NATURE POSITIVE BUSINESS

What is Nature Positive Business?

“Impact” term is marking the 3rd stage of Sustainable Business Development that started in the 80’s with “CSR” (Corporate Social Responsibility) that was aiming at decreasing the negative impact of Business by investing a minimal part of revenues in external entities (such as NGOs) to maintain a good reputation. Around 2000’s, “Sustainability” emerged to rethink longevity of the Business, by considering the negative effects along its Supply Chain. It gave birth to more Responsible Procurement, more robust Public Reporting… but without truely reconsidering the business model.

We consider 2020 is the start of the Impact era:Sustainable Business Transformation realized with measured significant Positive Impact, which is to consider the full costs of doing Business, integrating the Social & Environmental impacts of operations across the Supply Chain, ultimately creating Stakeholder Value with all its value chain partners. It will necessarily reshape business models for more circularity, or even become more regenerative.

We believe that Triple Impact &  “Triple Bottom Line accounting” can only happen if the ENterprise Purpose is redefined.

Our 4P Model

(not the Marketing 4Ps, the Sustainability ones)

5 steps to reduce Negative Impact & maximize Positive Impact

1- Evolve your Operating System (Scope 1 & 2 Reduction)
Start by changing the way you conduct business: from Employee commuting to energy, food & travel policy, embark the whole company on personal commitments to “walk to talk”, from top-to-bottom.

2- Adapt your Core
Understand the Lice Cycle Assessment and Impact of your Business As Usual.
Change your existing Product and Services with measurable improvements in absolute terms (that includes your growth).

3- Innovate the next generation of Products & Services
Engineer new Products & Services that have a significant Impact vs your Core offering. It requires re-engineering and new Eco-Design capabilities to achieve reduction of inputs with similar outputs (if they are all really needed).

4- Engage your entire Ecosystem (Scope 3 Reduction)
Partner with your Upstream suppliers to share the efforts to reach your Impact Targets.
Engage your customers & consumers to also take part of the journey
Set-up Open & Eco-systemic Innovation that optimize the Impact across your value chain, with the help of Digital Technologies when required.

5- Drive Positive Impact @ Scale
Ultimately, understand where your supply chain originates, always tapping into natural resources with Negative Impacts, often linked to Human suffering, and after strict diminution of those, engage the journey to drive Positive Impact and Regenerate Planet Earth. Through your direct Supply Chain. Or by investing in other mitigation or avoidance efforts

Impact Business Model

Sustainable Profits & Resilience with Purpose

Such an Impact Driven Business approach allows to build Sustainable Profits & Resilience by understanding how Sustainability Investments impact your P&L:

• TOP LINE: Driving more Demand, Willingness to Pay & Loyalty, driving recurring revenues.
• COGS: potential short term increases as you integrate Sustainability factors, but long term stable sourcing of key assets
• OPS: Decoupling from Energy Intensity & Prices
• A&P: Decrease Advertising & Promotion costs by driving more organic visibility and word of mouth
• SG&A: better retain employees & maintain productivity by providing a meaningful sense of Purpose and sharing value.
• WACC: Decrease the Cost of Debt, and eventually the Cost of Capital by demonstrating both Profitability and Positive Impact
• BOTTOM LINE: achieve more Resilience and long term Profitability having managed the Transition ahead of the pack, having secured your Competitive Advantage and avoided dilution that will hit late followers.

This is the path to long term Competitive Advantage and shared Value Creation.