Growing Awareness of Sustainability

The survey found that 68.8% of CFOs at small or startup businesses believe that achieving net zero emissions is crucial for business growth.

This indicates a clear understanding of the link between sustainability and financial prosperity.  Over a third (35.5%) of CFOs consider sustainability to be highly important to their role, while nearly half (48.8%) view it as one of their top responsibilities.

Strategic Advantages of Sustainability

CFOs now understand that implementing sustainable initiatives is not simply a moral obligation but also holds strategic business advantages. By aligning financial decisions with sustainable practices, businesses can futureproof their operations, enhance their reputation, and capitalise on emerging market opportunities.

The finance department, considered pivotal in driving sustainable initiatives by 46.6% of CFOs, can play a crucial role in evaluating costs, assessing renewable technologies, and integrating sustainability into budgets. This shows that CFOs are key players when it comes to driving net zero projects.

Hurdles on the Path to Net Zero

Despite this growing awareness, small and startup businesses face challenges when implementing sustainability initiatives. Research shows that these obstacles include setting up sustainability technologies (26.6%), increased overhead cost (26.6%), managing financial risks (22.2%), the complexity of renewable technology (22.2%), and a lack of leadership in sustainability (17.7%).

Overcoming Challenges with Holistic Financial Modelling

To address these challenges, businesses need to adopt holistic, dynamic and bespoke financial modelling. This modelling will allow startups or small businesses to build strong business cases for sustainability investments, ensuring resilience amidst market fluctuations.

Platforms such as True, powered by Open Energy Market, can help businesses achieve this, as they use expertise and data-led insights to play a transformative role in providing real-time visibility into the effectiveness of an organisation’s energy mix. This helps businesses to make informed decisions and identify savings to support their sustainability initiatives.

Involving Procurement Specialists

Alongside the data and insights from platforms, consulting with energy procurement specialists can prove invaluable.  These experts can offer guidance and support to small and startup businesses lacking leadership or understanding of sustainability complexities. By connecting CFOs with partners and advisors, procurement specialists enhance C-suite decision-making and facilitate the implementation of renewable initiatives.

CFOs as Changemakers

The attitude of CFOs reflects the growing importance of sustainability in business strategy. CFOs are uniquely positioned to drive sustainability initiatives and are becoming increasingly aware of the financial and wider business benefits that come from aligning financial decisions with sustainable practices.

As CFOs embrace sustainability and recognise its strategic advances, businesses are better equipped to achieve net zero emissions and long-term success. Through informed decision-making and collaboration with energy procurement specialists, small and startup businesses can overcome challenges and make a positive impact on both their financial performance and the environment.