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
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
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
PEA Business Awards Announces 300K Advertising Prize
PEA Business Awards £300K advertising prize The People and Environment Achievement (PEA) Business Awards has announced an extraordinary £300K worth of advertising prizes in Green Magazine plus tickets for a once-in-a-lifetime London 2012 Games experience. The prizes are to be shared amongst the fifteen winners of the 2012 PEA Business Awards. The overall winner of the Awards will receive a double page spread of advertising worth £40K in Green... Read More
Why do companies treat sustainability as a cost?
It is disappointing that many companies begrudgingly treat sustainability as a compliance exercise – which costs them money and can limit the social and environmental benefits. There is a better way: solutions to today’s business challenges can be both profitable and sustainable, with new value available if companies can think a little differently. Why do many companies treat sustainability as a cost? Perhaps it is because corporate thinking is... Read More
Middle managers: how to turn a sustainability hindrance into an asset
At PeopleProfitPlanet we have talked to many organisations about their challenges, and the biggest many of them identify is that middle managers are at best uninterested in sustainability and sometimes hinder its development. This blog is going to consider why, and give some ideas on how to deal with this challenge. Good middle management are crucial to the success of any organisation. They are the grease that oils your wheels, ensuring the strategies... Read More
Star performance: Balfour Beatty rolls out the red carpet for sustainability
Photovoltaics on a school First we had Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, then Franny Armstrong’s Age of Stupid…now we have Balfour Beatty’s Sustainability – A Collective Responsibility. Yes, that’s right, last week the construction giant hosted a ‘film premiere’ of its new corporate video spelling out its ‘2020 Sustainability Vision’. Rolling out the red carpet for a corporate video may seem rather over the top, but the popularity... Read More
The big green challenge: sustainable behaviour change
M&S' Plan A You have skills, knowledge and even qualifications that enable you to approach with confidence most of what you face week-to-week, apart from in one area: engaging people around sustainability. Due to your position you are expected to manage a number of areas of your organisations environmental sustainability. This can cover your technical building systems, waste & recycling contracts, standards such as ISO14001 or CDP and... Read More
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