What are the (many) advantages of an environmentally friendly company?
Today, all companies are obliged to be concerned about and actively work towards reducing their environmental impact due to the risks of climate change.
With this in mind, large ‘public interest’ companies, e.g. listed companies, insurance companies, banks, etc., have already been obliged to report on their environmental impact for several years.
How? By means of a sustainability report, which serves to satisfy the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the body that promotes and monitors the stability of the global financial system, and to follow the European Directive on Non-Financial Reporting.
Penalties of up to €150,000 can be imposed in case of irregularities.
Companies are also asked to include short- and long-term objectives in the declaration, including information on the use of renewable energy resources, the prudent use of water resources, greenhouse gas emissions and the current and future impact on the environment.
A topic of vital importance for the future of business.
Last year’s study, ‘The Global Risk Report 2019′, found that the main global risks identified were related to environmental issues, accounting for five of the top 10 global risks in both ‘likelihood of occurrence’ and ‘impact‘. And specifically, climate catastrophes were identified as the top risk in terms of likelihood.
Large institutional investors are wary of those who do not include climate change in their risk grid and are asking listed companies to pay more attention to sustainability issues, in order to avoid possible risks on future financial provisioning on the markets.
Companies that do not comply, therefore, expose themselves to the risk of drying up their financing channels.
Reducing costs, making processes more efficient and increasing trust.
A sustainable approach to business management benefits companies in many ways.
The balance sheet figures show that there is a positive correlation between sustainability and economic results: among Italian industrial companies that invested in environmental policies in 2017, 32% increased turnover, 28% increased employment and 34% saw an increase in exports (Unioncamere and Symbola data, Greenitaly 2018), higher percentages than companies that did not.
With regard to process efficiency, as well as the adoption of energy efficiency measures, it should be noted that these practices are able to lead to important savings in economic terms.
This is well known, for example, by those who have decided to install a cooling system based on a Direct Free Cooling system in the technical rooms of their company. A technology that avoids the consumption of huge amounts of energy and saves considerable amounts of money on utility bills.
Why should a company make its brand sustainable?
A sustainable company increases the sense of trust that internal and external stakeholders (employees, suppliers, customers, investors, etc.) have in the company. For example, in the case of employees, the more they are involved, the more they are willing to give to the company in terms of both attachment and increased commitment.
In addition, a sustainable company attracts more customers who adopt sustainable policies and this has a positive impact on the company’s turnover. Customers perceive the brand as more trustworthy, transparent and open to dialogue. Automatically, the company’s image improves, as does the likelihood of retaining new consumers.
According to research conducted by Nielsen, a leading market research company, 52% of consumers say they are willing to spend more if the brand adopts sustainability policies.
Today, a company that decides to invest in green strategies is not only good for the environment and the community, but also secures a proven competitive and economic advantage. It is no coincidence that more and more large companies are announcing new sustainability efforts and projects every day.
By becoming socially sustainable, a company changes its appearance. It focuses its attention on values that are not only economic, such as consumer welfare, product quality and innovation.
Low environmental impact = More opportunities and benefits
In addition to brand reputation and the consumer’s or investor’s point of view, it should be noted that a company is also assessed on the basis of its willingness to develop sustainability plans. The topics on which the company is assessed are efficiency and reduction of environmental impact.
The more a company meets these two parameters, the more its financial results improve. The opportunities for a socially sustainable company do not only arise from a financial point of view.
At a time when environmental protection regulations are becoming increasingly stringent, companies that comply with environmental standards obtain the right to process and sell products that others do not. The companies that are most committed to this are best able to respond to the vision of public authorities and therefore benefit from significant incentives and concessions.
Companies need to act accordingly to reap the benefits of this new market orientation
