Commuting Solution: Bike or Walk To Work
May 15, 2009 at 10:51 am | In Transportation | Leave a CommentToday is National Bike/Walk To Work Day. In many states and cities across the US and Canada, the entire week has been dedicated to getting people out of their cars and onto their feet or bicycles. Actions speak louder than words and seeing an increase of bicyclists on the road this morning no doubt made people passing them in their cars think twice. Maybe the motorists won’t start leaving their car at home but they might consider biking on the weekends instead of taking the Sunday drive.
I have been biking with my family every Saturday and Sunday for the past month, so donning my gear and heading to work this morning was not much of a stretch. And the fact that I was not hauling an additional 100 pounds (Jessa + Will + bike carrier) made the 10 mile ride even easier.
The idea of trading car keys and gasoline for a helmet and a workout is nothing new. The first Bike To Work Day was organized in 1956 by the League of American Bicyclists. They have been around since the late 1800s, when as the story goes, over 100,000 bicycling enthusiasts began championing for paved roads. Evidently the horse and buggies of the time created terrible ruts in the gravel and dirt roads, which “wheelmen”, as bicyclers were called back then, found intolerable. The League claims it was instrumental in convincing the government to pave our nation’s roads.
On the weekends we enjoy leisurely rides on back roads. Most of them are paved but because I am on a mountain bike, I don’t mind if they are not. This morning I was happy to be biking on pavement as I made my way along Rt. 4 from Durham to Portsmouth, NH.
Today’s ride was not leisurely, although I had fun. It was a statement to myself, my company, my community, and my nation that the changes we make in our individual lives will resonate throughout the world. I believe that corporations are the one who in the end will save our plant from global warming but if each of us does what we can to pursue a sustainable life, we will influence the world in our own way.
The Four Ps of Green Advantage: Planning
May 7, 2009 at 10:57 pm | In Energy, Environmental Mission Statement, Green, LEED, Marketing, Planning, Sustainability | Leave a CommentThe Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released a fantastic report, Capturing the Green Advantage For Consumer Companies, on January 20, 2009. They conducted a global survey in 2008, with smaller, follow up assessments in October 2008 and January 2009, that clearly show green consumerism remains strong even as the world deals with a continued economic downturn. The authors suggest that increasing sustainability should be an enterprise wide initiative rather than just focused on one product line or single item. They outline four steps that companies should take when preparing to roll out sustainably across their business.
BCG’s Four Ps of Green Advantage are: Planning, Processes, Products, and Promotion. This blog post will focus on Planning.
When I was growing up, my father made me keep a weekly schedule of things I needed to do and important dates I should not forget. I used it for sports, school work, and chores. At the time I thought it was torture to plan out my week and then review it each Sunday night with my dad. Now I thank him for showing me the value of planning ones course and how it greatly increases ones chances for success. The BCG report outlines two planning steps that I would like to discuss further.
Embedding Green Targets and Resources Into Corporate Strategy
The idea of including targets is incredibly important. Without something to strive for, direction is lost and momentum fades. The goals should be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. They should be transparent, documented and available to the general public, as well as followed up upon. Nothing is worse than the fanfare of an exciting “green” announcement followed by its slow decline into obscurity. A sustainability report is the ideal mechanism for announcing your targets and publishing your progress toward meeting them.
I recommend creating an environmental mission statement as a way to define your goals and help plan your next steps. When my company wondered what to do next after the low hanging fruit that initially moved us in a sustainable direction was gone, we went back to our guide, our main resource, our friend, and our ally, our environmental mission statement. For more on this wonderful tool, please check out my blog, A Green Road Map for Executives: Begin with an Environmental Mission.
Planning For and Capitalizing On Changes On The Horizon
We all know the saying that change is inevitable. The sustainability movement has been gaining steam for at least the past twenty years. Between 1990 and 2009, the organic food industry saw its sales rise from $1 billion to $30 billion. Green consumer studies like BCG’s show that in almost every sector of the economy, from socially responsible investing and LEED building to green travel and energy generation, consumers are looking for sustainable options.
The trend toward a sustainable future is clear and we are still in the infancy of the move toward a new, clean and green world wide economy. Almost everything we currently consume needs to be produced in a more sustainable manner. The possibilities for change seem limitless. During the Industrial Revolution change seemed to be taking place at a much more rapid pace that just before or after this time period. We now find ourselves at the beginning of what some have said will be the greatest wealth producing era in human history. I have faith that the change will touch all societies, regardless of ethnicity or class, and help the world rise to meet a new era.
