Kwena Mabotja, SAP South Africa, says companies are waking up to the fact that they need to be sustainable, not only profitable.

At the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos this year, a staggering statistic was shared. If we continue to sustain our current consumption levels, we will require the ecological resources of 2.3 planets by 2050. This is why WEF is calling the circular economy – a strategic model of production and consumption focussing on sustainability challenges – the biggest business opportunity of our time. But can enhancing circularity really increase your organisation’s bottom line? John Elkington, one of the founders of the global sustainability movement, may have coined the term ‘Triple Bottom Line’ over 25 years ago, but the second P in his well-known people, profit and planet framework is on the rise as businesses focus on implementing ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) into their growth strategy.

“Companies have the same problem that all of us as individuals have. We all know that for us to keep this planet as healthy as we possibly can, we need to play a role,” says Dumisani Mayo, SAP South Africa’s marketing director. Kwena Mabotja, the global director of SAP’s purpose and sustainability marketing, adds that businesses are waking up to the fact that they need to be sustainable. “It’s not enough to just have sustainability or purpose as a tick box. It actually has to come right into the core of your business – companies need to deliver on profit and planet,” she says. “There’s a business case for it. Investors are calling for it. We’re seeing more regulation coming in that requires compliance and we’re seeing that employees are choosing to work for companies that are sustainable and can demonstrate value beyond the economics.”