When Jamil Bouchareb, founder and CEO of Miami-based Restaurantware, set out to reimagine his company’s approach to business, he didn’t just tweak a few processes. Instead, he fundamentally transformed how a modern organization could operate by putting his food service supply company at the forefront of sustainability and innovation.
Bouchareb’s strategy demonstrates a powerful truth: Sustainability is not a niche concept or trendy buzzword but a comprehensive approach that can revolutionize any industry.
“The good news is that sustainability is moving from a separate strategy and function to really becoming part of how to do ‘better business,’” explains Susan Kenniston, a top sustainability consultant, both on a global scale and specifically within the Asia-Pacific region. “So just extending your strategic goals and initiatives is a good way to go. It is important for organization leadership to be aware of how the dots connect and help the company, the employees, suppliers and communities.”
By deliberately choosing materials and processes that balance environmental responsibility, social equity and economic viability, businesses can create value that extends far beyond traditional bottom-line thinking.
Sustainability defined
The UCLA Sustainability Committee captures this holistic vision perfectly— it defines sustainability as “the integration of environmental health, social equity and economic vitality in order to create thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient communities for this generation and generations to come.”
This framework, known as the “three E’s” of sustainability, breaks down into three critical components:
- Environment: Enforcing responsible resource management that goes beyond energy reduction to reimagine how businesses interact with natural resources
- Equity: Addressing the human element through fair labor practices, diversity, inclusion and understanding broader community impacts
- Economy: Challenging the notion that profitability and social responsibility are mutually exclusive by creating economic value that generates positive societal outcomes
“The argument was, you didn’t just look at the bottom line, which is the profitability in the economics—you had to look at the triple bottom line,” explains Gregory Unruh, a leading sustainability expert. “You also had to look at the cost to the community and the environment.” As the Arison professor of values leadership at George Mason University and author of Strategy on the Sustainability Frontier, Unruh literally wrote the book on how businesses can develop effective sustainability strategies that create value.
Practical strategies for implementation
For businesses that are looking to integrate sustainability, several practical approaches can make a significant difference:
Resource efficiency
Unruh advises looking for low-cost sustainability practices that produce positive returns and ensuring that your production processes are as energy efficient as possible to save costs and reduce environmental impact. Simple changes like LED lighting, smart power management and comprehensive recycling programs can dramatically reduce operational costs and environmental footprint.
“Focus on how to reduce your use of natural resources. Following water, for example, is a great place to lean into,” advises Kenniston. “If you are a manufacturing business, you [or] your suppliers, by reducing water, can reduce energy, emissions [and] bad chemistry and help improve the lives of people and communities. Follow the water!”
Sustainable sourcing
Developing community partnerships and prioritizing local suppliers not only reduces your carbon footprint but also supports local economies. The key is designing products with their entire life cycle in mind and emphasizing durability, recyclability and waste reduction.
For instance, Bouchareb prioritizes renewable resources, like bioplastics, sugarcane and wood, which offer sustainable alternatives to traditional plastics while maintaining high performance.
Diversity and inclusion
Creating an inclusive workplace culture goes beyond moral imperatives. Diverse teams drive innovation, improve problem-solving and reflect the complex global marketplace that businesses now navigate.
According to Bouchareb, “By empowering employees with the knowledge and tools to act as sustainability stewards, businesses can ensure their teams provide customers with personalized guidance and practical suggestions.”
The business case for sustainability
Sustainability offers multifaceted benefits that extend far beyond traditional business metrics. And as Unruh points out, these metrics are both tangible and intangible:
- Brand reputation: Consumers increasingly gravitate toward companies that demonstrate genuine environmental and social responsibility.
- Employee engagement: Unruh notes that employees prefer to work for companies with a positive social and environmental impact. Plus, employees who believe in their company are more loyal, take less sick time and are more productive. This increases retention and lowers HR costs over time.
- Competitive differentiation: From a financial perspective, sustainable practices drive long-term efficiency, unlock innovative potential and provide critical differentiation in increasingly crowded markets.
Kenniston emphasizes that “companies that [really think] about how their employees, suppliers and communities are impacted will win.”
By strategically integrating sustainability, companies aren’t just reducing their environmental footprint. They’re also creating a comprehensive value proposition that resonates with employees, customers and investors alike to transform what was once seen as a peripheral concern into a core strategic advantage.
Overcoming implementation challenges
The path to sustainability isn’t without obstacles. The key is recognizing it as an opportunity rather than a burden.
For instance, Unruh emphasizes the interconnected nature of sustainability in business, recognizing that no company on its own can be sustainable. “Every company is part of a larger economic system…. For your company to be sustainable, you need sustainable suppliers, you need sustainable energy production, etc.,” he points out. “There [are] lots of opportunities, then, for small [businesses] and startup companies to help established companies become more sustainable by becoming their sustainable supplier.”
Kenniston says that general awareness and capabilities in the organization both pose challenges as well. “The good news is that many folks are beginners,” she says. ”[It’s] just good to get after it together and not feel bad about being a beginner.”
But don’t get hung up on the data, she advises. “Systems are just catching up in capturing good data about the footprint of your businesses…. Just keep driving improvements while the data quality improves.”
Many of these benefits are not immediately measurable. As Unruh points out, “[Unlike getting] a receipt for your electric bill, you don’t get a receipt for things like customer loyalty or employee loyalty—and that’s always been a barrier.”
A strategic imperative
Sustainability is no longer optional—it’s a business imperative. By embracing a holistic approach that balances environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic innovation, businesses can create value that transcends quarterly reports.
“The founding entrepreneur… has sort of an outsized role in creating what will be the organizational purpose,” Unruh says. “Building a socially, environmentally responsible organizational culture and a purpose that goes beyond just making money… creates an organization that will be far more sustainable in social, community and environmental dimensions.”
Kenniston emphasizes that sustainability is not a separate, nice-to-have element that you simply tack onto your business. “Don’t let all of the jargon and frameworks give you pause—sustainability is becoming part of how we do business. [It’s] operationalized, which makes it easier to think about and incorporate,” she says. “Thinking about your natural and social capital is really better business in the end.”
The decisions that businesses make today will shape the world of tomorrow. Sustainability offers more than a compliance checklist—it presents an inspiring vision of a business’s potential to create meaningful, lasting change.
Photo courtesy of Restaurantware
This article originally appeared in the March 2025 issue of SUCCESS+ digital magazine.
