Building Sustainable Companies – Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Bottom Line
The fight to save the planet has turned into a battle among governments and companies, companies and consumer activists, and sometimes consumer activists and governments. One solution is more—and tougher—regulation. Some argue voluntary action is unlikely to affect necessary changes.
Others suggest educating and organizing consumers so they can force businesses to become sustainable. While both legislation and education are necessary, they may not solve the problem quickly or completely.
Some executives behave as though they must choose between the largely social benefits of developing sustainable products and processes vs. the financial costs of doing so. This may be yet another myth.
In the HBR article “Why Sustainability Is the Key Driver of Innovation,” authors Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad and M.R. Rangaswami report that research with 30 large corporations reveals sustainability to be a significant source of organizational and technological innovations, yielding both bottom- and top-line returns.
Becoming eco-friendly lowers costs because companies end up reducing the inputs they use. In addition, the process generates additional revenues from better products and/or enables companies to create new businesses. In other words, smart companies now treat sustainability as an investment in the future.
Progress in times of economic crisis relies on innovation, which means companies that focus on sustainability will not only benefit post-recession, but emerge stronger than ever before.
The smart response to government regulations is to go beyond the norms everyone else follows. Look at the opportunities for transformation.
Of course, it’s helpful if an organization can anticipate and shape the rules. This is why consumer participation is necessary, so leaders may stay abreast of customers’ issues and environmental impact.
Leaders, managers and their staffs must have the requisite skills to work with customers, activist groups, lobbyists and other companies (including rivals) to explore and develop creative solutions.
Stage 2: Making Value Chains Sustainable
How savvy is your organization about carbon management and life-cycle assessments?
You must pay attention to, and foresee, the redesign of operations so you can use less energy and water, produce fewer emissions and generate less waste.
Your value-chain oversight should ensure that suppliers and retailers also make their operations eco-friendly.
There are groundbreaking opportunities to develop sustainable sources of raw materials and components, increasing the use of clean energy sources (wind, solar) and finding new uses for returned products.
Stage 3: Designing Sustainable Products and Services
How do you develop sustainable offerings or redesign existing ones to be eco-friendly?
First, you have to know which products or services are most unfriendly to the environment. Chances are, your organization hasn’t yet devoted much thinking to this.
Don’t fall into the trap of “green-washing,” where companies advertise products and services that claim be to eco-friendly, yet fail to meet well-accepted environmental criteria. New skills may be required, such as biomimicry (emulating nature to solve human problems) to develop products and compact, eco-friendly packaging.
Stage 4: Developing New Business ModelsCompanies fail when their leaders misunderstand what consumers want and how to meet their demands. Today’s opportunities lie in developing new delivery technologies that change value-chain relationships in significant ways.
Monetization models may emphasize services over products. Look at ways to combine digital and physical infrastructures.
Stage 5: Creating Next-Practice Platforms
Each of us will need a new set of glasses to view our personal and business lives through the sustainability lens. Only then can we lead our companies toward future profits.
Many leaders lack knowledge of how renewable and nonrenewable resources affect business ecosystems and industries. Smart companies will invest time, energy and people in finding these answers.Look at ways to build business platforms that enable customers and suppliers to manage energy in radically different ways. How can technologies be designed that allow industries to use energy produced as a by-product?
Are you working in a company or law firm where transformational leadership realizes the enterprise needs to make their business more eco-friendly? Does your company or law firm provide leadership coaching and leadership development to help leaders become more innovative and execute a more sustainable business strategy? During difficult economic times, leaders need to strive for transformational change and create sustainable business practices.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I a leader who believes sustainability is an important driver of innovation?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and leadership development for leaders who want to transform their organizations and develop a sustainable business strategy.
Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create an organization that fully engages its people in creating and executing a sustainable eco-friendly business strategy to thrive in the New Year. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.
I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com
One of my CEO leadership coaching clients realizes that to thrive and overcome competitive pressures from companies that have more resources, they will have to become more eco-friendly and create a sustainable new business strategy. I am consulting with the company executive team to develop a more innovative business strategy which they plan on implementing in the New Year. They are currently evaluating several green business initiatives.
