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

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.

Does Your Commuter Bike have a Name?

How many short trips do you make by car daily?  Think about it…maybe a quick jaunt to pick up some milk or items for dinner.  Run to the post office?  Drop off kids at sports practice?  Approximately 40% of all trips in the US are two miles or less.  Considering that each trip in the car is contributing to issues of the environment, an alternative solution is bike commuting.

Cycling is part of a sustainable lifestyle, is alternative transportation, helps the environment, and also raises eco awareness.   It seems that most people think of bikes as recreation but in our sustainability consulting with business and individuals, we encourage employers and workers to consider cycling as alternative transportation as well as part of a sustainable business strategy.

Not sure if bike commuting is for you?  Well, now that fall is approaching with cooler temperatures, now is the best time to find out.  Those living a sustainable lifestyle and bike commuting do enjoy fringe benefits.

In fact, you can get paid to bike to work.  Your two wheels are now recognized by the IRS as a “qualified transportation fringe benefit” which means that the costs (up to $20/month, $240/year) associated with riding your bike is eligible for reimbursement.  Explained in our eco friendly consulting, that things like spare tubes, bar tape, riding gloves, eye wear, cycling clothes, commuter bags, rain gear, lights, gloves, helmet, cost of maintenance, even the cost of a new commuter bike, basically anything you can purchase at a bike shop qualifies for reimbursement.

Other benefits mentioned in our eco friendly consulting:

Bike commuting improves your health:
•    Staying in better shape will decrease your chances of getting sick.
•    National health statistics show that when you’re more active, you decrease your risk for cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
•    Bicycle commuting allows you to include your workout in your daily schedule and helps to meet fitness goals.

Bike commuting improves your mood:
•    More energy available throughout the day.
•    Improved health and happiness.
•    Regular participation in a cycling routine naturally shifts your focus to include thoughts of the weather, areas in your community to ride, road safety, and traffic.  Thereby increasing your awareness of the link between the environment and your community.

Bike commuting saves you money:
•    Reduce car maintenance.
•    Reduce your gas bill.
•    Reduce parking costs.

Bike commuting helps the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. And it can be fun too.  My commuter bike is red, her name is Ruby, and she has a ladybug bell on her…everywhere we go, we share eco cheer.  Join in the fun!

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Shaking Things Up with Business Sustainability Action

Traditional business models have focused primarily on maintaining profitability; however, companies are now including environmental and social impacts in the profitability equation.  Executives are putting on their ‘green’ glasses and asking their current model some basic business sustainability questions and taking some non-traditional action.

The ability to remain open to test new ideas and different strategies will often payoff in the long run and sometimes even equate to immediate value.  Companies that take chances and experiment often respond to changes in the market easier and more quickly.  

Our sustainability consulting find organizations and individuals most often benefit when they step outside of traditional structures and a little bit of spontaneity to their personal and business sustainability journey.  We find successful implementations, especially in a business environment, recognize communication and learning as critical success factors. 

If your organization is ready to step outside the box, here are a few ideas to add spontaneity to your business sustainability plan:

1.    Create a culture to express and share ideas.
2.    Encourage the organization to get out of the office.
3.    Have regular “brown bag” lunch discussions on sustainability concepts defined by the employees.
4.    Create sustainability contests in the office.
5.    Reward creative idea generation and innovative implementation.
6.    Implement business sustainability concepts defined by the organization.
7.    Strive to make sustainability a fun and engaging part of every work activity.
8.    Celebrate successes!!!!!

By anticipating embracing sustainability concepts internally and taking proactive steps to address change in the organization, your business can not only capture immediate value but can create a fun and exciting place to work.  In our own sustainability consulting practice, we maintain an open culture as part of our core values and encourage clients to include spontaneity into their daily activities.

Eco Math

There’s math, new math, and now eco math.  What is eco math?  Super easy! 

Eco math = the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
 
Each day we are presented with opportunities to expand eco awareness and make informed choices.    By making changes that are inspiring and manageable relative our current lives, the process of incorporating sustainability becomes much easier. 
 
The question is, how good are you at eco math?  It’s all about taking as many eco actions you can in a day, every day, of every week, of every month multiplied by the number of people you inspire with eco awareness.   Cumulatively, all the actions add up and contribute positively to addressing the complex issues our world faces today. 
 
Not sure what an eco action is? Start by familiarizing yourself with the different areas of life that you can embrace sustainability concepts.  Next, take action on the ideas that are most appealing to you.  Keep at it; take on more as you learn.  Inspire others. Click here to continue reading.
 
Home to one third of the earth’s trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company’s vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the “oxygen for your business”.

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Posted via web from 3BL Media, CSR News, and Emily

Business Sustainability in a Dynamic World

What is the future of sustainability in business? What does that future look like? As a sustainability  consultant, these are the questions I’m most commonly asked.  

 As we all evaluate the range of possible futures in these economic times, business sustainability is on the leading edge of strategic thinking. Leading businesses are acting now to prepare for the uncertain future.

