Jump Start 2011 with Business Sustainability Planning Now

The concepts of social responsibility, business sustainability and living a sustainable lifestyle have been around for a long time.  However, these conversations have traditionally been between a smaller set of social and business practitioners.  Today, we are all exploring sustainability as an engrained part of our lives.  We hear about  going green on the radio, in  newspapers, websites, blogs and while we each have a different version of what going green means to us and our businesses, how to qualify its meaning.  As the year is quickly drawing to a close, many are asking how to plan for sustainability in 2011.  

 Within our sustainability consulting practice, we find that integrating sustainability concepts into core business functions makes companies more nimble in a fast-changing world.  It also makes a business’s brands more attractive to consumers and its executive management more respected by employees, regulators and the financial markets. In short, the drivers for improved business sustainability equate to improved performance and cost savings.  

Why not capitalize on the competitive advantage now and jump start your 2011 planning with the following sustainable business strategies?  By integrating sustainability concepts into the business, you are positively impacting the environment and generating bright business ideas for the year ahead. 
 

• Office Energy Consumption – Evaluate the average energy use per square foot of office space and implementing best practices to reduce: energy consumption studies, efficiency practices, equipment modifications, etc.
• Employee Commuting – Offer employees incentives to ride public transportation or participate in car/van pooling.  Consider a bike commuting program.
• Employee Telecommuting – Reduced office space and transportation as a potential win-win-win practice for businesses, employees, and the environment.
• Sustainable Design – Consider materials selection, energy consumption, manufacturing, product use and operation, and final disposition, early in the product development process.
• Water Conservation – Manage water entering the company and look for opportunities to reuse water.
• Management Systems  – Raise eco awareness and company commitment through established sustainability policies, standards, metrics, and self audits.
• Environmental Philanthropy – Beyond just corporate volunteering efforts provide access to technology, engineering support, information and research that benefits the local community and the environment.
• Packaging – Focus on using as little packaging material as needed and making packaging as recyclable as possible.
• Pollution Prevention – Keep attention on both source control and waste reduction
• Recycling and Waste Reduction – Anywhere there is a trash can, there should be a recycling bin.
• Resource Conservation – Consider material and energy consumption across the entire value chain…reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Printing Less – Paper makes up about 35% of a typical company’s total waste stream
• Go Digital – Reduce paper use and get contracts and documents signed more quickly by using electronic signatures.
• Sustainable Partnering – A key aspect of business sustainability is making sure that you manage your supply chain and partner with companies with similar values.
• Sustainable Education and Development – There is always more you can do to make your business more sustainable.  Encourage education and innovation within the organization.

 
Through observation and working with clients, we have come to learn that the sustainable leaders of today are anticipating and taking proactive steps to address change in the business world.  At Taiga Company, our sustainability consulting encourages clients to create a competitive advantage by building sustainability concepts and continuous improvement directly into the company’s business model.

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