THE SUSTAINABLE COMPANY:
FUTURE-ORIENTED BUSINESS AND LIVING
1. Sustainability explained
WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEAN?
In view of climate change and the ever-increasing scarcity of resources, one of the most important issues of the 21st century is sustainability. More and more companies are becoming aware of their social and ecological responsibility. The pandemic has contributed significantly to this, as one Accenture survey foundAccording to the study, 73% of the managers surveyed intend to establish sustainable and responsible structures in their company.
But what does the term "sustainability" actually mean? There are different definitions, each of which takes a slightly different direction. In this case, it is about the principle of not consuming or mining more than can be regrown, thus ensuring a future worth living for future generations.
The change towards greater sustainability and thus towards greater environmental awareness and responsibility is a long process. Not only are fundamental changes in behavior necessary, the change must also be rooted throughout the entire company. It is important to understand that sustainable business and financial success are not mutually exclusive.
The same applies to the private sphere. Anyone who wants to live sustainably must rethink old habits and, if necessary, abandon them. In this way, private and working life can influence each other positively and build a truly sustainable corporate culture.
2. How can sustainability be implemented?
AN APPROACH TO MORE SUSTAINABILITY: CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Resources are finite. This fact was long pushed aside or completely ignored by the linear economy. With the onset of industrialization, a culture of taking, producing, using and disposing began. A linear process that ends in high resource consumption. The consequences are already noticeable: environmental pollution, water shortages and increasingly extreme weather conditions.
A new approach is needed that not only looks at the present but also at the future. The circular economy provides the right answer.
WHAT IS CIRCULAR ECONOMY?
The traditional linear economic approach not only consumes fossil resources, it also produces a lot of waste that can only be converted back into usable materials at great expense. In some cases, the effort is so great that it is more worthwhile to produce new materials than to recycle the waste.
The idea behind the circular economy is to create a cycle out of economic processes. This means that from the very beginning, the focus is on recyclability and reusability when developing products and manufacturing them. Accordingly, all materials used are part of a cycle that is fed by renewable raw materials. The circular economy is based on the following three main principles:
- Prevention of waste and pollution
- Keeping products and materials in use
- regeneration of natural systems
- These principles are intended to conserve resources and increase added value. In order to achieve the goals, renewable, recyclable and sustainable raw materials are being incorporated into the circular economy.
HOW CIRCULAR ECONOMY WORKS
Sustainability plays an important role in every product phase: from concept and design to raw material extraction, production, packaging and finally recycling. Accordingly, the transition to a circular economy means a change in materials and energy. Such a radical change has an impact on the product as well as the business model of a company.
The conservation of resources and the increase of added value are pursued through several approaches:
- Products are designed with circularity in mind: Are the materials used recyclable? How is the packaging designed? Can the product be rented instead of sold? Renting extends the life of a product. Can the product be designed so that it is easy to repair?
- Products are reused in the usage phase: If only individual parts of a product are defective, they are replaced. Product-as-a-service models in particular take this approach and save resources by bringing the returned products up to date and reselling them cheaply.
- Efficient recycling of materials: When a product has reached the end of its life, recycling comes into play. Ideally, the product should be able to be dismantled into reusable parts without much effort. Depending on the condition of these parts, they are either incorporated into a new product or fed into the recycling cycle.
- Recovery of resources: Circular economy has a direct economic interest in the recovery of all usable resources. For this reason, products are designed in such a way that value recovery can be carried out easily and effectively. Consumers are also encouraged to return the products through incentives. This can be done, for example, through a deposit or as part of a product-as-a-service model. In some cases, the return is regulated contractually.
- Reducing environmental pollution: By keeping as many materials as possible in the cycle, the waste that could pollute the oceans and nature in general is reduced.
BENEFITS OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Environmentally friendly and sustainable – two terms that for many people are synonymous with high effort and, above all, high costs. And at first glance, sustainable materials and resources do indeed seem more expensive than conventional options. The many advantages of a circular economy show that this impression is deceptive:
- By reusing and repairing products, you not only save energy in the long term, but also energy costs.
- Rental and sharing models save resources and therefore costs.
- Companies that rely on the circular economy do not have to constantly mine new resources for a lot of money, but instead obtain them from surplus materials and recycled substances
- As sustainability is on trend and more and more consumers are paying attention to the impact a product has on the environment, you can stand out from the rest of the companies by having a functioning circular economy. This way you can achieve higher sales.
