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Sustainability is an Economic Imperative: The 2012 CK Prahalad Award Winners (Video)

January 05, 2013 Add Comment Edit

See how the 2012 winners of CK Prahalad award are weaving sustainability into their business models and flourishing in the process. Companies like Unilever and Sustainable Apparel Coalition are leading the way and showing that the business case for sustainability is undeniable. As explained in this video sustainability is an imperative for all companies. The questions that must be asked is how can you have a business model that continues to take away from future generations? Any company that does not pay attention to its environmental interface is doing so at its own peril. The companies in this video prove that commitments to sustainability initiatives pay off while the failure to engage sustainability poses a very serious risk.

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GRI & Sustainability Reporting Framework in Business School Curriculum

August 28, 2012 Add Comment Edit

This paper by Allison C. Lai of the Dominican University in California addresses the rising trend of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and makes an argument for the GRI as the leading framework in the US. It further examines why students studying sustainable business should learn the GRI framework. Finally it explores how to integrate GRI concepts into Green curriculums and who benefits from having GRI in the curriculum.

Although the paper specifically addresses GRI projects at the Dominican University of California's Green MBA, similar or identical projects can be administered at any business school or sustainability program.

This paper serves to increase awareness, education, and implementation of sustainability reporting in the US. Measurement and reporting on social and environmental performance is crucial. This paper devises a strategy for developing and disseminating integrated sustainability strategies for businesses.

An analysis of sustainability reporting supports the argument for GRI as the leading framework for sustainability reporting in the U.S. The paper offers a powerful policy proposal for including GRI projects in business school curriculums.

To see the paper click here.

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The Business Case for REDD (Guide)

May 30, 2012 Add Comment Edit

This complementary guide makes the Business Case for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). It reviews what REDD is and why you need to factor it into your sustainability strategy. The guide addresses how businesses and stakeholders can benefit from REDD's effect to the carbon market. It also reviews how to get involved in REDD investment and the regulations involved.

The guide is provide by The CarbonNeutral Company, voted the Best Offset Retailer in the Voluntary Carbon Market (‘Environmental Finance, Voluntary Carbon Market Survey,’ 2011 and 2012). For immediate advice on how supporting forestry projects will benefit your organization, please email us or call +44 (0)20 7833 6000 / 1-646-367-5800.

Click here to download this complementary guide.

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Kingspan's Sustainability Journey (Video)

April 15, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Environmental Sustainability Journey by Pfizer (Video)

April 15, 2012 Add Comment Edit

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April 15, 2012 Add Comment Edit

PLANTERS Presents 'The Sustainability Journey: African Cashew Farmers' (Video)

April 10, 2012 Add Comment Edit

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April 10, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Unilever Sustainability Journey: Go Big or Go Home

April 10, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Unilever's efforts are extraordinary if for no other reason than the sheer scale of its sustainability ambitions. By 2020, the company, with annual revenues exceeding $63 billion, plans to cut its massive environmental footprint in half through its Sustainable Living Plan.

Big efforts get noticed as is evidenced by the fact that Unilever won top honors at the 2011 International Green Awards in London. Unilever was named the Grand Prix award winner because it has "the greatest capacity to change the way society and business is perceived, supported by factual evidence of systemic change."

Unilever's vision behind its Sustainable Living Plan rests on the belief that business must prepare itself for a future in which resources will become more constrained and carry a higher cost.

"We are preparing ourselves for that future. We're also trying to develop products and services which will allow our consumers to adapt to a very different world," Gavin Neath, Unilever's senior vice president of sustainability, said in an interview. "People talk a lot about things like climate change adaptation. In a real sense, part of what we're doing in the Sustainable Living Plan is about climate change adaptation."

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Bluehorse Associates Sustainability Journey: Doing It for the Money

April 10, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Bluehorse is a pioneer in the sustainability metrics field and they understand how bottom line concerns are driving sustainability. They specialize in delivering ground-breaking tools that provide decision makers with clear, usable information for their business and products.

Bottom line benefits are the driving force behind the adoption of sustainability. As Sara Pax President of Bluehorse Associates noted, it is 'not about tree-hugging': Sustainability is simply good for business. According to Pax, companies should be concerned about their environmental sustainability - but it has more to do with ensuring profitability than it does with saving the planet.

Bluehorse Associates is the maker of a tool for measuring environmental sustainability for the food industry called Carbonostics , which Pax claims can give food and beverage companies tangible information about which measures make most sense for business, as well as for the environment.

Carmel McQuaid, Climate Change Manager, Marks & Spencer said, "Carbonostics is a truly innovative and pragmatic tool which will enable better decision making and help the food industry continue progress towards healthy, profitable and sustainable products.”

Consumer engagement should not be a top priority for companies, Pax said, as only a very small percentage of consumers change their purchasing decisions based on any environmental work that a company has undertaken.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Berg Engineering Consultants Ltd. Sustainability Journey: Be Proactive

April 10, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Green is also growing in the building sector. As reported in the Daily Herald Business Ledger, The green market was 2 percent of nonresidential construction starts in 2005; 12 percent in 2008; and grew to 28-35 percent in 2010. By 2015, an estimated 40-48 percent of new nonresidential construction will be green. Experts say green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 million into the U.S. economy over the next four years.

