Why is sustainability in business important?

Find out why more and more companies are embracing sustainable business practices, like
switching to digital documents.

Sustainability is a trending topic worldwide. It’s no wonder, then, that it’s also increasingly
important to businesses. As a result, most firms today have at least a basic sustainability strategy.
But why exactly is sustainability important in business?

Sustainability is about balance.

Sustainable businesses must meet current needs while also safeguarding the needs of future
generations. But how is that done? By striking a balance between the economy, the environment,
and society. Read on for two ways to help achieve that goal.

Make a positive impact.

When you conduct a business sustainably it provides multiple positive impacts, including:

• Human impact: Sustainable businesses don’t overburden or abuse their employees or

suppliers, especially those from less developed areas or marginalized groups.
• Environmental impact: Sustainable business practices protect nature and conserve
natural resources wherever possible.
• Social impact: Socially sustainable companies recognize their own importance to people
and society, and work to improve their local communities.
• Business impact: Consumers are more likely to support sustainable businesses.
Sustainability also cuts business costs by reducing energy consumption and waste.

Digital documents encourage sustainability.

Building sustainability is a complex matter, but getting started is easy. Your business can digitize
paper documents into digital PDF files to reduce paper, ink, and electricity consumption, saving
you money and resources.

Digital document transformation provides other benefits as well. You can easily edit PDFs on
any device with online tools, such as Adobe Acrobat online services. You can add pages to PDFs
to combine documents, extract pages when needed, convert files to PDF, sign documents, and
much more. You can also share PDF files instantly and reduce postage costs and fuel
consumption.

Take a moment to discover what more you can do with Acrobat online services today.
Impacts of sustainability in modern business world

1. Digitalization of documents
I. Save time
ii.Save money
iii.Accuracy and efficient
iv.Customer friendly
v.

The Benefits of Sustainability in Business

Sustainability in business isn’t just good for the environment or society at large — it’s also good
for the business itself. Here are just a few of the many benefits of operating a more sustainable
business:

Reduces Business Costs

“Greening” your business takes an initial investment, but, over time, you’ll save money by
prioritizing sustainability. A 2011 McKinsey survey on the business of sustainability found that
33% of businesses were integrating sustainable practices to improve operational efficiency and
cut costs — resulting in a 19% increase from the previous year. Over the course of 10 years,
clients of the managed service provider Elytus saved over $11 million through sustainable waste
management and transparency.

You can reduce your business costs by going green. For instance, using more efficient lighting or
creatively reusing existing materials will save money. Although it takes an upfront investment,
converting to solar energy pays off: the average commercial property owner will save about $500
per month on electricity, which equals savings of $587,377 over the life of the solar power
system. Most businesses pay off the cost of panels in five to seven years.

The federal government even offers tax credits, rebates, and savings for going green. Ultimately,
the more sustainable your business becomes, the less you’ll spend on energy and materials.

Improves Business’ Reputation

Reputation management in business is about establishing a good image by aligning messages

with actions. Among the most reputable companies for corporate social responsibility, Lego
comes in at No. 3 because of its decision to make Legos from plant-based sources. After it made
the announcement, Lego immediately followed through with products produced from leaves and
sugarcane. The Danish toy company plans to use sustainable materials for all of its core products
and packaging by 2030. As a result, the company’s reputation has skyrocketed.

People view sustainability as a plus, and companies with green values are eager to showcase
them because of that fact. Going green shows the world you care about more than just making
money. You can use this to your advantage when marketing your business and developing your
brand identity.

Provides Competitive Advantage

S&P 500 companies with sustainability baked into their strategy perform better than those that
don’t: they see an 18% higher ROI because they’re managing and planning for climate change.
According to Jeffrey Hollender, professor of sustainability at NYU Stern, “You will perform
better financially by doing things like having a great sustainability program.” Researchers from
Harvard Business Review agree: “We’ve been studying the sustainability initiatives of 30 large
corporations for some time. Our research shows that sustainability is a mother lode of
organizational and technological innovations that yield both bottom-line and top-line returns.”

Increases Bottom Line

You can earn more money and boost your bottom line by making your business more
sustainable. Reduced business costs, more innovative strategies, an improved reputation, and
more new customers who value sustainability all work to increase the amount of money
sustainable businesses earn.

Reference

https://online.maryville.edu/blog/importance-of-environmental-awareness-when-running-a-
business/