How to Drive Top-Line Growth with Triple-Bottom-Line Thinking

In this post, we list the key highlights from the book The Sustainability Edge. We believe sustainability is the core of continued growth and long-term success as today’s consumers and investors are pressuring industries to become more accountable and responsible. Businesses must reinvent themselves to meet today’s social, environmental and financial challenges. So how does focusing on sustainability can give your company a “triple-bottom-line” competitive edge?

The key takeaways are:

• Sustainability empowers “triple-bottom-line” results: “profit, people and planet.”
• Traditional strategies no longer provide a competitive edge as businesses face more external challenges to growth.
• Socially responsible companies engender customer loyalty, attract investor dollars and generate higher profits.
• Sustainability is now a priority for your nine primary stakeholders, who fall into three groups: “Direct Impact” stakeholders include “consumers, customers and employees.” “Enabler Impact” stakeholders are “suppliers, investors and communities,” and the “Indirect Impact” category of stakeholders includes “NGOs, governments and media.”
• “Mindful consumption” puts the health of the planet first.
• Businesses benefit from eco-friendly partnerships with suppliers.
• Sustainability fosters employee engagement because workers find it meaningful.
• Strategic media campaigns can teach about ecological threats, problems and solutions.
• Sustaining the Earth requires government, non-government organizations and businesses to work in concert.

Summary

The Challenge

Yesterday’s strategies no longer deliver a competitive advantage. In today’s business environment, companies face numerous external challenges to growth. Once-abundant resources have become scarce, driving up costs. Competitors quickly duplicate innovations, customers are more cynical, and government regulation and policy shift continually. Today, companies need new strategies to achieve a long-lasting competitive edge. Emory University business professor Kevin P. Coyne reports that companies must develop a “sustainable competitive advantage” to remain ahead. That advantage will come from sustainability itself. Many developed world markets have reached maturity, and most product categories suffer from saturation. Fueled by social network data, millennial consumers demand that companies practice transparency and accountability in conservation and sustainability. Opportunities for growth in the developing world also require new tactics and models. As more consumers in these nations enter the middle class, the demand on Earth’s finite resources continues to accelerate.

Sustainability means basing your business practices on the premise of an interconnected world with finite resources. Embracing sustainability empowers companies to outperform their competitors and deliver “triple-bottom-line” results: “profit, people and planet.” Increasingly, investors and other stakeholders want to know how your business practices affect the environment. Governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) work together to compel corporations to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. On Earth Day 2016, 175 countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, a climate accord aimed at reducing global warming “well below two degrees Celsius” [3.6°F] by 2100.

“The next major competency that businesses will need to pursue and fully integrate to gain a sustainable and consistent competitive advantage will be sustainability itself.”

The Business Case for Sustainability

People and institutions want their work, their investments and their patronage to align with their values. Making that level of sustainability an integral part of your culture requires infusing every business practice and process with an awareness of your environmental responsibility. Sustainably oriented businesses do better than their less sustainably minded competitors. To generate this transformation, collaborate on sustainability issues with your major stakeholders, as well as your employees, investors and customers. The primary stakeholders you want to engage fit into nine groups in three categories: “Direct Impact” stakeholders include “consumers, customers and employees.” The “Enabler Impact” group has “suppliers, investors and communities,” and the “Indirect Impact” category includes “NGOs, governments and media.”

“Becoming increasingly sustainable is the only way a business can both create a lasting competitive advantage…and preserve its own longevity in the face of evolving global challenges.”

