Building a Sustainable Business

Updated: October 16, 2024

Originally Published: April 3, 2020

Building a Sustainable Business #StartupChats with Startup Canada

Q&A with Startup Canada Guest Advisor Christine Whone

In this edition of Startup Canada’s #StartupChats, we discussed Building a Sustainable Business.

Sustainable practices can be the backbone of your business, and it’s not all about environmental sustainability, it includes understanding the responsibility of using profit for good and better business, how to execute change, assess your planning, participation, and evaluation of your day-to-day business operations.

Sustainable practices need to be the backbone of your business – without them, your credibility, impact, and chances of success are in jeopardy. Join this #StartupChats to learn best practices for building the best business you can, and how to make the means matter as much as the ends in your everyday practice.

The event had 30 contributors, 24.9 million impressions, and the Wakelet can be found here.

Q1 First question! What are the cornerstones of a sustainable business?

A1 Sustainable cornerstones: Good business practices are understanding the full touch of your ecology. How it impacts and benefits all for the best outcome: your business, your employees, your customers, the world around you, and the planet.

Q2 What are the values of a sustainable entrepreneur?

A2 Entrepreneurs can look to the UN Global Goals to guide their sustainable development values to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Also B-Corp B Impact assessment.

Q3 What legal requirements does your business need to satisfy surrounding sustainability?

A3 I recommend following B-Corp certification, to assess impact, social and environmental performance will meet the highest standards. Here are the legal requirements for your country.

Q4 How can you build sustainable business practices into your business from day one?

A4 Consider building these strategies into your business practice: all procedures should increase wholeness, and all procedures should be designed to increase choice.

Q5 What are some examples of easy-to-implement financial practices that can help startups increase their sustainability impact?

A5 Implement a slow but steady growth pace. Don’t rush to turn the scale-money-tap on full blast. This way gives the opportunity to enjoy every aspect of your business growth, to have the time needed to focus & consider all angles, maintaining an ecological balance.

Q6 What are the benefits of having a business with sustainability built into its core functions?

A6 To leverage your impact assessment in the 2020 generation of business evolving and attract like-minded clients, customers, employees, stakeholders, and investors to innovate.

Q7 What is a B-Corp? How hard is it to start one? How hard is it to turn your business into a B-Corp?

A7 This seems to be unique depending on business processes and value to change. For some businesses, it might be more of a challenge for a variety of reasons. B-Corp Impact Assessment is free to find out what is required.

Q8 How can you encourage your team to report unethical practices?

A8 Share the values of UN Sustainable Development goals, and how it’s a practical to-do thing, so your voice matters to address global challenges. Individual voices are changemakers.

Q9 What are some concrete examples of the link between sustainability and profit?

A9 "For once, profit is not the enemy, but rather a catalyst to drive social good" and "Fashion and luxury brands will deal with more conscious and attentive consumers”.

Q10 How can entrepreneurs structure their business to ensure that achieving their goals is just as important as achieving the goals themselves?

A10 Create a Theory of Change. It’s a description of how you will promote and execute your theory of change, with planning, participation, and evaluation.

Q11 What is your final piece of advice to entrepreneurs trying to figure out how ethics and sustainability can increase profits?

A11 Meet other women who you admire, who are role models to you, and who are successful in business, watch their strategic business moves, then ask yourself why they do what they do, process the information, discern, and learn from their example.