A Sustainable Blueprint for Businesses in 2023 and Beyond

As 2023 takes its bow as the hottest year ever, extreme climate events dominate the news and the future of our planet looks increasingly bleak. Sustainability is no longer an optional extra, but a pressing necessity. So, what can businesses do about it, and what measures can we take to rethink both our cities and our relationship with nature?

At this year's Web Summit, Prof. Chris Kroll, Professor of Sustainability IU and Sita Chantramonklasri, founder of Siam Capital, argued that sustainability is becoming cool with the consumer and that businesses who are serious about their future should revisit their approach to it.

The days when Greenwashing was okay have disappeared. Customers are becoming more informed about the issues facing the planet. They no longer want to read just nice words; they want to see concrete action being taken and will vote with their wallets to support those companies that they see as taking this seriously.

It is only a matter of time before legislators across the world impose harsher measures on businesses to curb greenhouse gas emissions. As the climate crisis deepens, it makes business sense to start incorporating greener policies on an elective basis sooner rather than later.

Professor Kroll argues that sustainability can be a differentiator for business success. An engaged customer base and growing opportunities are ready for those companies prepared to take the lead in investing in technology and leadership. Described as the ‘Tragedy of the Horizon’, by Mark Carney, ex-chief of the Bank of England, climate change has very real costs, and those businesses with longer vision know that governments won’t sit on their hands forever as population demands change. Before legislation imposes any sustainability targets and costs on businesses, being in the vanguard of sustainable corporate policy means being in a better market position and gives businesses increased ESG visibility and relevance.

Sita Chantramonklasri argues the case for businesses to invest in and use technology to reimagine humanity’s relationship with cities and sustainability. Gone are the days when simply employing a Sustainability Officer was enough. Sustainability is now a board-level issue, and a company’s environmental efforts and credentials are at the heart of its brand.

At big group, we see sustainability as a core business discipline, with sustainability hard-wired into all our activities. And we’re just beginning, with a lot more work to be done and plans for that work already in place, we aim to strike a balance that will continue to benefit our clients and suppliers throughout the entire business chain.

For the last four years, we have worked with Green Mark to put an Environmental Management System in place. Alectro conducts a yearly carbon assessment to quantify our carbon impact, we then work with Ecologi to offset our carbon through planting trees and funding projects that work to decrease carbon output. We are looking at every aspect of our operations to make us the most efficient and sustainable business we can be, from the power we use to run our offices to the travel policies we have in place. Currently, big group has saved over 694 tons of CO2e in their carbon neutral journey so far, equating to 1.72 million miles driven in a car, or 2,082 metres^2 of sea ice saved.

We are also a member of CDP (carbon disclosure project), a non-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system to help measure and manage risks and opportunities on climate change, water security and deforestation. Working alongside CDP and like-minded companies encourages accountability and ensures we can gain momentum in our sustainable initiatives.

We are proud to be recognised for our work, winning the Green Apple Award for sustainable businesses this year, and even prouder of the efforts our colleagues make each day.

For all businesses, sustainability needs to form a large part of their business models to make a positive difference in the local and global environments in which they operate. When we look at our relationships with our local areas, we should question the ways we have always done what we do and ask for help to find new ways of operating. It is when we have harmonised our relationships at local and city levels that we can then turn our attention to our overall relationship with nature, and how our businesses can profit sustainably from new business models.

How businesses tackle the growing number of crises affecting citizens, from overpopulation to extreme climate events, needs to be scrutinised today, because tomorrow may be too late. From an ecological and commercial perspective, change towards a more sustainable model is now imperative – and one which could deliver heavy rewards for our businesses, people, and planet.