In addition to the financial benefits, the environmental benefits are particularly important to consider. Experts estimate that the circular economy has the potential to halve industrial carbon dioxide emissions in the EU by 2050 through reduced raw material extraction and less energy- and emissions-intensive disposal.
Raw materials are a scarce commodity that must be handled carefully. For this reason, the pressure on companies to act sustainably is growing. Fluctuating raw material prices also create uncertainty. These two factors together regularly give new impetus to the development of circular approaches.
Consumers' consumption behavior has changed. With images and news of the consequences of climate change in mind, they now expect environmentally conscious and responsible behavior from the companies they buy from. There is also increasing acceptance of product-as-a-service models, where products are no longer bought but rented.
With a circular economy,
- greenhouse gases reduced
- Waste reduced and costs for its disposal saved
- valuable resources such as water are conserved
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3. How do companies focus on sustainability?
SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
More and more companies are realizing the damage linear economics causes in the long term and are therefore focusing on the circular economy. Here are successful examples of what a sustainable circular economy can look like:
DYECOO
The textile industry has a heavy impact on the environment due to its high water consumption, the production of large amounts of waste and the use of chemicals. Dutch company DyeCoo wants to counteract this and has developed a process for dyeing fabrics that uses no water and no chemicals other than the dyes themselves. Instead, it uses carbon dioxide under high pressure, which allows the dye to penetrate deep into the fabric. The carbon dioxide then evaporates, is recycled and then reused. Since the fabric does not need to be dried, the process takes half as long, uses less energy and costs less. The company has already entered into partnerships with major brands such as Nike and IKEA.
CLOSE THE LOOP
The Australian company Close the Loop uses old printer cartridges and old soft plastic to produce high-quality road surfaces. By mixing them with asphalt and recycled glass, the surfaces last up to 65% longer than conventional asphalt. For one kilometer of road, 530.000 plastic bags, 168.000 glass bottles and 12.500 printer cartridges are prevented from polluting the environment.
HYLA MOBILE
Tablets and smartphones have become an integral part of our private and working lives. New devices come onto the market every year and old models remain unused or are even thrown away. HYLA Mobile works with many of the world's leading manufacturers and service providers to either reuse the devices themselves or recycle their components.
Companies across a wide range of industries are increasingly striving to maintain as seamless a cycle as possible by reusing materials and resources and obtaining energy from sustainable sources.
TESLA
Another example of how corporate sustainability can be designed is the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg. Electric cars, batteries and storage cells are to be produced here in a completely energy-neutral manner in the near future. To achieve this goal, Tesla is taking the following measures:
- Most of the electricity will be produced by self-built solar panels. The associated storage systems will also be provided by Tesla.
- The processes have been optimized to use as little electricity and water as possible.
- Excess water ends up in collection basins and is reused.
4. How can I operate sustainably?
SUSTAINABILITY PRIVATE LIFE
Sustainability is more than just a trend that companies can use to increase their sales. It's about maintaining a planet worth living on. For us and all future generations. Not only companies, but also private individuals can make a contribution to this.
For DigitaSol founder Achim BC Karpf, private and corporate sustainability go hand in hand. He and his family have been building up their own energy autonomy for years and believe that, thanks to innovative climate protection technology, it is no longer necessary to use fossil fuels. Specifically, he is taking the following measures to generate energy independently and sustainably:
- Photovoltaics with a peak value of 29,5 kWh and a 300 m² panel area, saving 90 t of CO2
- The energy supplier is jointly operated with 100% renewable energy
- Mobility relies exclusively on BEVs (Tesla MS, MY, M3P and Renault Zoe)
CONCLUSION: SUSTAINABILITY PAYS OFF IN ALL AREAS
Financial success and sustainability are by no means mutually exclusive. A look at the ever-increasing scarcity of resources and the already noticeable consequences of climate change shows that there is no way around an environmentally conscious economy. Circular economy offers an approach to dealing responsibly with valuable raw materials and materials. The long service life of the products and efficient recycling reduce waste and the negative impact on the environment.
But not only companies, but also private individuals can make their contribution to mitigating climate change. Investments in innovative climate protection technology can be a first step here. Ultimately, consumers also have a hand: through their purchasing behavior, they can encourage companies to act in a more environmentally conscious and sustainable manner.
Ecological sustainability also plays an important role for us at DigitaSol. We follow the circular economy approach in order to operate in an ecological, energy-efficient and sustainable manner. We also use this concept when advising our customers. If implemented correctly, digitization can protect the climate. Whether in the area of ​​marketing automation, data analytics or blockchain.