- Make sure employees use your products and services and that they genuinely believe they are of the highest quality

- Embrace constant change – don’t wait for something that is negatively impacting your business

- Make work fun – employees are much more productive and more innovative when they enjoy what they do, who they work with, and where they work

- Embed social and environmental considerations in your products and services – don’t sideline these things, they’re now absolutely central to business performance.

Read the book – you’ll learn lots more.

When it comes to investing in sustainable business behaviors and programs, more than half of corporate marketers and communicators in the U.S. believe that their organizations will increase their involvement in environmental sustainability initiatives during the next two to three years, according to a survey conducted by the American Marketing Association and Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. In addition, half of those surveyed believe that economic realities will actually encourage the adoption of sustainability practices.

The survey shows that 58 percent of marketing and communication leaders believe their companies will place more emphasis on developing corporate sustainability opportunities in the months ahead, despite the belt tightening that is happening in the business world.

More than half of those surveyed believe that sustainability is an essential element of their company’s reputation right now. Nearly three-quarters believe that corporate reputation, corporate culture and technological advancements will be the drivers for sustainability.

However, optimism is tempered with some smart realities. While the majority of companies will continue to invest in sustainability initiatives during the next year, how companies chose to communicate that commitment is mixed. About 43 percent of those surveyed expect their companies to increase marketing of their sustainability programs. They say they will do so because it is the right thing to do; customers are asking for more information; it is supportive of the corporate culture; and because sustainability offers a clear and distinct business advantage. That said, more than half of the respondents do not expect to increase their storytelling in the category of sustainability.

Additional key findings from the study include:

• More marketers and communicators (53 percent) define sustainability as the need to balance financial, human and natural resources for the long-term benefit of business and communities. Few define sustainability in terms of focusing on renewable energy resources (3 percent) or driving inefficiency out of the supply chain (10 percent).
• Employees (82 percent) and customers (74 percent) are more likely to be the targets of communications about sustainability than are investors and analysts (52 percent).

There are a number of interrelated drivers for this shift including pressure from securities regulators and large institutional investors, more stringent purchasing guidelines among mass retailers and other corporations, and a new zeitgeist among consumers of all ages that places as much priority on values as on value.

One of the key questions posed by Ms Maxwell is “With all this talk of measurement and disclosure, what has happened to the social dimension?” Some interesting examples are cites including programs by Unilever that foster economic development and sustainability for communities where it operates (see: Unilever commits to sourcing all its tea from sustainable sources.)

However, it finding the sweet spot remains challenging – largely because the management tools used in corporations are almost always quantitative and social outcomes involve behaviour change that, if successfull, lead to qualitative change with respect to issues including health, health care, environment, education, and so on.

At Impakt, we’re faced with this challenge on a daily basis. Recently, we developed a new tool that is a first step towards helping CSR managers understand the value of their social purpose programs. We call it the Partnership Valuation Tool and its essentially a cost/benefit analysis for community programs that involve significant investment but have largely qualitative benefits/outcomes.

I  think that finding the convergence of financial and social returns can and should be done in a more disciplined way. However this is territory that will always depend on good judgment by corporate managers and community leaders. As the sign in Einstein’s office at Princeton read “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”

Participants will include greentech CEOs, business development officers, eminent researchers, venture capital and private-equity investors

At the event, the editors of GoingGreen will honor the GoingGreen 100 Top Private Companies and fifty of the top CEOs from the GoingGreen 100 will pitch their market strategies to a panel of industry experts.

According to the Institute, the session’s primary goal is to focus leaders to be able to think independently, to think environmentally, and to understand their own leadership style. Overall, the session aims to:
- Connect environment to social and economic issues
- Explore strategies for thinking environmentally
- Assist individuals to put in perspective how environmental issues affect them
- Benefit employees on professional and personal levels by engaging with strategies that they can put into practice in their everyday lives with how they connect with others

The session will be facilitated by David A. Berger, a professor at York University, founder and a director of the Living Education Institute, and the author of “Living Education: The Power of the Circle.” The National Post called him “A modern-day Socrates!”

For more information, contact The Living Education Institute at 416.694.8444

According to CSR Europe, the guide contains two sections, the first focuses on the business case for sustainable marketing, while the second contains a toolkit of resources including checklists, guidance on green claims and an audit tool – all designed to help marketers evaluate the impacts of their campaigns.

The guide is complemented by an interactive 3D online game set in a shopping mall that provides a virtual shopping experience to illustrate that complexities facing the ethical shopper.

While I haven’t yet received a copy of the guide, I did try the online game and found it a useful way to look at the sustainability from the consumer perspective.

Download CSR Europe’s Sustainable Marketing Guide here.

When asked about current resources their employers have dedicated to “green” issues, almost half (49 percent) of executives report that their companies have allocated existing staff, hired new staff, or done both. Today, this often includes introducing Chief Sustainability Officers into the C-suite. Fifty percent of executives who responded say their company has not allocated any resources to sustainability efforts.

“Clearly, the high number of executives willing to personally contribute to their company’s green initiatives signals a change in thinking around the importance of sustainability today,” said Jay Millen, senior client partner with Korn/Ferry International. “While there is room for much progress, we are seeing companies dedicate top talent and resources to promoting sustainability and corporate responsibility.”

Interestingly, 69 percent of the respondents believe that “green” initiatives will take a back seat to profit-driven activities in these uncertain economic times. However, 29 percent believe that the current economic situation will not have an effect on “going green”.

Finally, more than three-quarters of these executives (78 percent) consider their employer at least “somewhat” environmentally-sensitive, while another 18 percent do not believe their company to be environmentally sensitive at all. ]]> http://blog.canadianbusiness.com/sustainability-in-the-c-suite/feed/ 0 http://blog.canadianbusiness.com/the-100-most-sustainable-companies/ http://blog.canadianbusiness.com/the-100-most-sustainable-companies/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 Paul Klein http://blog.canadianbusiness.com/?p=63 Who’s most sustainable?

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors has just released the fourth Global 100 list of the most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Global 100 includes companies from 16 countries that were evaluated according to how effectively they manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities, relative to their industry peers. The three Canadian entries are: Royal Bank Of Canada, Transcanada Corp., and Nexen Inc.

If your company is a supplier to a larger manufacturer or to the mass retail sector, you should consider engaging a reputable 3rd party to conduct a Sustainability Audit. The Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada can connect you to a private sector consultant or you may want to consider contacting an ENGO (Environmental Non-Governmental Organization) that also offers consulting services in this area (e.g. The Pembina Institute Corporate Consulting Services). The results of a Sustainability Audit can be used to reduce operating costs, strengthen relationships with key customers, and increase differentiation from competitors.

According to Frank Dixon, sustainability advisor to Wal-Mart, the company has determined that about 90% of its environmental impacts occur in the supply chain and suppliers proactively working to improve performance have the potential to receive preferred access to the company. Researchers at A.T. Kearney have estimated that inefficiencies in the supply chain can waste up to 25% of companies operating costs.

How can your company get ahead of the curve and not be caught unprepared for RFPs and contracts that include new requirements that you may not currently meet?

As a start, why not be proactive and meet with a small selection of current and/or potential customers to find out where they’re headed in this area. You’ll be able to get a head start on addressing issues that have become important to them and differentiate by being seen as a company that listens to the needs of its customers.