BOOK REVIEW: GREEN TO GOLD

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage

by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston

"No executive can afford to ignore the Green Wave sweeping the business world. This book shows how to make sustainability a core element of strategy - and profit from it." ~ Chad Holliday, CEO, DuPont

Environmental issues are no longer just the concern of government, NGOs and eco-minded individuals. Societal knowledge, and awareness of these issues has led to an increase in corporate accountability. This book offers a structured guide on how to become a part of the Green Wave and achieve Eco-Advantage for your business. To do this, authors Esty and Winston provide examples of corporate losses and gains, strategies to achieve Eco-Advantage, and tools needed for eco-tracking, redesign and culture-building. This book builds an organized argument for the importance of proactive environmental planning and decision-making that even the most conservative, profit-minded businessman cannot refute. 

The argument begins with background case study examples from  Sony and BP to compare the downside costs and upside gains that can result from ignoring or managing for environmental risks. The authors then follow with background information on the top 10 environmental issues, important stakeholders, and the top 50 Green Wave corporations doing the best to address these issues. The book then addresses how to get started on obtaining your Eco-Advantage.

The authors offer an organized Eco-Advantage toolkit. This includes how to: cultivate an Eco-Advantage mindset; develop eco-tracking through AUDIO and Life Cycle Assessment tools; redesign and drive innovation; and create a business culture that incorporates Eco-Advantage decision-making as part of everyday actions. Their green-to-gold plays address eight important areas to help reduce downside costs and risks and maximize revenues and intangible gain. This includes managing for things such as eco-efficiency, eco-risk control, eco-sales and marketing, and intangible value. The book has a very positive outlook on the value of joining the Green Wave, but it does not ignore the fact that some environmental initiatives will fall short or fail. To address this the book explains thirteen actions that lead to failure along with solutions and tools to avoid them.

The examples and strategies in Green to Gold are best geared towards medium to large businesses or corporations, however, as the authors point out environmental accountability is also becoming more and more important for smaller businesses as well. This book offers an interesting read with numerous examples, summary tables, and key highlighted points that make the information and strategies very accessible and easy to follow. For this reason, SSC recommends this book to any business owner or manager concerned with their bottom line and how to deal with environmental issues that affect it. 

EVENT: Webinar - Green Purchasing

A Green Purchasing Policy is essential for a sustainable workplace: it reduces your ecological footprint, minimizes unnecessary costs, and indicates to stakeholders your organizations’ dedication to people and the planet. This webinar provides the strategic framework and practical tools needed to develop and implement an effective Green Purchasing Policy.

Green Purchasing Webinar
Location: Online, At Your Desktop!
Cost: $50
Sign-Up: Here

Topics to be covered include:

-- Why It Is Important to Buy Environmentally Preferable Products
-- Definitions of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
-- The Identification of Desired Environmental Attributes
-- Balancing Environmental Considerations with Performance, Availability, and Cost Requirements
-- How to Empower a Green Purchasing Team
-- Identification of Initial Priorities
-- Assigning Responsibilities and Establishing Deadlines
-- The Use of Existing Environmental Labeling and Certification Programs
-- Creation of a Communications Plan
-- Developing Measurable Goals and Reporting Requirements
-- Regular Policy Reveiw

This webinar is co-hosted by Alex Szabo of TheGreenOffice.com, a company dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainability in the workplace. Through the online sale of green office products, expert sustainability consulting, and strategic carbon offsetting, TheGreenOffice.com works to make office greening easy and cost effective.

NEWS: Green Supply Chain Trends

via Greenbiz:

According to an August 2007 study by EyeForProcurement, "greening" of supply chains is a growing phenomenon around the world. It got us at SSC wondering, is the SME world following suit?

The survey asked 188 procurement professionals -- primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia -- about their companies' practices, policies and plans for reducing the environmental impact of the materials used in their work.