By 2015, the green share of the largest nonresidential retrofit and renovation activity will more than triple, growing to 25-33 percent of the activity by value — a $14-18 billion opportunity in major construction projects alone, industry experts say.

When Brian Berg Sr. established Berg Engineering Consultants Ltd. (BEC) There was no green market and there was no LEED certification. However when he set up shop in the midst of the 70s energy crisis, he paid heed to prevailing conditions and positioned himself to be ahead of the curve in energy-efficient designs.

Now his firm has won numerous energy awards using energy efficient design in a huge and growing market.

“Dad had to invent energy efficient design,” explains Brian Berg Jr. “Today it’s not so much a process, but education — staying on top of innovations, showing clients how spending a little more for a more energy efficient building envelope is a smart investment.”

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Aramark Sustainability Journey: Training a Workforce

April 09, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Securing qualified employees is amongst Aramark's key sustainability initiatives. Aramark has launched an Environmental Internship Program designed to meet a growing need for employees who have a practical understanding of environmental initiatives plus fundamental business knowledge.

The program provides young professionals with corporate experience and creates an awareness of the role environmental stewardship can play in all jobs. Aramark is a world leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world.

“Environmental practices can be incorporated into virtually any job, and through the Aramark Environmental Internship Program we can help develop employees who make the connection between the work that they do, and its impact on the environment and on our business,” said Rick Martella, Aramark Vice President, Business Affairs. “Embedding these internships in key roles across the company will provide environmental knowledge and skills that are not confined to a single position or type of job, and can be easily shared.”

Another example of Aramark's sustainability efforts takes the form of a re-usable container program they launched in 2009. Aramark Higher Education, a world leader in providing professional services to more than 600 colleges and universities throughout North America introduced the Green Thread™ ‘to go’ container program at many of the campuses it serves, diverting more than two million disposables from landfills during the 2009-2010 school year. The re-usable ‘to go’ food container were designed for use at the campus dining hall.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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PPR Home's Sustainability Journey: Innovative Metrics Shed Light on Supply Chains

April 09, 2012 Add Comment Edit

PPR Home is the parent company of some of the world's biggest luxury and sporting brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and PUMA, are embarking on one of the world's most ambitious green accounting programs. PPR Home has announced that it will adopt a group environmental profit and loss statement (EP&L) by 2015.

This new approach to accounting will help to monitor and manage greenhouse gas emissions, water use, pollution, and land use change. According to PUMA executive chairman, Jochen Zeitz EP&Ls are superior to conventional sustainability reports.

"As the manager of a business, all you need to look at now is one page and you know what you need to do because it tells you exactly where you need to attack in order to get rid of your footprint," Zeitz said. "But once you visualise and measure, you can actually manage the impact. Whereas before the visualisation was so hypothetical that it didn't lead to concrete day-to-day decisions."

The EP&L provide a more transparent view of the supply chain. PUMA's E P&L revealed that 94 percent of its environmental impact was created in the supply chain, which has encouraged the company to find alternative materials to reduce that impact. As a consequence of the EP&L, Zeitz said that the company was looking into requiring firms to measure and report their environmental impact when PUMA is selecting suppliers in future.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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April 07, 2012 Add Comment Edit

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April 07, 2012 Add Comment Edit

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GM Sustainability Journey: Death and Resurrection

April 06, 2012 Add Comment Edit

The old General Motors (GM) died three years ago but like a phoenix from the ashes it has been reborn. GM declared bankruptcy in 2009 but in 2011 the company once again laid claim to being the world's largest automaker. GM said that it sold 9.025 million vehicles in 2011 putting it ahead of Volkswagen which had sales of 8.015 million in 2011.

GM was the victim of its poor strategic decisions, not the least of which was its failure to engage sustainability. As Paul Ingrassia describe it in the Wall Street Journal, GM made "decades of dumb decisions."

In the past environmentalists have quite rightly criticized GM for producing gas-guzzling behemoths like the Hummer. GM also filed a lawsuit against California's regulation of carbon dioxide as a pollutant. The company has also been a longstanding opponent of government-mandated fuel-efficiency regulations. Perhaps most seriously, GM is alleged to have "killed" the electric car.

The new GM has gotten rid of much of the old and introduced revolutionary new products. The company succeeded in selling its Hummer brand and it launched new vehicles like the award winning Chevy Volt. Although it has encountered some problems and is not selling as well as some had hoped, the Volt is an industry leading extended range electric vehicle.

A book by sustainability guru Joel Makower chronicled GM's conversation with the environmental community. It revealed that GM was beginning to respond to sustainability issues even before its demise. In late 2006, GM leaders briefed a group of environmentalists about the Volt, even before it unveiled the car to the press. Although it ended up being "too little too late," GM reached out to the major environmental groups to describe its vision and plans, field questions, and listen to concerns. According to Makower, who was involved in these talks, Big Auto and Big Green began to come together "as colleagues with shared goals."