 In a recent publication by Forum for the Future, the paper discusses 4 unique scenarios for the future of global business:

     · Global Interest: An effective globalized response to global challenges prompts increased resource productivity and low-carbon growth. Businesses have to play a greater role in supporting public services and infrastructure but reap the benefits. Successful companies have embedded sustainability management throughout their organization.

     · National Interest: Global businesses all but disappear in a retreat to nationalism and protectionism. Nations hoard their own resources and tighten their borders. Corporate and government agendas are closely aligned and sustainability for business means supporting the national interest.

     · Patched-up Globalization: Emerging markets rise as China stalls. Low carbon technologies, particularly bio fuels, thrive. Successful companies are multinationals with a local feel, helping to deliver local development needs.

     · Me and Mine, Online: A highly networked world undermines individual countries and companies. Products and services are delivered in a way we would barely recognize. Successful companies are now more like branded hubs, coordinating often temporary and short-lived supplier relationships to deliver customized products. Trust and transparency are key, and trends come and go swiftly – anyone with a motive and the ability to mobilize a groundswell of opinion can exert a powerful influence.

 There is no doubt that the landscape of business will continue to change.

 Taiga Company‘s sustainability consulting interfaces with businesses that are taking proactive sustainable action.  As sustainability consultants, we recommend a proactive approach rather than a reactive response to external factors. Decisive and immediate action to become a business sustainability leader is creating a competitive advantage and allowing businesses on the forefront to capture additional market share.

 Whether just getting started or are long-term pioneer of implementing sustainable concepts  into core business strategies, the time to act is now.

Inside the Footprint

The “Footprint” has long been a metaphor for authors and poets as a journey worth following.  In more recent history is has been a symbol that has in a moment unified humanity: A point of study in the origins of man.  An image that captivated the world with the first man on the moon.

Today’s Footprint has a made a new impression in the sand but has the same lasting affect.  This globally recognized residual mark provides a basis of common understanding.

The “Carbon Footprint” emerged out of the UK in the early 2000s and has received a lot of attention.  Probably the most well known of the footprint terminology, the Carbon Footprint primarily focuses on CO2 waste streams from energy production.  An energy consultant might use the term in discussions about Global Warming or Climate Change. 

The “Environmental Footprint” measures individual and business impact on the environment.  Environmental businesses and consultants speak of it relation to resource consumption, business process impacts, and company waste streams that effect the environment.

The “Ecological Footprint” or “Global Footprint” is the most comprehensive term and is defined as the human demands on our world’s ecosystems.  It is used to examine the continuous balance between our consumption of resources and the regenerative forces that create them.

The newest to the group is the “Personal Footprint”.  It estimates individual impacts in terms of how much land area it takes to support an individual’s lifestyle.

Like the examples from history, this new footprint is a continuous topic of study and a source for individual inspiration and creativity.  Companies and individuals are pouring into this impression on the planet faster than ever before. 

As a sustainability consultant, Taiga Company works with clients in all areas of the footprint.  From consumption to waste reduction, our professional and personal consulting works to implement solutions that meet specific needs.  Understand your impacts and build a sustainability plan.

3 Business Strategies to Reduce Carbon Footprint

Leading companies around the globe have committed to reducing their carbon footprint as part of internal environmental policies.  An effective strategy needs to consider both direct emissions and indirect sources.

Today, Greenhouse Gas (GHG)  emissions are being consider across a company’s entire value chain and can be viewed from two distinct view points.  A company must actively work the emissions that are within their direct control.  These emissions come from the company’s internal operations.  Corporate strategies must also consider indirect emissions controlled by third parties.   These may include products and services that are acquired with a large footprint.

Strategy 1: Reduce Energy Consumption – the reduction of energy and fuel consumption is a key component of a sustainable business strategy to reduce emissions.  It is a long-term commitment to reduction at the source across a product’s entire life cycle.

•    Reduce energy consumption within your supply chain.
•    Reduce consumption within the company’s operations.
•    Design products for minimal direct energy consumption.
•    Consider the consumer and end-life of a product.

Strategy 2: Replace Fossil Fuels with Renewable Energy – Many companies are switching to ‘green’ energy sources to reduce there emissions.  There are a number of easy ways to switch to renewable energy.

•    Choose a service provider that offers renewable energy choices.
•    Install solar collectors to aid energy consumption.
•    Switch corporate fleet renewable hybrid or fuels.
•    Work within the supply chain to reduce fossil fuel usage.

Strategy 3: Offset Emissions – For businesses with less flexibility at the source, offsetting is a concept of funding an equivalent emission reduction elsewhere.  This allows any business the ability to support emission reduction.

•    Offset production equipment emissions by supporting renewable energy   usage by similar equipment in another area.
•    Buy emission offsets for corporate travel.
•    Fund renewable energy projects: energy efficiency, sequestration, or biomass.

With new legislation on the horizon, it has become critical for many companies to have a comprehensive carbon reduction strategy.  Businesses must begin to understand both their direct and indirect exposure.  Taiga Company offers professional consulting and small business resources to companies implementing business sustainability strategies to reduce emissions.