The arrival of sustainability in the fashion industry has been massive, although irregular. With the popularity of the concept, many businesses have discovered an opportunity to improve their business performance through sustainability. However, many others continue without developing concrete actions that allow them to obtain a true competitive advantage in the industry. With the aim of boosting the reach of your brand, we reveal the key takeaways for your business to start using sustainability as a strategic business tool.
From large fashion groups to smaller brands, sustainability is used not only to tackle the most harmful practices, but also to accelerate their business transformation and create environmental and social value. More and more companies are moving from a superficial view of sustainability to a deeper understanding of what they can achieve thanks to it.
Brands that create value through sustainability exercise long-term responsibility and expand it throughout their entire business model
The main difference between brands able to generate value through sustainability and those that use it as a simple commercial tool lies in the spread of their commitment. Its responsibility is exercised in the long term and expands throughout the entire business model, involving the whole company as well as its stakeholders. Having a mission that is bigger than the company’s business purpose will contribute significantly to both its business model and its sustainability goals.
Here are some of the keys that brands of any size can implement to turn sustainability into a competitive advantage:
1. Define what your company’s commitments and ambitions are. That broader mission than the brand purpose itself needs to be broken down into measurable goals that the entire company can get behind. Making and reporting on tangible commitments helps organizations keep that purpose authentic and real.
2. Identify which SDGs are aligned with your business model. The SDGs can help your company draw up a roadmap to strengthen your sustainability strategy. Study which ones you share principles with and use them as a guide in making decisions.
3. Don’t just announce what you are going to do, do it. Sustainability won’t be of any benefit to your company if the plans you spread in your communication campaigns are never implemented.
4. Assess what your stakeholders are looking for in terms of sustainability. Aligning the wishes of all stakeholders will allow you to incorporate sustainability as a tool to collectively generate environmental, social and financial value.
5. Create alliances to extend the impact of your actions. Identify entities with common causes to your brand and establish collaboration formulas to achieve a greater impact.
6. Generates value through innovation and technology. Accompanying sustainability with innovation allows to transform the way in which products are designed, manufactured, distributed and sold. Use technology to guarantee the sustainable transformation of your company.
7. Measure, evaluate and monitor your progress. If something cannot be measured, there is no way to know its evolution. Quantify your sustainability initiatives and establish reporting methodologies that are ideal for your company.
8. Communicate your results transparently. Reporting on progress towards established sustainability goals is vital to maintaining the trust of all stakeholders. Non-financial reports are key, employing strong and transparent indicators can help you gain a competitive advantage in the market.
9. Motivate workers within your company. Amplify your impact by encouraging employees to volunteer or build projects around key impact areas.
10. Instills the culture of sustainability across the board. The myth that sustainability has to be a separate department has long been disproved. Each and every one of the company’s departments must take into account the sustainability criteria so that the effort made by one part of the team corresponds to the actions implemented in the rest of the company. Sustainability is always the result of collective work.
Working on each of these points in order to expand sustainability throughout the business structure and involve all people is essential for the brand’s business model to obtain an advantage over its competitors in terms of market penetration, brand building and community development. At BCOME we want to encourage your business to create key points of differentiation through sustainability and improve your competitive advantage. Find out how we can help you achieve it through our platform!
