You’ll learn:
- How top brands turn sustainability into business growth
- Where to focus for the biggest impact and fastest ROI
- How better data helps cut costs and reduce risk
- Real-world strategies from industry leaders you can apply today
US Guide to Business Growth Through Sustainability
Lessons from top brands
Sustainability is no longer a theoretical investment, it’s a proven driver of business performance. According to Sweep’s 2026 State of Sustainability survey, 90% of US enterprises have moved beyond basic carbon measurement. More than half (54%) now disclose against major reporting frameworks, and 36% have fully embedded sustainability into their core business strategy.
The payoff is tangible. 68% report reduced compliance risk through stronger data management, while 36% are already seeing lower operating costs.
What sets these companies apart isn’t just commitment, it’s approach. The leaders treat sustainability as a lever for performance, not a reporting exercise. Companies like Crocs, Orange, and Travel & Leisure Co. are translating sustainability investment into competitive advantage, driving product innovation, streamlining supply chains, and differentiating their operations in the market.
So what are they doing differently, and how can your business apply the same playbook?
Crocs: Focusing on the biggest emissions driver to unlock growth
CROCS
- Revenue (2024): $4.1B (record year, +4% vs. 2023)
- Croslite material: 80%+ of total materials use
- Reached 25% bio-circular content (Sept 2024), halfway to 2030 target in 3 years
- Emissions impact (2024): 3% reduction in absolute emissions; 6.1% reduction per pair of Classic Clogs
- Net Zero target: 2040
- Strategy: Transform core material across all products, same price point
The challenge: Growth revealed a carbon hotspot
Crocs had an enviable problem. Demand was accelerating. But as the business scaled, the company took a closer look at its carbon footprint and uncovered a clear pattern.
The majority of its emissions traced back to a single source, its signature Croslite foam, a petroleum-based material used across nearly every product.
This insight reframed the challenge. What initially looked like a broad sustainability issue was actually a highly concentrated dependency. It exposed Crocs to both carbon risk and oil price volatility, while increasingly conflicting with customer expectations around product impact.
The solution: Act on what the data revealed
With a clearer view of where emissions were concentrated, Crocs focused its efforts where they would matter most.
Croslite accounted for more than 80% of total materials used, making it the single biggest lever for change. Rather than redesigning products or launching niche initiatives, the company chose to transform this core material.
Crocs committed to transitioning to bio-circular Croslite, using repurposed waste inputs like used cooking oil. The goal was 50% bio-circular content by 2030. By September 2024, it had already reached 25% across its entire portfolio, halfway to its target in just three years.
Because the action directly targeted the largest emissions driver, the impact was immediate and scalable. In 2023, Crocs reduced absolute emissions by 3% and emissions per pair of Classic Clogs by 6.1% compared to its 2021 baseline.
The business impact: Better insight, better outcomes
The commercial results followed. Crocs delivered record revenue of $4.1 billion in 2024, while maintaining strong margins above 58% as it scaled new materials.
Crucially, the company embedded these improvements across its entire product range. The style, comfort, and price remained the same. This removed trade-offs for consumers while strengthening brand loyalty, particularly among younger buyers.
The lesson: Understand your footprint, then focus
Crocs did not try to tackle everything at once. It started by digging deeper into its carbon footprint to understand where emissions were actually coming from, and discovered they were highly concentrated.
That clarity made prioritization simple.
The takeaway is clear. When you know exactly where your impact sits, you can move faster, invest smarter, and deliver results that scale.
Orange: Building supply chain resilience through supplier partnerships
ORANGE
- Revenue (2025): €40.4B (+0.9% YoY)
- Operations: 26 countries
- Supply chain focus: Top 40 suppliers account for ~60% of procurement-related emissions
- Supplier commitments: 10 major suppliers signed progress plans (Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, Xiaomi, others)
- Target: Net zero by 2040; 45% emissions reduction by 2030 (Scopes 1, 2, 3 vs. 2020)
- Performance (2025): 3.8% EBITDAaL growth; 8.3% organic cash flow growth to €3.7B
The challenge: Most emissions were outside the business
Orange didn’t have an operations problem. It had a visibility problem.
