♠ According to a recent study, a staggering 66% of global consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable brands that demonstrate a commitment to making a positive impact.
♠ Pitch decks highlighting sustainable aspects of business may get more acceptance in the investor community.
♠ Sustainable entrepreneurship, a growing movement that combines profit-making with a deep sense of purpose, is transforming the business landscape.
♠ In a world hungry for solutions, sustainable business practices not only shine as a beacon of hope but are essential changes that have become unavoidable.
We have a world today that is facing unprecedented environmental and social challenges, and I am happy to report that entrepreneurs and businesses are stepping up to redefine the boundaries of success. Sustainable entrepreneurship, a growing movement that combines profit-making with a deep sense of purpose, is transforming the business landscape. By balancing financial gains with positive environmental and social impact, visionary business people are paving the way for a more sustainable and equitable future.
While many start-ups are making businesses out of recycling or upcycling waste materials like Phool or making products that enable lesser pollution and decreased use of non-renewable resources like ZunRoof and Ather Energy.
We all order something or the other from Amazon right, have you paused and wondered how their packaging took a turn towards sustainability in the recent years. Amazon is currently using recycled content in a variety of packaging materials, including corrugated boxes, bubble mailers, and packing peanuts. Interestingly, they have committed to shift to 100% recycled content in their packaging by 2025. Now that’s a goal we can all take inspiration from.
Companies like Google, Microsoft, Walmart, have all committed to reducing their carbon footprints and shift entirely to renewable energy sources and sustainable business practices. And then there are brands that are using recycled materials to manufacture new products. Be it the flyknit shoe by Nike or the Frakta bag by Ikea, popular brand names are proudly launching sustainable products and they are in fact being received positively by the consumers. Apple iPhone 13 with famously made majorly with recycled materials.
A game changing innovation that I came across a year back is the engineered wood or MDF boards. When I was first made aware of it, I was a little skeptical as to its usability and prospective acceptance in the market, but engineered wood or MDF boards have quite phenomenally taken the market by a storm and now they are being used to make all kinds of furniture, flooring and even decorative items. MDF boards are also being increasingly adopted as an alternative packaging for high value items.
According to a recent study, a staggering 66% of global consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable brands that demonstrate a commitment to making a positive impact.
Sustainable business practices have become more than a buzzword; it represents a fundamental shift in how we view the purpose and potential of businesses. And entrepreneurs are using it to make businesses out of it. Greenko specializes in energy efficiency solutions for businesses and offer a variety of services to businesses to help them reduce their carbon footprints, including audits, retrofits, and renewable energy installation.
And then there are entrepreneurs that are operating their businesses to serve the Sustainable Development Goals like Avaana that provides solar-powered water pumps to rural communities and helps improve access to clean water and sanitation and Bamboo Biochar that produces biochar from bamboo waste which helps improve soil quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A start-up based on making businesses sustainable or practicing sustainable entrepreneurship also wins the founders brownie points with the prospective investors. I have also observed pitchdecks highlighting sustainable aspects of business getting more acceptance in the investor community.
In a world hungry for solutions, sustainable business practices not only shine as a beacon of hope but are essential changes that have become unavoidable. As consumers, investors, or future entrepreneurs, we should be supporting and celebrating these trailblazers, making a tangible difference by bringing profit and purpose together, ultimately steering us towards a more sustainable and prosperous world.
Author