“Motivating Consumers”

Increasingly, consumers make purchase decisions based on their values – including environmentalism – by “figuratively voting” for products and services with their wallets. To meet the need to adopt and practice sustainable behaviors, consumers and businesses must shift to a perspective of “mindful consumption,” a purchasing philosophy prioritizing the planet’s health. Consumers position themselves on a continuum of greenness. “Dark green” consumers conduct research and pay more for sustainable offerings; “non-greens” don’t factor environmental issues into their purchasing decisions. “Light greens” fall in between. Smart companies such as Patagonia and Whole Foods dominate the sustainable consumer segment. Sustainability messages so inundate consumers that individual messages blur and become meaningless. To resonate with your consumers, share your sustainability story. Your messages must be authentic and truthful. Explain that your product or service delivers value in addition to being the green choice. Consumers want to know the “full life cycle impact” of green items, including the use of environmentally responsible production processes and material, as well as the materials’ ultimate disposability. For decades, businesses encouraged consumers to consume. Some millennials work against this trend by deciding to consume less than previous generations.

“Today’s best companies recognize that doing ‘good’ is more beneficial than doing ‘less bad’ and that…doing ‘good’ actually creates more measurable financial value.”

“Collaborating with Customers”

Customer-oriented businesses gain a competitive advantage from forming partnerships with suppliers who focus on sustainability. For example, environmentally conscientious consumers shop at Whole Foods Market because it stocks items from companies that produce organic, non–genetically modified organism (non-GMO) foods and Fair Trade products. Stores can promote products that address sustainability goals. For instance, IKEA quit offering incandescent light bulbs and endorses the use of energy-efficient LED bulbs. In 2010, Walmart announced its intention to work with its supply chain to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 million tons by 2015.

“Individuals and institutions want to invest in a manner that is consistent with their specific beliefs and values.”

Similarly, you can collaborate with like-minded retailers, schools, universities and government organizations through conferences and events that highlight sustainable products and services. Join forums and programs – such as the Forum for the Future and the World Wildlife Fund – to improve sustainable practices across your industry. Engage employees by encouraging suppliers, partners, investors and customers to share their best sustainability practices. Establish shared sustainability strategies with your suppliers and educate your consumers about your sustainability practices. Participate in community outreach programs that address environmental issues.

“A business’s sustainability initiatives, if they are to endure and thrive, must both be hinged to the business’s core strategies and garner visible support and involvement from senior leadership.”

“Inspiring Employees”

Engaged employees are more productive, have better attendance, stay on the job longer and sell more than their disconnected colleagues. Sustainability facilitates employee engagement because people want to work for companies that fulfill their values, including protecting the environment. Millennials site sustainability practices as a deciding factor in deciding where to work.

“Corporate-NGO partnerships are in a unique position to ally to address global environmental and societal challenges that governments are often ill-equipped to solve.”

Secure support from upper management to link your firm’s eco-friendly initiatives to its core strategies. Invite employees to participate in developing sustainability programs based on issues that matter to them. Walmart employees can customize individual environmentally conscious plans via the company’s “My Sustainability Plan” framework. Google’s employees can use green transportation, chose among responsibly sourced foods in the cafeterias, and reuse and recycle materials. Recognize and reward employees who demonstrate a commitment to sustainability.

“Buyers and users are figuratively voting for products and services, and what those products stand for, when they purchase them.”

“Nurturing Suppliers”

Significantly reduce your costs and boost your sustainability by continually assessing your supply chain’s green practices. Collaborating with your suppliers can produce greater returns for you and them. Successful business-supplier partnerships reduce environmental harm, are more cost-efficient and improve product quality. Ask your suppliers to suggest improvements that align with your mutual business and sustainability goals. For instance, The German conglomerate Siemens helped the city of Istanbul improve its water system.

“Sustainability has been embedded in the millennial purchasing agenda from the beginning of their shopping careers.”

Establish sustainable procurement policies for your suppliers and develop a “supplier sustainability code of conduct” to outline labor, environment and management standards. Include a “zero-tolerance list” to set benchmarks suppliers must meet. Monitor supplier compliance and track performance. In 2000,  IKEA introduced IWAY, a code of conduct outlining its sustainable values. IKEA requires suppliers to follow these standards and employs auditors to verify their performance. Today, “18,000 registered secondary suppliers” comply.

