Commerciality and sustainability: how can they be aligned?

At the most recent CBI Sustainability Community event on 24 April 2024, the focus was on the connection between commerciality and sustainability. Attendees first heard from our hosts, Judith Houston (Associate, ESG, Mills and Reeve) and Jessica Wilkes-Ball (Senior Sustainability Manager, Mills and Reeve) before getting some practical insights and case studies from Nicola Stopps, CEO and Founder of Simply Sustainable.

Guests then split into smaller groups to focus on three important questions in this topic. Below is a summary of the key takeaways from the roundtable conversations:

Q: "Could you share your experiences and best practice around how your company or other companies you've worked for are incorporating sustainability into their commercial strategies?"

This first question was about the experiences and best practices of incorporating sustainability into commercial strategies. Participants highlighted the significance of collaboration, advocating for an inclusive approach that involves all teams across the business. Education and communication were also highlighted as the two key approaches to embed and incorporate sustainable business practices.

Key insights:

• Collaboration is essential for creating a circular approach
• Making sustainability accessible to stakeholders, including employees, is crucial for effective implementation.

Q: "How are you leveraging the potential opportunities of becoming a more sustainable business to help you build the business case and accelerate action on sustainability internally?"

This discussion on leveraging sustainability for business growth revealed the challenges and opportunities in setting and achieving sustainability targets. Participants shared experiences of driving market demand for sustainable products, despite facing hurdles such as sourcing sustainable materials and meeting ambitious targets set by clients. There was also agreement that most consumers are demanding sustainable business practices which, if a business complies, their standards create more brand loyalty.

Key insights:

• Meeting sustainability targets can drive market demand for sustainable products
• Communicating and collaboration on sustainability achievements internally is vital for fostering a culture of sustainability. The embedding and reporting of sustainability should be a cross cutting, company-wide project.

Q: "Who are the stakeholders to get on board to invest into sustainability now and how have you gone about engaging them in your organisation?"

Participants discussed the challenges of aligning diverse stakeholders, including suppliers and internal departments, towards sustainable practices. Strategies for overcoming resistance included education, collaboration, and emphasising the commercial benefits of sustainability initiatives. Participants raised the opportunity for the finance sector to provide capital support for business in the transition to net-zero.

Key insights:

• Education and collaboration are key for engaging stakeholders in sustainability efforts
• Aligning sustainability goals with consumer preferences can drive positive business outcomes.

The roundtable discussions provided a diverse exchange of knowledge from different sectors, with all participants agreeing on the intrinsic link between sustainability and commerciality.

For more information about the CBI Sustainability Community please contact Fleur Geernaert.