As part of CX, focus on sustainability too

As a millennial, I remember my school syllabus, year after year, touching upon the depletion of the ozone layer. Even back when talks about climate change hadn't reached the level of discourse we see today, the "hole in the ozone layer" was something we were all aware of.

Ozone depletion is not a high-priority climate concern today, as its solution is something the whole world achieved through collective course correction in industrial production and policy-making. For one, companies that manufacture refrigerator and air conditioner components took steps to cut down their use of chlorofluorocarbons.

How does this matter to CX?

Today, awareness of climate change and its long-term impact is widespread and easily accessible to people across the globe. Customers are becoming increasingly aware of how their lifestyle and the things they purchase influence climate change.

Here are some interesting findings:

• A Bain report states that climate concerns among customers have intensified in the past two years and that US consumers are willing to pay 10% more for products with minimal environmental impact.
• A PwC survey reveals that 60% of consumers in India are changing their purchasing habits by buying more sustainable products, and are willing to pay 13.1% more for sustainably produced or sourced goods.

The regions might be different, but the overall consumer sentiment is the same: "Climate change is a worrisome concern, but I'm willing to make different lifestyle choices to minimize my contribution to it." This can sometimes include switching brands as well.

Besides helping keep pace with changing customer expectations on this front, sustainability initiatives offer other benefits too. Take solar power, for instance. The capital expenditure you need to make might be high, but the cost savings you can see in the long run make the investment worthwhile.

Then there's the obvious benefit of helping protect the environment, about which we know enough and more. At this point, focusing on sustainability is not something organizations should do just to earn a good name, but also because it's the right and most responsible thing to do.

So here's how you can get started on your sustainability journey.

Form an internal committee

Sustainability is not a one-person job; it requires collective ideation and participation. So first, create an internal committee consisting of members from different business functions. Why is this important? Your logistics team might be using vehicles powered by fossil fuels, your payroll team might want printed receipts for processing reimbursements, or your design team might be relying on plastic items excessively. You get the drift, right? Getting all these teams together is essential to identifying such eco-unfriendly practices and making course corrections.

This committee shall be responsible for setting sustainability goals for your organization—such as your carbon footprint, paper usage, and energy conservation, among others—and drafting action plans to achieve them. If you have the budget for it, hire a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) to serve as the top overseer of these efforts.

As a starting point, the committee can look at the kind of efforts that other organizations have taken to improve their sustainability—either the top sustainable companies of the world or just those that have shown the path in your industry vertical. Additionally, it can also make a list of government subsidies and programs for sustainability measures and apply for them.

Educate employees

Once the committee comes up with its recommendations and action plans, allocate the budget required and educate employees about the upcoming changes. We fully understand that change management often is one of the biggest challenges that organizations encounter. But when it comes to serious matters like sustainability and climate change, it's not wise to be unenthusiastic or noncommittal. Be earnest in your efforts and reiterate the need for changing the way things work.

In fact, you can go a step ahead and encourage your employees to suggest more ideas. This will make them feel a bit more responsible and mindful about their actions and choices as well.

Communicate changes to customers

If your sustainability efforts impact your customers directly, it's essential that you proactively inform them about the changes. For instance, if you choose to take the paperless route for receipts, make sure to communicate this move via your customers' most used channels. Detail the rationale behind the decision and the benefits of the new way forward. Make this a habit whenever you make a customer-facing change.

However, accommodate exceptions to these changes by providing the choice to opt out of such initiatives. For instance, in this paperless receipt example, some customers might absolutely want to continue receiving paper receipts or even require them for compliance or bookkeeping reasons. So you might have to serve their needs as well. But given that awareness of environmental conservation and sustainability is higher among customers today, those resistant to such changes are probably only a tiny fraction of your customer base.

Monitor your progress and publish reports periodically

This step becomes an unwritten rule if you have a well-functioning sustainability committee and a dedicated CSO who both take their roles seriously. Being transparent about your sustainability goals, methods to achieve them, and progress made creates a good impression on your customers by demonstrating how serious you are about your efforts and that you truly care.

Many organizations, like Schneider Electric and Apple, do a great job at this. Apple, for one, published a 113-page report in 2024 detailing its various sustainability initiatives across business functions and practices. You can do something similar, irrespective of your organization's size and revenue, and we're sure your customers will only appreciate you more for it.

To summarize, sustainability is not a lofty goal anymore; it's essential and absolutely achievable if you work towards it with a sense of purpose. It's not just about meeting customer needs; the Earth is the only habitable planet we have now. So until humankind colonizes the moon, Mars, or an exoplanet, this Pale Blue Dot is the only place we can call home, and it's our responsibility as individuals and businesses to minimize the damage we cause to it.