Three ways to cut business costs in a tight economy.

The global economy was relatively stable until the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, volatility has become the norm, making it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. According to a World Economic Forum survey of 1,300 leaders, economic conflicts between major powers are the greatest risk threatening the world over the next two years. Today, rising geopolitical tensions, protectionist trade policies, fragile supply chains, and slowing growth are forcing business leaders to ask a sharper question: What actually pays off now? Increasingly, the answer is sustainability—not as a value statement, but as a practical way to run leaner, smarter operations in a tight economy.

Across industries, companies are finding that sustainability-driven efficiency moves can cut business costs, protect margins, and build resilience at the same time. In many cases, these moves pay back faster than traditional capital investments.

Below are three efficiency moves that are delivering real financial returns today, supported by data, case examples, and lessons leaders can apply right now.

1. Fewer watts, more savings

Energy efficiency is one of the most reliable cost-reduction levers available to businesses and one of the easiest to measure. Per the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy efficiency improvements could deliver more than a third of the emissions reductions needed by 2030. They also lower operating costs across buildings, manufacturing, and logistics. Walmart, for example, saved more than $100 million just by switching to LED lighting across 6,000 locations. 

“Energy is one of the key operating expenses that we can reduce while delivering system upgrades that improve the customer shopping experience. The ripple effect from these LED conversions throughout the business is truly staggering.”

Mark Vanderhelm former Vice President of Energy at Walmart

Lighting accounts for 13% of global energy use, and upgrading fixtures can decrease that load by 50-80%. Moreover, combining lighting upgrades with sensors, smart controls, and other efficiency measures can compound this effect. 

Basic elements of efficient energy management include the following:

Case study: Aquent has invested in multiple solar projects on partner sites that produce about 8 MWh of renewable energy annually. This not only neutralizes Aquent’s own annual emissions; it also brings in revenue from direct-energy purchases by partners and significant tax incentives. 

The energy manager advantage

Energy efficiency isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it play. It’s a system that requires regular oversight and refinement for the best returns. And companies that hire a dedicated Energy Manager are more likely to achieve and maintain significant cost savings. A skilled Energy Manager is part deal-maker and part Engineer, able to deploy smart upgrades, chase down rebates, and keep the savings rolling year after year. As a case in point, Philips Medical Systems shaved 700,000 kWh and $95k off annual utility bills after appointing its own full-time Energy Manager, with additional savings projected.

An IEA analysis of 300+ industrial case studies found that companies implementing a formal energy management system achieved average first-year energy savings of 11%.

2. Go virtual to really cut business costs 

While reducing energy waste is low-hanging fruit, shrinking the physical workplace can unlock even bigger savings. The pandemic made it clear just how much companies could cut business costs by going remote. Google saved $268 million, while Cimpress, the parent company of Vista, saved $9 million. Aquent also began its journey to a virtual-first workplace during the pandemic. In 2021, the staffing firm shuttered 30+ offices, a move that reduced lease spend by $600k a month. That shift, along with new solar investments and other efficiency moves, enabled Aquent to become the first in its industry to offer carbon negative staffing to clients.

Beyond the pandemic, research repeatedly shows strong bottom-line benefits for hybrid and remote workplace strategies. A Global Workplace Analytics review of more than 7,000 research papers and case studies found that these strategies typically save companies between $10k and $37k/employee a year. While results vary by company size, industry, and program design, the following examples from the analysis show what’s possible with a well-designed initiative:

The domino effect of digital work

Yet these headline wins are only part of the ledger. Drill down on the everyday bills that orbit an office lease, such as utilities, janitorial, IT and telecom, furniture, security, insurance, and the savings story gets even bigger. And the costs don’t stop at the door. When teams need to travel for in-person events and site visits, it can add up fast, to the tune of $1.3-$2.6k per trip or more. But companies that pivot to virtual collaboration can shrink travel costs by as much as 30-40%. Third-party research estimates the difference: A Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study found that companies switching to Zoom’s unified platform cut travel expenses by up to $1.9 million per year. And a separate Forrester analysis of Microsoft Mesh projected a 26% reduction in onboarding and training travel costs. This same cost-cutting logic applies to hosting events as well. Online events are 60-90% less expensive than in-person ones (which can exceed $100k).

