Now, more than ever, organizations are focusing on the environmental impact of doing business and are turning to specialized resources to help them go green. “Going green” is part of a larger global movement working to provide a sustainable energy future and focusing these efforts can provide many important benefits. Saving costs, reusing valuable resources, and meeting compliance standards, not to mention growing brand recognition and building trust amongst customers are all welcomed results of increased attention on sustainability.
Sustainability is Trending
Sustainability is more than just a buzzword. Case in point: younger generations. Did you know? Younger consumers are more willing to purchase traceable, trustworthy products than their older counterparts: Deloitte research shows 64% of Gen Zers and Millennials would actually pay more for a product if it were environmentally sustainable. Additionally, it’s no coincidence that many businesses have begun to include dedicated sustainability sections on their websites.
A Multi-Angled Approach
There are individual aspects of sustainability that can help guide organizations to a bigger picture of an all-encompassing, complete sustainable solution. Rather than each piece being mutually exclusive, together, they cofunction and affect one another simultaneously.
Businesses should always maintain a strong focus on their environmental impact. Reducing carbon footprints while integrating further action plans that improve energy efficiency and increase environmental sustainability are crucial components of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Consumers are increasingly looking for transparency and concerted efforts from businesses of all sizes to drive sustainability efforts. Such efforts typically result in saving business costs by reducing energy use and earning tax or carbon credits.
While being sustainable is the end goal, businesses must remain profitable. An organization’s ability to comply with government policies and to be transparent during the accounting process is also a part of its economics. This is an important part of making any company more sustainable, because by making wise investments in specific areas like resource management, waste reduction, and creating more job opportunities, a company becomes more profitable.
Finally, a company’s overall values and practices must be considered. Anything that affects its employees, stakeholders, consumers, and even the community, should be a point of focus. From a business standpoint, zeroing in on retention strategies will keep employees happy. Benefits like flexible schedules, PTO, paternity leave, and growth opportunities are all a part of internal sustainability. On a larger scale, this refers to business practices in general: are employees making fair wages? Is the working environment safe? Do employees want to stay long term?
The Dalrada Energy Services Advantage
To address sustainability, businesses must figure out these key items. It’s a “knowing vs. doing” and “compliance vs. competition” scenario. Incorporating sustainability into any business model provides a true competitive advantage and should be seen as a must do for businesses of all sizes.
Dalrada Energy Services helps companies structure sustainable business plans that are in compliance with laws and mandates, at the local, state, and federal levels. DES addresses unmet energy savings and opportunities for clients while correcting current energy issues, ultimately increasing cost savings.
Companies like DES offer support and solutions to organizations to make sure they maintain transparency and focus on their ongoing sustainability business goals.