A new sustainability paradigm Absolute Efficiency
Stop with the buzzwords – businesses need to prioritise the productive use of resources because it makes long-term economic sense. Call it Absolute Efficiency. It’s a powerful concept that leaders can lean into at a time when many of the terms and concepts around sustainability have become politically charged and hostage to electoral shifts. It recognises that despite these swings, it’s not time to step away from demonstrating credible, economically-minded progress. Business leaders worldwide agree. According to the Business Breakthrough Barometer 2025¹, 9 out of 10 executives maintained or increased their investments in climate action and achieving emissions targets over the past year. Absolute Efficiency means maximising the productive use of energy, water and other resources across every part of a business. It recognises that true sustainability isn’t about checking boxes or reading the political weather vanes. Unlike ESG jargon that may come and go, it represents an enduring lodestar for organisations because it is based entirely on evidence, science and measurable business impact. This is the mindset shift that businesses need in these uncertain times – one that views sustainability as a competitive advantage rather than a compliance requirement. Absolute Efficiency reframes sustainability as a smart business optimisation strategy to control costs, protect profits, drive innovation and build resilience. Adopting an Absolute Efficiency strategy can lower companies’ climate change risks, reduce exposure to scarce resources and provide insulation against rising costs. That can include reducing waste by reprocessing it for new uses, boosting commercial outcomes while cutting inputs and increasing the value of assets over time.
Tai Hollingsbee, Head of Sustainability, Asia Pacific
Economic sense A report² released in June by the Paris-based International Energy Agency found that energy efficiency helps companies compete amid high costs, growing resource demand and escalating trade pressures. The benefits, which can be replicated in efficiencies in construction materials, water and other resources, range from boosting profitability to job creation. Despite this, the report notes that industrial efficiency gains have slowed recently as companies encounter barriers such as upfront costs and workforce constraints. That’s why bold, deliberate planning on efficiency across the energy, water and materials that companies use is so vital. Take accounting for the carbon costs of a product, for example. Incorporating those costs into 3-, 5- and 10-year forecasts may not be required by regulations but it remains an effective way to protect profit margins and avoid surprise costs down the line. Similarly, investing in energy-saving efforts for facilities today can help avoid future fines and legal costs, while also supporting the long-term value of assets by reducing resource costs. Reputational integrity and trust are also valuable assets, both of which can be strengthened by sustainability initiatives, such as whole- of-life carbon consideration in construction projects.
Thinking in systems Absolute Efficiency calls for moving beyond isolated process improvements to thinking in terms of broader systems. That means taking steps that recognise and take advantage of the wider connections among circular economies, communities and supply chains. The European Union is transitioning toward a fully circular economy, where waste is minimised and materials are kept in use for as long as possible, with a target completion date³ of 2050. But companies shouldn’t sit around waiting for the next regulation. For instance, rather than transporting waste to landfills at ever-increasing costs, companies can find partners who will utilise it as a raw material, thereby turning a liability into an asset. Systemic thinking means identifying opportunities for shared value that can reduce costs and create new revenue streams. For example, instead of transferring heat outdoors, could large-scale data centres capture and sell the energy to a nearby hospital or laboratory? Similarly, carbon dioxide generated in the manufacture of cement factories can be repurposed as a building block in other products, such as sustainable aviation fuels. Taking the output of one system as the input of another – that’s Absolute Efficiency. Forward-thinking organisations are already using “material passports” – digital records of a product’s or project’s composition and potential reuse – to help them think about the life cycle of materials from the design phase onward. They are forming recycled, reconstituted and recovered material banks with customers eager to trim costs.
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Nexus Magazine | GHD | 5
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