As corporate brands, we need to deliver on our promises through durability and sustainability.Durability and Sustainability should be embedded in every company’s DNA, and should work alongside values of stakeholder-centricity, employee engagement and community involvement. These values are the bedrock of many successful organisations’ that lead to strengthened financial performance and growth..Growth involves many aspects of nurturing new and existing relationships as well as defining values that allow businesses to deliver on their promises. Knowing the needs of key stakeholders, customers and communities is key to the development of any organisation, and affects its ability to be held to account for living up to their word. If the pandemic has taught us anything beyond being grateful for what matters most, it is that we all have a shared responsibility as businesses and organisations to step up and deliver on our promises, and then some.The focus now lies beyond bottom-line thinking and anyone who looks at just the “numbers” is arguably well behind the times. The question, though, is how we work together as a business to hold ourselves to account in delivering on our promises, stepping up when the time comes, and doing it for the right reasons: for socio-economic good and purposeful progress..The answer, therefore, lies in becoming more sustainable and durable for our community. Businesses have to deliver greater financial value in tandem with positive environmental and societal impacts. In most cases, organisations that prioritise sustainability and are purpose-led will inspire their people and partners to deliver lasting financial performance, equitable impact and societal value that in turn earns and retains the trust of all stakeholders across the board.According to reports from theInternational Institute for Management Development, it is indicated that sustainability is becoming more important for all companies, across all industries. 62% of executives consider a Sustainability Strategy necessary to be competitive today, and another 22% believe this will have a great impact on the durability of said companies..Most sustainable strategies encourage organisations to conserve and enhance resources by gradually changing the manner in which they develop and use technologies. This is especially of relevance now that innovation and creativity are the heart of the economy. The goal must always be to achieve harmony between environmental, economic, and socio-political sustainability.Furthermore,companies need to adapt to their changing environments while encouraging innovation through collaboration within the team – a key value that should be ingrained in every sustainability strategy. Every company has great talent, therefore, they have tocreate an environment that allows this to blossom. Companies also need to encourage think tanks and smaller counsels to address challenges and potential future obstacles. Trust and capacitatethepeople first, then pivot to adapt to your changing environment..A factor that shows that a growth strategy is centered on durability and sustainability is that it works to help teams understand how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. When people feel that their work matters, they are more invested in it. When you get the buy-in of the people contributing to the greater vision, your growth strategy will see immediate results. If you want to grow for real, show people their impact. The collaborations and partnerships that businesses forge to create a client-centric foundation have given them an opportunity to increase knowledge sharing, invest in solutions and training to support our people in their personal and professional development and strength in numbers and listening to and engaging with our people as regards workplace equality and wellbeing.Sustainability at a community-level means organisations needs to conduct activities with operational excellence and consistent methods. They must be well-versed in the field and community that they operate in and take pride in the work they do.Every engagement is considered a real commitment to a specific result for example global companies like Coca-Cola and Pirelli continue to lead in this avenue..According to the latest McKinsey Global Survey (2022), companies are increasingly formalising the way they govern sustainability programs, as well as elevating the importance of diversity and inclusion. Survey results indicate that value-creating companies are more apt to engage customers and business partners in their sustainability agendas. Through sustainable settings, businesses strive to create and grow inclusive, open and respectful work environments for their customers and stakeholders. They enshrine equal opportunities and equity in their culture and values, they also strive to ensure they are sustainable and drive impact throughout the business mainstream.Recently, the pandemic demonstrated to businesses what is achievable and desired when it comes to resetting the future of work agenda, from digitisation to flexible working hours and days, while being anchored in stakeholder capitalism principles. Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, two out of every five organisations are continuing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. These have been anchored around business purpose, work standards, and investment plans to circular economy goals, environmental impact, and supply chain standards, organizations want and need to guarantee that sustainability is at the heart of business change..As the BIHL Group, we strive to be solution-driven, enthusiastic and determined to take on any challenges that may occur in our project environment, and to continuously improve result performance. We develop reliability by showing our colleagues and business partners trust, respect, and flexibility. Despite the disruptions of COVID-19 in 2020, as a business, we have managed to stay resilient and increased revenue to P3.3 billion. However, standing by our clients when they needed us most, we paid out P2.4bn in claims in the last 12 months. We continue to create value for our stakeholders through transforming the business to improve client engagement leveraging off fintech partnerships to provide seamless solutions and harnessing our distribution ecosystems. Our staff are also given an opportunity to harness their skills through Future skills development, ensuring we have the relevant skills to take the business forward.We remain steadfast in our commitment to engineer legacies for Botswana and Batswana. As we continually strive to ensure that our growth strategy is inclusive of Sustainability and Durability principles, there is clear evidence of many organisations across various industries successfully using these principals within their strategies. We strive to be of them, if not leading in that regard. The possibilities in what could be achieved in the future, therefore, remain endless; it is not only good business in our view, but the right thing to do.By Catherine Lesetedi,BIHL Group CEO