A closer look at its carbon footprint showed that more than 80% of emissions came from its supply chain. Not factories. Not offices. Suppliers.
That meant the biggest risk and the biggest opportunity sat outside the company’s direct control, spread across billions in procurement spend and thousands of partners worldwide.
The solution: Turn suppliers into partners
Once Orange understood where emissions were concentrated, the strategy was clear. Focus on the suppliers that matter most.
The company zeroed in on its top 40 suppliers, which account for around 60% of procurement-related emissions, and built structured, long-term partnerships.
Through its Partners to Net Zero Carbon program, Orange moved beyond loose commitments. Suppliers signed contractual agreements with clear, measurable targets. They committed to cutting emissions, improving data quality, and identifying reduction opportunities across manufacturing and logistics.
In return, Orange integrated those improvements into how it designs networks, selects equipment, and builds products. This created shared accountability and aligned incentives on both sides.
The business impact: Stronger supply chains, stronger growth
The results go beyond emissions.
Suppliers now invest in cleaner production because they have a guaranteed buyer. Orange gets early access to lower-carbon products and builds resilience against future regulation.
That advantage shows up in performance. In 2025, Orange delivered €40.4 billion in revenue, with steady EBITDA and cash flow growth, all while transforming its supply chain.
Just as important, the company turned sustainability data into a commercial asset. As enterprise customers increasingly demand transparency, Orange is positioned to win in areas like smart cities, digital health, and connected infrastructure.
The lesson: If you can’t see your supply chain, you can’t improve it
Orange didn’t treat supply chain emissions as a reporting exercise. It treated them as a strategic lever.
By identifying where emissions actually sat and building real accountability with key suppliers, the company unlocked both operational and commercial value.
The takeaway is simple. When you engage suppliers with clear targets and shared data, you don’t just reduce emissions. You build a stronger, more competitive business.
Travel + Leisure Co.: Unlocking growth through a higher-utilization model
TRAVEL + LEISURE CO.
- Revenue (2025): $4.02B
- Business model: Vacation ownership and resort management
- Portfolio: 100+ properties across Asia Pacific
- Customer base: 100,000+ owners and members
- Growth (2025): $2.49B VOI sales (+8% YoY); 6% VPG growth; 3% tour growth
- Performance: Vacation Ownership revenue +8% (Q4); Adjusted EBITDA +14% (Q4), +13% full year to $861M
- Strategy: Shared ownership model to maximize asset utilization and align with “access over ownership” trend
The challenge: A high-impact industry under price pressure
Travel + Leisure Co. operates in a sector with a large environmental footprint and tight margins.
Travel is resource-intensive, but customers are highly price-sensitive. That makes it hard to pass on the cost of sustainability. To compete, the company needed a way to reduce impact while improving economics, not hurting them.
The solution: Redesign the model, not just the operations
A closer look at usage patterns revealed an inefficiency. Vacation homes often sit empty most of the year, yet still consume land, energy, and resources.
Travel + Leisure Co. leaned into a growing consumer shift toward access over ownership. Instead of optimizing around individual ownership, it scaled a shared model.
Through vacation ownership, multiple families use the same property across the year. This increases utilization, reduces wasted capacity, and aligns with how younger consumers want to travel. More flexibility. Less commitment.
The business impact: Higher utilization, stronger margins
The model drives both efficiency and growth.
By maximizing how often assets are used, the company gets more value from the same footprint. That translates directly into better margins.
The results are clear. In 2025, Travel + Leisure Co. generated $4.02 billion in revenue, with vacation ownership sales up 8% year over year. EBITDA in that segment grew 13%, showing that efficiency gains are flowing through to the bottom line.
At the same time, the model positions the company to win more B2B business. Corporate buyers increasingly require verified environmental data for travel and events. Providers that can deliver that transparency have a clear edge.