Second Life Interview
April 21, 2009 at 12:40 am | In Green, Sustainability, The Natural Strategy | 1 CommentTags: David Miller, Second Life, Subquark
A few weeks ago I was interviewed by David Miller of Subquark, a Second Life (SL) genius who not only builds incredible worlds in the alternate reality that is SL, but is now on the SL and eLearning conference touring circuit. He recently spoke at the Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA) annual conference, which aired our interview between education sessions. During our brief chat in SL, David and I spoke about how Second Life combines three important aspects of our modern world.
- SL allows people to play, create, act, and express themselves with millions of others across the globe. As our world grows smaller every day, cross-cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly important to ensure we “can all just get along.”
- It provides any channel through which to reach a younger demographic. People under 25 grew up on the web and including “alternative” resources, such as training or seminars in SL, is a fantastic way to keep these important people engaged.
- Hosting meetings ”in world” has real world consequences. Reducing the impact that accompanies conferences is another step in reducing our carbon footprint.
I want to thank David for this great opprotunity and invite you to please take some time and listen to the three minute interview. Then visit Second Life and take a moment to sign up. It’s free, green, and certainly only going to become more popular in the future.
ROS Shines a Light in the Dark Days of Sustainability
April 6, 2009 at 9:44 pm | In Green, Marketing, Sustainability | Leave a CommentTags: AIG, GM, Kevin Wilhelm, Marketing, Patagonia, Return on Sustainability, ROS, Stonyfield Farm, Sustainable Business Consulting, Timberland
These are trying times for the sustainability movement. The economic downturn has forced companies across the globe to slash budgets and let valuable employees go. This is often placing “green” programs on the back burner. Luckily there is a new book, Return on Sustainability (ROS), that provides executives and managers with exactly what they need to do to maintain, grow, and even start, their sustainability initiatives. It provides a logical, step-by-step analysis that allows businesses to asses the cost, marketing potential, impact, and difficulty of each of their “green” programs.
Reading the headlines, or listening to your favorite pod cast, it is no wonder that many companies have lost their focus on sustainability. In most cases, the funds associated with “going green” have been moved to what are deemed “more appropriate” projects. This is what happens when sustainability is not at the core of an organization’s mission. Patagonia,Timberland, and Stonyfield Farm, would never abandon their green efforts in the face of difficult economic times. But I realize that most companies were not built as a way to protect the planet like these three icons of sustainable business, so I will give them all some time to get with the program. Sustainability = Good Business and organizations, from AIG and GM to the local non-profit down the road and the small business on the corner, should implement the ROS framework into their management practices so they can start reaping its rewards.
Kevin Wilhelm, CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting, published the book in February, and built his ROS framework using four pillars: Financial, Brand, Sustainability, and Ease of Implementation. These are important topics and I have found that all of them eventually come up when I speak with people about their organization’s sustainability goals.
One area in which I think the ROS program excels is showing companies that implementing sustainability efforts is not just an altruistic action which they can only afford when times are good. Yes, reducing one’s greenhouse gases and putting one’s environmental house in good order will help the entire planet. But if applied strategically and then marketed appropriately, sustainability efforts can increase brand awareness and harness the power that truly caring for the Earth as we face climate change can provide.
This idea of brand recognition being based on sustainability is vital when eco-consultants like Kevin and I are hearing that companies today need to make a profit, not support green initiatives that have a questionable ROI. The ability of the ROS framework to illuminate the brand value of sustainability efforts, showing them to be critical components of an overall marketing program, is doing the “green” movement a great service. And the fact that ROS is helping compnaies begin understanding and minimizing the role they play in climate change is fantastic.
A Green Road Map for Executives: Begin with an Environmental Mission
March 31, 2009 at 2:51 am | In Environmental Mission Statement, Green, Hospitality, Hotel, Sustainability | 1 CommentTags: American Express, Chrysler, GM, Green Travel Summit, IBM, IHG, Obama, SkyTeam
The first Green Travel Summit concluded last week in Newport Beach, CA. Their findings were released in list format and outlined the Top Ten Challenges to Greening Corporate Travel. The number one hurtle they identified is the same obstacle that slows down new initiatives across all industries. Corporate travel executives are having a difficult time defining a road map that will enable them to begin the process of making the products and services they provide more environmentally sustainable.
It is said the first step is often the hardest and I applaud the numerous initiatives already taken by those attending the inaugural Green Travel Summit. Now the excitement generated by such major players as American Express, the SkyTeam airline partners, and InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), has to be put into practice. And not just by those in attendance or even just those in the travel industry. Businesses throughout the world, including those in the most dire of straits such as GM and Chrysler, should start at the beginning and develop an environmental mission statement to help focus and guide their sustainability efforts.
