Hi Alex here. What is the business case for sustainability?
Is there reliable evidence that quantifies the value of a company
integrating sustainability into its corporate DNA? Turns out the answer is 'yes'
for this video we'll draw on the work of business sustainability guru Bob Willard
after working thirty four years with a IBM Bobcompleted first
a masters and then a doctorate on the business case for sustainability at the
University of Toronto
he is the author of several books and is considered a global expert on this topic
let's see what Bob has to say on the business case for sustainability
first the language nowadays we hear
everything from the word sustainability to triple bottom line
to the three Es equity environment economy
the 3 P's people planet profit CSR
corporate social responsibility and so on what's important to realize from a
business perspective
is that while all these words are relevant and some will resonate with your
company culture
better than others for example words like "profit", "Asset Management"
et cetera what we are ultimately talking about here
he's being a steward of the five capitals in a way that helps your
business be more successful
these are financial and manufactured capitals
related to the economy human and social capitals related to equity
and natural capital related to the environment because
everything comes from nature at some point for more on this last point
and the triple bottom line see earlier videos all the different terms you hear about
all refer to the same thing managing today while preparing for tomorrow
in ways that sent your business up to be resilient in light of changing
conditions
the important thing is to choose your language make sure everyone understands
and is using the same definition
and then stick to it second the numbers
we can't talk about business without using numbers right now that we know what
we're talking about
how do we know whether integrating sustainability into our corporate DNA
will actually help us to steward our five capitals in ways that generate revenue
and mitigate risk? Based on years of research and hundreds of case studies
Bob Willard showed that if a typical company were to use best practice sustainability
approaches
already being used by real companies a small or medium enterprise
six employees and about one million dollars of annual revenue
could improve its profit by at least 51 percent
and a large manufacturing or distribution company
several thousand employees and about five hundred million dollars of annual
revenue
could improve its profit by at least 81 percent compared with
if he did nothing there are seven bottom-line benefits that align with
current evidence
about the most significant sustainability related contributions to
profit
one increased revenue 9 percent
reduced energy 75 percent reduced waste
20 percent four reduced materials
10 percent five increased productivity
2 percent six reduced turnover 25 percent
and seven avoid a potential 16 to 36 percent
erosion of profits due to reduced risks coming from
additional revenue and fewer expenses the first one is about making more money
two to six are about fewer expenses
and seven is a combination of more revenues and fewer expenses
due to reduced risks altogether it's true!
just by doing what others are already doing a business can increase
its profit by 51 to 81 percent within three to five years
and keep in mind that this is only about best practices
innovation and creating better products and services can take you even further
this is well documented and you can go to sustainabilityadvantage.com to
enter your own numbers for your own company
it's all free and open source sustainability is just smart business
that's the bottom line and the numbers we've discussed are just the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to the business case for sustainability
I'll come back with many more videos about the business case in the days
ahead
and also videos on making sustainability relevant for the business
community
so stay tuned subscribe to receive the new videos
thank you to Bob Willard for all his great work and also for being a patron
Sustainability Illustrated
if sustainability education is important to you, you too can become a
patron
and make a pledge on Patreon.com/sustainability
as usual thank you to our patrons we can't make these videos without you and
thank you for watching.
and