Most organisations still see ‘environment’ as an internal affair – all about walking around their factory with clipboards sorting out a little energy efficiency here and some waste minimisation there. There’s nothing wrong with this, but to really grasp the nettle and become a green business, you have got to look up and down your supply chain.
You are part of others’ carbon footprint and other organisations are part of yours. Take Apple as an example: 38% of their average product’s carbon footprint is in the supply chain and 59% is from retail, use and disposal. Apple directly control just 3% of all the carbon directly – you get similar results for almost any other sector.
This makes the process of going green much more difficult that most realise. Supply chains have evolved to deliver the nuts and bolts for mainstream products, not green alternatives and as a result green materials and components are often expensive and of poor quality in comparison. Likewise, it is increasingly difficult to predict consumer behaviour – who would have seen the success of Twitter five years ago and the demand it has created to constantly be in touch?
The answer is to be both smart and proactive. Supply chains can be transformed by creating demand – usually through working with others to create that demand – or by buying up potential green suppliers and transforming them. Consumer behaviour can be influenced by making green behaviour easier and more desirable than non-green behaviour.
None of this is easy – and that challenge is attracting many very clever people. The green economy is just the same as the mainstream economy – the smart guys thrive.