According to a Nielsen report, 73 percent of Millennials around the world are willing to pay more for sustainably produced goods and services. The conscious consumer choices of this generation are driving brands to rethink their own attitudes to environmental and social impact. 

According to Pocket Sun, this existing trend will soon go even further, as companies transition from seeing sustainability as a necessary marketing expense to become a fundamental part of their business. 

"The next generation of brands will see environmental and social sustainability almost as a default option," says Sun. "I feel the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will eventually cease to exist as this concept will no longer be something that's an extra part of what you do as a company, but part of who you are.”

According to Tan Szue Hann, sustainable policies don't have to be detrimental to the bottom line. In fact, they can help boost profit margins. 

“As Pocket said, sustainability goes beyond CSR. Everyone assumes that sustainability is about cultural values, like how many trees you want to hug or how much of the planet you want to save, and they also think that these values don't jive with the economic needs of a business."

"I believe it is possible for a company to reap monetary rewards when it invests in more sustainable or greener practices. For example, a company can consider obtaining materials directly from sustainable sources, or cut down the excesses in its supply chain. These changes will allow the company to economise, which translates into cost savings."

"The longevity of a business is dependent on its ability to create new products that consumers [want and keep coming back for]," says Tan.

"The only way to do this is to maintain high levels of design and quality. It's got to be a [well-thought-out] product that makes people want to come back for more. For example, a farmer's fish could be sustainably farmed, but if it doesn't taste good then no one’s going to come back for it."

"In addition to this, a product has to answer a need or a want. Take architecture as an example. Questions potential customers might ask include, 'Is its design going to stand the test of time?" "Will it be a nice place to live?" All this needs to be addressed before a company can start talking about sustainability."

As environmental concerns become increasingly pressing, all the panellists agree we need to start teaching the next generation early.

“Children typically take everything as the truth and the absolute truth, so the way we talk about sustainability to them is really important," says Tan.

"I think it's a great idea to introduce them to issues such as climate change and global waste in a simplified form; to teach them what their role is on the planet. By doing this, you aren't necessarily nurturing tree huggers or environmentalists, but you're definitely going to develop children who will grow up thinking about everything that they consume and how they can be part of the whole process of creating a better world."