Family businesses have made sustainability an integral component within their business model, said a Global Family Business Report from KPMG Private Enterprise and the STEP Project Global Consortium.

The report titled “A road well-traveled – How family businesses are guiding the sustainability journey” reveals how family businesses are great ambassadors for sustainability, as they demonstrate how to embed leading practices, create shared value, gain a competitive advantage, and achieve long-term growth.

The report brings together personal insights from the sustainability experiences of some notable family business leaders combined with sustainability performance data gathered from 2,439 family businesses across 70 countries and territories. The report which uses both qualitative and quantitative research, cites a multi-generational commitment to create value for all stakeholders as one of the underlying reasons enabling many family businesses to excel as sustainability leaders, reflecting an important shift in mindset away from considering sustainability measures as an additional cost of business, but as the essential investment required to secure the future.

The report positions sustainability as a familiar concept within family businesses and an important part of the family’s legacy. A claim supported with key analysis across varying jurisdictions and sectors reveals just how embedded sustainability practices have come to be a core element within family values and business models. Investing in sustainability and operating in a sustainable way is not only viewed as the ‘right thing to do’, but it’s also becoming an essential engine and catalyst for company growth.

Harish Gopinath, Partner and Head of KPMG Enterprise in the MESAC region, said: “Companies in Bahrain and the region that effectively anticipate and meet the increasing environmental and societal expectations are likely to enhance their reputation, attract and retain talented employees, and find new business opportunities.

“In Bahrain, sustainability is starting to become a crucial aspect of conducting business, as the country is making significant efforts to transition towards low-carbon solutions and reduce its carbon footprint in line with the Kingdom’s Sustainability Goals 2030 (SDGs). Companies that fail to adapt to this shift may face challenges in competing with those that prioritize and embrace sustainability and environmental responsibility as part of their business strategies.”

The report emphasizes some of the key requirements to help businesses unlock improved sustainability performance – the essence of which can serve as a ‘blue-print’ to guide sustainable and responsible business practices, many lessons of which are applicable across the marketplace.

Tom McGinness, Global Leader, Family Business, KPMG Private Enterprise, said: “I truly believe that family businesses that successfully engage with all their stakeholders on this sustainability journey will not only just survive but in fact prosper. Those that don't step up are likely to be left behind and the choice for companies may be that binary. Family businesses have prospered based on core sustainability principles across several generations, and there are many lessons that everyone can take away from their experience.”

The report concludes that no one can solve the world’s biggest environmental and societal issues alone and considers the time to be apt for companies across the world to tap into the experience and know-how of family businesses, and to do what’s right for generations to come by integrating and embracing sustainability strategies as a part of their ‘business as usual’. 

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