Make Sustainability Your Business Strategy especially for those of us in the green industry the only business strategy worth following is a sustainability strategy. Sustainability has many definitions. One I prefer is “To meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations”. However, many wonder how to apply this in a business environment? To answer the question in a business context, we need to ask ourselves how can sustainability serve the core challenges of your business?
Sustainability Has Four Components
Your sustainable business strategy needs to protect the environment, care about cultures, be socially responsible and provide economic sustainability. Breaking it down for landscaping the social and cultural aspect includes first impressions of the business or home based on the landscape. It also reflects how the occupants feel about the building/home and how they might spend time outside the building for breaks, lunch, or family time. Contractors selling landscape services to building managers or property owners need to convey this message to customers and prospects and help them understand how their services will meet these requirements.
For homeowners, first impressions when selling a house make an impact. You send a message with how you landscape your home. Sustainable landscaping or native landscapes are gaining in popularity and send a positive message about the house.
The economic component is considering the cost of maintaining the landscape while balancing many other expenses like capital improvements and other scheduled maintenance costs. Often, when done correctly sustainable landscapes help reduce the maintenance of your home or office. Finally the environment focuses on the proper selection of plants and trees to minimize the amounts of water, fertilizer, and labor required to maintain the landscape. All four need to work together to form a sustainability initiative.
A company that uses these four initiatives to drive its business strategy is on its way to becoming sustainable. You need to also keep in mind this has no endpoint, we are looking at having 9 billion people on the planet by 2050, this is an endless horse race.
The companies who are doing this best are implementing a consistent message. The message is to engage their employees in the sustainability process and to make the process transparent to customers and employees. Everyone needs to know what sustainability is and how it effects the core business and customers.
If you want additional ideas on how to make your business or home more sustainable please feel free to email me at rrestuccia@jainsusa.com. If you like this article, please consider reading our other articles here or follow me on twitter @H2oTrends.