[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/22\/rise-of-the-sustainable-business-model\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/22\/rise-of-the-sustainable-business-model\/","headline":"Give people what they want: A sustainable business model","name":"Give people what they want: A sustainable business model","description":"Consumers, investors, and partners are increasingly making decisions about your company based on a sustainable business model. Here, we examine the rise of sustainability as a business value.","datePublished":"2021-07-22","dateModified":"2024-04-10","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/maria-morais\/#Person","name":"Maria Morais","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/maria-morais\/","identifier":303,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f7517b2aebfb12fe90d8e9139f071e669e096840b77e6cad33ebc9b27da9c971?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f7517b2aebfb12fe90d8e9139f071e669e096840b77e6cad33ebc9b27da9c971?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sustainability_1200x375.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sustainability_1200x375.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/22\/rise-of-the-sustainable-business-model\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/commerce-general\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},"Event Highlights","Future of Supply Chain",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/purpose\/purpose-general\/","name":"Purpose","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purpose"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/supply-chain-e-commerce-solution\/","name":"Supply Chain","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Supply_chain","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1824206"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/sustainability\/","name":"Sustainability","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sustainability","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q219416"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sustainability-in-business\/","name":"Sustainability in Business","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sustainable_business"]}],"wordCount":699,"keywords":["Sustainability","Sustainable Commerce"],"articleBody":"Consumers, investors, and partners are increasingly making decisions about your business based on sustainability. These stakeholders have always demanded value, quality, and speed. Today, a sustainable business model is just as important.According to the old maxim, if you want something cheap and fast, it won\u2019t be good. But if you value speed and quality, what you get won\u2019t come cheap. Companies have long had to view their complex and nuanced priorities, goals, and KPIs through this reductive lens. Now, they also need to factor sustainability into this equation.But consumers and stakeholders don’t want to pick between sustainability and speed, price, or quality. They want a sustainable business model as a default.Sustainable business model: Value for allThe \u201cshareholder value\u201d model of capitalism can be blamed in part for our dedication to fast, cheap, or good.The world\u2019s major capital markets are dominated by this model, where a company\u2019s success is measured only by how well it generates returns for shareholders. In the shareholder value model, firms need to consistently maximize shareholder return.However, a new business model is on the rise and becoming pervasive in more markets, giving greater control to more than shareholders. The \u201cstakeholder value\u201d model advocates maximizing value for all stakeholders \u2013 including customers, employees, community members, and others \u2013 when making business decisions.What sustainability means depends on who’s talkingWhile sustainability is more important than ever, it\u2019s also more ambiguous than ever. Sustainability means something different to virtually everyone, and stakeholders\u2019 concepts of sustainability may differ wildly from yours.Your investors may be focused entirely on the sustainability of your supply chain, while consumers might prioritize eco-friendly products that reaffirm their own beliefs.But beware: More-discerning consumers have coined the term \u201cgreenwashing\u201d to describe companies who spend a lot of time and effort trying to make themselves seem sustainable without truly becoming sustainable.This content is hosted by a third party ( twitter.com ).To view the content, either update your cookie preferences or view it in a new browser window.Cookie PreferencesNew WindowProduct packaging that merely looks \u201cgreen,\u201d paired with unfulfilled promises about your environmental impact, may do more harm than good when it comes to winning over these consumers.      Sustainability trends 2023: 7 ways retailers will make a difference                Top sustainability trends 2023 include greater transparency, the circular economy, and ethical supply chains.      Building a sustainable business modelSustainability and the stakeholder value model go hand in hand. Companies that want to make their supply chains more sustainable often collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders including suppliers, distributors, retailers, local communities, technical experts, nongovernmental organizations, and governments.A few steps are needed in order to build successful multi-stakeholder partnerships:An ambitious shared purpose and common goalA healthy dose of realism about the amount of time and effort required to achieve goalsMutual accountability and clear goals, roles, and responsibilities for each partnerA governance mechanism to enable accountability and, potentially, an independent third-party partner to monitor and evaluate performanceTime invested into building respect and understanding of each partner      Closed-loop manufacturing: Sustainability across the supply chain                Closed-loop production systems drive sustainability across the entire supply chain by eliminating waste and clearing the path for a circular economy.      Determine your metricsEnvironmental, social, and governance metrics (also known as ESG metrics) can give investors a more holistic view of your company\u2019s operations, including its investments in sustainability.These kinds of metrics can help investors more accurately value these investments and ensure that companies aren\u2019t judged purely on short-term financial results. To focus on your ESG metrics, you first need to define what sustainability means for you \u2013 and your stakeholders.Win over all your stakeholders \u2013 be they consumers or investors \u2013 by investing in a wide range of sustainable opportunities, especially those supported by third-party sustainability organizations.US companies can become “benefit corporations,\u201d which are recognized for their established purpose of creating general public benefit. B corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions \u2013 not only on their shareholders, but also on society and the environment.  Giants don’t leave (carbon) footprints.Future-proof your business \u2013and the world.Get your free trial\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"22","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/07\/\/22\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Give people what they want: A sustainable business model","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/07\/22\/rise-of-the-sustainable-business-model\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]