Why make your business greener?
Being a ‘green business’ means tackling the acceleration of climate change. As well as several other problems that the old economic system has created, such as the loss of biological diversity.
Being green is not only good for our planet but also your business.
Green business benefits and how to generate them
A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows that hundreds of millions of people all over the world value the natural world and this number is growing. It also shows their willingness to make changes to protect it. Findings include:
- The most dramatic growth in engagement and awareness has occurred in Asia, most notably India (190%), Pakistan (88%) and Indonesia (53%). This reflects a hard reality: people in emerging markets are most likely to experience the devastating impact of the loss of nature
- Consumers are changing their behaviour, with searches for sustainable goods increasing globally by 71% since 2016. Businesses are responding, particularly in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, fashion and food sectors
Besides helping save our planet, running a green business can help you find new revenue streams, boost employee morale, attract talent, and reduce operating costs. Here is where you start: go paperless, work smart (remote work) and switch to renewables are some of the easier ways to start.
However, in the longer term, you may need more complex, tailored solutions. These will likely require taking advantage of emerging technologies and ideas that are not fully proven. These may help your business not only deliver the benefits above but also gain a competitive edge.
Businesses in strategic sectors
Governments alone will not save our planet. Businesses in strategic sectors such as energy, mobility and finance must take the lead and become ‘green businesses’ that go beyond what their governments ask them to do. They need to provide solutions to transform the global economy into a sustainable one.
If they cannot develop green solutions in-house, they can partner with others, maybe smaller businesses that offer green products and technologies.
If they do not clean their act, the market, before their governments, will punish them.
Final thoughts
Both existing and emerging solutions require a change (project) team that has certain key roles and realistic implementation plans to make the change more likely to succeed. Within timelines that can be supported by your business treasury or financial backers.
You may use an internal change team or a hybrid one, composed of both internal staff and external experts. One of the keys to project success is the right mix of innovation and change management experience in the team in charge of it.
P27 has just soft-launched a marketplace where businesses can find solutions to transition to a greener economy:
The Green Business Marketplace (GBM)