As a business owner, you’ll know that sustainability is a core part of developing your business values and community goals. However, the challenge many encounter is knowing how and where to apply sustainability practices. 

Sustainability goes beyond recycling bins in the staff kitchen and must be incorporated throughout your office's physical environment. Modern Group knows there is more businesses can do, and when it comes to easy-to-implement sustainable office additions that make a big difference, they have you covered.

The challenge: business & sustainability strategies

According to McKinsey & Company, focusing on sustainability can help reduce overall business costs and boost operating profits by as much as 60 per cent. Another study from Deloitte suggests that a focus on sustainability also increases productivity.

WeWork reports that while 90 per cent of executives believe sustainability is essential, there needs to be more implementation across the board. Only 60 per cent of businesses have a sustainability strategy in place. 

When approaching sustainability, business owners should take a complete 360-degree approach, leaving no process or part of the business untouched and seeing what they can do to make positive changes.

Within organisations, sustainability factors into three critical areas known by the ESG acronym: Environment, Social and Governance.

A solution: The WincovER rating

When it comes to the ‘Environment’ part of the acronym, Modern Group has a simple solution that can make a significant impact.

Up to 40 per cent of heating or cooling energy is lost through windows or poorly insulated roofing. Investing in options such as roller shutters, plantation shutters, or outdoor blinds can make a huge difference in reducing a business's environmental footprint.

As one of only a few suppliers to be given a WincovER energy rating on their roller shutters, Modern Group can claim up to 71 per cent reduction in cooling requirements (acknowledging that colour and control types make this testing variable).

WincovER is a new star rating system developed by the Blind Manufacturers’ Association of Australia that matches window furnishings with quantifiable benefits for saving energy, reducing carbon footprints, and reducing your business energy expenses.

WincovER uses an intuitive 10-star system that rates the heating and cooling impact of a window covering or shade. This rating is calculated based on several factors, including the materials and the design elements that aid effective insulation. The higher the number of stars, the better the performance for energy efficiency.

What makes the WincovER rating unique?

For a manufacturer to get a WincovER rating, they need to follow a strict testing protocol. All materials are assessed by international laboratories against two measures of performance: 

1. The U-Value of the product.
2. The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC).

The product is tested with a simulation that provides energy values assessed by the WincovER algorithm, which then determines the star rating. The ranking is out of ten stars, with a separate ranking for heating and cooling. 

After being independently audited, the product is listed on the WincovER Certified Products Hub. Modern Group is proud to be one of the first on the market to offer products with a WincovER rating. 

If you’re a business owner looking to develop a robust sustainability package and want to ensure you’ve got a competitive, effective plan in place, check out Modern Group’s full range of options today.