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by Goutam Challagalla, Frédéric Dalsace Published December 16, 2022 in Brain Circuits • 3 min read
We’ve borrowed language from nature, or gardening specifically, to frame the four strategies your company can take when considering how to become more sustainable. While these strategies have been defined as categories, they are not mutually exclusive. Companies should consider different approaches from each of these categories to determine where they can make the most impact.
When to use it: If there is a lot of growth potential for you to highlight your sustainable attributes. There is no reason to make changes if there is a lot of growth potential for your company where you are now.
When to use it: This is something you do if there is already growth potential for your brand, like in fertilizing, but you recognize there is a critical aspect of sustainability where you will need help. You can’t control how consumers dispose of your product but if you ask them to do better, figure out if there is a way you can help them. Can they send used products back to your company? It’s important to show consumers you are in this together.
When to use it: When growth is declining, and you think sustainability issues in your industry are too narrow to help you.
When to use it: When you think you can gain a competitive advantage in an adjacent market.
Further interest:
Moving the Needle on Sustainability by Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace
Four sustainability strategies for your brand with Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace
Professor of Marketing and Strategy and dentsu Group Chair in Sustainable Strategy and Marketing at IMD
Goutam Challagalla is Professor of Strategy and Marketing and dentsu Group Chair in Sustainable Strategy and Marketing at IMD. His teaching, consulting, and research focuses on strategy with a focus on digital transformation, business-to-business commercial management, value-based pricing, sales management, distribution channels, and customer and service excellence. At IMD, he is Director of the Advanced Management Program (AMP), Digital Marketing Strategies (DMS), and Strategy Governance for Boards, and co-Director of the Integrating Sustainability into Strategy.
Professor of Marketing and Strategy at IMD
Frédéric Dalsace focuses on B2B issues sustainability, inclusive business models, and alleviating poverty. Prior to IMD, he spent 16 years as a Professor at HEC Paris where he held the Social Business / Enterprise and Poverty Chair presided by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. Prior to his academic life, Frédéric accumulated more than 10 years of experience in the business world, both with industrial companies (Michelin and CarnaudMetalbox) and as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company. At IMD, he is Director of the Integrating Sustainability into Strategy program.
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