President & CEO Helen Mets shares why sustainability and commercial success are not competing objectives
Sustainability and commercial success are not competing objectives
Sustainability creates the most value when it is embedded in how companies innovate, operate and serve their customers.
In a recent article for Financial Times Sustainable Views, Ahlstrom President and CEO Helen Mets challenges the idea that businesses must choose between sustainability and commercial performance.
“The assumption that sustainability and commercial success are inherently at odds has become one of the most persistent myths in business,” Helen writes.
Companies that integrate sustainability into their commercial strategies can develop better products, strengthen customer relationships, manage risk, and access new markets. By contrast, postponing investment can result in higher compliance costs, reduced competitiveness, and missed growth opportunities as regulations and customer expectations evolve.
Embedding sustainability in innovation
For Ahlstrom, sustainability is integrated into product development alongside safety, functionality, cost, and commercial viability.
The European Commission’s Safe and Sustainable by Design framework supports this approach by considering the safety and environmental impact of chemicals and materials throughout their lifecycle, beginning at the earliest stages of product development.
Applying these principles can help reduce hazardous substances, resource use, and end-of-life impacts. It can also lower the risk of costly redesigns, future liabilities, and products becoming obsolete as market requirements change.
At Ahlstrom, Safe and Sustainable by Design solutions currently account for 66 percent of net sales. The company aims to increase this share to 80 percent by 2030.
Creating value for customers
Customers do not purchase sustainability as an abstract concept. They choose products that deliver practical benefits, such as reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste and hazardous substances, improving durability, lowering lifecycle costs, and supporting their own regulatory and commercial objectives.
This is where sustainability becomes a source of commercial value: when it improves the outcomes that customers already need and supports the development of differentiated high-performing solutions.
The materials sector has an important role to play. By developing alternatives that preserve resources, improve circularity, reduce dependence on fossil-based materials, and eliminate harmful substances, companies can help address global challenges while building stronger businesses.
Preparing for long-term change
Continuing with business as usual is also a business decision: and one that carries risks and future costs.
The transition towards cleaner energy and more sustainable materials is being driven not only by climate objectives, but also by the need to manage resource dependencies, geopolitical uncertainty, supply-chain disruption, and volatile energy prices.
Although some headlines suggest that businesses are retreating from sustainability, investment and corporate action continue. Many companies are maintaining or accelerating their efforts, recognizing the role sustainability can play in strengthening resilience and long-term performance.
“Choosing between sustainability and business performance is a false choice,” Helen writes.
Companies that make sustainability part of their innovation and commercial strategies will be better prepared to navigate climate change, biodiversity loss, geopolitical disruption and supply-chain shocks—and better positioned to create lasting value for customers and society.
Read Helen Mets’ full article in Financial Times Sustainable Views.
