SUSTAINABLE

BUSINESS PRACTICES
& RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
Author- Sharmeen Siddique
M.Com – B 127
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES &
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ?

Building and nurturing customer relationships lies at the heart of

every successful business. In an era where customer
expectations are higher than ever before, businesses must go
beyond to forge meaningful connections. Businesses that strive
to reduce their environmental impact and embrace socially
responsible practices, are emerging as leaders driving success.

Sustainable business practices & customer relationship

management refers to the integration of environmentally
conscious and socially responsible approaches into customer
relationship management strategies.
It involves incorporating sustainable principles and metrics into customer
relationship management operations to minimize negative environmental impacts
and contribute to a greener future. It goes beyond short-term gains and focuses on
building enduring relationships with customers while aligning with sustainable
business goals.

Moreover, sustainable business practices encompass various aspects, including

energy efficiency, paperless operations, waste management, and sustainable supply
chain management. Organizations adopting these aim to reduce energy
consumption, minimize paper usage, implement effective waste management
strategies, and promote responsible sourcing and transportation practices within
their supply chain. It also involve the adoption of technology solutions, such as
energy-efficient CRM systems, paperless documentation and transaction processes,
waste reduction and recycling initiatives, and sustainable supplier selection.

Overall, sustainable CRM practices represent a holistic approach to customer

relationship management that emphasizes the importance of environmental and
social responsibility, contributing to a more sustainable and ethical business model.
 OBJECTIVE OF SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES & RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT ?

As we face irreversible changes in the Earth’s system, the threat of climate change has become too risky
to ignore. The exceedance of environmental thresholds is raising concerns about domino effects in
global natural systems and societies. Businesses are seeing both pressure and opportunity to establish
sustainability goals if they haven’t already.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies continued to align to the United Nations General
Assembly sustainable development goals (SDGs) set in 2015 and intended to be achieved by the year
2030. The SDGs establish universal goals that provide a roadmap for sustainability in business in target
areas such as poverty, inequality, environmental degradation and climate change.
 EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS:
Improving energy management
efficiency by using alternative power
sources and carbon accounting.
Deploying infrastructure that reduces
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,
preserves water resources and
eliminates waste.
Giving to sustainable charities or
sponsoring education funds.
Operating dynamic and efficient supply
chains to empower a circular economy,
encourage reuse, design out waste,
promote sustainable consumption and
protect natural resources.
Enabling sustainable development by
assessing risks and improving resiliency
while adhering to external regulations and
development goals.
 HOW TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGY & RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT ?

Before a business starts its journey to being more environmentally friendly, it will first need to come up
with a sustainable business strategy. Here’s how to do it in four quick steps.

01 Define objectives
o Working with other members of your team, consider what sustainability means for both the business
and your customers. This helps you to target key areas and create a more focused approach.

o You might want to think about areas like how much waste the business currently generates, what
impact operations have on the local community, and whether you can make your supply chain more
efficient.

o Answering these types of questions as a team will help to define your objectives and give everyone
a clear goal to work towards.
HOW TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGY & RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT ?

02 Establish a mission statement

o It’s now important to discuss why you want to make the proposed changes and how you’re going to
go about achieving this. A good mission statement should ascertain what your organization's values
are and the overall purpose. Consider the five W’s of who, what, when, where, and why.
o The mission statement should act as a reliable guide for everyone in the business and ensure you’re
now ready to discuss the specifics of the strategy itself.

03 Create a strategy
o Now for the main event, creating a sustainable business strategy. You’ll need to think about profit,
people, and the planet when producing your strategy, as there is very little point in making drastic
changes to your sustainability best practices if it’s going to put you out of business. You need to
take a sensible, measured approach.

o 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, so don’t be afraid to plan for
a rise in prices in order to accommodate the sustainability measures you plan on implementing.
o Basically, you want to create a strategy that will improve your operational efficiency and drive
profits, while improving your business’ environmental and social impact. Try to get a good range of
team members involved in the sustainable business strategy process, ensuring you’ve got a diverse
range of individuals collaborating to develop new and inspiring ideas.

04 Implement the sustainable business strategy

o Finally, it’s time to roll out your strategy and achieve your company objectives. A lot of businesses
talk about making sustainable changes, but not as many actually enforce those ideas.

o Throughout the implementation of the strategy, make sure you revisit your objectives and mission
statement to ensure you’re making good progress and remain on track.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGY ROADMAP
 HOW CAN YOU ENSURE YOUR STRATEGIC VISION FOR BRM IS SUSTAINABLE?

As a business relationship manager (BRM), you need to have a clear and compelling strategic vision for
how you can create value for your business partners and stakeholders. But having a vision is not enough;
you also need to ensure that it is sustainable and adaptable to changing needs and circumstances. In this
article, we will explore some of the key factors and practices that can help you achieve a sustainable
strategic vision for BRM.

 Establish a mission statement

The first step to ensuring your strategic vision for BRM is sustainable is to align it with the overall business
strategy and goals of your organization. This means understanding the current and future state of the
business, the challenges and opportunities it faces, and the expectations and needs of your business
partners. You also need to communicate your vision clearly and consistently to your partners and
stakeholders, and demonstrate how it supports and contributes to the business outcomes and value
creation.
 Assess your capabilities and gaps.

