It was organizational theorist and author Geoffrey Moore who said, “Without big data, you're blind and deaf and in the middle of a highway.” The matter is well taken. If you don't use data, you hinder your ability to make decisions. Together with economic inefficiencythis can create an environmentally unfriendly enterprise.

If your business struggles to maintain sustainability as an organization, data is a solution that won't lead you astray. Here are some of the biggest reasons that data-driven decision making can help you adopt the right business solutions to help your company maintain a positive influence and the associated 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, uneven distribution, and total scarcity are making it difficult to obtain the resources needed to produce products and services at reasonable costs. In the context of sustainability, using resources wisely makes even more sense. Lost resources signal the unacceptable and unforgivable waste of finite resources.

Data can help businesses optimize resources at every step. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing platform Keychain is a good example of this. The world's first comprehensive CPG manufacturing database helps some of the world's largest brands and retailers match verified and reliable manufacturer.

This production source 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 connect with sustainable practices, often due to a lack of visibility into material resources and environmental impact. This resource aims to remove barriers in the packaging selection process by providing clear and accessible information on environmentally friendly options, allowing brands to make more informed and sustainable choices.

Data makes it easier to improve and optimize resource allocation. 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. Use data to minimize waste

Optimum use of resources is an important productive behavior that leads to a more environmentally friendly operation. Despite this, there is the more passive (though still very influential) 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 example, you may have excess office space, much of which is idle due to remote or hybrid work arrangements. In that case, heating, cooling and maintaining those spaces is pointless.

On the other hand, garbage can also be literal. WastEs. How you manage trash 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 it 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 type of analysis can even help you make more informed 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 about how you operate. Start with waste management. Then, back up and view 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. Use data to increase supply chain efficiency

In the first part, we discussed improving resource allocation. In the second part, 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's more than an act of charity on behalf of the environment. Looking to make positive, lasting changes in your supply chains can profoundly and positively impact the Earth and your company.

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

If you want to improve the sustainability of your business, you need to look beyond your company. Use data to set the right supply chain metrics, track activity, improve transparency and work with your partner brands to collectively become more sustainable.

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Building an environmentally responsible business model

Sustainability is a key part of success for modern businesses. It's hard to figure out 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 care, and your bottom line, all at the same time. .