Sustainability is responsible for a fifth of a business’ financial results, countering the prevailing view that there is a trade-off between environmental performance and profit, according to a study, which revealed ‘moral motivation’ is the biggest driver for companies looking to be more sustainable, with 87 per cent of brands pointing to ‘environmental concern’ and 88 per cent governed by ‘doing the right thing’.
The Supply Pilot findings show that supplier collaboration is the most effective sustainable practice that businesses can undertake, when compared against product design, process design and customer collaboration.
Supplier collaboration emphasises the need for brands and retailers to proactively engage with their suppliers, share data, establish mutual understandings of responsibility around sustainability requirements, and develop products that support brand sustainability goals.
“We’ve seen from our work alongside brands such as John Lewis and Partners, Co-Op and Walgreens Boots Alliance just how beneficial sustainable practices can be for businesses’ bottom lines, and the data from this research bears that out,” James Butcher, chief executive officer at Supply Pilot, said in a press release.