The next step is to assess your current and desired capabilities and gaps as a BRM. This includes
evaluating your skills, knowledge, tools, processes, and resources that enable you to perform your role
effectively and efficiently. You also need to identify the areas where you need to improve, learn, or acquire
new capabilities to meet the changing demands and expectations of your business partners. You can use
frameworks such as the BRM Competency Model or the BRM Maturity Model to help you with this
assessment.

 Plan your actions and initiatives.

The third step is to plan your actions and initiatives that will help you achieve your strategic vision for BRM.
This means prioritizing and selecting the most impactful and feasible projects, programs, or activities that
will deliver value to your business partners and stakeholders, and align with your vision and goals. You also
need to define the scope, objectives, deliverables, resources, timelines, and metrics for each action or
initiative, and ensure that they are aligned with the business strategy and vision.
 Execute and monitor your progress

The fourth step is to execute and monitor your progress and performance as a BRM. This means
implementing your actions and initiatives according to your plan, and tracking and measuring your results
and outcomes. You also need to collect feedback and data from your business partners and stakeholders,
and use them to evaluate your effectiveness and efficiency as a BRM. You can use tools such as the BRM
Scorecard or the Business Value Ability Framework to help you with this execution and monitoring.

 Adapt and improve your vision

The final step is to adapt and improve your strategic vision for BRM based on your learnings and insights
from your execution and monitoring. This means reviewing and revising your vision, goals, capabilities,
actions, and initiatives as needed, to ensure that they are relevant, realistic, and responsive to the
changing needs and circumstances of your business and your partners. You also need to communicate and
collaborate with your partners and stakeholders, and involve them in your adaptation and improvement
process.
 OUTCOME & PURPOSE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS IMPORTANT?

We’re doing business in an unpredictable world. Climate change, dwindling natural resources, and ever-
increasing demands on our energy and food supply are disrupting business operations and supply chains in
unexpected ways. It’s more important than ever for private and public organizations to fundamentally
rethink the way they function. Transforming into a successful sustainable business requires new levels of
resilience and agility, rooted in responsible practices that preserve our planet.

Sustainability is a business imperative and should be core to the strategy and operations
of every business. The reasons for this are both ethical and financial:

● Employees are increasingly looking for mission-driven, purpose-led employers who care about the
planet when deciding where to work. 71% of employees and employment seekers say that
environmentally sustainable companies are more attractive employers.

● Consumers are willing to pay a premium for goods from brands that are environmentally
responsible. 80% of consumers indicate sustainability is important to them.

● Governments, investors, employees and customers are demanding new levels of enterprise
accountability, including action to address climate change.
 OUTCOME & PURPOSE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS IMPORTANT?

● Many of the world’s top economies have or are developing corporate disclosure requirements
around environmental impact, driving businesses to curb GHG emissions.

● The rise of ESG investment criteria and sustainable investing means that a sustainable business is
inherently more attractive to the rising numbers of responsible investors. Investment in ESG assets
may reach USD 53 trillion by 2025, representing over a third of global assets.

To safeguard our planet and our future, companies need to drive decarbonization, meet environmental
regulatory requirements and compliance deadlines, and improve resource consumption. Those paving
the way in sustainable business practices are embracing new business models to win customers,
increase brand loyalty and uncover new opportunities to lower costs.
 BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

Companies that conscientiously integrate sustainable practices into their operations are
seeing valuable business benefits. These include:

Competitive advantage Competitive advantage

55% of consumers say In 2021, four out of five personal

environmental responsibility is very investors planned to act on
or extremely important when sustainability or social
choosing a brand.Being known as a responsibility factors in the
sustainable business can improve following 12 months.
your brand awareness and help you
attract consumers that are
favorably predisposed to
companies actively engaged in
sustainable practices.
 BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

Compliance with regulatory Talent acquisition

requirements
Governments will continue to
expand regulations and corporate
SDGs. Stay ahead of the curve by
implementing sustainable solutions
early on to meet these new
regulatory requirements and
continually capture, measure,
benchmark and report on ESG
performance.
Revenue growth
Employees seeking purpose-driven
employment want to work for
sustainable and socially
responsible companies. By building
a reputation as a sustainable
business, you can attract and retain
the right employees for your
company.

By implementing sustainable practices that reduce resource

consumption and optimize operational efficiencies, today's
change agents become tomorrow’s winners as they improve
their bottom line. While efforts that have greater overall
impact may be more costly to implement at the outset, the
long-term gains will justify the investment.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As businesses continue to recognize the importance of

sustainability, the adoption of sustainable CRM practices
will become increasingly prevalent. They not only
contribute to a greener and more socially responsible
world but also reap the benefits of improved brand
reputation, customer loyalty, and cost savings. By
integrating sustainable values into their CRM strategies,
businesses can pave the way for a brighter, more
sustainable future.
REFERENCES

● https://www.centrahubcrm.com/blogs/sustainable-crm-practices-for-new-approach
● https://www.ibm.com/topics/business-sustainability
● https://www.centrahubcrm.com/blogs/sustainable-crm-practices-for-new-
approach#:~:text=It%20goes%20beyond%20short%2Dterm,and%20sustainable%20supply%20chain
%20management.
● https://www.linkedin.com/advice/1/how-can-you-build-brm-network-thats-uvove
● https://www.slideshare.net/gavindjharper/business-models-for-sustainability-5187089
 THANK
YOU!
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