Post by account_disabled on Feb 22, 2024 3:21:15 GMT -6
New research finds that the drive for sustainability propels innovation, changing customer dynamics and workplace culture as companies take ESG goals seriously. To master sustainability, companies must figure out how to meet and exceed increasing customer expectations while demonstrating that it can be profitable. According to new research commissioned by Smurfit Kappa and carried out by Longitude, most companies are taking this change seriously. About three-quarters of companies (72%) see sustainability practices as an enduring trend and 83% describe sustainability as an opportunity to exploit. So sustainability is here to stay. What does that mean for companies? To begin with, it is rewriting the rules of how to do good business. Sustainability can be a win-win innovation Many forward-thinking companies are using sustainability to their competitive advantage. At around a third of companies, sustainability is driving all R&D (37%) and new product development (33%). Sustainability is the mother of all disruptions Loannis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Businesses have a critical role to play in harnessing that disruption and effecting change. They are likely to focus their innovation efforts on packaging and waste reduction, as 68% of companies cite materials in packaging as their biggest sustainability challenge, followed by collection and recycling.
Getting better at this isn't just about good PR, some companies hope it will save them money. Nearly half (46%) say cost savings from waste reduction efforts is the most anticipated benefit of their sustainability practices. In many cases, sustainability and economic benefits go hand in hand. Steven Stoffer, Vice President of Sustainability and Development at Smurfit Kappa. Conscious consumers expect a helping hand Consumer expectations around sustainability are rapidly changing the dynamic between brand and customer. 88% of organizations believe consumers expect them to have clear sustainability practices and 78% believe their customers look to them for guidance on adopting more sustainable practices. Consumers Bulgaria Mobile Number List support this. Most (61%) expect the brands they buy from to have clear sustainability practices and are looking for companies to lead: around a third say retailers should ensure shoppers are informed of sustainability factors in the point of purchase and a similar proportion attributes that responsibility to brands. Brands must get the message across Those expectations come from frustration: When it comes to customers, companies aren't doing a good job of pivoting toward sustainable products. In the last six months, 55% of consumers say they have purchased a product specifically because it had reusable or biodegradable packaging and a similar number have paid more for a sustainably sourced product or service. But greenwashing and poor communication are confusing the issue: we may be willing to spend our money more consciously, but 69% of us find it difficult to know which brands are genuinely sustainable.
Some brands are preparing to meet this challenge. Nestlé, for example, has created its Packaging Sciences Institute and launched a sustainable packaging investment fund, both dedicated to new food packaging materials, new safe food delivery systems, new waste management technologies and creation collection capacity of these. We are using our food science knowledge and transferring it to packaging design. Véronique Cremades-Mathis, Global Director of Sustainable Packaging at Nestlé. Sustainability strategies strengthen culture Millennials and Generation Z are the age groups most concerned about sustainability and are increasingly influencing their workplace. Therefore, ESG credentials are now a business imperative: if these highly mobile members of the workforce do not feel that their employers share their values, they will leave for organizations that do. Companies recognize this talent risk and are seeing the benefit of producing sustainability strategies: 77% of organizations report that their sustainability strategy is having a positive impact on employee engagement and retention. Measurement is the starting point Sustainability strategies are becoming the norm, but how do companies demonstrate that these strategies work and create value? This is an effective measurement and the companies in the investigation say they are struggling.