INSIGHTS

By: Inés Guardia.

The Covid 19 evidenced something that was happening: changes in consumption patterns, depletion of resources, new generations of consumers, greater regulations affecting companies, populist policies, instability in energy prices, currency fluctuations, among others. These series of events have made risk maps globally fashionable, but how do we understand it within our businesses? The work teams do not have a holistic view of risk because that is the raison d’être of the sustainability management.

Sustainability is a strategic management model for several reasons: it arises from a diagnosis based on the business context, it identifies the relevant audiences, discovers key issues and understands business challenges.

In relation to employees, it complies with human rights and labor standards, promotes inclusion and diversity; It approaches consumers and clients to know their needs and meet these requirements. It engages with suppliers to promote sustainable purchases and develops them to enhance local development. Likewise, it compares with competitors to learn about new trends and promote innovation. In addition, it establishes indicators that allow continuous improvement.

The corporate image is affected by reputational issues, crisis management, business continuity and responsible communication.

One lesson we learned during the pandemic is that sustainable companies put in place actions and processes to keep employees on task, but protected; take on remote work without great efforts, be interconnected from their platforms, support families and communities, vulnerable sectors and health personnel in multiple ways.

The great lesson is that sustainability offers a transversal model that contributes to crisis management, helps to anticipate trends and enables the construction of prospective scenarios that allow assertive decision-making.