This chapter provides a foundational understanding of sustainable business and its application in strategic growth. It begins by introducing the historical adoption of sustainability into business practice, offering insights into its evolution from a cultural movement outside of mainstream business to a core set of business practices. Centered on managing and reporting social and environmental results, sustainability is shown to elevate overall business performance. Drawing attention to real-world examples, the chapter explores how the adoption of sustainability can create a comparative advantage for business. It further analyzes key sustainability competencies that drive business growth in three areas: increased brand value; lower cost of customer acquisition; and higher profits. Finally, the chapter offers three case studies for building a strategic sustainable business.

Kolahi, F. & Godsall, C. (2026). The Role of Sustainability in Business Growth. In S. Ananthan, A. Kohli, T. Manickam, & T. Dhanabalan (Eds.), New Business Development Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Growth (pp. 47-88). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3373-2048-9.ch003