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.

Power of the Hour – Transforming Inspiration into Action

TOPIC: Power of the Hour: Transforming Inspiration into Action
Luncheon Presentation at CSR and Social Media 2010
WHEN: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 12:15 pm
WHERE: Toronto
Priority Code: 3BL1
Featuring:
Dorothy Engelman, Executive Director, GetInvolved.ca, and Senior Partner, q media solutions
GetInvolved.ca has entered in partnership with TVO, Volunteer Canada, and the Corporate Council on Volunteering to leverage the ability of social networks to motivate and connect for positive change. Power of the Hour is an online tool that helps individuals, groups, and businesses, large and small, pledge and track their volunteer hours. The online and television Power of the Hour campaign challenges Canadians to help reach a goal of 2,000,000 volunteer hours in 2010.
Building on the success of GetInvolved.ca, a social networking site built as an online companion to a 50 part TVO documentary series, Power of the Hour is motivating individuals, not-for-profits, charities, and community organizations to connect with one another and make a difference.
Hear from Dorothy Engelman, Executive Director of GetInvolved.ca and Senior Partner at q media solutions, about the launch and implementation of GetInvolved.ca and Power of the Hour. Learn more about how to promote engagement and facilitate collaboration with online social networks.
For more information on this session, or to see a copy of the full agenda, please visit our web site, or contact Joel Elliott at elliott@conferenceboard.ca. Please quote priority code 3BL1 when registering.
CBC5656

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.

CSR Minute: 11/27/2009 – Timberland’s Help Haiti’s Climate Campaign; American Cancer Society Award

Corporate Social Responsibility News: Timberland’s Climate and Haiti Help Campaigns; American Cancer Society’s Corporate Impact Awards

CSR Minute: Climate Counts Corporate Scorecard; Textile Insight’s Sustainability Panel

Corporate Social Responsibility News: CSR Minute: Climate Counts Corporate Scorecard; Intn’l Oeko-Tex Assoc/Textile Insight’s Sustainability Panel

Accelerating the Conscious Capitalism and Working for Good movement at the 2009 Net Impact Conference

‘The time is now and we are the ones called upon to make a difference while making a living,” claims Jeff Klein, President of the Conscious Capitalism Alliance and author of Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living, the week of the 2009 NetImpact Conference at Ithaca College. “NetImpact members and conscious MBA students are important members of the emerging movement to create healthier, more sustainable businesses, that serve all of their stakeholders and the greater good.”

In that spirit, the MBA Oath begins with these words: “As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term.” (See www.mbaoath.org)

According to Klein, “The increasing acceptance of the MBA oath is a powerful indication of the shift in perspective on the role of business in society and our responsibility for creating conscious businesses. The Oath addresses the themes of integrity, authenticity, service, sustainability, accountability, and more. It is deeply aligned with the principles of conscious business that we are articulating and promoting through the Conscious Capitalism Alliance, which are Deeper Purpose, Value Creation for all Stakeholders, and Servant or Conscious Leadership, all of which I address in Working for Good.”

Klein wrote his new book, Working for Good: Making a Difference While Making a Living, to support conscious entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, leaders, and change agents at work to develop the skills of awareness, embodiment, connection, collaboration, and integration, which are essential to conceiving and creating conscious businesses and to working together in conscious teams.

“Young people today are seeking for meaning and purpose in the work and their lives. They demand that the companies that they buy from, work for, and otherwise engage with are responsible citizens and serve society beyond the value of their products and services, My colleagues on the Working for Good team and I want to inspire and support young entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs to pursue their passion for making a difference in the world while making a good living, and we provide them with models and tools for doing so.”

About Jeff Klein: As CEO of Cause Alliance Marketing, Klein designs and facilitates collaborative cause-related marketing programs. He currently serves as President of the Conscious Capitalism Alliance—an organization dedicated to “liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good” co-founded by John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market. In this role, he recently produced and hosted the 2009 Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism Summit at The Crossings in Austin, Texas.

Jeff was one of the visionaries and driving forces behind Private Music, the career of Yanni, Spinning, Seeds of Change, and ChiRunning, and has consulted for the Esalen Institute, the National Geographic Society, GlobalGiving, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, among others.

He is currently creating a Cause Alliance Marketing program for O.N.E. Natural Experience to increase awareness of the health benefits of coconut water and to drive the use of coconut water in the place of other, less healthy beverages.

PRESS CONTACT: Julie van Amerongen  EMAIL: julievanam@gmail.com 541.228.4099

Amazon link: 
http://3bl.me/9c4t3s

Barnes & Noble Link: 
http://3bl.me/953t5x

Facebook:
http://profile.to/jeffklein

LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/workingforgood

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/babajeff

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The Going Green movement is changing constantly, sometimes for the worst.

This blog is updated daily about environmental issues that are effecting or enhancing our world every day. The Going Green movement is changing constantly, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worst. R. Michael Richmond is the creator and writer for Green Business Views Blog and he witnesses Green issues and innovations first hand popping up every day because he is the owner and founder of Green Business League and Green Clean institute which are Green Certification firms.

R. Michael Richmond considers himself a teacher and an entrepreneur. That is why he likes to share his ideas and experiences with other people to keep them informed and educated about what is happening in the Green world.

Green Business Views goes over serious current situations that are happening in the world such as H1N1 and how you can protect yourself and your family from getting the virus if you have not gotten a vaccine shot yet. How President Obama has recently signed Executive Order 13514, which requires businesses to have a Sustainability Officer. Also, he writes about Green innovations such as how wind turbines work and how they are making energy sustainable.

