Business analysis plays a very important part in improving sustainability. It has a huge role to play in the circular economy and here we are going to take a look at the link between business analysis and sustainability in more detail.
Why is sustainability so important?
Sustainability in business analysis is more than just about curbing global challenges. Sustainability can help to drive the success of a business. More than this, proving your business acts sustainably is essential as investors closely examine the business’s carbon footprint, board diversity, water usage, community development efforts and more.
Companies having a high environmental, social and governance rating have been shown to have a lower cost of debt along with helping to make improvements to financial performance and gaining support from the public.
How business analysis plays a huge part in improving sustainability
Sustainability is a big deal to business analysis professionals in all industries as the BAWI event in Italy showed.
During this event, four different themes were talked about regarding business and sustainability. These were the circular economy, human factor, sustainability in action and business analysis.
The event highlighted the need for organisations to realise that manufacturing and producing sustainably is essential when doing business in the future.
What sustainability means in business
Let’s start by taking a look at what sustainability means concerning business. In short, it means doing business without it having a negative impact on:
- The environment;
- The community;
- Society as a whole.
When considering sustainability in business you have to consider the effect business has on the environment and the effect business has on society. The main goal of any business strategy is to have a positive impact on one or more of the above factors. If businesses fail to accept responsibility it leads to the exact opposite, this includes degradation of the environment, inequality and social injustice.
Many different factors to consider
A sustainable business will take into account many different factors when they make decisions. This includes keeping an eye on the impact of operations. Businesses need to consider such as:
- The use of sustainable materials when manufacturing;
- Using renewable energy sources for the power of facilities;
- Optimisation of the supply chains to bring down greenhouse gas emissions;
- Sponsoring education funds for the youths within the local community.
How companies can utilise data to achieve sustainability
Being able to utilise data correctly is essential for achieving sustainability in business. Having a certified business analyst on board is essential to businesses both big and small. With vast changes needed to stop the devastation of our environment, there is no better time to get certified as a business analyst.
Business analysts use collected data to solve many business problems along with providing companies with information to personalise the experience of customers, forecasting demand and much more.
This same data may be used to solve existential issues. One good example is how healthcare communities use accurate data to keep a track of the worldwide response to the Covid pandemic. Another example is experts in big cities using machine learning for the analysis of live traffic statistics to be able to determine air pollution.
These are just two ways data analysts make use of data for a wide range of sustainability-related issues and there are many more.
Thanks to the collection and examination by analysts on a wide range of issues related to sustainability, companies can provide insights that drive sustainability initiatives. Together data and sustainability are potent.
Business analysts help companies to understand costs, impact and the performance of initiatives along with being able to anticipate requirements in the future and being able to evolve and adapt to market conditions.
A sustainable approach to the circular economy
Moving from a linear economy to a circular one opens up many opportunities. However, at the moment only 8% of the global economy is circular. More than 90% of the world’s resources are discarded after being used in a single product and this needs to change quickly.
A sustainable approach to the circular economy helps to bring down carbon emissions along with reinforcing engagements with worldwide sustainability frameworks.
There are many benefits of enhanced sustainability and a circular economy at a worldwide level. These include:
- Optimisation of materials;
- Limiting waste due to increasing efficiency of materials;
- Innovative and new revenue streams;
- Reuse and smarter distribution;
- Better enhanced stakeholder relationships;
- Increased brand reputation;
- Increased revenue while being more sustainable;
- Turning waste into resources;
- Risk mitigation.
A company’s sustainability policy should become a key element in its strategy and success. This is something that top companies such as Apple have adopted. The leading tech company is making use of collected data to make improvements to product designs, so they last longer, along with lowering the environmental cost of production.
Never a better time to get certified as a business analyst
With financial institutions, shareholders and governments around the world bringing in stricter sustainability requirements, there has never been a better time to get certified as a business analyst. More companies realise the need for change and are taking on certified analysts to help them become more sustainable.
Of course, having the correct tools along with support on hand is crucial for any business to understand the global impact they have and to be able to put into place sustainable practices. TSG Training can help your business and analysts to get accreditation. We offer a wide range of training courses that go a long way towards ensuring your business is a sustainable one going into the future.