As corporate brands, we need to deliver on our promises through durability and sustainability.Durability and Sustainability should be embedded in every company’s DNA, and should work alongside values of stakeholder-centricity, employee engagement and community involvement. These values are the bedrock of many successful organisations’ that lead to strengthened financial performance and growth..Growth involves many aspects of nurturing new and existing relationships as well as defining values that allow businesses to deliver on their promises. Knowing the needs of key stakeholders, customers and communities is key to the development of any organisation, and affects its ability to be held to account for living up to their word. If the pandemic has taught us anything beyond being grateful for what matters most, it is that we all have a shared responsibility as businesses and organisations to step up and deliver on our promises, and then some.The focus now lies beyond bottom-line thinking and anyone who looks at just the “numbers” is arguably well behind the times. The question, though, is how we work together as a business to hold ourselves to account in delivering on our promises, stepping up when the time comes, and doing it for the right reasons: for socio-economic good and purposeful progress..The answer, therefore, lies in becoming more sustainable and durable for our community. Businesses have to deliver greater financial value in tandem with positive environmental and societal impacts. In most cases, organisations that prioritise sustainability and are purpose-led will inspire their people and partners to deliver lasting financial performance, equitable impact and societal value that in turn earns and retains the trust of all stakeholders across the board.According to reports from theInternational Institute for Management Development, it is indicated that sustainability is becoming more important for all companies, across all industries. 62% of executives consider a Sustainability Strategy necessary to be competitive today, and another 22% believe this will have a great impact on the durability of said companies..Most sustainable strategies encourage organisations to conserve and enhance resources by gradually changing the manner in which they develop and use technologies. This is especially of relevance now that innovation and creativity are the heart of the economy. The goal must always be to achieve harmony between environmental, economic, and socio-political sustainability.Furthermore,companies need to adapt to their changing environments while encouraging innovation through collaboration within the team – a key value that should be ingrained in every sustainability strategy. Every company has great talent, therefore, they have tocreate an environment that allows this to blossom. Companies also need to encourage think tanks and smaller counsels to address challenges and potential future obstacles. Trust and capacitatethepeople first, then pivot to adapt to your changing environment..A factor that shows that a growth strategy is centered on durability and sustainability is that it works to help teams understand how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. When people feel that their work matters, they are more invested in it. When you get the buy-in of the people contributing to the greater vision, your growth strategy will see immediate results. If you want to grow for real, show people their impact. The collaborations and partnerships that businesses forge to create a client-centric foundation have given them an opportunity to increase knowledge sharing, invest in solutions and training to support our people in their personal and professional development and strength in numbers and listening to and engaging with our people as regards workplace equality and wellbeing.Sustainability at a community-level means organisations needs to conduct activities with operational excellence and consistent methods. They must be well-versed in the field and community that they operate in and take pride in the work they do.Every engagement is considered a real commitment to a specific result for example global companies like Coca-Cola and Pirelli continue to lead in this avenue..According to the latest McKinsey Global Survey (2022), companies are increasingly formalising the way they govern sustainability programs, as well as elevating the importance of diversity and inclusion. Survey results indicate that value-creating companies are more apt to engage customers and business partners in their sustainability agendas. Through sustainable settings, businesses strive to create and grow inclusive, open and respectful work environments for their customers and stakeholders. They enshrine equal opportunities and equity in their culture and values, they also strive to ensure they are sustainable and drive impact throughout the business mainstream.Recently, the pandemic demonstrated to businesses what is achievable and desired when it comes to resetting the future of work agenda, from digitisation to flexible working hours and days, while being anchored in stakeholder capitalism principles. Despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19, two out of every five organisations are continuing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. These have been anchored around business purpose, work standards, and investment plans to circular economy goals, environmental impact, and supply chain standards, organizations want and need to guarantee that sustainability is at the heart of business change..As the BIHL Group, we strive to be solution-driven, enthusiastic and determined to take on any challenges that may occur in our project environment, and to continuously improve result performance. We develop reliability by showing our colleagues and business partners trust, respect, and flexibility. Despite the disruptions of COVID-19 in 2020, as a business, we have managed to stay resilient and increased revenue to P3.3 billion. However, standing by our clients when they needed us most, we paid out P2.4bn in claims in the last 12 months. We continue to create value for our stakeholders through transforming the business to improve client engagement leveraging off fintech partnerships to provide seamless solutions and harnessing our distribution ecosystems. Our staff are also given an opportunity to harness their skills through Future skills development, ensuring we have the relevant skills to take the business forward.We remain steadfast in our commitment to engineer legacies for Botswana and Batswana. As we continually strive to ensure that our growth strategy is inclusive of Sustainability and Durability principles, there is clear evidence of many organisations across various industries successfully using these principals within their strategies. We strive to be of them, if not leading in that regard. The possibilities in what could be achieved in the future, therefore, remain endless; it is not only good business in our view, but the right thing to do.By Catherine Lesetedi,BIHL Group CEO