An environmental mission statement is the sum of three pieces: Why + Goal + Success
- Why is this topic important to us? – We believe …
- What is our end goal? – We want to …
- How is success measured? – We envision a world ….
Taken separately, these three questions are important enough to spark conversation and suggest that change is in the air. When grouped together, they can light a green torch will illuminate the best path forward.
Why is this topic important to us? The reasons are almost infinite. There may be an operational problem that needs to be solved. Stakeholders may have become restless about the status quo and are requesting changes. Incentives may have been put in place by the government. Maybe other major players in the industry are already starting to move and you do not want to be left behind.
Whatever the reason, you have to be honest with yourself about why you are ready to begin going “green.” Very often it is a variety of factors. Each and every one of these should be documented and vetted because together they will enable you to figure out what is important to your organization. Understanding the reasons behind the change allows you to move with confidence and passion.
Why sample – “We believe developing environmentally sustainable business operations is a vital component in decreasing our company’s carbon footprint and reducing its impact on the natural world. “
What is our end goal? I believe that given the choice, most business leaders would elect to have their companies be as clean and efficient as possible. So, the ultimate aim for almost everyone is to be completely “green.” But how does that look in your business? Will travel be replaced by virtual meetings? Will your products be produced with 100% recycled material? Can your people work remotely 85% of the time?
These may seem like basic questions but they begin to lay out what needs to be done. Even within the same industry, travel for example, a hotel’s path to “green” differs from an airline’s which differs from a travel agency’s which is not the same as a cruise line’s. And the road GM follows will certainly vary from the one Chrysler chooses to drive down. Looking at what your business does to the world and defining all the areas in which you need to work will help bring your road map into focus. Keep in mind, your environmental mission statement is constantly evolving as your company and our world move ahead. Consider it progress when you have to edit it because you have accomplished your goals.
Goal sample – “We are working to assess the full extent to which our products and services touch the natural world. We will finish this process by August 1st, 2009. We will use the findings to develop a strategic green vision to be launched on January 4, 2010.”
Be bold. This is a time for action.
How is success measured? – Close your eyes. Despite the IBM ads that say otherwise, closing ones eyes is a great way to block out distractions and image the possibilities. Daydreaming is proving to be another effective method for developing creative ideas. So, choose your means and image the end.
Envision your customers, your employees, your office, and your suppliers. What are they doing in five or ten years? How about in 15 or 20 years? Image beyond today’s technology. How are your goods and services packaged, distributed, sold, used, and recycled? Who purchases them and why?
How sample – “We are striving to revolutionize our industry and change our world. We envision that our products honor the materials from which they are made and inspire those who use them. They can be recycled by simply leaving them out in the rain. They can last for a lifetime if stored in a safe, cool, dry, and sacred place.”
As I wrote above, the process of developing an environmental mission is a cyclical one. Your Why, What, and How should be revised annually and referenced often.
And what if your company already has an environmental mission statement?
Use it.
Hotels Need Local Products
March 26, 2009 at 3:25 am | In Hospitality, Hotel, Local | Leave a CommentTags: American Express Travel, and Fishermen, CityFlats, Farmers, Foragers, Green Mill Village, Loews, Million Tons of Trash Challenge, Oracle
The Million Tons of Trash Challenge developed by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) is a great example of the many sustainable initiatives being launched across the hospitality industry. The aim is to have participating hotels track the waste they are able to recycle or compost instead of throwing away. With major players like Oracle and American Express Travel associated with the project, it is sure to help promote better waste management practices across the industry.
Another way to greatly reduce the environmental impact of meetings and conferences is to source products locally. Hotels can save money, reduce their carbon footprint, and help support their local economy by purchasing as many items as possible from regional vendors. The first LEED Gold certified hotel in the mid-west, the CityFlats Hotel in Holland, MI , had many materials shipped to Holland and assembled locally.
A favorite example of mine is Green Mill Village (GMV), a conference center scheduled to open in 2010 in Arcola, IL. They are looking to local Amish craftspeople to build all of the furniture throughout their hotel and center. In addition to the initial purchases made for the hotel, GMV will continue to support the regional economy by allowing guests to purchase any item they see in their room, a majority of which will be made in the area. These local products decrease the carbon emissions related to transportation of products from outside the state. There will also be several wind mills on site that, along with the solar panels, will provide the entire village with clean, renewable electricty.
