Sustainability and Competitiveness: Rethinking Performance for the Long Term

Performance, growth, productivity... When we constantly try to do more with less, we eventually exhaust our resources. Both those of the planet and those of the people living on it.

The hamster wheel metaphor particularly resonated with us. We run, we produce, we optimise. But do we still take the time to ask ourselves why?

Sustainability isn't just about reducing our carbon footprint. It also has social and economic dimensions. It challenges the way we work, how we distribute the value we create and, ultimately, how we find meaning in what we do.

What if real performance also meant building something we can be proud of, something that lasts?

Another topic discussed was how to talk about sustainability without falling into the trap of generic corporate messaging.

At a time when AI can write our messages in seconds, it's becoming even more important to know what we really want to say.

One interesting approach is the “5 Whys” method, which involves repeatedly questioning the reasons behind an action to uncover its deeper meaning.

Because while figures and rational arguments are essential, stories, convictions and emotions also have their place. Even in a presentation to a board of directors!

Fortunately, the day wasn't just about identifying problems. Several practical ideas emerged from the discussions and panel session.

Setting ourselves a 90-day challenge. Experimenting on a small scale. Deliberately introducing constraints to find alternative solutions. Extending the lifespan of a project rather than systematically starting from scratch.

These approaches particularly resonate with us at Antistatique. After all, prototyping, testing and improving are also part of what we do.

Our main takeaway? Don't wait for the perfect solution before taking action. Start somewhere, measure, learn and try again.

These reflections echo our own approach. As part of our B Corp certification process, we've already started formalising our social and environmental commitments, notably through our JEDI pillar and our climate action plan.

As a web agency, our questions go beyond waste sorting or travel, which is already mostly done by public transport. They're mainly about the heart of our business: which hosting providers should we choose? What's the environmental impact of our digital tools and artificial intelligence? How can we design websites and applications that remain useful and efficient for longer?

These are all questions we don't yet have all the answers to.

Our next step: carrying out a carbon footprint assessment to better understand our impact, identify our main sources of emissions and prioritise our actions. Because before trying to improve everything, we first need to know where to focus our efforts.

This event reminded us that we don't need to have all the answers to move forward. What matters is getting started, experimenting and adjusting our practices along the way. At Antistatique, our next challenge will be to assess our carbon footprint so we can better understand our impact and take action where it really matters.

A quote from Peter Drucker, shared during one of the presentations, nicely sums up what we're taking away from the day:

Thank you to Femmes PME Suisse romande, the Fédération Suisse des Entreprises and all the speakers for a day full of thought-provoking discussions!

All photos by Xplorecom