--- title: Business Acumen - The Other Side of Sustainability description: Sustainability and Business Acumen are now intertwined forever. The key challenge is to focus on elements that are controllable and measurable. image: https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/business-sustainability.jpg --- [![logo-advantexe-150.png](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-advantexe-150.png?width=150&height=123&name=logo-advantexe-150.png "logo-advantexe-150.png")](https://www.advantexe.com) ![blog-banner-2022](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog-banner-2022.png?width=973&name=blog-banner-2022.png "blog-banner-2022") ### The Advantexe Advisor Blog - providing a deep and applicable understanding of the system of business. # Business Acumen - The Other Side of Sustainability By Robert Brodo | Sep 15, 2020 8:15:46 AM | [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Business%20Acumen%20-%20The%20Other%20Side%20of%20Sustainability) [![Share on Pinterest](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/pinterest-24x24.png)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.advantexe.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-business-acumen-side-of-sustainability%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) The pressure is increasing for companies to embrace and execute a sustainability strategy. For some, it will![business-sustainability](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/business-sustainability.jpg?width=300&name=business-sustainability.jpg) be nothing more than a few words on a website. They will just do it because others are doing it and a box needs to be checked. For others who take it seriously, it will be a disruption that changes the entire future of the business. Society has created a global expectation that businesses are more than just making products, delivering services, and generating gobs of profit. The new reality is that there is an increased expectation that businesses should go beyond their operations and revenue generation and include environmental and social sustainability at levels equal to or above the levels of investments they are making in future product development. Look at the homepage of your favorite Fortune 500 company. Surely someplace within the first few seconds of review you will see the sustainability efforts the company is making. It should be very clear to any business leader that to be successful over time, every company on the planet must not only deliver financial performance but must also demonstrate how it is making positive contributions to society. Over the past 6 months, I have had the privilege of delivering [Business Acumen](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/business-acumen-skills-5-most-important-elements-of-a-learning-journey) learning programs to thousands of learners around the world. I have noticed during our work and numerous conversations about how to take lessons learned back to the job that sustainability strategies and metrics have become mainstream. It is also clear that the integration of sustainability in businesses takes place at different levels depending on several different factors such as the strategy, value propositions to customers, goals, and objectives. During the recent months I have observed that leading businesses have made fundamental shifts toward redesigning their operations, workflow, and policies toward sustainability. Of course some of it is COVID-19 related, but I will share that the majority of leaders I speak with have realized that less travel, more virtual, and more working remotely is not only better for the planet’s ecosystem, it is also good for the bottom line. It has also been interesting to observe those businesses who have taken fragmented, ad-hoc approaches to create “green” programs for the sake of perception (public relations) have had poorer business results and a decrease in perception. **Ideas to Integrate Sustainability into Business Strategy that Drive Results** **Focus on the Controllables** One of the hardest things to do in business is to quickly change. Pardon the pun, but in business it is almost impossible to “boil the ocean” in a very short amount of time. Massive change efforts around creating enterprise-wide sustainability are difficult, expensive, and often don’t work. So, focus on the things that are controllable. Such as specific “Product Sustainability” programs. A product sustainability program focuses on the core, best-selling products. It enables leaders to have a place to start and it provides a portfolio of metrics that can be measured easily. **Focus on Balanced (Sustainability & Business) Metrics** As mentioned above, it’s easier and more effective to focus on manageable and measurable metrics. Here is an example of a Sustainability Scoreboard for a Brand (not the enterprise) from one of our newest sustainability [business simulations](https://www.advantexe.com/why-business-simulations). ![sustainability-dashboard-v2](https://www.advantexe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sustainability-dashboard-v2.png?width=1071&name=sustainability-dashboard-v2.png) **Create a Culture that Experiments** Implementing a global brand sustainability strategy is difficult at best. Executing it during a global pandemic is harder in some ways and easier in others. One of the most important things to recognize is that developing a culture and mindset that encourages all employees to experiment is extremely important. To do that, leaders must create a safe zone for failing so that lessons are learned and applied. For example, I was recently working with a group of R&D professionals exploring new packaging options. One of the options was using a biodegradable material. Unfortunately, the packaging started to disintegrate, and the product was destroyed when shipped in cold storage trucks and humidity got in. The team quickly learned and were appreciative of the culture that allowed them to take a risk and fail. In summary, sustainability and [Business Acumen](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/defining-business-acumen) are now intertwined forever. Having a [business strategy](https://www.advantexe.com/blog/do-you-have-a-business-strategy-or-a-list-of-tasks) means having a sustainability strategy. The key challenge for leaders is to make sure you are focusing on the things that are controllable and measurable. [![Why Business Acumen Matters ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1153922/ef562d5a-acb6-45df-86ae-098c09e7fcc0) ![Robert Brodo](https://www.advantexe.com/hubfs/Blogs/rob-brodo-author.png) **About The Author** Robert Brodo is co-founder of Advantexe. He has more than 20 years of training and business simulation experience. [**](https://www.advantexe.com) [**](https://twitter.com/robrodo) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/rob-brodo/0/334/574) COMMENTS ### SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL ### About Advantexe Advantexe is a gold medal winning training and performance improvement organization specializing in the development and delivery of interactive learning journeys using computer-based business simulations as the catalyst for learning and change in the areas of: Business Acumen, Business Leadership, and Strategic Business Selling learning solutions. 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