Creating a data strategy to spur sustainability

By Arca Blanca     

As the focus on sustainability grows, creating more sustainable products and operations has come to the fore. As part of this, businesses are recognising a complementary data strategy is the best way of facilitating this.

Almost every organisation is examining how they could become more sustainable. Whether driven by a quest for greater brand awareness, customer demand for action or the view that it can create value and competitive advantages, it is on every executive’s agenda.

Understanding how data can support a business achieve its strategic objectives has always been important. Sustainability is starting to play a more prominent role in any overall business strategy and having a well-defined data strategy is critical in achieving that.

Circular Economy

Businesses have a variety of ways to move towards more sustainable operations. The concept of a Circular Economy introduces a focus on the business value of:

  • More efficient use of products and energy
  • Extending a product’s useful life
  • Recycling products at end-of-life into high-grade base resources

Numerous examples range from Zipcar, which makes more efficient use of idle cars, to Ahrend, a modular office furniture designer, whose worn-out elements can be replaced cheaply to extend its overall lifespan. Similarly, Aquafil recycles used nylon into new nylon yarn without the loss of product quality.

Read more about this on their website.