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News & Views From the Front Line
Monday, 27 April 2009
Greener businesses doing better in the recession
According to Management Consultancy, AT Kearney, in 16 of the 18 industries they studied, companies committed to sustainability outperformed industry averages by 15% over the six months from May through November 2008.I know I keep banging on about this, but sustainability is not some fuzzy luxury like having modern art in your foyer. It is good business sense - lower costs, marketplace differentiation, lower risks, motivated workforce, better PR etc, etc. If a read another story about an organisation cutting environmental programmes "for survival", I will scream!
Labels: at kearney, green business, recession, sustainability, sustainable business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 10:47
1 Comments
Friday, 21 November 2008
Yesterday @ LCIE Manchester
At yesterday's Low Carbon Innovation Exchange in Manchester I facilitated two sessions on staff engagement. Both sessions went really well, although like last month's event in Harrogate, there was a reluctance to move up the ladder of participation towards actually empowering staff to take action. The closest that participants had come to this was the use of suggestion schemes.Most people started with simple 'switch it off' schemes. Using surprise tactics is increasingly popular - chocolate mysteriously appearing overnight on the keyboards of switched off computers with no explanation has been tried and tested. An interesting variation is an unexplained green sticker on 'off' computers and a red one on 'on' computers - it would take staff a few days to work out what was going on.
Other successful tactics included educating people about savings at home, providing cycle purchase schemes and holding one-off green fun events.
The groups concluded that effective communication requires a mix of channels (intranet, e-mail, newsletters and posters had been used) and careful understanding of culture and language. One multinational reported that their overseas HQ, obviously not understanding the sarcastic nature of the phrase in English, wanted to call their sustainability engagement programme "In Your Dreams"... they were quickly educated why a new name was required in the UK.
Interestingly there was a lot of grumbling about getting senior management to engage and show leadership on sustainability - an MD launching a sustainability campaign then choosing a gas guzzling company car was one example of not walking the walk. We got into discussing guerilla tactics to get things moving - mainly focussing on economic benefits of energy saving actions, or using the popularity of green schemes amongst staff to embarrass the higher echelons of the organisation.
A great event - the participative powerpoint-free environment leads to maximum learning and minimum boredom. I'm already looking forward to next year.
Labels: communications, facilitation, facilitator, staff engagement, sustainable business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 15:41
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
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Social Enterprise: business or charity?
A Social Enterprise is a business which puts its profits into social and/or environmental programmes. And according to recent government figures, the sector is booming - accounting for 5% of all businesses and contributing £8.4bn a year to the UK economy - almost 1% of annual GDP.One of the problems with the Social Enterprise concept is that anybody thinks they can do it, assuming that the nearest public body (council, regional development agency, government department) owes them a living. These groups tend to be focussed "a bit too much on the social and not enough on the enterprise" and usually fade away grumbling into their beer, cursing "the man" for not giving them the backing they deserve.
Good Social Enterprises, on the other hand, act and feel like a business. Visit the furnishing provider/recycler FRC Group in Liverpool and you will be given a funky visitor's badge by a smart receptionist. The ethos is not just skin deep - the company has won awards for its employment practices and sustainability reporting. They do charge their clients a premium, but for a premium service that a commercial company would struggle to provide. Everything is professional - not a grumbling hippie in sight.
The same principle applies to a 'green business'. Green businesses are not charities - you need to compete on price and quality with mainstream businesses, but push your green credentials as a market differentiator. If you expect someone to throw money at you just because your product or service is eco-friendly, then you are in for a big shock. I've seen it happen many times and it always ends in tears. Be warned.
Labels: green business, social enterprise, sustainable business
# posted by Gareth Kane : 08:22
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A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