Close the loop on materials and waste 

After shifting to remote work, the next big efficiency prize sits in the resources flowing through factories and supply chains. Raw materials can be one of the biggest cost buckets for businesses, depending on the industry. For manufacturers, it accounts for 40-60% of the total cost, while in consumer-packaged goods, it accounts for 8-19%. Anything that is wasted or unused hurts the bottom line. But streamlining production processes and employing circular economy tactics can minimize costs while winning eco-minded consumers. Common areas to address in production include removing redundant steps, limiting overproduction, trimming downtime, and decreasing defects. Studies show that manufacturers can cut business costs by up to 20% and improve quality by up to 90% through implementing these techniques.

Case studies: Toyota used lean manufacturing to cut waste and halve production costs compared to competitors. In a similar manner, Motorola and GE saved $16 billion and $12 billion, respectively, by using Six Sigma to drive defect rates toward zero.

Case studies: Carpet maker Interface’s Mission Zero program framed its environmental footprint as a set of business costs to eliminate, setting targets for waste, energy, emissions, and raw-material use. Circular design and take-back initiatives kept old carpet tiles out of landfills and substituted virgin nylon with recycled fishing nets and bio-based polymers. The results? Landfill waste was cut by 92%, more than $500 million was saved in avoided waste costs, and 60% of raw materials now come from recycled or plant-based sources. Crocs is closing its own materials loop with a take-back program that shreds used Crocs into recycled content for new shoes, reducing raw material spend and disposal fees. Its Keep It Going Classic Clog, which sells for the same price as the regular clog, contains 25% post-consumer recycled content. And Kohler looked to its own manufacturing processes to reduce waste. Its WasteLAB initiative turns factory scrap into revenue by converting it into new products, some of which are more than 70% recycled materials.

Stack levers to compound savings

Each of these efficiency moves delivers value, from $100 million for LED retrofits (Walmart) to $16 billion for reduced defects (Motorola). But layering one or more of these levers makes the benefits snowball faster. Interface addressed two areas at once (energy use and waste) to drive standout results. By closing material loops and upgrading to renewable-powered, high-efficiency plants, the company booked $500 million in avoided waste costs. It also lowered emissions of its manufacturing sites by 96% and the carbon footprint of its products by 69%. In short, stack a few smart moves and the savings multiply.

AI as an efficiency multiplier

Artificial intelligence (AI) can also be a powerful tool for multiplying efficiency gains. It can help reduce energy use, optimize logistics and production processes, decrease waste, and find inefficiencies faster than traditional methods. Google, for example, cut the energy it used for cooling in its data centers by 40% using AI. Consider also UPS’s ORION system, which uses AI to improve routes for 55k delivery vehicles. Each year, it eliminates 100 million miles of driving, saving the company $300-400 million. Yet AI comes with tradeoffs—the biggest being power use. Data centers have traditionally accounted for 1-1.5% of global energy use, but demand from AI workloads is projected to push that share toward 21% by 2050. However, companies that deploy AI responsibly by using renewable-powered clouds and smaller models can prevent energy use from canceling out efficiency gains. In fact, UNESCO studies show that smaller AI models made for specific tasks consume up to 90% less energy than large, general-purpose systems.

Scale smarter, spend less with Aquent

Making these efficiency gains stick requires more than good intentions. It takes the right mix of talent, execution, and agility, especially in a tight economy where conditions change fast. Aquent has already made the journey—saving millions through its virtual-first model while investing in renewables and people, so we know the pitfalls and shortcuts. If you’re ready to build leaner, more sustainable operations, Aquent’s Sustainability Solutions Team can get you there. Need a fractional Energy Manager, an AI-fueled facility assessment, or talent to scale a remote-first workplace? Our experts can turn smart sustainability moves into dollars you can bank.

Do more with less. Invest the difference in what matters.

Looking to bolster your sustainability efforts? Aquent Sustainability is here to help. Whether you're building an in-house Sustainability Team or need an expert to advise on best practices, our sustainability recruitment and consulting services help companies grow their impact. Get in touch.

Climate Action (18)
Sustainability (19)