Kids, Soccer Balls and the Unintended Consequences of Good Decisions

Several years ago, I attended a forum in Washington, DC on supply chain responsibility.  At the time, I was managing corporate social and environmental responsibility communications for two different clients, both with vast, global supply chains.  Supplier responsibility was an area of constant focus and opportunity for these companies.
 
The forum was a quiet, routine affair as these things go, and polite.  I saw a few participants looking a bit sleepy at the end of one session in particular – where representatives from three Fortune 500 multi-nationals spent the better part of an hour outlining the steps their companies had taken to eliminate child labor from their supply chains (the inspections and audits, on the ground partnerships, tracking and reporting).
 
Everything changed when, during the Q&A period, a young woman in the audience stood up and posed a question to the panelists.  She worked for a small NGO with operations in India, and noted that many families there desperately rely on the income of all family members – parents, grandparents, and yes, children.  She spoke briefly but compellingly, painting a picture of poverty and need that most in the room couldn’t comprehend.  The panelists look puzzled, and there were murmurs of surprise and disbelief throughout the audience.
 
I remember being at first repelled by her comments, to being puzzled (can child labor ever be okay?), to being unsure about the whole thing.  In my college sociology classes, I learned to appreciate cultural relativism.  It’s important to value and respect other cultures and their norms, but in my heart, I know that some things (like kids working in factories) are just plain wrong.  This woman, however, had a firsthand perspective and a better informed point of view on the issue of child labor in India than I could claim, so how could I argue with her?
 
I was reminded of all of this recently when I read an excellent piece by Hasnain Kazim in Spiegel Online.  He writes about the football stitchers of Sialkot in Pakistan, who produce millions of hand-stitched soccer balls each year.  The city has become the world leader in the manufacture of high quality soccer balls, and several companies that export them around the world bring jobs and opportunity to thousands of Sialkot’s people.  Tens of thousands more benefit from this work indirectly through the stability, economic development and related employment that come with the material suppliers, subcontractors, shipping and packaging firms, and the shops, restaurants and other businesses that cater to the workers.
 
For years, before greater attention was paid to the issue of child labor and before global companies like Nike and Adidas began cracking down on it, children as young as 10 worked in the factories stitching balls together.  In his article, Kazim quotes a stitching center manager who notes that these kids fared reasonably well there, learning a trade that guaranteed them income for life.  Now, the parents of many of these children, desperate for the income that their work can bring, are sending them to toil in the local brickworks and in metalworking factories – places far more dangerous and far more damaging to little bodies than the stitching centers.
 
As the father of two children under 10, the true cost of child labor is becoming increasingly relatable and ever more disturbing to me.  When I see pictures of children in factories or fields or behind market stalls… it’s difficult to absorb and impossible not to be moved.
 
The decisions we make—even the obvious and unquestionably good and right ones—have ramifications, good and bad.  And the longer I work in the area of corporate responsibility, the more I see that the principles and policies that once seemed so black and white, are every shade of gray.
 
In a perfect and just world, 10 year olds should be playing with soccer balls… not making them.  But I am constantly reminded that we don’t live in a perfect world.

 

Chad Tragakis, Senior Vice President, Hill & Knowlton, Washington D.C, and writer for the Hill & Knowlton Blog, ResponsAbility.

Create Meaningful Work: Key to Profitability and Employee Retention

“Engaged employees are not just committed. They are not just passionate or proud. They have a line-of-sight on their own future and on the organization’s mission and goals. They are enthused and in gear using their talents and discretionary effort to make a difference in their employer’s quest for sustainable business success”.  – Employee Engagement Report 2008. 

 Sounds good, right?  The question is, “How do I get my employees this engaged?”  The answer:   Leadership.  Leading is about making sure, first of all, that the company is engaged in changing people’s lives for the better. When that’s the case, employees’ awareness that they have a lot to do with the company’s work lights their fire from within. That inner flame causes them to bring their imagination and creativity to the enterprise. They feel it’s “their” company, and they take ownership of the customers. 

 So what does this have to do with sustainability?  Today’s companies and entrepreneurs are presented with the unique opportunity to increase profitability through greater eco awareness and the pursuit of a more sustainable business.   To gain and maintain a competitive advantage over the competition, sustainable business leaders are making meaningful work a top priority.   Top qualities of a sustainable business leader pave the way for aligning company visions and strategies through shared values with employees:
 

• Company has a genuine commitment to sustainability by management at the highest level, with sustainability principles present in core values and business strategies.
• Sustainability strategies are cascaded down through management and are incorporated into organizational and individual performance goals.
• Employees are informed, motivated, and actively engaged in the company’s sustainability program.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for sustainability are fully integrated into the business processes, corporate performance, and employee recognition.
• Company has active dialog with key stakeholders on sustainability issues, including customer to understand how sustainability issues relate to different market segments.
• Defined strategies to ensure business sustainability initiatives add value both to the company and community and to the business.
• Transparent reporting on sustainability concepts and sensitive issues, with both positive and negative results.

