In this way, more brands can encourage customers to do so.   

Wrapping up……….  

The most successful companies know how to balance profit and purpose. You can also increase the popularity of your brand by investing in sustainable actions. Many global companies are doing the same. However, Sustainable Business Management is only possible if your business scales.    

Most customers also want their favorite brands to be more sustainable. So, it’s high time for your brand to indulge in some meaningful sustainability strategy. In 2024, most companies have a unique focus on sustainability. Your brand must have it, too!