-- half of companies have policies on greening their supply chain

-- companies are nearly unanimous in their belief that green supply chains will only continue growing

-- two-thirds of the professionals in the survey said that they are practicing green procurement to support their companies' environmental or sustainability strategies

-- half also said they're responding to customers' interest in greener products and services

But are these beliefs actually affecting procurement practices? Although companies are increasingly aware of the benefits and importance of green procurement, most of them are only acquiring a small portion of their materials in that way. Only 13 percent of respondents are sourcing half or more of their products and services sustainably, while 55 percent said they source less than 10 percent of green goods.

At SSC, we think that supply chain issues are a great place to start a sustainability strategy--and we offer a variety of related services. Unlike expensive auditing firms or niche advocacy groups, our supply chain management services allow clients to focus on the social and environmental issues important to them. More importantly, we provide guidance through each step of supply chain management--from supplier auditing to creating a "green" procurement policy--so that even organizations new to corporate social responsibility can feel confident that they are implementing best practices from start to finish.

Contact us today for a free consultation!

VIEWS: What Makes An Accountable Supply Chain

We've talked recently about the importance of ethical supply chains. Now, I'd like to share more about SSC's approach to supply chain management, and the three components we consider to be critical in creating a successful and accountable procurement plan:

1. Policies – the first step in creating a “green supply chain” is to identify the key environmental impacts of your products/services and create a policy that specifically addresses those areas. For example, if your company makes electrical components (e.g. semiconductors), then your key environmental impacts during the production process are a) toxic chemical use during production, b) energy use, and c) water use. So your policy should explicitly address the need to find eco-friendly alternatives for those areas. Whereas, if you are a basic office (without manufacturing), then your key environmental impacts have to do with land/building use and office supplies. Your policy then should deal specifically with infrastructure (green building, etc.), energy, and office materials.

2. Programs – the next step is to set up a purchasing program that integrates traditional metrics (price, quality) with environmental (and sometimes social) indicators. There are a variety of ways to do this, and we specialize in helping our clients figure out a way to maximize their eco-priorities without sacrificing material availability and profitability. There is also a component of marketing here, since consumers will often pay a premium for eco-products, and this should factor into the purchasing program’s structure.

3. Performance – the final step is to actually implement the program, and here is where we provide supply chain auditing services. Sometimes we review suppliers that are already being used, to judge whether they are meeting the policy’s goals. Other times we seek out new suppliers, especially when the supply chain is not already well-established. Ideally, any committed company factors in an annual review of their suppliers, to ensure that their policy/program is working correctly, and here we help too.

If your organization is ready to take a look at its supply chain from a social and environmental responsibility veiwpoint, please email me at jennifer@sustainabilityconsulting.com for a free consultation. Getting started is easier than you think!

EVENT: Webinar - Creating an "Green" Supply Chain

Purchasing decisions have a significant impact on an organization's environmental footprint. As more and more companies seek to buy eco-friendly supplies, the opportunities for "green" supply chains have expanded as well. But with so many different choices, how do you know which products to choose, and what suppliers to buy from?

SSC is pleased to offer "Green" Purchasing, an interactive "webinar" focusing on simple and cost-effective ways to make your procurement system as eco-friendly as possible. In this 60-minute presentation, you'll learn:

¨ Key environmental impacts in the procurement chain.

¨ Practical tips about setting up a green procurement policy.

¨ Suggestions for selecting environmentally-friendly suppliers.

¨ A list of SSC's favorite green suppliers and relevant case studies.

Cost: $50

Register at: www.sustainabilityconsulting.com (click "Events")

Space is limited to 20 people to ensure an interactive experience where you can ask questions and get real answers, so reserve your space today. Once you've signed up, you'll receive an email with log-in and call-in details.

VIEWS: Ethical Supply Chain Trends for 2007

VIEWS: Ethical Supply Chain Trends for 2007

The following predictions come from an article in the Responsible Sourcing blog, and while it didn't come straight from my own brain I can't agree more with their forecast.

Trend One: Supplier Ownership

More and more companies are looking to engage suppliers in creating sustainable improvements that will positively impact the lives and conditions of workers. To do so, brands and buyers are promoting the adoption of management systems that will help suppliers run more efficiently as well as manage social compliance issues in a planned and organized manner.

