This document discusses the growing importance of sustainability for businesses. Consumer awareness of environmental and social issues is increasing, as is societal expectations for corporations to operate sustainably. Multiple stakeholders are driving business change by demanding sustainability. A sustainable business looks at operations through an environmental lens, eliminates toxins, designs for the environment, improves energy and materials efficiency, engages with communities, and exhibits transparent governance. Sustainability provides strategic and financial benefits like reduced costs, improved productivity and reputation, and access to new markets. The trends indicate sustainability will continue growing in importance.

1. Sphere of Influence
Harnessing the Power of
Business to Promote
Sustainable Ecology and
Commerce
Beth Anne Clark
Sustainable Visions Consulting
copyright ©2014
All Rights Reserved

2. Why the Green Wave?
Increasing Awareness and Expectations
Consumer pressure started it,
Return on Investment has made it grow.
“Business As Usual”
Unintended Consequences
Externalization
Planned Obsolescence

3. An economy based on consuming more and more
resources must eventually collide with the reality of
earth’s limits.
What kind of world do we want to pass down?

4. Increasing Societal Expectations of Corporations
Comply w ith
Sustainability…the limits of nature
Social Responsibility …community needs
Environmental Stew ardship …environ. protection
Quality …customer expectations
Employee health, safety, and quality of w ork life …employee needs
Reputable business practices, compliance …law s, regs & contracts
1900 Today

5. Consumer Awareness
Quality of Life & Health
Poor Air quality
Pervasive use of chemicals / toxins
Threats from Global Warming
Water shortages
Energy crisis
Higher food commodity prices
Competition for resources from developing nations

6. Multiple Stakeholders Driving
Business Change
 Customers
 Investors – Shareholders & Pension Funds
 Regulators
 Employees
 Suppliers
 Communities
 NGO’s

7. What is Sustainability?
Meeting our needs without compromising future
generations ability to meet their needs.
Recognizes holistic “triple bottom line” measures of success as
interdependent.
 Economic – return on investment
 Environmental – nature provides a host of services upon which we depend
 Social- meeting needs of all
Optimizing all 3

8. Busine$$ Opportunity
Strategic
Framework to foresee
change and take action
proactively.
Practical
Return on Investment

9. Strategic Value
 Innovation in process
and design (Video link)
 Competitive advantage
 Discover new markets
 Enhance Image
 Reduce risk
 Increased productivity
 Attract best talent

10. Risk Management
 Time and Productivity Costs
of management
 Lose customers
 Bad press
 Shut out of markets
 Regulations
 Losing insurance coverage
 Legal liability

11. What Does a Sustainable Business
Look Like?
 No one size fits all solution
 Embedded into the culture of
the organization
 Looking at business through
environmental “lens”
 1000’s of individual
practices

12. Components
Materials
Energy
Product Design
Process Efficiency
Waste
Community Affairs
Corporate Governance
Influence & Leadership

13. Materials
 Eliminate toxins
 Realize radically greater productivity of natural
resources
Product Lifecyles
-Cradle to Cradle closed loop system
 Use materials that come from local, green, socially
responsible sources
Certifications / Organic

14. Energy Use & Production
 Conduct Energy Consumption Analysis
HVAC, Lighting, Technology, Appliances
Transportation - Biodesiel, Hybrids, Electric
 Shift to renewables
Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Bio, Tidal

15. Often synergistic benefits
Example: Natural lighting
– Reduces energy costs for lighting and air conditioning
– Reduces CO2 emissions at the power plant
– Increases sales in retail facilities
– Reduces absenteeism
– Increases employee productivity and satisfaction
– Increases test scores for school children
– Produces better sleep for nursing home residents

16. Carbon
 Credit Markets
Offsets
Negawatts
Greentags
“Follow the carbon, find the $.”

17. Product Design
 Design for Environment (DfE)
Reduces energy, materials consumption, use of
hazardous materials and waste throughout life of
its products
 Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)
 Life Cycle Costing (LCC)

18. Where is the biggest impact?
 Manufacture
 Use
 Disposal

19. Zero Waste, 100% Product
Waste is anything that does
not provide value to the
customer
 Extended Producer Responsibility
(EPR)
 LEAN Techniques

20. Community Involvement
Addresses pressing
social concerns in a
way that relates to
the business

21. Governance
Conducts business in an
ethical and transparent
manner
Beyond Compliance
Global Reporting Initiative
Sustainability Reporting
B Corp

22. Influence
Applies leadership and buying power to drive
its industry toward sustainability
– Environmental Preferable Purchasing
– “Scorecards”

23. Conceptual Model

24. Bottom Line Impact
 Reduced Energy expense
 Reduced raw material expense
 Reduced disposal costs
 Improved productivity and loyalty
 Improved sales
 Favorable insurance rates
 Favorable credit rating and
interest rates
 More loyal customers

25. Sustainability is coming…
 It is a leadership issue,
not a technology issue
 Those who wait risk
losing market share
 How might this affect
your business model?

26. Significant Business Trend
 Wall Street
Dow Jones Sustainability Index
 Supplier Scorecards
 Pending Legislation
 Building Industry - LEED
 World Trade
– European Union
 CO2 Cap & Trade
 Millennials – Talent Retention

27. How Integrate into Business Strategy?
Systematic approach
– Vision
– Assessment
– Coaching & Training
– Determine Project Priorities
– Implementation
– Measurement
– Evaluate
– Refine

28. Be EcoConscious
Look through an
environmental lens to
integrate environmental
concerns into business
decisions….

29. Actions
 Develop a sustainability mission statement and
communicate it with employees. Commit to
evaluating environmental impact in every decision.
 Assemble cross functional team to assess programs
 Conduct an energy audit & materials flow analysis
 Create an assessment tool for suppliers - EPP
 Educate employees and survey for ideas
 Challenge long standing industry assumptions

30. Quick Hits
For the Office
 Set printer default double sided
 Convert to electronic vs. paper
 Buy recycled, post-consumer
 Buy Energy Star appliances
 Eliminate disposables
 Recycle paper, ink cartridges, toner
(& use eco solvents), bottles,
cardboard, batteries
 Promote alternative transportation
by employees / carpools
 Reduce air travel
 Use green cleaning supplies
 Use power strips to turn off multiple
items when not in use
 Cluster off site appointments
 Use a programmable thermostat
 Sign up for NC Greenpower and
other use offset programs
 Inflate tires, clean fuel filters, don’t
idle, drive slower
 Unplug chargers when not in use
 Xeriscape
 Ship “all-together”, shred cardboard
for packaging materials
 Upgrade lighting to LCD’s
 Turn off lights, fans when not in use
 Aereate / Install low flow devices
 Plant trees, Buy local, Donate
 Educate all employees,
stakeholders, ask for ideas. Make it
fun.
 Tell your story
 Influence! Vote / Write / Buy Green

31. “We chose to go to the moon not because it is
easy, but because it is hard.”
John Kennedy, September 1962
In the last century we used technology and
innovation to achieve a tremendous increase in
human productivity. Now we need to apply that same
“can do” spirit to resource productivity and energy
independence.

32. Questions
Beth Anne Clark
Sustainable Visions Consulting
beth.clark@sustainvisions.com
www.sustainvisions.com
704-575-4482