The final program that I would like to highlight is Farmers, Foragers, and Fishermen, an initiative that just got underway at the Loews Coranado Bay Resort in San Diego. The idea is to highlight one local producer each season and feature them at special dinners. Loews head chef and the purveyor of honor interact with guests during a four course meal, sharing the history and details of their company and explaining why working with local producers is an important step in creating vibrant local economies throughout the country.
So next time you find yourself dining at a hotel, make it a point to select the locally produced fare. It will be fresher than something shipped across the country, it will often be a speciality of the region in which you find yourself, and the increased demand you help create will provide the hotel with an incentive to seek out more local vendors. And as I’ve said, items produced near a hotel decrease the environmental impact of the facility by reducing the transportation needed to link a vendor with clients and it helps to keep local economies strong.
Green IT – Marketing Versus Measuring
March 24, 2009 at 1:58 am | In IT, Marketing | 5 CommentsTags: Climate Counts, Green Factor, Marketing
A recent “green” marketing study has me wondering: assuming that many technology companies are indeed becoming better caretakers of the planet, is it more important for businesses to appear “green” to their consumers or to be leading the way in sustainable practices? I’ll take the thought leaders over the thought manipulators any day.
The recently released Green Factor study surveyed over 3500 IT professionals and found that Dell ranked highest in green technology. Dell has been compiling Corporate Social Responsibility reports since 1998 and should be applauded for the numerous steps they have taken to become more environmentally sustainable, especially for their robust recycling program. What sparked my interest in their new accolade is that Climate Counts, a non-profit that evaluates the efforts companies take to reduce their role in climate change, ranked Dell 10th out of the 12 electronics companies it researched.
Here are some interesting differences in how the Green Factor survey and the Climate Counts Company Scorecard approach their research and in the results they find. According to its web site, the Green Factor “ is a joint initiative between Strategic Oxygen and Cohn & Wolfe to illuminate ‘green’ marketing opportunities and further ‘green’-focused research on a global scale.” So, they want to help organizations cash in on the current “green” wave. I have no problem with companies promoting themselves based on their sustainable actions but I question a report whose main goal is to “illuminate ‘green’ marketing opportunities.” What does this do for the buyers who are about to buy a new piece of hardware? It shows them how successful marketing campaigns have made companies like Dell and Apple into “green” IT heroes. Hopefully these buyers are digging a little deeper before they make their purchases because not all that claims green is gold.
Climate Counts defines itself as “a collaborative effort to bring consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change.” In pursuit of this end, they have a developed 22 questions worth a total of 100 points that evaluate what organizations are doing in four areas: measuring their footprint, reducing their contribution to global warming, supporting tough climate legislation, and publicly announcing their work in relation to climate change. Certainly a lot to live up to but IBM did not have a hard time topping the elelectronics category with a 77. Cannon was close behind with a 74, and scoring 70, Toshiba came in third. Dell’s score of 47 put it in 10th place, second only to Nokia, at 37, and Apple, 11.
Apple does not need any more attention drawn to their lackluster sustainability efforts, just Google “Apple computers, green,” but they provide such a great example of the difference between what these reports found that I can’t resist talking about them. Participants in the Green Factor placed Apple at number five out of almost 30 companies in terms of their perceived “greenness”. Climate Counts ranked Apple last out of 12 companies, noting that they lacked publicly available information about their efforts to measure their role in climate change.
The drastic difference in rankings is not surprising given the divergent missions of the authors but it highlights the main issue I have with a report like Green Factor. Apple comes out near the top because they have been able to portray themself as hip and green. They are so effective that most consumers believe they are doing all that they can to decrease their carbon footprint, increase manufacturing efficiency, and, in the end, reduce their contribution to global warming. But this is not clearly not the case and reading a report that shows Apple near the top of the green IT ladder is perpetuating the sustainably myth they have built.
I guess the Green Factor report helps shine a light on how to capture “green” marketing opportunities, something I fear is becoming more important than being measured by a third party who can truly illuminate the dark shadows and shining examples of real sustainable actions. I urge individuals and companies alike to seek out facts rather than listen to hype. Learn how an organization measures up to clearly defined standards rather than how effective it is in marketing itself using fuzzy imagery.
We Should All Pay for Carbon Emissions
March 20, 2009 at 2:39 am | In Carbon, China, Environmental Economics | 1 CommentTags: Li Gao, Pew Center on Climage Change, True Cost
On Monday, Li Gao of China’s National Development and Reform Committee, told the Pew Center on Climate Change that Western consumers should pay for 15 – 20 percent of the carbon emissions that China spews out as it manufactures goods for sale in the US and Europe. I think this is an entirely reasonable request because all items should include the true cost of their production.
