Sustainable value: is your company a giver or taker?
Austerity, job losses, erosion of wealth and frustration are causing individuals and society at large to revisit and re-calibrate their values – resulting in changing expectations around the creation of a better society and environment. The corporate world is increasingly being included in this thinking. Through the 20th century, companies were largely regarded as economic entities with their primary responsibility being the creation of wealth for... Read More
Why do 70 per cent of change initiatives fail?
A Harvard Business Review study found that 70 per cent of all change initiatives fail. I’ve met sustainability practitioners in hundreds of organisations, and for every ‘Plan A’ in M&S and ‘Mission Zero’ in Interface, there are dozens of other initiatives that get nowhere near achieving the objectives that were set out. The Harvard Business Review figure relates to all change initiatives, and from my experience I would suggest that... Read More
Five reasons why ‘Plan A’ generated £105m in 2012
At almost exactly the same moment as I delivered my first environmental behaviour change workshop for a client in January 2007, M&S launched its groundbreaking Plan A. I’ve come a long way in the last five and half years and so has M&S, as demonstrated with the recent release of its 2012, ‘How We Do Business Report’, so this blog will review M&S’ progress and highlight five of the reasons for its success. Boldness A key factor... Read More
The future of manufacturing: is it going small-scale?
Textile manufacturing could be portable Is manufacturing about to undergo the next step in its evolution: the reversion to local production? Globalised manufacturing today involves large-scale manufacturing at a handful of strategic locations around the world, from which products are shipped to their end destinations. However, there are a number of changes occurring in supply chains to challenge this prevailing model: Transport costs are increasing... Read More
How to make the most of your green credentials and sell the sustainability message – a workshop for small business
How to make my green credentials and win sales is a question many brand managers and small company owners are asking themselves, and a question I was keen to find answers to when I attended a workshop last week organised by Exeter Chamber of Commerce. The promise The workshop promised to provide participants with “the knowledge needed to increase their sales through green messaging”. So, with a promise as tangible as that, I was naturally expecting... Read More
Creating value through innovation: is this the key to sustainability?
Google makes innovation part of everyone's job description Innovation is simply about harnessing good ideas and seeing them through their development and implementation across a company. Done properly, such ideas can increase revenue, reduce costs, improve competitive advantage and improve company sustainability – and in doing so lift staff productivity and morale through seeing their ideas come to life. So how do you capture innovation within... Read More
Sustainability: what if you don’t have a Ray Anderson to lead you?
A challenge for many sustainability practitioners working in organisations is their senior leadership doesn’t have the same passion for sustainability that they have. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. One shining example is the granddaddy of corporate sustainability, Ray Anderson, who until his death last year, was the ceo of £1 billion turnover modular carpet manufacturer, Interface. So what can you do when you don’t have an... Read More
Barriers to sustainable change Part II: tackling process paralysis and M&S’ feedback loops
Now that you have invested time, effort and capital into designing an adaptable strategy for your sustainable change programme (see ‘Barriers to Sustainable Change Part I‘), it’s time to implement it. The journey to long-term change is however all too often inhibited by two types of barriers – ‘process paralysis’ and ‘communications concerns’. How does a business overcome ‘process paralysis’? Common process barriers have the... Read More
Getting the bosses on board with sustainability: focus on the value
Sustainability issues fall on a spectrum from quite well bounded (e.g. improving process efficiency) to very broad and complex (such as community engagement). This has several cascading consequences: It risks sustainability action being limited to a small number of narrow ideas that senior executives understand and are comfortable with To fully understand and address the issues requires a systems perspective There is often tangible value and/or competitive... Read More
The CRC League Table and the power of reputation
Coming top in a league is powerful reputational driver Who doesn’t appreciate recognition? From the primary school child receiving a ‘gold star’ to the football star receiving the Player of the Year award. Your people and organisation are no different. So just how important is the power of reputation? Carbon Reduction Commitment An example of the potential power of reputation is the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC). The effectiveness... Read More
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