These issues are the most talked about not only in the Green world but in the world in general. R. Michael Richmond does not just write about serious issues but he also gives solutions and explanations so you can have better knowledge of the problem and you can solve these problems yourself. Visit Green Business Views and you will find the answers to your questions, and the knowledge that will keep you current with today’s problems.

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Sustainability: The Second Business Bottom Line

Financial Post

Business can no longer operate from the perspective of short-term financial gain only. The world has become too complex, and social and environmental concerns now make financial profits at the expense of everything not only short sighted but dangerous. And we need only see the leadership debacles of an Enron, Webcom and the recent Wall Street fiascos to see what selfish financial gain reaps on everyone. There is increasing support for the notion of a business triple bottom line: financial profits, social responsibility and sustainability.

Tim Sanders, in his book, Saving The World at Work, says “the responsibility revolution has arrived. It demands that companies make a difference to society,” and the ones what don’t participate risk becoming obsolete.

The Gallup Organization recently interviewed Ray Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface, Inc., and author of Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose–Doing Business by Respecting the Earth. Interface, the largest commercial carpet tile company in North America was originally, like most traditional carpet manufacturing companies, a high-input, heavy polluting industry that was damaging the environment. One of Anderson’s employees one day gave him a book by Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce, which caused Anderson to have an epiphany after reading it.

At the age of 60, Anderson decided to completely change Interface from its environmentally damaging practices and move toward sustainability. Anderson said, “I wanted Interface, a company so oil-intensive you could think of it as an extension of the petrochemical industry, to be the first enterprise in history to become truly sustainable–to shut down its smokestacks, close off its effluent pipes, to do no harm to the environment and to take nothing from the earth not easily renewed by the earth.”

Between 1996 and 2008, Interface cut its net greenhouse gas emissions by 71%, far beyond the Kyoto Protocol’s standard.  At the same time Interface’s revenue from sales increased by 66%, expanding its profit margins substantially. Interface also reduced greenhouse gas intensity by 82%, wastewater stream pollution by 72%, and landfill-bound waste by 78%, and total energy usage by 44%.  Interface reached the apex of the Globescan’s Survey of Sustainability Experts while at the same time saving the company $405 million.  Since 2003, Interface has sold 83 million square yards of carpet with zero net global warming effect.

In the Gallup interview with Anderson, he said, “zero footprint seemed to me to be absolutely the right thing to do, and it quickly became smart business.”  Yet, Anderson says Interface is not yet sustainable. He makes a distinction between zero footprint and sustainability, saying sustainability is the top of the mountain that he is climbing. He believes in it passionately and plans to be there by 2020.

Anderson says the substantial costs to move toward sustainability are paid for by waste elimination, and using recycled materials. He says that environmental consciousness has become a competitive advantage for his company over others, which has translated into greater profits.

But what about the recession, hasn’t that put a damper into efforts for sustainability? Anderson says no. “This is not about spending money. This is about competing on cost, product, people, marketplace and goodwill in the worst of times as well as the best. Today, we’re winning the market share in the depths of this recession because of the commitment we’ve made.”

Ray Anderson made a commitment to turn around one of worst environmentally damaging industries toward sustainability and make a profit while doing so. If that isn’t a lesson for the other captains of industry, I don’t know what is.

Ray B. Williams is Co-Founder of Success IQ University, and President of Ray Williams Associates, companies located in Phoenix and Vancouver, offering leadership training, personal growth and executive coaching services. www.successiqu.com

via network.nationalpost.com

CSR Minute Special Report: Bill Baue of Sea Change Media at BSR Conference

Bill Baue, co-director of Sea Change Media and co-host/producer of Sea Change Radio at the Business for Social Responsibility Conference, San Francisco, Oct 21-23

1,000 Companies Delisted by UN Global Compact Since 2008

The number of companies delisted since 2008 for repeated failure to meet the UN Global Compact’s mandatory annual reporting requirement, also known as the Communication on Progress (COP) policy, has now passed 1,000.

As part of the announcement, the Global Compact Office also released a full listing of the 1,005 companies delisted as of 6 October.

Businesses in the Global Compact are required to report annually on progress made in the implementation of the initiative’s ten principles covering human rights, workplace standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. Failure to submit a COP to the public Global Compact database within one year of joining the Global Compact results in a change of a company’s status. Consecutive failures to submit a COP leads to removal (delisting) of the company.

Despite the number of delistings, the Global Compact continues to grow at a rate of roughly 100 new participants per month, with the current total of active business and non-business participants standing at over 7,000 organizations in more than 135 countries.

The COP policy was introduced in 2005 to ensure transparency and public accountability of the business commitment, drive continuous performance improvement, safeguard the integrity of the Global Compact as a whole and contribute to the development of a repository of corporate practices.

The now more than 1,000 delisted companies include both small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and larger companies, and are also proportionally represented among industry sectors and countries in the Global Compact – indicating that the COP framework is equally relevant across business size, sector and geographic region.

“Over the years, the Global Compact’s framework has become increasingly robust, through the establishment of integrity measures, introduction of guidance materials, and the support of the many local networks that provide COP mentoring,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “By all indications, we expect corporate disclosure of policies and practices to become more common, as companies joining the Global Compact increasingly enter with a better understanding of the critical value of reporting on environmental, social and governance performance.”

While delisted companies are removed entirely from the Global Compact’s public database, the initiative allows companies to return to active status. To officially rejoin the Global Compact companies must provide a new commitment from the chief executive officer addressed to the UN Secretary-General and submit a COP to the public database.

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