Certifiable

9Convincing the Money Folks: Business Finance for Sustainability and Impact

“The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.”

—Jack Lew, former US Secretary of the Treasury

At some point along your responsible‐sourcing journey, you may come across colleagues or managers who, while they appreciate the point of sustainability efforts, still do not believe that responsible sourcing is a sound financial decision. In order to remove the roadblock and gain access to the working capital you need to help meet your objectives, you will need to convince your finance team, or other internal colleagues or departments, that impact initiatives are good for business. Speaking as a chief financial officer, I can admit that the finance team is often the most skeptical when it comes to allocating funds for new projects, particularly those, such as sustainability, where initial investments might be significant and the impact on consumer, the environment, or the supply chain might take longer to realize.

Throughout the course of this book, we have looked at how consumer behavior is driving increased participation in impact and sustainability within business. Based on this trend, if you engage in responsible‐sourcing activities, you will be rewarded with increased customer loyalty, increased market share (in the form of new customers you converted from your competitors), and/or customers willing to pay more for your products. In other words, responsible ...