Many conscientious enterprise leadership teams are rapidly upping their sustainability game as their customers start demanding nothing less – traceable goods, ethical practices, low carbon footprints, the list goes on.
To this end, they must choose service providers with the capabilities to deliver results at scale, using sustainability as a business driver and not as a restriction. Service provider selection is critical for every project, but in a world where the sustainable standards of enterprises vary so dramatically, picking the right one means a massive competitive advantage. Stronger value propositions, operating model improvements, global scalability of solutions, and staff retention are all within the grasp of enterprises who want to lead in their industry.
Some conservative groups try to dampen sustainability issues and laugh off those proclaiming a planet-wide emergency. They claim that moderate approaches will achieve more meaningful results rather than radical measures that can scare people off. The truth is that we are faced with an emergency (anyone who denies this, and the impact it will have on businesses, might as well stop reading now), and it’s only a matter of time before the next tipping point sparks a public outcry and a forced business response. David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II sparked a mass-revolution against plastic, all because of a 10-minute segment covering its effect on marine life. The same revolutionary effect is happening across all aspects of sustainability: environmental, social, and financial… when will it be too late for your enterprise to act?
Exhibit 1: Iconic images from BBC’s Blue Planet II that sparked the plastic debate
Source: BBC
Enterprises need a service provider that takes sustainability seriously as a business driver
Few CXOs or service providers possess the ability to transform both an enterprise’s commercial success and sustainability. In today’s business environment, the success of commercial and sustainable efforts is intertwined – Unilever see market opportunities of $12 trillion per year arising from sustainable shifts through lowering costs and risk, and customer attraction and retention; some, however, still see it as a prison cell holding back the enterprise.
Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) epitomizes a team that can achieve these goals. Their sustainable development achievements with NGOs, charities, and SMEs has fed back into Accenture’s enterprise-level sustainability services. When enterprises go searching for their magic “green” service provider, they must consider their sustainable skill-level and experience, and how they translate into stronger all-around offerings.
We spoke to Louise James, Managing Director of Accenture Development Partnerships, about its history, operating model, what differentiates ADP from the competition, and how it has made Accenture stronger on all fronts.
Using Accenture’s existing core capabilities—business models, technologies, strategy—ADP attracted the best (internal-only) employees with the lure of achieving some good. The achievements of ADP work both ways, not only socially-focused—low-cost global scalability and improved staff retention make Accenture a stronger service provider in its main endeavors.
ADP’s operating model and ability to broker partnerships allow enterprises to achieve low-cost scale—make sure that your service provider can do the same
ADP differentiates itself in the space with its global operating model. Where many service providers have global businesses, often their more-localized operating models prevent scalability of development projects, due to funding requirements. They might be able to achieve results on a local level but fall short when NGOs or charities want worldwide expansion for little investment. This ability to scale at a low-cost applies to all enterprises, even in non-sustainable endeavors. ADP helps to create financially sustainable business models for clients, building on their existing skill sets.
Strategy-wise, for enterprises looking to pioneer sustainability, partnerships with governments can be crucial
Governments’ sustainable development models and funding pools mean that both small and large enterprises, with the right value proposition, can benefit. In a case study referenced in ADP research, NMB Tanzania created an entry level savings account targeting the unbanked population. The account interoperability framework fostered by the Tanzanian Government meant that transactions can be made from any mobile wallet in to a customer’s account. Overall governments have a vested interest in promoting the financial sustainability of many of its regions and their constituents—long-term benefit being embedded into the national structure.
Enterprises can fulfill a government’s desire to champion sustainable development
Governments are legally binding themselves into sustainable development through the Paris Agreement and will come down hard on unsustainable enterprises when the time is right. Forming these partnerships, brokered by the right service providers, will put enterprises ahead of the competition for their sustainability-demanding customers.
Service providers’ talents can simultaneously drive sustainable development and strengthen enterprises’ core business
Achieving scalable sustainable development is not just for philanthropic show; it can also create real business value.
- Proven sustainable services: When the next tipping point comes, service providers with capabilities, experience, and a proven record of achieving scale in high-profile areas of sustainable problem solving should be at the forefront of enterprises’ minds.
- Operating models: Scale is not just for sustainability. The traits of a sustainability-focused service provider can be taken on board to find real business value—global scalability, ability to scale at low-cost, and applying existing services, core skills, and a talent pool to new problems through tried-and-tested methods.
- Staff development and retention: After years behind a desk, most employees would jump at the opportunity to engage in sustainable development projects. An opportunity to improve their skills and gain a new-found appreciation for the enterprise might entice them to stick around for a lot longer.
The Bottom Line: Sustainability tipping points are around the corner for enterprises—they must find a service provider which can step up to the crease.
It was clear in Davos 2019 (your views on the event aside) that companies are starting to think. The prominence of sustainability in business continues to rise, as does customer pressure. Many skeptics of sustainability have used the tipping-point argument to delay their involvement: “We’ll act when we have to.” Again, look at what happened to the public perception of plastics overnight after Blue Planet II—tipping points can happen, so which one will be next? Pressure comes from unlikely sources, making this difficult to predict; our advice to enterprises is to quickly find the service provider you need, before you’re suddenly swept-aside by angry customers and stern regulators.