The lesson: Efficiency is a growth strategy
Travel + Leisure Co. didn’t treat sustainability as an add-on. It used it to rethink how the business creates value.
By understanding how assets were actually used and where inefficiencies sat, the company redesigned its model to increase utilization and reduce waste.
The takeaway is simple. When you align your business model with both consumer behavior and resource efficiency, you don’t just lower impact. You unlock new growth and margin at the same time.
“Sustainability already runs through every business: in energy use, supply chains, procurement, compliance. Most companies just can’t see it clearly yet. When you give teams centralized, audit-ready data, something shifts: sustainability stops being a reporting exercise and starts delivering real performance.”
Rachel Delacour
CEO, Sweep
Common patterns across different industries
The three companies profiled operate in completely different industries with distinct sustainability challenges. Yet their experiences point to common success factors.
They integrated sustainability into core business strategy. Orange embedded carbon reduction into supplier contracts and procurement decisions.
Crocs transformed the material used across all products.
Travel & Leisure Co. built a business model aligned with modern consumer preferences that inherently uses resources more efficiently.
They focused on material issues specific to their business. Orange concentrated on the 80%+ of emissions coming from procurement. Crocs transformed Croslite, representing 80%+ of materials. Travel & Leisure Co. optimized vacation property utilization through shared ownership.
The ROI of sustainability investment
From reporting to performance
Early carbon tools helped companies measure emissions. But they didn’t change how the business operated. The return was compliance, nothing more.
Today, the shift is clear. Leading companies are turning sustainability into a real-time, operational capability.
- Supplier data flows in automatically, not via spreadsheets
- Reporting cycles shrink from months to weeks
- Operational data connects directly to decision-making
Sustainability moves from a lagging report to a live business input.
Where the value shows up
Lower risk
68% of US companies with better data management report reduced compliance risk. As regulations tighten, they avoid last-minute scrambles, audit issues, and costly external support.
Lower costs
36% are cutting operating costs. Better visibility into energy, waste, and procurement reveals efficiency gains that directly improve margins.
Faster decisions
Many companies still take 3 to 6 months to complete carbon reporting. Leaders close that gap and use sustainability data like financial data, to guide investments, manage suppliers, and respond to opportunities in real time.
The revenue upside
Sustainability is now part of how business gets won.
B2B buyers increasingly require verified emissions data, supply chain transparency, and clear reduction plans. Companies that can respond quickly have an edge. Those that cannot often get screened out early.
Final thoughts
Crocs, Orange, and Travel & Leisure Co. demonstrate that companies integrating environmental and social considerations into core strategy achieve profitable growth, operational efficiency, and competitive differentiation.
Sweep’s research on US businesses validates these case studies with broader data. Companies that invested in carbon management lowered compliance risk (68%), reduced operating costs (36%), and built foundations for long-term resilience. Those that didn’t are scrambling to catch up.
Start by identifying your material impacts. Invest in platforms that automate data collection and eliminate manual bottlenecks. Engage your supply chain with shared targets and tools, not just audits. Embed sustainability into how you design products, serve customers, and make strategic decisions.
The data shows it works. The question is whether you’ll lead or follow.
Ready to put this into practice?
The companies in this guide didn’t just commit to sustainability. They invested in the infrastructure to make it actionable. Sweep gives you the same foundation: centralized, audit-ready data that turns sustainability into a real performance lever.
Sweep can help
Sweep makes sustainability work for your business. Not the other way round. We connect all your sustainability data and turn it into business intelligence to help you unlock performance – from compliance and risk reduction, all the way to cost-savings, and market differentiation.
With Sweep, you can:
- Lower costs through real-time tracking and insights
- Strengthen supply chains with end-to-end visibility and engagement
- Deliver audit-ready sustainability and climate reporting with confidence
- Make sustainability intelligence available to everyone to optimize the business
See how we can help you on your sustainability journey