“Customers are not only interested in improving their own environmental footprint but are often equally concerned about their suppliers’ environmental footprint.”

“Investing in Communities”

Stakeholders increasingly pressure businesses to be socially and environmentally responsible. A firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programming should embody its commitment to improve the world while pursuing profit for its shareholders. Progressive leaders view CSR as a morally sound path to a competitive edge. Firms that practice CSR win customer loyalty, attract investors, retain workers and generate more profit. Successful community programs tackle social issues, revitalize neighborhoods, help the environment and protect natural resources.

“Workers wish to be a part of a company where they can maximize their collective impact on societal issues.”

Green-focused companies support a variety of community programs, including “signature projects” that arise from the core of their business or employee-initiated “team projects.” For example, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, both of which use vast amounts of water, support clean “water neutral” projects. Each brand conducts education and outreach programming to help local communities. The Grameen Bank, which gives microloans to low-income groups, lifts recipients out of abject poverty while generating respectable financial returns.

“Unless we, as a human race, change our consumption patterns, there will not be enough resources on this planet to meet human needs.”

“Attracting Investors”

People and institutions want their investments to align with their values. In the US, one of six investment dollars is designated for socially responsible investing. Financial institutions rely on sustainability rating agencies to facilitate their investment decisions. Morgan Stanley created the Institute for Sustainable Investing platform to help clients incorporate green values into their portfolios. Companies seeking socially responsible investment money can highlight their eco-friendly processes and activities to draw potential investors. Companies can tackle sustainability issues in revenue growth, productivity, costs, supply chain risks and reputation pitfalls. To quantify the progress of your initiatives, show these changes contribute to your company’s health.

“The only path remaining in today’s market to achieve long-term success is to fully embrace sustainability.”

“Leveraging Media”

Companies that build media partnerships and outreach campaigns can educate consumers about environmental threats, problems and possible solutions. You want to convey your sustainability strategies, successes and challenges so that they resonate with consumers. In 2009, for example, Starbucks sought input from patrons about the waste created by disposable cups. Customer input gave rise to the idea of reusable “Karma Cups.” Starbucks began rewarding consumers who brought in non-disposable coffee cups.

“The Sustainability Edge’ is the ideology and process that can help every business stand on firmer foundation, reach higher and travel farther in this uncertain world.”

To address the knowledge gap between what US adults believe about climate change and the science that supports it, some environmentally minded companies have used their media campaigns to educate the public. For example, in India, the media provided positive publicity for the 2014 Clean India campaign, educating the public and encouraging participation. In another example, Mullen’s Mediahub conducted an environmental impact audit on Timberland’s media plan for its high-end Earthkeeper boot – a product “designed with sustainable materials [and] targeted at outdoor enthusiasts and environmentally-conscious consumers.” The company purchased wind power credits to offset the campaign’s electricity consumption.

“Engaging Government”

Government’s role in sustaining the environment includes setting short-term goals that prevent long-term destructive consequences. Governmental entities can establish standards and regulations against destructive or self-serving activities. Examples include the minimum wage, emission limitations, land-use regulations and the US Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides.

Governments can provide rewards, such as tax credits, for environmentally aware practices and can encourage a long-term focus on sustainability by “developing human capital, providing incentives for private investment, funding infrastructure and promoting common sustainability metrics.”

Governments and international agencies also can work with developing nations to help mitigate the harmful impact of climate change by providing technology and financing. Business can encourage or discourage government activities by exerting marketing pressure to influence public opinion. Industry group lobbyists can help mold legislation. Public and private entities can work in partnership to address societal and environment issues.

“Partnering with NGOs”

NGOs are nonprofit groups formed around public interest issues. A social NGO focuses on human issues and addresses how business activity affects society. An environmental NGO deals with ecological concerns and collaborates with other types of institutions. NGO–corporate partnerships can boost a company’s public image in resource stewardship and community development. NGOs also act as trusted advisers, providing expertise, lobbying government, sharing networks, and developing standards and certifications.

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