If China wants the West to pay for the emissions of the goods it manufactures for us, then they should simply charge us more for them and invest the increased revenues in sustainable, efficient, and carbon cutting technologies. We should all pay the full price of the goods we buy from any country and including a carbon fee is a natural step. Environmental economists have long said that the true cost of items will never be accurate until we account for every step in the development processes, from which resource extraction, carbon emissions, and end of life disposal have traditionally been missing.
China has at least a couple of major incentives to use the money they would gather through slightly higher prices to make their manufacturing plants more environmentally sustainable. First, as their facilities become more efficient and less pollutting, the prices of their goods will fall and they will become more competitive in the globalized market place. Of couse, it will really only be a fair and open market if all manufacturers are including carbon costs into their pricing strategy.
Second, they also have an increasing number of examples to follow as well known organizations across the world discover that being “green” means saving money, increasing customer loyalty, and protecting our world. Massive firms like IBM, Walmart, Nike, and Unilever are showing how sustainable business is providing a new path to wealth and prosperity. Their triple bottom line approach creates money but also protects the planet and its people.
As China hurtles forward into unbridled capitalism, it is following the example the US and Europe set a century ago, a model predicated on the idea that carbon is not a cost of production. China is saying the West advanced by polluting and it is their right to do the same. And that if we want them to stop, we should pay to clean up the mess they are making because it is really our mess. This is all true. We have outsourced much of our manufacturing to places like China where labor is less costly and environmental laws are less stringent. These goods are being made for us and we should pay the true costs associated with their production.
It is estimated that one third of China’s carbon emissions are directly related to products destined for outside of their country. So, even if the West begins to pay for 33% of China’s carbon, the rapidly growing nation will still have to shoulder the majority of the burden itself. But that is another issue to be discussed in another blog.
A Sustainable Experience
August 22, 2008 at 3:46 am | In Uncategorized | 2 CommentsTags: Add new tag, Business, Education, Employees, Employers, Green, Sustainability, Workers
Employees today want to know that their employers are working to protect the natural world. But highly publicized green initiatives aren’t doing the trick. Workers need to believe that their company truly cares about the earth. They are looking for a sustainable experience.
Zogby recently completed its 14th annual “Attitudes in the American Workplace” poll and choose to highlight their finding that only 17% of employees surveyed believe their companies are going green for socially responsible reasons. Commenting on the survey, Environmental Leader began its coverage by saying “Half (50.8%) of U.S. workers say their company has a significant initiative such as carpooling and recycling, but most report being cynical about their employer’s motivation for going green…”. When I look at the data I see a reason for these numbers: without understanding that their organization is led by people who also have a great deal of concern for the environment, employees assume green programs are simply another way to increase the bottom line.
The poll shows that 77% of US employees surveyed feel it is “very important” or “somewhat important” that their companies be green but only 71% of employees said they were being educated on how to be greener at home. I believe the fact that not enough workplaces are educating their employees about green living outside of the office significantly limits the worker’s buy-in to sustainable efforts in the workplace. When sustainability programs seem to come out of nowhere and are not rounded out with employee education, it makes sense the worker’s question their origins.
Here are the reasons people believe their companies began environmental initiatives: 24% thought they were to save money, 22% said it was because the company wants positive publicity, 14% responded that it was the politically correct thing to do, 13% said green programs were enacted to combat rising energy costs and only 17% believed a sincere interest in CSR (corporate social responsibility) was at work.
I find these reasons interesting and but expected. Stopping climate change and protecting natural resources are concerns that affect each person and every business on earth. When almost three quarters of organizations are not educating their employees about these pressing issues and how to help combat them both at work and at home, I think it is clear why so many people question the motives behind their employers green interest.
The Society for Human Resource Management’s June 2008 issue of HR Magazine was entitled Working Green. Their article, Get in the Business of Being Green, provides a great overview of how an HR department can roll out employee education and other steps on the road toward sustainability. In addition to SHRM’s suggestions, eLearning materials can be developed to create an interactive and effective training course that can be hosted on the company’s intranet and accessed by employees across an organization.
Once companies go through the time and expense of educating their workforce on the company’s initiatives and how they can be green at home, I believe the employees will have a sustainable experience with their employer. They will realize that even though their companies are often saving money, gaining public support and publicity, and dealing with the energy crisis, they also have a sincere commitment to CSR.
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