How focusing on ESG can help you create new revenue streams and boost profits

Businesses across the world, however big or small, know that they need to develop strategic foresight and adapt to survive, incorporating the need to be more environmentally friendly, socially responsible and have a good governance framework in place - all whilst turning a profit. Thankfully, a sustainable and circular business mindset has the power to create more value for your business than you might expect. 

A recent Deloitte study showed that 67% of participants were willing to pay up to 41% more for products if they were sustainable, and that inclination was higher among younger age groups. This is why brands are investing in ESG, not just to save the planet but to gain customer loyalty. 

 

Drive value creation with an entrepreneurial and agile mindset

We’ve seen first-hand how businesses with an entrepreneurial and agile mindset have been able to create new revenue streams by focussing on sustainability. Our podcast, Better Than We Found It, is dedicated to people who have a purpose driven mission to leave a positive legacy through their leadership. We chat to a diverse range of executive leaders and aspiring future leaders, engaging in thoughtful conversation around harnessing sustainability to guide responsible leadership, creating positive change and, ultimately driving value creation. 

In our latest episode, we’re joined by Farah Cohen, COO at Ocean Bottle (a B Corp certified, reusable bottle brand, whose purpose mission is to enable anyone that cares about the planet the opportunity to turn the tap off ocean plastic!). They dedicate 15% of their top line revenue to fight plastic pollution. With the sale of each Ocean Bottle, 11.4kg of plastic (the equivalent of 1,000 ocean-bound plastic bottles) is collected globally, in coastal areas where plastic pollution is at its worst. They work with plastic collection partners Plastic Bank, Plastics for Change and Repurpose Global to actualise this collection. 

 

You don’t have to choose between profitability and sustainability 

There’s no set path towards working in sustainability. For many people, Farah included, it happens organically. During our conversation, Farah admitted that she “grew up with the thought that you had to choose between sustainability and profitability”. That belief has since changed, as she’s worked with various different companies on their journeys towards sustainability. Like us, she believes that there is definitely a way to create value by caring for the planet. And Ocean Bottle has proven that. 

 

Pushing boundaries to boost profits and save the planet

Alongside the development of their B2C products, Ocean Bottle have embarked on a SaaS venture, Ocean.co, to help educate other businesses on sustainability, and support them in making a positive impact. They’re leveraging their expertise and know-how to not only help other brands do more for the planet by collecting plastic on their behalf, but also create a whole new revenue stream that wouldn’t exist if they weren’t focussed on finding new and better ways to make a bigger impact. This, along with the work they do with their plastic partners and with their supply chain, is a great example of brands using their entrepreneurial mindset to create community and take meaningful sustainable action.

Our client, GPE, a FTSE 250 listed property development and investment organisation, recently salvaged structural steel columns and beams during the demolition of one of their sites. They plan to reuse them for another site, saving money and making their building process a lot more sustainable. ‘Comparing the carbon values of reused and primary steel demonstrates emissions of the reused steel are reduced by 99% before refabrication.’ (Ref: British Steel EPD GWP 2450kgCO2/t against European Metal Recycling EPD GWP 47kgCO2/t – both for module A1-A3).

We’ve been fortunate to work with GPE in supporting their search for a Sustainability Lead, two Health and Safety Business Partners, along with two interim advisory industry leaders. 

 

Supporting you on your journey

As we mentioned earlier, the path towards sustainability isn’t always a clear one - for individuals or businesses. In order to make leaps like these companies have made, you need to be hiring the right people. And you need to know where you are on your journey towards sustainability before you can start recruiting. At GS2, we understand how to build the right team for you to achieve your goals. For our support on your journey, please get in touch. 

We are GS2 Partnership, a global talent solutions organisation on a critical journey to connect the people who believe in leaving the world better than they found it. As a certified B Corp pending organisation, we support organisations of all size and scales across the UK, Europe and US. Our solutions attract, assess, onboard and retain leaders within their Executive Teams along with Impact investing, ESG, sustainability, corporate affairs, communication and responsible business functions.