Proving financial value and profitability is fast becoming a key performance indicator for companies supplying products to industries and facilities; however, this is not often measured for lack of an adequate mindset for the changes required and measurement toolset. With the increasing changes in the global marketplace towards more environmentally sustainable models for products, entrepreneurs are eyeing the opportunities for new or re-development of their products to meet this new demand.

Current indicators demonstrate an increasing demand for products developed with a sustainable process and in spite of this demand, there is a dearth of such products available. This condition creates an unprecedented opportunity for forward-thinking enterprises. Many business owners interested in a sustainable product model are seeking proof of profits, not just cost savings to mitigate their risk, which can be demonstrated through an analytics process of measurement.

More resources and examples are needed to illustrate basic business principles of how to integrate leadership development, measurement, and guidance for proving the profitability of environmental sustainability decisions.

While there is an increasing interest in sustainability in the business community, I’ve noticed there are few resources available that provide a practical guide and examples of sustainability and business success—a desire among many business owners I’ve spoken to who require less theory and more action. Here’s the need as I see it:

• How do we merge the current concepts of sustainability models with entrepreneurial approaches?
• How do we provide direction for new and current industries to explore sustainability issues while phasing in and innovating for maximizing cost savings and profitability?
• How do we utilize business intelligence and analytics to minimize risk?