How Two Brands Incorporated Sustainability into their Business Models

“Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is.”

-Greta Thunberg, the then 16-year-old climate activist, addressing fully grown adults at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on January 25, 2019. 

Whether companies were moved by Thunberg’s speech or they were scared that global warming and climate change are bad for business is unclear. Regardless of greenwashing scandals, there are still companies who strive to do their part in protecting the environment. Here are just two of those brands who melded sustainability into their business models:

1. Bluebird Climate:

As the founders of Bluebird Climate must have realised, the beauty industry is one of the most notorious culprits of environmentally shady practices. An approximate 120 billion units of waste are produced each year by the packaging used for beauty products. Bluebird Climate, in response, developed a system that records and displays a beauty company’s carbon emissions and waste creation. They even help brands develop plans to reduce their carbon footprint and integrate sustainability into their production processes. 

It allows the consumers to hold the brand accountable for their environmental impact and check the accuracy of their claims.

Companies, fearing a public backlash, will also likely comply with their promises and sustainability goals—a win for the consumers, a win for the companies, and a win for the planet.

2. Cochin International Airport (CIAL), Kerala - India

CIAL is the largest airport in Kerala and the fourth largest airport in South India. It is also the 3rd busiest airport in international travel and the 9th busiest airport in all of India. The airport handled more than 60% of the air transport of Keralite passengers and transported 10.2 million passengers from 2018 to 2019. 

Millions of people, countless aircrafts, even more lights… if sounds like an environmental nightmare to you, you would be absolutely wrong. 

In 2015, the CIAL Solar Power Project was built by the airport, making Cochin International Airport the first airport in the world to be completely solar-powered. The plant comprises more than 40,000 solar panels spanning 45 hectares that work to produce 50,000 units of electricity every single day. CIAL has plans to grow the current 15 Mega-Watt plant into a 28 Mega-Watt plant in the next 2 years.

In recognition of CIAL’s initiatives, the UN selected the airport for the ‘Champion of the Earth’ Award in 2018, the highest environmental accolade awarded by the UN. 

In the end, the point for entrepreneurs and policymakers to remember is this - it is possible to develop a meaningful balance between sustainability and commercial benefits. After all, it is a little pointless to make money when there is nothing left to buy with that money. 

Endeavour to set ambitious goals for making your production and transport processes sustainable and meet those targets. You will build consumer trust and maybe even an award from the UN! Ultimately, every business has the potential to make a lasting impact. Let yours be for the children like Thunberg, who grew up too fast and the planet that can still be saved. 

Passionate about integrating eco-friendly processes into business? We have just the right course for you! UniAthena’s course on Sustainability and Business will teach you everything you need to know to save our planet, one product at a time.