Sustainability can be a scary word for businesses. The idea of going green can suggest time and cost, which turn businesses off, said Bob Willard, a sustainability proponent and the guest speaker at a recent workshop jointly hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and EarthCare Sudbury.
But a few key changes can contribute to a company's efforts to be more sustainable, and Willard believes businesses will profit, both economically and socially.
“Companies believe if they go further (to become sustainable), it will be harder and more expensive, so the word 'green' has a negative connotation for many businesses,” Willard said. “The irony is it gets better as you go further.”
Businesspeople have to be stewards of the assets for which they're responsible, including the company's capital, as well as its natural assets such as energy, water and food. Whether directly or indirectly, companies are dependent on their natural capital to help generate financial capital, he said.
Increasingly, sustainability includes good corporate citizenship, such as how a business treats its employees, what kinds of policies and practices it puts in place, and how it relates to a community. If the public sees a company as being responsible in these areas, that will play in its favour.
“The brand and the image, and the trust, really drive what people call the top line, the revenue part,” Willard said. “So if you can improve your image, especially with your customers, then that's going to help drive more revenue.”
In 1992, Willard's former employer, IBM, was borrowing money to meet its payroll and dividend obligations and close to going out of business. Customers weren't buying products because the company's reputation with customers was deteriorating. As Willard noted, IBM was losing its social capital.
The company managed to turn the situation around, of course, but too often sustainability is put on the bottom of a company's priority lists.
Willard doesn't believe sustainability and profit have to be mutually exclusive. He estimated small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can increase their profits by 66 per cent within five years if they make sustainability a priority, while large businesses can see a 38 per cent jump in profits.
“What we're talking about here is a way of repurposing companies so that they do have a legitimacy for the environmental and social aspect of their operation, as well as the financial aspect of their operation,” he said.
Willard conceded that sustainability proponents haven't always been clear about what it takes to make a business eco-friendly, but said that small amendments to the workplace — changing light bulbs, turning down the heat, using less paper — can reap businesses a huge benefit.
Getting employee input can be one of the most effective ways of finding innovative solutions to reducing costs and becoming more eco-friendly, Willard said, and he urges businesses to be creative when determining changes.
“It's clear that the people that have been running the planet up until now are clueless on how we're going to figure this all out,” he said. “So we just need to roll up our sleeves and help — help ourselves, and the local communities and other communities.”