Trend Two: Collaboration

Brand and retailer initiatives continue to emerge with the goal of fostering collaborative approaches to responsible sourcing. Following in the footsteps of the Fair Labor Association and the Ethical Trading Initiative, there is also the Business Social Compliance Initiative in Europe, l'Initiative Clause Sociale in France, and CSC9000t in China. Some initiatives focus around sharing assessment results and working together to promote improvements in like-supply chains…[and] more and more stakeholder initiatives are emerging that are sector-specific, including the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct program, the Council for Responsible Jewelry Practices, and the Framework for Responsible Mining.

Trend Three: Convergence

As brands and retailers increasingly sign-up to these initiatives, we can hope for a converging of some of the many standards and programs into a few. The ETI, once thought of as a UK-based initiative, now boasts an increasing number of non-UK members, including the U.S.-based Gap, Inc. Many members of the ETI have chosen to adopt the ETI Base Code as the code of conduct used in their supply chains, in order to use an existing multi-stakeholder code that promotes the use of a common industry code. In fact, the Body Shop forewent their previously developed code to adopt the ETI code and promote the concept of a universal code of conduct. The Gap recently announced their intention to do the same.

The article has more examples (mostly from a UK perspective), and I highly recommend the whole thing. And stay tuned for another entry later this week on SSC's approach to supply chain management, where we'll explore how small and medium-size organizations can implement sustainable supply chains.

RESOURCES: What's the Difference Between "Ethical" Trade and "Fair" Trade?

Making sure that your suppliers are providing your organization with socially and environmentally responsible products can be a daunting challenge. Common questions include:

• Where can I buy environmentally friendly products at competitive prices?
• How can I be sure that basic labor and human rights are respected by our vendors?
  
• Do we have the time and resources to make sure our ethical purchasing policy is really being implemented?

And now, a new question: what's the difference between "ethical" and "fair" trade?

For the answer we go to Ergon, an independent network of labour rights, human rights and governance experts "committed to working with leading-edge organisations that are serious about addressing their responsibilities". Ergon's October 2006 newsletter explains in simple terms the difference between "ethical" and "fair" trade (check out the whole article on page 4 for a great analysis), but what you really need to know is this:

‘Ethical trade’ is commonly used to describe the work of multi-stakeholder supply chain labour standards initiatives, such as UK Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), US Fair Labor Association (FLA), Social Accountability International (which has developed the SA8000 model), and the Dutch Fair Wear Foundation. Adopting a non-premium paying, non-certification model operating in the mainstream economy, these initiatives aim to achieve incremental improvements in supply chain labour standards through the use of influence derived from trading relationships.

The ‘fair trade’ model, exemplified by Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) or The International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), emanates from the ‘alternative trade’ movements of the 1950s and 60s. Generally speaking, it is a premium-paying, niche-market model of certification, commonly working with agricultural smallholders in developing countries, although FLO has in recent years developed a standard for hired labour, such as plantation workers. Under this model, payment to producers is determined by reference to a fixed and regularly updated commodity price and a ‘social premium’ which is invested by collective agreement of the producers.

What does this mean for your organization? In most cases, your organization will focus on "ethical" trade—developing a system where social and environmental criteria are included in a purchasing policy. A program to ensure compliance is then designed, and usually includes voluntary disclosure and/or auditing of suppliers, as well as remedial plans for those suppliers who may just need a little help. Those who continue to meet the ethical criteria receive "preferred supplier" status; those who fail to uphold basic social and environmental criteria are ultimately de-listed from approved supplier lists.

Complicated? It can be. At Strategic Sustainability Consulting, we help clients design ethical supply chain standards that are easy to manage, are cost competitive, and ensure that socially and environmentally-preferred products make it to your doorstep. If you'd like a complimentary consultation to find out more about how to implement an "ethical" trade policy, email me at Jennifer@sustainabilityconsulting.com for more information.