Business Sustainability: Do You Get It?

One approach to innovation is to wait for it to come to you.  Another approach is to seek it out.  Such is the case with sustainability.  Some get it.  Some don’t.  What is it that the early adopters of business sustainability get that others are missing?

Specifically, leading organizations are finding ways to address current challenges and transform economic roadblocks into business sustainability opportunities.   How are they doing this?  Well, as we comment in our business sustainability programs, the universal concepts of business sustainability apply to all businesses, but how they are implemented in a specific business yield unique results.   Currently there are several trends continuing to create business and individual opportunity:

 •    Sustainability is expanding business and entrepreneurship: Described as the next “gold rush”, sustainability is creating opportunity for new ventures and business expansion.

 •    Creating an incentive for Innovation: Response to sustainability challenges/questions is sparking new ideas and technologies that are creating business opportunities.

 •    Creating New Market: The exponential growth in consumer demands for more sustainable products is creating new markets for businesses.

 •    Breaking Down Barriers: Corporate sustainability programs are refining supply chains.  New supplier criteria and qualifications are opening doors for new products and more sustainable companies that may not have access before.

 •    Creating Jobs:  Corporate sustainability programs are redefining employee qualifications and creating new skill requirements and positions in business.

 By recognizing and taking decisive action, small business and entrepreneurs are creating a competitive advantage over traditional competition.  Our sustainability consulting interfaces with businesses seeking to capture the value from business sustainability opportunities.  Do you get it?  Let us know

I Would Like These Letout Outlets Now Please

By Andrew Liszewski

The concept dates back to January of 2009 so it’s definitely not new, but the Letout Outlet, designed by Damjan Stanković, is new to me. Of course given it’s almost two years old now makes me a little discouraged since we’ll probably never see something like this go into production, even though the idea is genius. Basically it’s your standard single wall outlet that pops-out to become five outlets instead. No need for power bars, splitters or whatever crap currently sits piled up below the outlets in your home.

[ Letout Outlet ] VIA [ Freshome ]
via ohgizmo.com

Searching for Sustainability Indicators

Is sustainable progress an absolute or relative measure? Is it common or unique to a specific application or pursuit?

As a business sustainability consultant, I am forever engaged in the conversation of sustainable progress.  Whether discussing it in terms of environmental responsibility, social engagement, eco awareness, or business sustainability, the conversation as a whole has dramatically advanced over the past five years. 

But how do we know the steps taken are in the right direction…can sustainability be measured, evaluated, and compared?  What are the true measures of progress?

In a recent post, Sustainability Measures for a New Economy, we discuss the relative indicators of sustainable success.  With each business navigating the economic dynamics and shifting sustainable expectations in the marketplace, we find the definers of sustainable progress are relative and unique to the experiences of the individual businesses.  

Our professional consulting subscribes to the concept of unique measures and leverage Guy and Kibert’s suggested criteria for identifying business sustainability indicators:

•    Validity – do they measure something relevant?
•    Available and Timely – is the data available on a regular basis?
•    Responsive – do they respond quickly and measurable to change?
•    Representative – do they cover the important dimensions of the evaluation?
•    Flexible – will they be available in the future?
•    Proactive – do they act as a warning or a measure of current state?

By constantly searching for indicators, rather than measures, of success in our own pursuits, one moves away from comparisons that might deviate from unique and specific goals.   Our sustainability consulting helps clients identify specific indicators that define the successes in each individual business sustainability plan.

CSRminute Podcast for 9/21/10 – World Jewelry Foundation Reports on CSR at UN Conference; Bank PHB Supports Students at U. of The Gambia

 

 

This CSR Minute is sponsored by Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education. For information about the HBS Corporate Social Responsibility program taking place November 7–10, 2010, please visit www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/csr/.