When I was growing up I thought sustainability was just a buzzword; I didn’t know it would become one of the most important words in my vocabulary.
I didn’t learn about sustainability in school. I didn’t even know the true definition until I was well into adulthood. I noticed talk show hosts would invite business owners onto their shows to talk about their sustainable business in detail. Even then, with all the details flooding my mind, my perception of sustainability was extremely limited. I thought sustainability was limited to physical resources.
Over the years, I’ve learned several key lessons regarding sustainability that don’t get included in the “global conversation.”
1. Sustainability is about communities.
A product can be made from 100% recycled materials and be packed in minimal recyclable packaging and still not be sustainable if it doesn’t support the community that makes the materials and/or product.
There are two ways to get products made. The first method is to hire out the work to anyone who will do it for a good price. If you find cheaper labor, you can switch. This method only temporarily supports the people performing the labor. They know they’ll have a job short-term, but it can disappear at any time.
The second method is to integrate production into an existing community in a way that will support that community long-term. For example, Yellow Leaf Hammocks provides jobs for a small community in Thailand, producing a specific type of hammock design that originated in the country.
While in Thailand, one of the company’s co-founders discovered an incredibly comfortable hammock and bought as many as he could fit into his backpack. He and his wife then created the Yellow Leaf Hammocks company to bring the hammocks to the world, but they wanted to make sure the creators in Thailand benefited as well.
By hiring weavers directly from Thailand’s weaving community, the community receives far more of the profits than they would through donations. Over time, families are able to rise out of poverty and live better lives.
This sustainable model is superior to donating a portion of profits to a community.
2. Third-party vendors count as part of the sustainability chain.
It’s easy to look into an organization’s business practices to find out their level of sustainability, but if you don’t verify the same with all of their third-party vendors, you don’t have the whole story. In fact, many stakeholders are demanding that companies evaluate the corporate social responsibility for third-party vendors.
The products you buy might be sustainable, come in sustainable packaging, and be environmentally friendly at their end of life. However, how sustainable are the processes that create the parts? Do parts get imported on large cargo ships that use large quantities of diesel fuel? What is the environmental impact of the by-products created in the process?
Sustainability is becoming a requirement to retain customers. If any part of the production isn’t sustainable, the end product isn’t sustainable.
3. Unsustainability can be marketed as sustainability.
I think the most shocking lesson in sustainability came when I realized that many of the electric car charging stations provide electricity directly supplied by coal power plants. There are probably some long-term benefits to owning an electric car, but there’s nothing sustainable about coal-generated electricity.
4. Greenwashing is real because… marketing.
Marketing rules the world. Unilever survey data shows that 80% of people prefer buying from brands with sustainable certifications. Even in the absence of certification, people feel good buying from companies that make sustainability claims, but few actually look into those claims. Who has time for that?
Thankfully, the people who run the Truth in Advertising blog do have time, and they compiled a list of companies that have been accused of making false sustainability claims. Many of the companies have remedied the issues, but not all of them have. Some companies, like Simple Green and GreenPan Cookware, have settled lawsuits.
According to the list, Nest was caught claiming their competitors’ programmable thermostats waste more energy than Nest thermostats. Nest couldn’t provide sufficient evidence and agreed to stop making the claim.
5. Great ideas to support communities can fall apart.
Another huge lesson I learned is that it takes more than a good idea to keep a sustainable dream alive. There are countless organizations that aim to create sustainability at the local level, but never gain any traction.
When it comes to finances, running a philanthropic organization is no different from running a tech business. It takes financial expertise to become profitable, even if the profits are being donated. When finances aren’t handled properly, it squashes the company’s ability to make a positive impact.
Sustainability encompasses a wide range of practices.
Sustainability is a complex web of production methods, environmental impact, and product marketing. While it might be impossible for a business to become 100% sustainable from the top of the chain to the bottom, many organizations come close.
Becoming sustainable won’t happen overnight, but businesses will get more respect by actively eliminating unsustainable practices wherever they can.
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This content is brought to you by Larry Alton.
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