What is Economic Sustainability?

Finances are changing alongside the crisis of climate change, as investors are starting to seek investment opportunities with companies that seek sustainability and are dedicated towards helping the environment and fighting against climate change.

What is economic sustainability, and why is it important in the world of finances and business as climate change continues to grow more prevalent?

Economic sustainability is when an activity or practice, financial or not, helps to support long-term long-term financial growth whilst keeping the environment, community, and social factors in mind. The main goal of economic sustainability is to create a balance between economic growth and the development of positive change for the environment and humanity.

Why is it important that people and companies alike recognize the benefits of economic sustainability?

Economic sustainability is important as it is next to impossible for any business to find long-term growth or success if they rely on finite resources for production, marketing, and piquing investor or consumer interest. Think of it this way: imagine a company that wants to sell lava lamps, but the production of the lamps alone requires the use of non-renewable resources – even to power them within people’s homes with electricity. It will be extremely difficult for the lava lamp company to find success if it’s inevitable that they will come to a point where they can no longer mass-produce as many lava lamps that will be in demand. 

This is why economic sustainability isn’t just important from an environmental point of view, but from a business point of view. Economic sustainability will encourage the use of renewable energy sources, and ultimately create more lucrative opportunities for the business in question that allow for customer loyalty and financial longevity. Also, customers and investors are becoming more interested in shopping or investing in companies that make their dedication to environmental improvement well-known – and companies that demonstrate their ability to adhere to economic sustainability will reveal to potential customers and investors that they are a sustainable option to partake in.

Basically, economic sustainability is imperative for any business seeking to build long-term customer loyalty and financial success – as ignoring sustainable measures will eventually lead to an obsolete business model, since the current resources used for sales and production will no longer be viable as climate change continues to worsen. 

In addition to the benefit of cultivating sustainable longevity for a business, economic sustainability helps the environment by preserving natural resources and making use of the finite ones available – such as solar or wind power.  

Economic sustainability is essential for the future of the planet and aspiring businesses – but why else is economic sustainability beneficial?

Economic sustainability is good for the planet, people, and businesses – but why? 

There are a multitude of benefits for those who subscribe to the notion of economic sustainability. 

First of all, economic sustainability is imperative given the current, continued deterioration of the planet – as the continued use of finite resources such as oil, gas, and fossil fuels will only create more greenhouse gas emissions that will further pollute the atmosphere and raise global surface temperatures. Economic sustainability disregards the use of finite resources or non-biodegradable materials that will contribute to landfill and excessive emissions. If all businesses made a commitment to economic sustainability, the planet would be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, economic sustainability is equally beneficial from a business perspective. Economic sustainability allows businesses to decipher where they can improve their sustainability measures and reduce their carbon footprint in order to adhere to new environmental regulations as well as attract new customers and investors. These new sustainable measures can also ultimately help to reduce business costs – as electricity and other various utility bills will be lowered once more sustainable measures are implemented. Similar to climate smart farming, implementing economic sustainability can allow for a business to afford new technologies that will help them reduce even more emissions – creating even more positive environmental change, consumer curiosity, and investor interest to help grow the business even more. 

Businesses that incorporate economic sustainability can also help to influence their surrounding communities. While it is vital that businesses recognize the importance of their commitment to sustainability and reducing emissions, as much of the world’s excessive emissions are caused by commercialized purposes, it is equally important that people strive to make a difference for the planet in their everyday lives, too. In short, if Starbucks makes an effort to be economically sustainable – it may convince customers of Starbucks to do the same. 

Economic sustainability can also prove to be beneficial for everyone’s daily lives. A great example are the new electrical shared-biking services available in cities like New York and Paris. The concept has not only exploded in a financial sense, as more and more people living in these cities have opted for these electric bikes or scooters instead of taking the metro – but it allows for people living in cities like these to choose a more sustainable method of getting around town. These companies that build their missions based on economic sustainability, the creation of a product or service that can continue to be lucrative despite the lack of finite resources – will result in even more reduced emissions, and encourage those who partake in their business to find other ways to be sustainable in their everyday lives. 

In short, economic sustainability is beneficial as it serves as a domino effect to increase sustainability worldwide – by boosting business activity and greener practices.

Economic sustainability isn’t just prevalent in simple things like recycling your old clothes or bringing a reusable mug to the coffee shop – but in many large organizations dedicated to sustainability and improving the current environmental circumstances. 

Economic sustainability influences several major sustainability programs, such the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. These 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, provide any company or organization interested in implementing sustainability with ideas for various ways to incorporate sustainability into their business models – such as by ending poverty, mitigating world hunger, improving global education, promoting gender equality, making use of clean energy, and caring for wildlife which is essential to maintain our biodiversity. Things like Agenda 2030 by the UNGC help perpetuate the importance of sustainable development by advocating for fair labor laws, gender equality, mitigating waste, and protecting the planet. 

Other more well-known examples of economic sustainability include recycling programs: such as cosmetic stores that offer customers to bring their original containers back to the store and refill it with the same product, or the program at Starbucks which allows customers to bring their own cups with them in order to avoid buying single use plastic or cardboard cups to be thrown away later. These recycling programs aren’t just for products of daily use, but are also prevalent in big chain stores like BestBuy – who offer customer’s home appliances to be recycled as well. Fast fashion and sustainable clothing brands alike, such as H&M and Levis respectively, allow consumers to donate their old clothes in order to avoid contributing to landfill. 

Clearly, lots of companies regardless of their sector have found ways to implement economic sustainability. Is there a way that your company can, too?

Economic sustainability isn’t unattainable. In fact, it’s a great first step in the process of transitioning your organization to become a green company. 

Here are a few things you can do to start implementing economic sustainability into your business.

One of the easiest ways to start working towards economic sustainability is to transition to the use of clean energy. There are a wide variety of benefits to using clean energy, including reduced carbon emissions and business costs – and ultimately attracting new customers and investors. This can be done by offering products that make use of infinite energy resources such as geothermal power, wind power, solar power, or hydropower. A great example of this are iPhone chargers that use solar power to charge the smartphone’s battery.

Customers love to feel involved in a company's mission, as it makes them feel important and bonds the customer to the company – establishing greater customer loyalty. For instance, customers will love company’s like Lush that offer customers to bring back their original containers and fill it with new products. This not only incentivizes the customer to return to the company offering the refill, but raises awareness for consumers to get better at reusing their old containers or recycling them. Another example is depicted in the new climate bill, where Americans will be subject to a tax reduction if they purchase an electric vehicle. 

People like to feel important and as if their actions make a difference, even if they do not verbalize it. Therefore, making sure your customers feel a part of your journey to sustainability is imperative in creating a business with effective economic sustainability.

Minimalist, sleek, and simple designs aren’t just the go-to style in the magazines – but for the planet as well. Referring to methods like modular construction, which can help to reduce waste and the amount of emissions produced during construction, can also help your company to reduce their carbon footprint in the midst of renovation.

Opting for solar panels, car-sharing opportunities or monthly public transportation passes for employees, recycling and compost bins, energy efficient light bulbs, or smart windows that can mitigate excessive sunlight or frigid temperatures from entering the building – can all make a difference in the carbon footprint of your employees and the office itself. 

Economic sustainability starts with investing your time, money, and energy into practices and technologies that may seem extreme at first – but will ultimately yield a more lucrative business that has the potential to maintain its longevity and take part in the fight against climate change.

If reading this article about economic sustainability has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!

Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.