Sustainable Edge · Commercial consulting

Beyond requirements.
Towards advantage.

Helping businesses turn sustainability into commercial value and competitive advantage.

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Materials and options being considered around a business decision

Turn sustainability into a stronger business.

Sustainability is changing customer requirements, costs and opportunities. The challenge is deciding what that means for your business and making the best commercial use of the changes ahead.

We help you choose a workable response, build the case for an investment or develop a stronger product or service. That might mean protecting the profitability of an important account, finding value in a necessary change or developing a new source of revenue before the market demands it.

When you need to respond

Make more of the response
you need to make.

Regulatory and customer demands affect packaging, product requirements and environmental claims. Examples include the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), requests for product carbon data and sustainability assessments needed to qualify as a supplier.

The obligation may be clear while the commercial response is not. Choices about suppliers, product design, pricing and investment affect profitability and customer relationships. The necessary work may also create value beyond the immediate requirement.

What must we change, what will it cost, and can the same investment strengthen the business?

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When you want to move early

Develop the opportunity
you want to pursue.

You see potential to grow through sustainability before a requirement or customer request arrives. That could mean circular services, lower-carbon products or a business model that makes better use of resources.

The opportunity might build on an existing strength: an installed equipment base that could support refurbishment services, or material expertise that could reduce customers’ costs. Customer demand, economics and competitors’ alternatives determine where to commit.

Where could we build an offer customers value and a position competitors find harder to match?

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How we help

Commercial direction.
A credible case. A stronger offer.

Decide how to protect a profitable account, whether a sustainability opportunity deserves investment, or how to develop an offer customers will choose. Our work combines commercial strategy, investment assessment and offer development. Each can stand alone.

Commercial strategy & response

Assess which customers, revenue and costs are affected by sustainability requirements or market developments. Compare responses and identify which markets, accounts and capabilities deserve priority.

What you take forward

A recommended direction, the trade-offs behind it and an action plan with priorities and responsibilities.

For example

Repair requirements change the economics.

EU Right to Repair puts parts, service costs and customer support into the commercial equation. How should an appliance manufacturer respond?

What we would develop: a comparison of responses, their costs and a focused pilot.

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Opportunity & investment

Develop opportunities from customer needs, market developments and your business’s strengths. Test demand, estimate revenue, costs and investment, and assess your ability to compete and deliver.

What you take forward

A developed opportunity and commercial case, with a recommendation on what to invest in, test, prepare for or leave aside.

For example

Test the case for a new service

A manufacturer sees potential for paid refurbishment. Which customers would buy, and would service income outweigh costs and displaced replacement sales?

For this opportunity: priority customer segments, an investment case and a recommendation on whether and where to pilot.

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Offer development

Shape the product, service or business model around a clear customer benefit. Develop the proposition, pricing, supporting evidence and delivery approach with the teams who will bring it to market.

What you take forward

A defined offer and a practical plan for customer validation, development or launch.

For example

Ingredient pressures call for a stronger offer.

A biscuit business faces cocoa-related sustainability pressures and rising costs. How could it protect affordability and margins while considering responsible sourcing?

What we would develop: alternative offers, range economics and a plan to test shopper response.

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How we work

Built with your teams.
Grounded in evidence.
Open to possibilities.

Your teams bring sustainability expertise, customer knowledge and an understanding of how the business operates. We work alongside them to develop the commercial options, strengthen the investment case and shape the offer, drawing on customer and market insight and financial analysis.

Bring the right people together

Involve the colleagues needed for the decision across sustainability, sales, marketing, product, operations and finance. Build on what they know and the work already underway.

Use the evidence that matters

Connect customer insight with account, cost and operational data. Identify what the information can tell us and investigate gaps that could change the decision.

Develop the options together

Develop alternatives rather than accept the first answer. Test customer value, economics and delivery, then agree priorities and next actions with the people who will take the work forward.

Futures & foresight

Prepare your business
for what comes next.

If you want to get ahead of changing customer expectations, resource pressures and new technologies, you need to understand what they could mean for your markets and business model.

We explore plausible developments and test your plans against them. Which capabilities should you build now? Which opportunities merit an early experiment? Which commitments should remain flexible?

For example, before investing in a new service, examine how customers’ preference for ownership, repair or access could change, and what that would mean for demand, revenue and delivery.

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An architectural passage opening towards different directions

Perspectives

Perspectives for better
business decisions.

Articles and analysis on the commercial questions behind sustainability: what buyers value, what protects market access and where investment could strengthen the business. Each examines a practical issue, the assumptions worth questioning and the implications for management.

Market access

Access before advantage

Sometimes sustainability protects permission to compete before it creates differentiation.

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Nic Kaftan, founder of Sustainable Edge

About Sustainable Edge

Connecting sustainability with investment, innovation and growth.

Sustainable Edge was created to help businesses make more of the sustainability changes they need to make and develop opportunities of their own. The approach combines commercial strategy, data and insights, and business development with a broad understanding of sustainability.

Founder Nic Kaftan brings more than 20 years across consulting, innovation and commercial leadership, complemented by a deliberate sustainability deep dive.

Why Sustainable Edge

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What does your business need to resolve or want to develop?

A requirement with commercial consequences, an investment decision or an opportunity that is not yet fully formed. Tell us what is at stake and what you want to achieve.

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