Climate change and global problems such as pandemics and political crises are placing a lasting burden on the environment and forcing society, economy and politics to take responsibility. There is a need for a rethinking and raising awareness in society, a need for innovations and sustainable developments in the economy and impulses as well as laws by politics. All these three areas are interconnected, and it requires cooperation and common goals that have a positive impact on humans and the environment. The goal is that existing and future generations can shape their lives without restrictions, in the spirit of sustainability. This thesis deals forcefully with the topic of sustainability. A special focus lies on the explanation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to lead the world into a sustainable future. Furthermore, it elaborates how sustainability can be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively and how it can be implemented and actively pursued in the economy, as well as how sustainable business models develop from it. Another focus is the description of the Life Cycle Assessment, which is an effective and target-oriented instrument to analyze a process and to adapt it in terms of sustainability. The company ferroDECONT deals with the treatment of heavy metal contaminated water by the reduction of hexavalent chromium with the help of iron grains. In accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals, the company ferroDECONT decided to analyze its process in terms of climate relevance and environmental impact and to compare it with other processes for the treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals. A company based in Spain, which is a chrome plating company for metal plates also must treat wastewater contaminated with hexavalent chromium, serves as a comparison. Here, standardized wastewater-treatment using chemicals is carried out, as well as an alternative method, as is the case with the ferrodecont process. The processes of both companies were analyzed and compared under specified conditions, resulting in the situation that the efficiency of the treatment varies depending on the level of chromium concentration. Thus, at higher concentrations, the standardized chemicals-based method is more effective, whereas at lower concentrations, the ferrodecont process takes the lead. The company ferroDECONT offers an efficient alternative to purify heavy metal contaminated waters, since the elimination of chemicals reduces the impact on the environment to a minimum and the design of the plant ensures a high adaptability. ferroDECONT tries with success to integrate sustainability in a company and to act in the sense of the Sustainable Development Goals.