Corporate Sustainability: The Best Solutions for Companies To Go Green

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) – December 11, 2009 – The definition for Corporate Sustainability is a business approach that creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments.  Companies that do not have some sort of sustainability program incorporated are behind the times and will suffer to their competition.  The general public wants to only buy from green or environmentally friendly companies.  People will drive the extra mile a pay the extra dollar to buy green.  Companies large and small are responding to peoples need for Green products and services.

The Green Business League main priority is to train and improve corporations to have a Green Sustainability program.  The Green Business League has a Sustainability Officer Training program that helps businesses develop and implement an in house eco-friendly committee program.  The Training that the Sustainability course offers is all online.  Students of the Sustainability Officer Training will be provided a strong introduction to the Greening process, shown how to install a program that merits respect, and will actually save the company a great deal of money.  Green is also about efficiencies, and we know how to make Green pay. This is a self-paced course that can be completed in a week or two of part-time study.  Video and downloadable text is immediately available upon sign up.  You will leave with the knowledge, the ability, and the plan to turn your company into an Authentically Green Business.

If you have not heard by now, Barack Obama has passed legislation on federal leadership in the environmental, energy, and economic performance.  This new legislation is called Executive Order 13514. This means that every small, medium, or large business is required to have a Senior Sustainability Officer or a Green Officer employed.  One of the jobs these Green Officers have is to develop a sustainability performance plan.  Also businesses must create a committee on federal sustainability.

If the Sustainability Officer Training does not suit your company or does not interest you then the Green Business League also has Green Consultants that will help your company develop an environmentally friendly program. The Green Business League has a field force of more than 300 consultants, with well-recognized credentials, and a way to show your community that your business is Authentically Green.  The only way to avoid claims of Greenwashing is by certification that is actually audited by an independent third party.

Our Green Business Consultants use a 100 point system starts with a free Green business assessment that gives credit for all the Green practices already in place.  We then suggest a list of easy-to-achieve ideas that will improve your business, and they will actually save the company money throughout the year.  We DO NOT sell products like some Eco consultants.  Our mission is authentically Green businesses.

So if your company uses the same type of appointed committee to install a Green program that also planned the company picnic.  Then the harsh truth is that Going Green is a larger task with more options than any Green committee might consider.  In each and every case, a Green corporation needs quality advice that will provide a clear path to an effective conclusion, or a Green Business Certification.  Avoid being a “Green Dabbler” that only adds a few Green ideas in place to satisfy the guilt feelings about this environmental crisis.

More and more people believe that we will eventually reach a period of Green Equalization where everyone has “something Green.”   Green pretenders will work hard to look as credible as companies that are making extraordinary Green strides.  Unless the corporate Green program leads to a recognized standard for performance and an independently audited Green certification, it will do little to make a business look totally greenwashed.  The Green Business League can help any company or corporation have a legitimate and credible green program.  Find a Green Certified Consultant near you that can certify and make an environmental difference in your company. 

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Believe in CSR? You’re in ‘Good’ Company in 2010 | 3BL Media

As 2009 and the decade of the 00’s come to an end, it is interesting to think about what will make a truly good company in the years to come. In the past, companies that made a profit, paid taxes, and provided employment were thought to be ‘good’ based on financial success alone. When they exceeded financial expectations, they were considered great. The higher the profits, the stronger the brand image became.

Then the economic crisis hit, along with the potential destabilization of the entire system, and the wisdom of pursuing profits at all costs turned out to have a price tag after all.

Now once again, times are changing. Post our entry into the Great Recession, a ‘good’ company has been redefined as one that adds value outside the realm of financial success. At the same time, social media has deconstructed the closed corporate culture, creating a transparency that provides consumers with an inside look at a company’s guiding principles.

The rise of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has taken hold, and consumers are increasingly choosing to support companies that hold dear their own values, rather than simply produce a profit.

Here is a current snapshot of Consumer Sentiment, courtesy of Tim Sanders in Saving the World at Work:

-65% of Americans are willing to switch to brands that are associated with a good cause if the price and quality are relatively equal

-Two thirds of recent college graduates surveyed claim that they will not work for a company with a poor reputation for social responsibility

-Almost half of all consumers say they use the Internet to figure out if the products they buy are socially responsible

As it turns out, CSR is good for business as well. A recent global McKinsey survey indicated that a corporation’s environmental, social and governance programs create financial value by enhancing the reputation of companies. New philanthropy is not about writing checks, but rather leveraging corporate resources to help the communities address problems like hunger, poverty, and literacy. Smart companies are satisfying customer needs while letting them feel good about their patronage.

Just like anyone who has gone through a crisis and come out the other side, Americans have recently grown up some. We now recognize the benefits of being outwardly focused, and are smart and connected enough to become very powerful advocates for change.

As we turn the page on this decade, it is encouraging to see that the change in ourselves as consumers has brought about a powerful change in the culture of American business. We now save our admiration for companies that deliver financially, but that are also grounded by a value system that mirrors our own. As Warren Buffet recently said at Columbia University, “Having sound principals takes you through everything.”

Let’s hope next year more companies start to realize that they can do well by doing good.

 

Ann Charles is Founder of BRANDfog, a Social Media Branding Practice for CEOs. Ann writes regularly for the BRANDfog Blog.

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