How Sustainability/ CSR/ ESG/ SDG reporting gives your company a competitive advantage
Besides proving that your company is socially and environmentally responsible, CSR/ESG/ Sustainability will also help you gain a competitive advantage, in more than one ways:
- Reducing business costs: CSR saves money for your company. For example, GE’s Corporate Office achieved energy savings of over 57%, by replacing fluorescent bulbs with GE Lighting’s Lumination LED luminaire.
- Distinguishing your business from the competition: For every pair of shoes a customer purchases, TOMS donates a pair to a child in need. Calling this initiative ‘One for One’, the footwear company is instantly setting itself apart from the competition.
- Attracting and retaining employees: According to a survey of more than 100,000 employees in Canada, a company’s environmental protection initiatives have a positive impact on its employees and play a key role in employees’ decision to join a company – and stay.
- Attracting consumers: According to a survey of 30,000 respondents in 60 countries, conducted by Nielsen in 2015, 66% of consumers will pay more for sustainable brands and products – a significant increase from 55% in 2014 and 50% in 2013.
ALSO READ:
- The value of sustainability reporting
- Why Sustainability is important – Articles-Research
- License to operate – Millennials
- Sustainability. Are your competitors better prepared, gaining a competitive advantage?
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
References:
1) This article was compiled using an article from Fox News. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the article’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the links below:
http://www.toms.com/what-we-give-shoes
http://chiefexecutive.net/overcoming-competition-find-retain-best-employees/
http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/dk/docs/global-sustainability-report-oct-2015.pdf
2) http://www.fbrh.eu/en/csr-sustainability-facts-and-research