Social responsibility has fortunately gone from the realm of corporate communications to business operations: It can no longer be faked. The best businesses are those that have built sustainability into the core of their business models and are using their people to create passion for their mission with consumers.
AeroFarms, which grows nutritious leafy greens and herbs without sunlight, soil or pesticides, is one such company reinventing sustainability. Instead of employing traditional farming methods that require massive acreage, huge amounts of water and solar power, the company has put data to use.
The result is that it can optimize its crops’ growth in a temperature-controlled, LED-lit environment, with those crops stacked 30 feet high. What’s more, the company is expected to produce 10 times the harvest it normally could expect, in a fraction of the space and with much fewer resources — a major win for the sustainability movement.
AeroFarms isn’t alone. No longer are only niche groups looking to buy from socially responsible companies. Conscious consumerism is going mainstream. After all, when offered comparable price and quality, 90 percent of consumers surveyed in one study said they would choose brands associated with a cause over the alternative.
In other words, buying socially or environmentally responsible products isn’t just a trend, but a movement — and a global one.
Such companies prove that consumers and businesses don’t need to sacrifice to live a more sustainable life. AeroFarms demonstrates why it’s time more companies follow suit, building businesses that are inherently more sustainable in what they make.
Conscious consuming
Though the path to social or environmental responsibility can be difficult, such efforts can have a major effect on not just the planet and its people, but a company’s bottom line. Following are four ways to start “doing good” from the inside out:
1. Make culture your secret weapon:…