For a business to become sustainable they first have to become responsible. They need to be more accountable for their actions and the way they do business. In the book, “The Responsible Company” Goleman states if companies want to be responsible they first have to be transparent. Increase in transparency results in increase in cooperation, in trust, in momentum for doing good, and decreases environmental impact. They explain in further detail on how companies can go about accomplishing transparency and sustainability. To be the most effective, companies can start on small tasks that can lead to a domino effect of continual desire to change.
Another tip they described is to work alongside other companies that can help, even if it’s competitors. In the reading it states, “Any successful business strategy had to engage the intelligence of the people on the floor as much as of those at the top.” These relationships can help a company substantially. Employee engagement and working with other businesses can help companies learn from their experiences and become more successful.
The key component of having a successful and more sustainable company is to build trust and relationships. Those relationships can make a large difference on how a company is run and their awareness of the impact they are able to make.