In the past, sustainability initiatives often gained traction because they were seen as the ‘right thing to do’. Today, that is not enough with tighter budgets, higher scrutiny and boards asking tougher questions: What is the return? What is the risk? What is the commercial upside?
Mayfair Equity Partners sees decarbonisation as a value creation lever, not a compliance burden. In a recent webinar for portfolio companies as part of our Boost! programme and hosted by Mayfair Process Specialist Sabrina Damian, guest speakers from sustainability consultancy Flotilla shared a clear message: the businesses that succeed are the ones that can translate sustainability into language of the business and who make the connection between sustainability action and financial performance, resilience, and growth.
Sustainability is now part of sales
For many portfolio companies, customer demand is becoming one of the strongest drivers of sustainability action. Flotilla shared how sustainability performance is increasingly weighted in procurement processes, particularly in the public sector where environmental and social factors can form a significant percentage of tender scoring.
This is also accelerating in enterprise markets, where customers expect suppliers to provide emissions data, targets, and credible decarbonisation plans. If businesses cannot answer these questions, they may not qualify to bid.
Mayfair has seen this play out first-hand. Sabrina highlighted a company that had historically resisted sustainability action until a major client demanded a net zero policy and footprint data at short notice as part of a retender, putting a key contract at risk showing that sustainability is increasingly becoming a gatekeeper to revenue.
Decarbonisation can protect margins
Many of the most effective decarbonisation measures are rooted in operational efficiency. Energy audits, better building management and behaviour change can reduce energy use quickly.
Even small changes can add up. Flotilla highlighted the impact of ‘plug load’, where devices left on overnight can account for a surprisingly high proportion of a building’s electricity consumption.
Travel is another obvious area. Most businesses cannot eliminate travel, but tightening policies to reduce non-essential journeys can reduce emissions and free up spend without harming performance.
Supply chains are the hidden vulnerability
Flotilla explained that the largest emissions footprint for many businesses sits outside their direct operations, in what is often called Scope 3. This includes supply chain activity, procurement spend and business travel. For service and technology businesses, it can represent the overwhelming majority of emissions.
While supply chains present clear risk, they are also one of the most powerful levers for value creation. Engaging suppliers on emissions can improve resilience, deepen partnerships, and drive efficiencies that support both sustainability outcomes and long-term performance.
Focus on what teams can act on
A common issue is that sustainability feels too complex, particularly around Scope 3 emissions. Flotilla shared a simple way to reframe it using five impact areas that align more naturally with how businesses operate: buildings, travel and logistics, people, supply chain and governance.
This approach helps leadership teams focus on actions that create measurable commercial benefit, rather than getting lost in reporting terminology.
Decarbonisation progress rarely comes from one dramatic silver bullet. It comes from structured, repeatable improvements over time: better policies, better data, stronger supplier engagement, and clear accountability.
Sustainability maturity strengthens valuation narratives
Decarbonisation and how sustainability is governed are now seen as indicators of company professionalisation. Buyers increasingly, at a minimum, expect a credible sustainability strategy, emissions baselining and strong governance, alongside evidence of value creation.
Sabrina highlighted that many funds are now raised with sustainability objectives built into their investment mandates. Businesses that can demonstrate credible progress are able to access a broader buyer pool and create greater competitive tension in a sale process.
Sustainability as value creation
Mayfair supports portfolio companies to treat sustainability as part of their growth strategy. That means focusing on the levers that matter: protecting revenue, reducing operational cost, strengthening resilience, and improving exit readiness.
Decarbonisation is a commercial imperative. Businesses that can articulate it clearly and act pragmatically will be well positioned to outperform.
