What it Means to Have a Sustainable Business

Many people in the solar industry believe that because they operate in the world of renewables, they have a sustainable business. People believe that the “sustainable” part of a sustainable business has to do with the simple concept of things like renewable energy or recycling. This is because when we think of the word “sustainable,” we think of reducing our impact on our planet, or that we have some sort of longevity supplied by the process, making it available for the future. Starting with the simple definition of the word sustainable – able to be maintained at a certain rate, or being able to be upheld or defended--let’s look at this further.

The paradigm of sustainable business it is generally considered to be an enterprise that has minimal negative impact on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy by striving for the triple bottom line (The triple bottom line is often referred to as people, planet, and profit). Another common definition would be managing the triple bottom line, a process by which the company ensures that they are meeting their financial, social, and environmental responsibilities and obligations. 

People

The responsibility to people is multifaceted. There are your employees. Treating them well, giving them better benefits, living wages, quality of life, and ensuring that they feel valued will earn you a reputation as a good employer where people want to work. This will only improve your reputation as a business in your community. 

Giving your customers a quality product, spectacular service, and responsible pricing will augment your reputation for providing a better value than your competitors – a higher quality product for a lower price with better service and better (happier!) employees. Instead of trying to make all of your money on a few large transactions, you make more money by having several smaller dealings with dedicated customers who are going to recommend you over and over again. 

Your community might be local or it might be global; wherever you do business, you need to give back to it. These are the people who sustain you, and you have a responsibility to them. Support local non-profits, join service organizations, sponsor activities, get involved in microloans, do a Habitat for Humanity build as a company--something, anything--to show that you support these people who are supporting you.  You will earn the reputation of being generous to your shtetl, and are a mensch in every conceivable way!

This is part of your responsibility and part of balancing corporate greed – sell your products for less, pay your employees more, and donate back to your community. You will increase the number of customers, which will lead to needing more employees, earning more profits, participating more in the community, and the cycle will continue…

Planet

Being responsible to the planet might seem pretty straight-forward to someone who operates a business in the renewable energy sector, but there is a lot more to it than putting solar panels on the roof and saying we have done all that we can. Are you sourcing your supplies as locally as possible to ensure that there is less time on the road and less emissions from trucking? Do you recycle everything you can, or does it all go into the dumpster? Are you buying recycled materials whenever possible? What about your uniforms--who makes them, what kind of business do they operate? Did you make that decision because they were the lowest cost or because they were made from bamboo, which is renewable, and in a shop where you know everyone is paid living wages and not a sweatshop in Ethiopia? Does the company making your components have an environmental stewardship plan themselves and work to reduce their carbon footprint? When you got vehicles for your salespeople, were they electric or hybrids or just a standard vehicle? Did you pay extra for that truck to get the one that shuts the engine off when it is idling rather than the super V8 turbo just so it makes a lot of noise when you drive down the road on the offhand chance you might pull a single heavy load one time when you could have rented a truck for the day? Our responsibility for the planet can be impacted in so many simple ways.

The history of sustainable business practices goes back further than many think.  Henry Ford had several practices that were considered novel for his time. The Model A shipped in a crate that became the floorboards of the truck once it arrived at the factory, and the body of the truck was made from a hemp composite.  Ford also experimented with plant-based fuels. 

Profit

Profit is fairly self-explanatory – in order to be a functional business, it must be profitable.  To be honest, the reason most people operate a business is to make a profit, be it for themselves or for their shareholders. The difference here is being responsible – what is the difference between profitability and corporate greed? 

For example, in 2016, ExxonMobil recorded $7.8 billion in profit; how does any one company need that much in profit? Could Exxon have earned $6.8 billion in profit AND done $1 billion more good in the world OR charged all of their customers less for petroleum products OR given every one of their employees a raise or a bonus OR spent more money on ensuring that there was less pollution from their enterprise or less environmental impact from their business in some way? Who is to say what is a fair amount of profit for any one corporation to make? What almost anyone can agree on is that $7.8 billion is excessive, and that making less and spending more of that money on people and the planet would make a significant impact on the lives of everyone who lives here.

Sustainable businesses also focus on the long-term and not the short-term. We do not need to make an insane profit this year, or any year. What we need is a consistent flow of funds that allow for everyone to be treated well and reinvest appropriately in to the business so that it can continue to thrive and provide for our customers and our employees. The goal is not to be rich, it is to be comfortable, and if you are comfortable, how can you help make everyone around you comfortable as well.

Managing your business from a sustainable model requires you to believe in a paradigm of interconnectedness of the world and that your actions are part of the greater good.  You cannot fix all that is wrong with the world, but you can do your part – do the right thing and seek out others who share in your values and beliefs. If enough people do the right thing, the world will change. Lead by example. Be someone people look at and say, “Wow, if that person can do it, then maybe I can, too.” Stop contributing to the indifference of good men – step up to the plate and take the attitude that doing the right thing for no other reason, is the right thing to do.