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Sustainability: the new norm for companies?
Little by little, a growing number of companies are changing their habits and seeking to reduce their risks and costs through a sustainable strategy, thereby increasing their value over the long term.
Far from being just a fad, sustainable development is in fact a deep-rooted trend aimed at meeting a variety of social, environmental and governance needs.
Key points of the article
CSR and sustainable development
Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development are terms that can coexist perfectly within a company.
However, although they are related, there are a few differences between the two concepts.
Sustainable development is a movement that meets the needs of the present while preserving those of future generations. It revolves around a number of concepts, such as respect for biodiversity, responsible consumption, access to healthcare and the use of renewable energies. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an application of the concept of sustainable development within a company. It covers a wide range of topics: participative governance, respect for the environment, sustainable purchasing, employee health protection, carbon footprint reduction, etc.
By committing to a CSR approach, companies voluntarily integrate environmental, social and/or economic concerns into their various activities.
In this way, CSR enables companies to contribute to the various challenges of sustainable development.
The political, social and ethical obligations that companies must fulfill are therefore defined by corporate social responsibility.
They go beyond the usual conventional requirements imposed on companies.
When companies voluntarily commit themselves to a more sustainable approach, they take into account the interests of society as well as their own.
To achieve this, the company must collaborate effectively with its stakeholders, i.e. suppliers, customers, subcontractors, local residents and public organizations,…..
It is in this way that it will achieve the objective of reconciling its own expectations with those of all the other players.
Thanks to their CSR policies, some companies have become major players in the field of sustainable development, both in terms of meeting the challenges and transforming their well-established business models.
For example, they can seek to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, while improving their energy performance.
They can greatly limit their impact on biodiversity, or fight against gender inequality.
Thanks to all these actions, companies can actively participate in sustainable development and help preserve our environment.
Some examples of CSR and sustainable development in companies
For a company, meeting the three sustainability criteria of social, environmental and governance needs is highly beneficial.
Indeed, the company’s prospects are enhanced by savings on energy costs.
It also attracts talent while limiting potential risks.
In order to list the most sustainable companies, it is possible to find numerous rankings.
Here are a few examples of companies that have adopted sustainable, planet-friendly behavior.
Fairphone: the repairable phone
The electronics industry uses scarce resources and produces a lot of waste due to the frequent changes in our equipment, computers, telephones, etc. Fairphone produces repairable phones designed to last as long as possible, using fair-trade and recycled materials. Fairphone users can easily recycle their phones. In the end, less resources are taken from the planet to benefit from a phone!
Clother: for a committed dressing room
The fashion sector, and the textile industry in particular, is a major polluter of our planet. Clother offers sustainable clothing brands, produced in Switzerland and neighboring countries.
This reduces transport and considerably improves its environmental impact.
The company is also committed to zero waste deliveries.
Loop: the fight against single-serve packaging
Loop’s aim is to put an end to single-serve packaging: it supplies certain large companies with reusable containers (Coca Cola, Häagen-Dazs, Danone, etc.).
Loop recovers the various containers and cleans them before reusing them.
They are returned to the store or via a logistics system.
Loop’s aim is to reduce the number of single-use containers, based on the principle that brands are just as concerned as consumers in this area.
Serbeco: recycling in the blood
This family-run business is committed to waste sorting and recycling. For several decades, its practices have been respectful of the environment. It innovates both in recycling techniques and by developing activities such as reusable dishwashing (which reduces waste), and by investing in electric vehicles for waste collection. It also invests in its employees, dedicating part of its workstations to people on social reintegration schemes.