However, slowly GM was moving in the right direction prior to filing for bankruptcy. For example in 2008, the company made a commitment to ensure that half of its manufacturing plants were landfill-free. But these efforts were inadequate and GM was forced to file for bankruptcy.

In 2009 when GM filed its bankruptcy petition, Beth Lowery sent an email to her network of environmental leaders and other stakeholders, offering an optimistic perspective of what the filing meant for the car company's future:

"The New GM will focus on reinventing not just ourselves, but transportation systems around the world. An essential starting point is vehicle electrification...we will continue to work with partners to develop the infrastructure necessary to support advanced technologies."

Makower added, "skeptics may deride the taxpayer-funded New GM as "Government Motors," I still have high hopes that in the coming years, it actually could stand for Greener Mobility."

It turnes out that Lowery and Makeower were both right. The new GM is doing much more than just manufacturing a range of greener vehicles. In addition to 12 vehicles that get a minimum of 30 miles per gallon, GM is aggressively pursuing a number of sustainability initiatives. Between the years 2005 and 2010, GM reduced it energy use by more than 30 percent and its carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 30 percent.

GM is also greening its facilities. The company now uses 30 megawatts of solar energy in seven facilities and plans to double that amount by 2015. GM also uses energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems. One of its facilities in Lansing, Michigan has even received LEED Gold Certification. Half of all global manufacturing facilities are just about waste free.

GM reuses and recycles more of its manufacturing waste than any other automaker. GM preserves natural resources as well as enhance the natural habitats that surround all facilities. The company has more certifications from the Wildlife Habitat Council than any other manufacturer from North America and 15 different habitat programs going on around the world.

A total of 30 GM Plants have met the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Challenge for Industry. These facilities were able to avoid the production of more than 775,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide passes and saved over $50 million in energy costs.
GM also partnered with the US Department of Energy to create the EcoCAR Challenge competition which challenges 16 different universities in North America and asks them to find a way to reduce the overall environmental impact of vehicles.

GM is also home to the the biggest rooftop solar panel array in the world. The roof of GM car factory in Zaragoza, Spain is made up of 85,000 lightweight panels that cover approximately two million square feet. The company plans to install solar panels at an additional 11 plants throughout the European Continent.

Other sustainability efforts include:

Investing in renewable energy
Funding a new EV company
Researching breakthroughs that reduce emissions Researching greener fuel manufacturing Working cooperatively for fuel improvements

GM is also striking up new partnerships and collaborations that serve its sustainability agenda. These efforts include:

Collaborating with Sunlogics P.L.C. to make solar powered charging stations Collaborating with LG to Develop EVs Collaborating with BMW

The Obama Administration deserves credit for having the foresight to see the advantages of investing $82 billion in the auto industry bailout. It has been a long and difficult fall from grace, but GM is now reaping the benefits of sustainability.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Kodak Sustainability Journey: Fear of Corporate Death as a Catalyst for Change

April 06, 2012 Add Comment Edit

Eastman Kodak Co. is a good example of a striving to survive with the help of sustainability. Companies relate to sustainability in different ways, but whether they are trying to maintain the position of their brand or trying to resurrect themselves from the dead, engaging sustainability is a competitive necessity and ultimately a matter of survival.

Ahead of government regulation and even popular demand, corporate sustainability is now weaving its way into strategic business decisions that are influencing everything from manufacturing processes to marketing communications.

As explained in a Sustainable Brands article, “Companies increasingly recognize that a proactive stance on sustainability is becoming a competitive necessity in attracting investors, employment talent and supply chain partners, as well as customers.”

Every company deals with a unique set of circumstances. But whether a company is leading or faltering, engaging sustainability is a way to maintain a strong market position or as in the case of Kodak, a way to resurrect a dying brand.

To help direct its sustainability journey Kodak hired a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) in 2010.

Companies that proactively engage sustainability are rewarded while companies that ignore sustainability are punished. This holds true for Eastman Kodak, which is being forced to reinvent itself by the changing marketplace. The company is radically changing its product offerings and its culture of complacency as a matter of survival.

As reviewed in a Triple Pundit article, Kodak is already teetering on the brink, to raise capital they are close to selling off some of their lucrative patents, and they have one year to submit a reorganization plan to bankruptcy court.

Kodak is fighting for its life. To help its chances of survival the company is replacing its 70 year old logo. In an effort to break with the past, Kodak's new corporate logo strives to communicate a cutting-edge, 21st century innovator.

Sustainability is a defining part of business in the 21st century and with that in mind the 120-year-old film company is rebirthing itself as a digital imaging company.

Through its partnership with Natcore Technologies, Kodak is also investing in inexpensive patented thin-film solar technology, specifically flexible solar cells, through, a New Jersey-based startup. The solar cells cost as little as half as much as traditional thin film solar cells to manufacture.

These are bold move for Kodak, but it will need to make similar strong committments to sustainability if it is to regain its foothold.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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