Across Dane County, something powerful is happening inside businesses of every size and sector. Sustainability is becoming a driver of innovation, employee engagement and long-term business success.
From energy efficiency upgrades to employee-led composting programs, organizations are discovering that when sustainability is embedded into everyday decision-making, it unlocks new ideas, saves money, strengthens teams and builds resilience for the future.
Coming off an engaging April Earth Month, it is clear to me that sustainability matters to our local businesses and is essential to long-term business success. It is essential to address rising costs and gasoline prices, shifting priorities, extreme weather events, talent attraction/retention and community well-being.
Sustainability is the practice of meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Increasingly, local Dane County businesses are recognizing that sustainability is a present-day opportunity they must take to innovate, adapt and lead.
Clear case
Sustainability is often framed through the lens of the “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit. I view these not as competing priorities, but as interconnected layers. A healthy environment supports thriving communities of people, which in turn enables a strong, equitable economy. One cannot succeed without the others.
Sustainability is good business, reflected in market data and consumer expectations. Here are the three main business rationales:
1. Outperform the market: 89% of companies with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance outperform the market.
2. Customer loyalty: 87% of Americans say they would purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they care about.
3. Talent attraction and retention: 70% of Gen Z and millennials consider environmental sustainability important in choosing employers.
Businesses are deeply intertwined with the systems that both create and can reduce emissions. Without changes in how businesses operate — how they produce goods and provide services, use source materials and distribute products — reductions at the individual or government level won’t be enough.
The business community controls vast resources and innovation capacity. When a company commits to sustainability, it spreads those expectations across its supply chain and creates a ripple effect within and beyond its own operations.
Locally, the expectation is high for businesses to be part of the solution to environmental health. In Dane County, 77% of residents believe businesses should do more to address climate change — nine percentage points above the national average.
Front row seat
At Sustain Dane, I have a front-row seat for business transformation with sustainability. For over 25 years, the organization has served as the sustainability resource to support businesses, organizations and individuals to learn, connect and take action for sustainability.
The Sustain Dane Accelerate Sustainability Workshop and annual Sustain Dane Summit are often where engagement starts with businesses. We have found that sustainability happens when people choose projects that align with where they are, in an area that sparks their passion and by applying their unique skills.
You don’t need to be a sustainability expert to make an impact. No matter your role, industry or stage in your career, you have valuable skills that can help improve environmental health.
Businesses benefit when they find practical ways to turn sustainability ideas into measurable impact, as well as when they align their actions to operations, culture and goals.
There are a wide range of entry points for sustainability. Samples of the innovative local business projects I’ve seen recently include:
1. A biotech company led an effort to reduce energy use in its labs. The company identified freezers as one of the largest opportunities to improve sustainability. It installed compressorless freezers that are 50% more energy efficient while maintaining the ultra-low temperatures needed for the lab.
2. Several years ago, EZ Office Products, a full-service office supply company, enrolled in MGE’s Green Power Tomorrow program to power its warehouse entirely with wind energy. In 2025, EZ Office Products incorporated an electric vehicle into its delivery fleet.
3. Law firm Boardman Clark has an office compost initiative. For over four years, the firm has contracted with a third-party compost hauler to make this possible. The architecture and engineering firm EUA also focuses on everyday staff engagement in sustainability and launched an office composting program. At EUA, employees volunteer to take turns bringing the weekly bin of food scrap material home to compost and use in their own gardens.
4. The advertising firm designCraft Advertising started a commuting initiative that tracks emissions saved when employees choose options like biking, transit, carpooling or working from home instead of driving alone. By measuring and celebrating alternative ways of commuting, the firm is saving an average of 1,000 pounds of CO₂ each month — and plans to share results publicly to inspire broader action.
5. Reynolds Tranfers & Storage, a moving and storage company, installed two solar arrays at its warehouses. It saw grid-supplied energy decrease by about 50%, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 3.8 tons per month. Currently, the company is moving forward with a third owned solar array, which is estimated to avoid 6.5 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per month.
Sustainability work often starts with a thoughtful, targeted project that builds momentum over time. What unites these efforts is not just environmental impact — it’s employee engagement.
Sustainability projects often become a rallying point for teams, creating a sense of shared purpose and pride.
Collective path forward
The path to a more sustainable future is not defined by a single solution or sector. It is built through collective action by municipalities, individuals and businesses working toward shared goals.
Dane County’s Climate Action Plan sets ambitious but achievable targets: reducing countywide emissions by 50% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 (based on a 2017 baseline).
In Dane County, that collaboration is underway. Employees are stepping into leadership roles, green teams are forming and organizations are discovering that sustainability can drive innovation and success. Everyone has a role to play.
Whether it’s launching a new sustainability initiative, improving an existing process, or simply starting a conversation, each action contributes to a larger impact — one that extends beyond each business to shape the future of our community.
Change happens when inspired people take action. We’re working every day to help ensure that even more businesses have the tools, confidence and inspiration to be part of creating a future that meets our needs now and for future generations.
What sustainability project could benefit your business?
Claire Schaefer Oleksiak is the executive director of Sustain Dane, a Madison nonprofit dedicated to creating a more sustainable community.