The CEO knows that surviving and thriving in the next few years depends on employees and leadership co-creating and executing the new business strategy. She is empowering her leadership team to think green and create an innovative company culture. Leadership team members are collaborating with the CEO in the strategic decision-making process. Our current executive coaching and leadership consulting work is focusing on helping the CEO and her executive team to develop a more sustainable business model.
Corporate Social Responsibility vs. Bottom LineThe fight to save the planet has turned into a battle among governments and companies, companies and consumer activists, and sometimes consumer activists and governments. One solution is more—and tougher—regulation. Some argue voluntary action is unlikely to affect necessary changes.
Others suggest educating and organizing consumers so they can force businesses to become sustainable. While both legislation and education are necessary, they may not solve the problem quickly or completely.
Some executives behave as though they must choose between the largely social benefits of developing sustainable products and processes vs. the financial costs of doing so. This may be yet another myth.
In the HBR article “Why Sustainability Is the Key Driver of Innovation,” authors Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad and M.R. Rangaswami report that research with 30 large corporations reveals sustainability to be a significant source of organizational and technological innovations, yielding both bottom- and top-line returns.
Becoming eco-friendly lowers costs because companies end up reducing the inputs they use. In addition, the process generates additional revenues from better products and/or enables companies to create new businesses. In other words, smart companies now treat sustainability as an investment in the future.
Progress in times of economic crisis relies on innovation, which means companies that focus on sustainability will not only benefit post-recession, but emerge stronger than ever before.
The HBR article lays out the five stages companies will go through on their path to becoming sustainable.
Stage 1: Viewing Compliance as OpportunityThe smart response to government regulations is to go beyond the norms everyone else follows. Look at the opportunities for transformation.
Of course, it’s helpful if an organization can anticipate and shape the rules. This is why consumer participation is necessary, so leaders may stay abreast of customers’ issues and environmental impact.
Leaders, managers and their staffs must have the requisite skills to work with customers, activist groups, lobbyists and other companies (including rivals) to explore and develop creative solutions.
Stage 2: Making Value Chains Sustainable
How savvy is your organization about carbon management and life-cycle assessments?
You must pay attention to, and foresee, the redesign of operations so you can use less energy and water, produce fewer emissions and generate less waste.
Your value-chain oversight should ensure that suppliers and retailers also make their operations eco-friendly.
There are groundbreaking opportunities to develop sustainable sources of raw materials and components, increasing the use of clean energy sources (wind, solar) and finding new uses for returned products.
Stage 3: Designing Sustainable Products and Services
How do you develop sustainable offerings or redesign existing ones to be eco-friendly?
First, you have to know which products or services are most unfriendly to the environment. Chances are, your organization hasn’t yet devoted much thinking to this.
Don’t fall into the trap of “green-washing,” where companies advertise products and services that claim be to eco-friendly, yet fail to meet well-accepted environmental criteria. New skills may be required, such as biomimicry (emulating nature to solve human problems) to develop products and compact, eco-friendly packaging.
Stage 4: Developing New Business ModelsCompanies fail when their leaders misunderstand what consumers want and how to meet their demands. Today’s opportunities lie in developing new delivery technologies that change value-chain relationships in significant ways.
Monetization models may emphasize services over products. Look at ways to combine digital and physical infrastructures.
Stage 5: Creating Next-Practice Platforms
Each of us will need a new set of glasses to view our personal and business lives through the sustainability lens. Only then can we lead our companies toward future profits.
Many leaders lack knowledge of how renewable and nonrenewable resources affect business ecosystems and industries. Smart companies will invest time, energy and people in finding these answers.Look at ways to build business platforms that enable customers and suppliers to manage energy in radically different ways. How can technologies be designed that allow industries to use energy produced as a by-product?
Are you working in a company or law firm where transformational leadership realizes the enterprise needs to make their business more eco-friendly? Does your company or law firm provide leadership coaching and leadership development to help leaders become more innovative and execute a more sustainable business strategy? During difficult economic times, leaders need to strive for transformational change and create sustainable business practices.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I a leader who believes sustainability is an important driver of innovation?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and leadership development for leaders who want to transform their organizations and develop a sustainable business strategy.
Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create an organization that fully engages its people in creating and executing a sustainable eco-friendly business strategy to thrive in the New Year. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.
I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com
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