Capterra Glossary
Business Sustainability
The term business sustainability refers to a corporation’s efforts to reduce or eliminate the negative environmental and social impact it may cause in the world. Many businesses often struggle to balance business profitability with environmentally and socially ethical practices (also referred to as the triple bottom line). For instance, to be more socially ethical, businesses can provide a healthy environment for their workforce. This may include purchasing ergonomic office furniture or offering competitive wages. Companies can be more environmentally ethical by using energy-efficient lighting in the workplace and encouraging their employees to recycle their food and beverage containers while at work. Organizations that engage in sustainable business practices and prioritize their triple bottom line often gain a more positive public reputation, lower overhead costs, and increase employee retention rates.
What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Business Sustainability
Small and midsize businesses should prioritize business sustainability because it can help them build trust amongst their workforce and, thereby, increase their bottom line. When a small organization treats its employees in a socially ethical manner, its employees are more likely to have high morale, which tends to increase employee retention rates. By implementing sustainable business practices that have little to no negative impact on the environment, companies can reduce their overhead expenses, such as the amount they pay for energy bills, transportation, or office supplies, which benefits their bottom line.
Related Terms
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Procurement
- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
- Vendor
- Supply Chain Planning (SCP)
- Telematics
- Senpai
- Vendor Management
- Value-Added Reseller (VAR)
- Bill of Materials (BOM)
- Supply Chain
- Smart Factory
- Scanner
- SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)
- Radio-frequency Identification (RFID)