S2-E7. Guidelines to Building a Sustainable Business

Be Empactful

Welcome to Season 2 of the Be Empactful Podcast.

Today in Episode 7, we are going to talk about some of the feedback that we received from our listeners, who:

• Said that we were beating around the bush
• Asked for a specific checklist
• Asked us to talk about actual products or services that can be done sustainably
• How can we actually become sustainable?

Vineet and I discuss how sustainability is not a secret mantra or a secret formula that you apply to a business and voila.. you are sustainable

Greenwashing is fast catching up with companies who are trying to quickly jump on the sustainability bandwagon and paint themselves green in the eyes of authorities and customers. It is not as simple as just repackaging your product - now with a green label and saying you are green. It requires a transparent label around your company where the world can see that are actually green at your core.

Customers today are demanding sustainable practices from the companies and companies, in turn, are forcing customers to become sustainable. Customers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products and sustainable packaging. And companies are reciprocating in kind.

Blue Bottle Coffee and Starbucks - both leading Coffee chains are asking their customers to get or purchase reusable coffee cups. A small grocery shop in South India is asking people to get their own containers for food grains and other food items...

Companies from various sectors are becoming sustainable and setting well-defined sustainable goals. We have covered examples like

• Native Place and Nirvana from travel
• Dandelion Energy and Various Solar energy companies from the Utility industry
• Auroville as a community
• Be Earthly and Urvija in consumer products

The more we explore the more we hear about companies defining and focusing on sustainable development goals. We have also found that there is no fixed formula or checklist, each industry and company make one guided by its vision and strategy

What's important is to understand that when you are making a shift or change, there are bound to be challenges and issues. Companies should not give up due to failure and instead focus on what they analyze did right and analyse what went wrong. Companies can gain a lot of support by communicating and educating their ecosystem on their sustainability principles and goals.

So here's 3 guideline for listeners wanting to go sustainable - whichever industry you are in:

1. Create a vision to build a sustainable business and let that guide and drive you in defining your sustainability development goals and strategies

2. The path to Sustainability will have its own challenges. Do not give up, celebrate what victories you have and reach out for help and collaboration to get back on track

3. Ensure your complete supply chain from source to consumption is sustainable - vendors, employees, stakeholders, delivery and distribution partners, production process, and consumers - the complete business ecosystem.

We ask our listeners to go through these guidelines and start working on their own checklists for their industry or specific company - share it with us so that we can share it out with the rest of the community. Reach out to us if you want to discuss, just share a thought or even a cup of coffee.

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See with your Heart, Listen with your Mind. Spread your wings Far and Wide

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