 
Employees are often argued to be the greatest resource of a company.  When employee’s values resonate with those of the corporation, they are more productive, loyal, and their work is meaningful.  Harness the power of human capital through business sustainability in your organization today.

Sustainability is Enabling Business Stakeholders

Many leading organizations are embracing business sustainability as a means to gain a long-term competitive advantage.  These organizations are adopting a more comprehensive definition and business sustainability that runs consistently through core business processes and aligns the interests of key stakeholders.

While executive support is a critical key component to business success, it is not the only form of leadership present in an organization.  According to a recent study, top performing organizations view sustainability as a “must have” strategy for long term business viability and success.  A defining characteristic of these organizations is a recognition and response to “pressures from stakeholders”. 

Sustainable organizations understand the value in managing their key business relationships.  They realize that a quality workforce, aligned with the goals of the organization, is essential to business sustainability.  Whether led by a sustainability executive or traditional management, the pursuit of long-term business sustainability enables business stakeholders:

•    Employees: Create incentives to lower costs, initiate process improvements, and stimulate innovation.

•    Customers: Establish expectations that are defining products and service attributes.

•    Suppliers: Align supply chain expectations to drive sustainable material requirements and efficiencies.

In both a corporate culture which encourages stakeholder engagement and a traditional setting, there are opportunities to further facilitate eco awareness across any organization. 

In our sustainability consulting practice, we work with clients to build a focused business sustainability plan which incorporates sustainability concepts into core business practices.  We work with business leaders to engage employees and other key stakeholders in business sustainability strategies that add specific value and promote company growth and success.

How Small Business Wins with the Sustainable Best Practices of Larger Organizations

We’ve all heard about “going green” and the corporate sustainability plans that many larger organizations are undertaking.  However, one of the biggest misconceptions around this topic is that sustainable business strategies are exclusive to larger organizations.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  

 In fact, within our professional consulting with smaller businesses, we guide clients to use the best practices of larger organizations to sustainable business strategies they can use in their business that deliver bottom line and environmental results.

As an example, HP is known as a consumer and vendor of paper.   Internally, HP executed six guiding principles including efficient use of raw materials, sustainable forestry practices, responsible and low-carbon production, and waste minimization.   The results?  HP diverted   91.3 percent of its waste in 2008 and the company’s non-hazardous waste reduction program helped the company avoid sending 83,866 tons of waste to landfill, which was primarily paper waste.   Technology Business Research  says this strategy saved the company nearly $7.7 million from reusing items and avoiding landfill costs, and generated $2 million in revenue by selling material to recyclers.

 How can a small business implement similar sustainability concepts in the business and generate similar results of cost savings, environmental impact reduction, and increased efficiency?

 One approach taken in our business sustainability programs is to identify all the activities in a business that utilizes paper.  The obvious comes to mind like printers, copiers, mail, and collateral.  Areas to explore include:

 •    How much paper do you use for events, trade shows, invoicing, literature, packaging, shipping materials?
•    What about the kitchen areas and bathrooms?  Remember, it’s not just paper but paper products. 
•    Consult with people in other departments and get a clear picture of the paper they are using, where it is coming from, when they are using it, and how they are using it.
•    You might want to talk to your purchasing department and learn more about how much you are spending on your paper products.

 As a next step, take eco action and employ the sustainability concept of the 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. 
•    Reduce your paper consumption by working with your purchasing department to reduce the amount of paper purchased and switch to buying  recycled paper (100% post consumable is best). 
•    Reuse paper by placing bins next to the copiers and printers for easy reuse of single sided scraped paper. 
•    Recycle paper that has been used.

 Simultaneous with these efforts, we suggest the use of online document management systems for your documents.  Content management systems give you more than the environmental benefits of going paperless.  They offer the ability to manage different types of data: emails, contracts, logos, reports, forms, drawings, web pages, and blogs which contributes to improved efficiency, further cost reductions, and environmental gains.

 Sustainable business strategies used by larger organizations are examples of best practices that can be utilized in small business to generate cost savings, reduced environmental impacts, and brand differentiation by going green.