Subscribe
Recent Posts
Eyjafjallajoekull and all that
Sustainability in the Service Sector - video
Are you part of the problem...
Book Review: Confessions of a Radical Industrialis...
We're coming over all web 2.0...
Archives
News & Views From the Front Line
Friday, 16 October 2009
Business Opportunities in Climate Change Adaptation
I was running a CSR workshop with a major international engineering firm yesterday. Given the traditional engineers' reactive (and sometimes reactionary) approach to such 'soft issues' (I'm an engineer - I can say this!), their proactive, progressive attitude was a breath of fresh air. Interestingly enough, as well as the business opportunities we identified in climate change mitigation (cutting emissions), we discovered they were well placed to exploit opportunities in climate change adaptation - adapting to the inevitable changes that are already in the system.Adaptation is going to become more and more important. If someone has cooling or refrigeration plant, it is going to have to work harder and become more expensive unless you can develop innovative new solutions. Resilience to rising sea levels, floods and extreme weather events will require new engineering solutions (or relocation). Heathcare services will have to adapt to new patterns in the spread of diseases. All these changes are business opportunities for someone.
Labels: adaptation, climate change, csr, workshops
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:57
1 Comments
Monday, 21 September 2009
Monday Morning Training Tips
I'm taking a coffee break between client meetings on Teesside. I've just been with a world class engineering company, mapping out the content of two training seminars I'm doing for them, one on CSR and one on Sustainability & Design. While they're fresh in my mind, here are three top tips on sustainability training:1. Sell the course to delegates
Many people are cynical about training. Many people are cynical about sustainability. You need to sell the purpose of the course to the delegates, both at the start and at points through the session. In this case I'll be pointing out how 'green' can win tenders and the business opportunities for this company in the low carbon agenda.
2. Mind the gap
If you leave a gap between the content of the course and the implementation of those ideas back at the desk, most of your hard work will fall straight through it. I always get delegates to apply the knowledge and skills they are learning to their day job during the session - closing the gap up before it occurs.
3. Make it thought provoking
Challenging your delegates is more effective than lame attempts to make the session fun. Ask questions, puncture myths and put people on the spot. If you can do fun too, then do it.
I think these are the most important three. Do you have any more?
Labels: csr, design, sustainability, training
# posted by Gareth Kane : 10:36
0 Comments
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Are we at a point where Sustainability = sustainability?
I'm not an economist, but here's my take on the current financial situation. The bank crashes are due to the bubble bursting in the 'sub prime' mortgage market - too much money lent to too many people who can't afford to pay it back - a clear Corporate Social Responsibility issue (that's real grown up CSR, not the paper thin small-local-donations type CSR). We are also afflicted by 'short selling' - betting on shares losing value has serious ethical implications too - gambling on horses losing is illegal in many countries for good reason. Other industries and the general public are struggling with high and rising oil prices (an environmental issue) - leading to a breakdown in consumer confidence which furthers the vicious circle.Sustainability with a big 'S' is about economics, environment and ethics. In the past there has been a need to differentiate between this and the small 's' sustainability ie the medium term viability of an organisation. But now I believe the two have converged and Sustainability is not an option when it comes to sustainability. Proper CSR would have saved the banks, and energy efficiency and/or a distributed energy system would make the economy much less dependent on the price of oil.
Maybe now we will wake up and smell the (sustainably sourced) coffee.
Labels: csr, ethics, sustainability, sustainable business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 05:31
1 Comments
Friday, 27 June 2008
Big Business & Carbon Offsets
Interesting views on Carbon Offsetting from some big corporate players at yesterday's Low Carbon Innovation Exchange. At a panel discussion with the UK CSR/environmental managers of HBOS, Harper Collins, McDonalds and IBM, the first two found carbon offsetting a useful tool as it added a stronger economic driver to cut carbon (opponents of offsetting accuse the concept of allowing organisations to 'buy forgiveness' for their 'carbon sins').On the other hand, McDonalds thought that people would deride them for offsetting as a gimmick and IBM decided the money would be better invested in internal low carbon projects.
Quote of the day was from Ashley Lodge of Harper Collins. One of his colleagues advised him to make the low carbon agenda "more stilettos than sandals." Damn right.
Labels: carbon offsetting, csr, low carbon innovation network
# posted by Gareth Kane : 09:06
0 Comments
Thursday, 5 June 2008
New Environmental Award Launched
My friends at the Environmental Academy have just launched their new "Enviro Excellence" award to provide businesses with a framework for improving their environmental management.Participants must provide evidence that they have complied with a set of compulsory and optional criteria to progress through the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards - a bit like the Duke of Edinburgh award if you did that at school. A Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) version is in the pipeline.
I write this with a small amount of pride as Terra Infirma Ltd acted as a 'critical friend' in the development of the award to look at it from an outsider's point of view and help fine tune the criteria.
Labels: corporate social responsibility, csr, enviro excellence, environmental management, terra infirma
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:29
0 Comments
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
New CSR Training Course
We're pleased to announce our new one-day Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) course. Aimed at businesses who want to understand the most pressing driver in the world today, the course explores the CSR and its underlying concept, sustainable development.We deliver our courses at our clients' sites or at a mutually agreed venue. Roughly speaking, the morning is spent on theory and the afternoon on application.
This course is based on our "An Introduction to Sustainable Development" course, but the theory, case studies and exercises are applied to the business world.
Previous Delegates’ Comments:
“Great day! Touched on the right issues in the right way. Thought provoking exercises – would recommend.”
Government Office attendee
“Facilitator very knowledgeable and confident.”
Local Authority attendee
Contact us to book a course or for more details.
Labels: corporate social responsibility, csr, training
# posted by Gareth Kane : 08:00
0 Comments
Friday, 20 July 2007
What does "Corporate Social Responsibility" mean?
A couple of weeks ago I went along to an event on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Before the presentations started the chap next to me asked what I did. I explained I was an environmental and sustainability consultant and described what I did. His eyes narrowed a bit and he asked me "so why are you here?". I was a little confused by this until he explained that he thought CSR began and ended with donating sums to community groups in the localities around his company's development projects.This is a perennial problem in the sustainability industry - everybody has a different idea of what each term means, leading to misunderstandings and confusion. So here are a few definitions of CSR.
The UK Government:
[CSR] is about how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates – maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development:
"Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large."
Wikipedia:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that organizations, especially (but not only) corporations, have an obligation to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and ecological considerations in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend beyond their statutory obligation to comply with legislation.
All of these are roughly the same but with differing emphasis on the environmental side of the equation. Some companies and organisations now talk about "Corporate Responsibility" instead, believing that the word "Social" is leading to confusion. But all of them are much wider than the donation-based scope that my new acquaintance had in his mind.
Of course, there is quite a bit of evidence that links good CSR performance to good financial performance, for example this rather heavy academic paper.
Labels: corporate social responsibility, csr
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:58
0 Comments
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Terra Infirma sponsors CSR Forum
We are delighted to announce that we are now sponsoring the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Forum on SustainabilityForum.com. The sponsorship forms part of our own CSR commitment: to get sustainability issues discussed and disseminated as much as possible. Despite having only been established recently, the Sustainability Forum is proving an excellent resource for exchanging information on this wide ranging topic. We are very proud to be able to play our part in its future.
Labels: csr, sustainability, terra infirma
# posted by Gareth Kane : 11:33
0 Comments
A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
