I’m not usually concerned about following trends. They’re just that… trends. They come and go. Most of the time I’m not interested in being part of the flock of sheep that has to wear the same clothing as everyone else or watch the same TV shows or movies (spoiler alert: zombies are not real). I won’t jump on the Paleo bandwagon. I’ll make my own decisions, thank you very much. But when it comes to trends in sustainability in business, I’m all for it. The more the merrier, actually.
After so many years of big corporations doing whatever it takes to claw their way to the top of the food chain, it’s great to see a shift in thinking and business approach. Companies are now taking a more active role in sustainability, going against what’s common practice to embrace a better way of doing business.
These trends aren’t about recycling or energy practices. These are about different ways to do business that lead to a stronger, more sustainable business model. They’re even creating new businesses that capitalize on one or another of these trends. Let’s take a look at some of the top trends in part one of this two-part article.
Your mother taught you to share
There’s no doubt, we’ve become a throw-away society. Buy something, use it, and when it breaks or you no longer have a use for it, out to the trash it goes. But, we’re seeing a shift in that mindset as more and more people realize there’s a big social and ecological benefit to sharing.
And this mindset is even creating new business niches, ones that have a foundation built on the concept of sharing. This ranges from the large, Airbnb being one such business that people are taking advantage of, to the small, like Pley, a place for parents to swap pricey Lego sets when their kids are done playing with them. This trend is sure to continue growing as more and more people see the benefit in reusing, sharing, re-purposing, recycling, or upcycling.
Connectivity
It’s easier than ever to share information with people all around the world. We’re no longer limited by geography, like in the past when the only solution would be either expensive in terms of travel or lengthy in terms of shipping time. Businesses can hand-pick strategic teams and partnerships. Resources can easily be shared. Telecommuting has become commonplace, and has been proven beneficial to the employee and the employer. “The rise in social technology has a direct impact on sustainable business models,” so says Triple Pundit. Depending on the business niche, a company doesn’t even need a brick-and-mortar location anymore, thanks to technology resources.
Setting a good example from the top down
Businesses are often defined by their leadership, and one of the trends that we’re seeing focuses on that trickle-down effect in the form of a more enlightened leadership. When leaders are using their power and influence to make lasting, impactful changes, they’re getting the conversation started, and sometimes that’s the most important first step to lasting change.
There are two companies that jump out recently who have not been afraid to start the conversation—Apple and Starbucks. Full disclosure, I’m a loyal customer of both companies, but regardless of how you feel about the brands, their leadership has not been afraid to start the conversation. Facebook is another one. They’re taking on an issue (big brother and privacy, employment and education, racial equality) and getting people talking. In doing so they know they will anger some and gain some others as followers, but they’re making a change within their own organizations and hoping the impact carries over to their customers and beyond.
Getting interactive
This one won’t surprise you: businesses use social media to gain feedback and participation from their customers and the public in general. Companies are especially interested in the younger generation (the new Millennials) because they tend to have a strong influence on trends and will be the customer base of tomorrow. Taking advantage of blogging, social media channels, videos and email marketing is helping brands expand their reach and their influence.
Social-tie density
This trend initially appears to be more complex, but it’s rather simple in practice. The higher the density in an urban setting, the more productive people are and the more face-to-face interaction that will occur. Triple Pundit explained it best. “The more [daily] interactions individuals have—face-to-face, digitally or otherwise—the more productive they’re able to become. This enables a new focus and push for sustainable business practices as more individuals become conscious of their impact on the world and take the time to choose the right company to service their needs.” This theory was first developed by the smart folks at MIT’s Media Laboratory Human Dynamics Lab. “People are able to narrow what they did to get better at it and because they were nearby, they could trade with each other.”
Consumer consciousness
This one’s on us, the consumers. As a whole, we’re becoming more conscious of what we’re buying and supporting. We’re losing a tolerance for mindless clutter. More and more, we’re embracing something that we can relate to, making it our own, supporting it and becoming advocates of whatever it is—a product, cause, group or organization. We can trace much of this to the trends already listed, but also, perhaps, to a willingness to take a public stance on something we believe in.
Women leading the way in sustainable business
According to a sustainability survey conducted by Cox Enterprises, “women-owned businesses are statistically more sustainable than those owned by men. Seventy percent of women are committed to increasing sustainable business activities and are more likely to offer recycling programs, material efficiency initiatives and telecommuting options, as opposed to 62 percent of men.” Before you say, “but this is only one survey,” that’s true, it is. But it does help emphasize that women are taking an active role in sustainability and starting those conversations, from the top down.
Virtual reality can be actual reality
We’re living in a world where virtual reality is becoming commonplace. It’s being used largely as an entertainment outlet, but some conscientious activists are using the technology to forecast what impact our decisions will have on the environment. One such group is the environmental science students at Arizona State University, who are using virtual reality to see the effects of how to deal with different environmental problems or solutions. This could have big implications to test different solutions before investing either money or manpower on something that may not work or worse, do even do more harm. It’s another way of capitalizing on technology to address a problem.
This is just the start of what’s happening in business sustainability today. In the next installment, we’ll look at some additional trends that are becoming part of a sustainable business model. Looking over this list, you can probably see some commonalities and overlap. These things are not happening in isolation, and it’s no accident that they’re becoming a more prominent part of the conversation. Stay tuned for more… fortunately we’re not done talking about this very important topic. Share your thoughts about these trends with us in the Comments.
