Primer on Sustainability in Small Businesses

There are a number of things that small businesses can do to be more environmentally sustainable.  This both lowers costs and enhances the reputation of your enterprise. A growing number of companies are reducing the environmental impact of their businesses, so engaging sustainability is also about remaining competitive. Increasing consumer interest in sustainability makes it ever more important for small businesses to be able to meet burgeoning demand now and in the future.

Why Small Businesses are Engaging Sustainability

The size of the market opportunities is driving small businesses to engage environmental sustainability, as are concerns about survival and long term success. In addition to improving profits, reducing costs and mitigating against risk, engaging sustainability affords opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

While big corporate sustainability initiatives steal headlines, the small business community is also going green. For example, operational efficiency practices are increasingly commonplace even in small companies.

The rationale for engaging sustainability is largely about meeting and anticipating consumer demand. This translates to more customers, increased sales, higher revenues and even price premiums. Sustainability contributes to the crafting of a unique selling proposition, it helps to differentiate a company from the competition, and it offers a competitive advantage. Sustainability provides a host of reputational benefits. The latter contributes to word of mouth marketing, greater trust, improved loyalty, and enhanced employee recruitment and retention.

Why Small Businesses are Well Suited to Sustainability

Small businesses and sustainability are a perfect match. Yet their are a number of reasons why they are not adopting sustainability at the same rate as their corporate counterparts. Just like their larger corporate cousins, small businesses should adopt sustainability policies. There are good reasons why it is easier to engage sustainability in a small business as compared to a large corporation.

While they may not have the deep pockets of big corporations, a small business is more nimble and able to change directions more quickly than large enterprises.

Why Small Businesses are Not Engaging Sustainability

Many small businesses fail to realize the value of sustainability and as a consequence they are not adopting sustainability as quickly as large corporations. Despite the convincing business case for sustainability, small businesses have yet to engage in large numbers. Small business owners commonly perceive sustainability to be overly complex and too costly. The result is that small businesses are often absent from discussions about sustainability.

The inaction of the small business community does not appear to be due to disinterest in environmental responsibility. According to a Lloyds’ survey, 61 percent of small and medium business leaders practice sustainability at home, while only 43 percent incorporate eco-friendly practices at the office.

2013 Global Power Shift in Istanbul Turkey (Video)

Small Businesses Need to Embrace Sustainability Too

It is often assumed that sustainability is only for big corporations, however, smaller companies also need to be looking at ways of going green. Big corporations are adopting sustainability in unprecedented numbers, and CFOs are increasingly seeing the benefits. While sustainability is an increasingly necessary component of business success, it is a double edged sword that implies both opportunities and threats. These potential threats make some small business owners reluctant, however, the reality of the emerging marketplace demands a long term sustainability strategy. Costs are the primary obstacle impeding the widespread adoption of sustainability by small businesses, but in most cases the savings far outweigh any capital outlay. Whether large or small, almost all businesses can benefit from adopting a long term sustainability strategy.

The Business Community is Moving Forward with Sustainability

The business community is moving forward with sustainability despite the weak economy. According to the findings of the fourth annual “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2012,”the global business community has made progress on 14 key sustainability challenges over the past 20 years. For the second year in a row, 62 percent of respondents identified the integration of sustainability into core business operations as the most important leadership challenge for business today.

The poll surveyed more than 500 business leaders from BSR’s global network of nearly 300 member companies. The survey asked executives to evaluate the past and likely future progress on 14 key sustainability challenges.

CFOs are Embracing Sustainability and Seeing Benefits

CFOs are embracing sustainability and getting results from doing so. As reported by Greenbiz, a global survey from Deloitte demonstrates that a growing number of chief financial officers (CFOs) are driving sustainability strategies. The survey, conducted by Verdantix, indicates that CFOs are realizing the key role sustainability plays in financial and business success.

Drawn from the responses of 250 CFOs in 14 countries including the United States, Brazil and South Africa, Deloitte found that two-thirds of CFOs are involved in their company’s sustainability strategies. More than half of those surveyed say their involvement has grown in the past year.

Pakistan's Sustainable Development Strategy

As announced at the Rio+20 summit, Pakistan has a new national sustainable development strategy (NSDS) that will see the creation of a knowledge management system that is based on science, technology and innovation. As reported by SciDev, the knowledge management system will support key economic, environmental and social goals through academic research and foster solution-driven innovation for policy, information gathering, and technology development.

MaRS Cleantech Fund LP: Canadian First in Early-Stage Technology Investing

On March 26th, MaRS announced the launch of Canada’s first dedicated early-stage cleantech venture fund. The MaRS Cleantech Fund LP ushers in a new model in early-stage technology investing by leveraging the strength of a non-exclusive, but strategic relationship between MaRS Discovery District and the private sector.

Innovation is the Future of Canadian Cleantech

Canada has performed well over the last few years. The country looks particularly good when compared to many other nations which suffered tremendously after the recession of 2007 & 2008. Although Canada's ruling Conservatives may try to take the credit, the nation's economic strength is attributable to the market demand for Canada's abundant natural resources like oil and potash.

Global Growth of Cleantech 2007-2020

There is a growing interest in green innovation. Investors are increasingly interested in investing in cleantech, particularly innovative green technology. Over the course of the last five years cleantech has grown tremendously.

How the West can Capitalize on the Growth of Chinese Cleantech in 2012

For the past decade Western countries have led the way in cleantech, but the reduction of government support for the sector is advancing China's position as an international cleantech leader. Due to the eurozone crisis, China can expect to see very little demand from European countries. However, demand from domestic Chinese companies may be enough to drive the growth of China's cleantech industry in 2012.

Top CSR Initiatives for 2012

Many organizations that practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) are expanding their reach in 2012. Corporations are increasingly seeing the value of environmental sustainability. In addition to making more environmentally responsible decisions in 2012, organizations are realizing the value of working with others to achieve their goals and fulfill their CSR potential. Here are some CSR initiatives for 2012.

Video: Aveda's Ongoing Culture of Sustainability

Dominique Nils Conseil became president of Aveda in 2000, taking over from Horst Rechelbacher. He has maintained the company mission which was focused on safe and environmentally friendly products. Aveda's emphasis on planet friendly approach to business has helped make the company one of the world's leading hair and skin care manufacturers. Even after the company was acquired by Estée Lauder, this mission remains the driving force at Aveda.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Video: Creating a Culture of Sustainability

The way to achieve corporate sustainability is by creating the culture from the ground up. Leading sustainability expert and author of Capitalism at the Crossroads, Stuart L. Hart, believes that when sustainability is viewed from the appropriate set of business lenses, leaders can create a culture to align their organization's strategies and people to improve performance and shareholder value. In this video you can learn more about Hart's sustainability framework that helps leaders and organizations harmonize their concerns for the planet with their strategies for growth, innovation and profitability.