OVERVIEW – BUSINESS CASES
The generic business case for sustainability is framed by the big three justifications that frame any business case in the 21st century: fulfill our purpose / do the right thing, capture opportunities and mitigate risks.
Many companies have traditionally treated the three justifications as an either-or proposition: either do the right thing / fulfill our purpose, or capture opportunities and mitigate risks. In the 21st century, it is a both-and proposition — the enhanced reputation and innovation arising from fulfilling the company’s purpose enables the business to capture new opportunities and mitigate new boomeranging risks. The three justifications are complementary and synergistic, not trade-offs.
The generic business case framework is the basis for the company-level sustainability business case, the project-level sustainability business case and the product-level business case.
Company-level business case
The New Sustainability Advantage book shows that if a typical company were to simply implement best-practice sustainability approaches that have already been used by real companies, it could improve its profit by at least 51% to 81% within three to five years, while avoiding a potential 16% to 36% erosion of profits if it were to do nothing. See the company-level business case webpage for more information about the book and its companion free, open-source tools.
Project-level business case
We need to support sustainability project proposals with a rigorous cost-benefit analysis that shows an attractive payback period and return on investment. The Sustainability ROI Workbook is a fill-in-the-blanks Excel workbook that monetizes all direct and indirect benefits associated with a sustainability-related project and automatically does return on investment (ROI) calculations, based on user input. See the project-level business case webpage for more information about the workbook and its companion free, open-source tools.
Slides about the business cases for sustainability
Master – Sustainability Business Cases: This is one of six Master Slide Decks available to subscribers. It contains on overview of: the generic business base for sustainability; the global-level business case; the company-level business case; the project-level business case; how to justify the procurement of sustainable products; purpose; revenue growth opportunities; operating expense savings opportunities; employee-related expense savings opportunities; market value opportunities; risks of inaction; and drivers and inhibitors. The deck is updated quarterly.
