Sustainability is the major trend in terms of businesses. Adopting sustainability became a common goal among big and small companies in the few past years. This is the reason why many businesses are now focusing their attention and resources on becoming greener, eco-friendly. The current and potential customers of these companies not only appreciate but even request sustainability actions. Following the example of bigger brands, smaller companies engage themselves in sustainability activities to match the target audience request. Luckily, these activities positively influence the environment, regardless of the hidden motives behind it.
Forbes recently created a top with the companies that adopted the best sustainability strategies. This article is going to analyze some of these strategies and offer details about how companies managed to include them in their daily activities and processes. Keeping track of the latest measurements adopted in terms of sustainability is now done annually by the World Economic Forum, which collaborated with highly-known magazines and other sorts of publications. Based on the information received, the best practices in sustainability come from:
Neste
Neste is a Finnish company that works in the consumable fuels industry and has a score of approximately 85% when it comes to sustainability. The fuel industry is responsible for a considerable part of the environmental damage, so changes were absolutely required. Neste is one of the big brands that got involved insustainability strategies. The company committed to an environmentally-fueled cause which refers to reducing emissions. Neste uses renewable solutions for fueling, making a visible difference in the continuous global fight against climate change. The sustainability plans of Neste extend to the year 2030 when the colossus plans to integrate its values internationally.
Cisco Systems
Cisco is another big brand that decided to orient their goals towards taking care of the planet. After assessing the dramatic effects of carbon emissions and other types of issues that have to do with the environment, Cisco launched their own sustainability campaign which is supposed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to preserve biodiversity, resources and to minimize waste as much as possible. Every process at Cisco is guided by sustainable actions. Cisco created a certified remanufacturing program which involves producing the same quality products but with a lower carbon footprint. More than that, the company is actively encouraging customers and resellers to return Cisco products for refurbishing and recycling.
Samsung
The strategy adopted by Samsung regarding sustainability involves two types of values: economic and social. From an economic point of view, Samsung maintains the quality of their products and maximizes the company’s profits, but also respects the social value which refers to contributing to a sustainable society. Talking about the sustainability approach selected by Samsung, the company plans to end poverty in all of its forms, to end hunger by promoting agriculture, to ensure the health and well-being of all people, as well as ensuring quality education and many more. At the same time, Samsung encourages environmentally friendly practices such as renewable energy, responsible consumption, climate action, avoiding water pollution and so on. Their sustainable development goals are extensive and they work daily in the respective direction.
Autodesk
Autodesk, the software colossus, had a 77% sustainability score in 2018, which brings it to the top. As they produce software programs that help designers and engineers, they encourage sustainable actions through them. The first difference that Autodesk made is to offer designers a chance to develop sustainable building designs easier, by providing them the appropriate tools and information to do so. In education, Autodesk provided educational institutions with learning resources to raise the awareness of sustainable design. The company also offers support for nonprofit organizations that sustain similar causes.
Allergan
The Allergan CEO, Brent Saunders, publicly announced the goals of the company in terms of sustainable actions, starting with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the energy consumed for manufacturing or R&D operations, recycling waste, increasing the employee engagement in the sustainability process and many more others. The company started to take real measurements to achieve its goals, beginning with sustainable supply chain projects and audits. They also created complex reports that compare the previously set goals with the actual results that were obtained in one year.
Honda
The official Honda philosophy encourages sustainable solutions for current and future activities. Honda presents its sustainable vision in annual reports, the recent one talking about medium and long-term strategies only. The colossus stated that the teams work towards becoming a company that ensures a great environment for the next generations to live in. Honda’s direction towards the future is centered on becoming eco-friendly and offering the right conditions for the society. Honda will focus on adding value in motorcycle, automobile and power products so that they reduce any negative impact they have on the environment.
McCormick
McCormick is a business that works with food products and had many initiatives to transform itself into a sustainable company and to help other smaller companies and NGOs to adopt the same kind of policy. Their attention was entirely focused on raising awareness on sustainability and improving their own actions to meet the current requirements of society. A similar cause was sustained by Miltek, a company that offers support for small companies and individuals who would like to recycle easier, without having to invest tremendous amounts of money into it. Learn more about their cause as well.
DassaultSystèmes
In 2018, DassaultSystèmes was named the most sustainable company in the world. The company adopted all sorts of methods to reduce its environmental footprint and it became a true business model for today’s business industry. Many other companies were inspired to develop future sustainability strategies in the same direction. DassaultSystèmes impressed through its 3DEXPERIENCE platform which gives innovators the chance to bring new sustainability ideas to the table, regardless of the domain they activate in. DassaultSystèmeshas major plans to expand the current sustainability strategy they are investing in and by the year 2030, their vision should become reality.
