What is sustainability in business? | IBM

Sustainability in business refers to a company’s strategy to reduce negative environmental impact resulting from their operations in a particular market. An organization’s sustainability practices are typically analyzed against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

As we face irreversible changes in the Earth’s system, the threat of climate change has become too risky to ignore. The exceedance of environmental thresholds is raising concerns about domino effects in global natural systems and societies. Businesses are seeing both pressure and opportunity to establish sustainability goals if they haven’t already. Even in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic environment, companies continue aligning to the United Nations General Assembly sustainable development goals (SDGs) set in 2015 and intended to be achieved by the year 2030. The SDGs establish universal goals that provide a roadmap for sustainability in business in target areas such as poverty, inequality, environmental degradation and climate change. 

Examples of sustainability in business:

• Improving energy management efficiency using alternative power sources and carbon accounting

• Deploying infrastructure that reduces GHG emissions, preserves water resources and eliminates waste 

• Operating dynamic and efficient supply chains to empower a circular economy, encourage reuse, design out waste, promote sustainable consumption and protect natural resources

• Enabling sustainable development by assessing risks and improving resiliency while adhering to external regulations and development goals