3 Ways Data Can Drive Sustainable Decision-Making in Business

It was organizational theorist and author Geoffrey Moore who said, “Without big data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway.” The point is well taken. If you don’t use data, you handicap your ability to make decisions. Along with economic inefficiencies, this can create an environmentally unfriendly enterprise.

If your business struggles to maintain sustainability as an organization, data is one solution that won’t steer you wrong. Here are some of the biggest reasons data-driven decision-making can help you adopt the right business solutions to help your company maintain a positive impact and accompanying brand image for the foreseeable future.

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1. Use data to optimize resources

We live in a world with increasingly limited resources. Overuse, unequal distribution and downright scarcity are making it difficult to obtain the resources required to produce products and services at reasonable costs. In the context of sustainability, using resources wisely takes on even more meaning. Wasted resources signal the unacceptable and inexcusable waste of finite resources.

Data can help businesses optimize resources at every step. The consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing platform Keychain is a good example of this. The world’s first comprehensive database for CPG manufacturing helps some of the largest brands and retailers in the world match with vetted and reliable manufacturers.

This manufacturing resource aims to facilitate transparency for both brands and manufacturers. For example, a brand or retailer looking for a manufacturer for their product may struggle to align with sustainable practices, often due to a lack of visibility into material sourcing and environmental impact. This resource aims to remove barriers in the packaging selection process by providing clear, accessible information on eco-friendly options, allowing brands to make more informed, sustainable choices.

Data makes it easier to streamline and optimize the allocation of resources. It can happen on an industry-wide scale. You can also apply the same concept on an internal level. In either case, the goal is to use data to invest resources correctly for the best products on the first try.

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2. Leverage data to minimize waste

The optimal use of resources is an important productive behavior that leads to a more eco-friendly operation. Opposite this, there is the more passive (though still highly impactful) issue of operational waste.

“Waste” can have multiple meanings in a business context. On the one hand, there is the general concept of “organizational waste.” For instance, you might have excessive office space, much of which is sitting idle due to remote or hybrid work arrangements. In that case, it is wasteful to heat, cool and otherwise maintain those spaces.

On the other hand, waste can also be literally that. Waste. The way you manage garbage and other waste as a company can directly affect your sustainability — and data can help. Waste tracking and reporting can help businesses maintain sustainable waste management practices.

By tracking and reporting how you manage your waste, you can minimize your impact on landfills and reduce the amount of stress you put on your local waste management system. You can also reduce business costs, stay compliant and improve your brand image. This kind of analysis can even help you make more conscious decisions when allocating resources. This leads to long-term cost savings and gives you a competitive advantage.

How can you apply this? Review the data you have on how you operate. Start with waste management. Then, back up and look at everything, from administrative activity to office space to warehouse management. Look for places to reduce waste and improve efficiency with pre-existing activities.

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3. Utilize data to enhance supply chain efficiency

In the first section, we discussed improving resource allocation. In the second section, we analyzed internal activity and identified areas for improvement. This last step challenges you to look outward. You can have an environmental impact beyond the four walls of your business — and it is more than just a charitable act in the name of the environment. Seeking to make positive, sustainable changes in your supply chains can profoundly and positively impact the Earth and your own company.

Data analysis company Oracle points out that supply chain sustainability can come from improving transportation and logistics, increasing transparency and educating others — all of which requires data. It adds that measuring and reporting environmental performance helps you set the right metrics and benchmarks.

If you want to improve your business’s sustainability, you must look beyond your own company. Use data to establish the right supply chain metrics, track activity, improve transparency and work with your partnering brands to collectively become more sustainable.

Related: How to Become a Sustainable Business in 6 Easy Steps

Building an environmentally responsible business model

Sustainability is a key part of success for modern businesses. It’s difficult to discover how to be sustainable, though, without data.

By tracking the right information, establishing understandable metrics and measuring your business activity against the right benchmarks, you can build an environmentally responsible business that benefits the earth, your custearth and your bottom line, all at the same time.