How Companies Are Accelerating Their Sustainability Goals

The commitment to more environmentally-conscious business choices has been popular for years now. There’s a good reason too — it helps the planet, while boosting the company’s reputation among customers.

Now, the pandemic has accelerated these efforts as health and safety continue to be at the front of everyone’s minds.

For example, global agency holding company IPG launched a program this May that aims to save 50,000 kilograms of Co2 and one million liters of water over three weeks.

“Our fragile ecosystems around the world are suffering and underrepresented and disenfranchised communities experience this even more,” the company stated in a memo. “Individual behavior changes, such as reducing waste, are actionable ways to reduce our own contributions to climate injustice.”

Some companies have used the pandemic to work towards their sustainability goals by reducing their office footprint, like advertising agency R/GA. According to the firm’s Vice President Executive Director of Business Operations Jess Astor, less people commuting means that office layouts will be transformed to accommodate collaborative work.

Flex space provider Industrious has also revealed their own changes by announcing its goal of reducing paper and plastic waste by 25% across its over 100 locations in the U.S.

“We’ve known for years that sustainability just makes good business sense. Buying reusable and bulk items, for example, allows us to save longer term on operating costs,” said Anna Levine, chief commercial officer at Industrious. “And people truly want to be part of the change they want to see — they recognize that with small behavioral shifts their collective action can yield real results.”