Management Blog

Green business programs become the norm

Organisations across the globe have started to embrace the idea of sustainability programs, according to KPMG's Global Climate Change and Sustainability report.

The study, reported by management-issues, found 62 per cent of companies currently have a working sustainability strategy, an increase from just over the 50 per cent of companies with green initiatives in 2008.       

It's claimed 80 per cent of larger publicly listed companies have sustainability policies while just under half of the small businesses involved in the study had a green strategy in place.

Of those organisations without a sustainability strategy, around 70 per cent expect to develop one in the next five years.

The study also considered some the barriers to achieving successful sustainability programs. In summary, these include:

• A lack of standardised tools to measure the impact of programs
• Limited funding in comparison to operational programs
• The absence of an international regulatory framework

Why sustainability should be a HR issue

Human resources departments are often ignored when it comes to sustainability programs in an oversight that can limit the success of green initiatives, according to sustainability expert Gareth Kane via management-issues.

Kane says HR has an important role when developing a culture of sustainability as studies indicate most green innovations are driven by the behavioural change by individual workers.   

To achieve success it's suggested HR managers ensure everyone in the organisation attends sustainability courses with key personnel taking courses that are tailored to their role.

HR can also play an integral role in green innovation by overseeing changes to position descriptions that give formal responsibility to those with the power to make a difference.

And in another key payoff for HR managers, it's claimed a greener culture can also help retain staff as employees generally like working for sustainable enterprises.

Green office tips and tricks

Just as grocery shoppers often check which ingredients are in the foods the buy, office managers should do their research when purchasing office supplies and equipment, Money suggests.

To back its point Money offers a case study of Corporate Express, which has managed to reduce its carbon emissions by 20 per cent as a result of a series of green changes.

These have included using renewable power, introducing waterless urinals, reducing the number of data servers it uses and having an 'auto-hibernate' energy-saving system activate each night.

To help transform your office into a greener workplace Money suggests the following tips:

• Ask staff to set their computers to sleep mode when not in use
• Use local products to reduce carbon emissions from transport
• Consider purchasing reusable rather than single-purpose furniture
• Remove bottled water from vending machines
• Print on both sides of recycled paper
• Specify the use of non-toxic cleaning materials

How to be a green leader

The book The Green Executive provides board level managers with the skills they need to face one of the key business challenges of our time, author Gareth Kane argues in a recent management-issues blog post.

Kane's book, which is set to be published next year, argues there are seven guidelines a green leader must follow in order to achieve success. In summary, these 'primers' are:

1. Show commitment – people judge leaders on their actions not their words so, for example, drop the gas guzzling company car

2. Get with the program – green leaders need to be up to date with sustainability issues and solutions and that means lots of research

3. Be prepared for mistakes – green leadership is about learning by doing, which means resilience and persistence are essential

4. Trickle down effect – don't isolate green management in one department, make every manager part of the sustainability process

5. Don't forget the ROI – identify the business case for going green before applying solutions that are both sustainable and profitable

6. Make the hard decisions – sometimes letting go of planet harming product lines or processes calls for a leader with 'real guts'

7. Green isn't dreary – the process of greening an organisation shouldn't be boring, use it to engage staff and customers

Organic goes mainstream

Organic produce has grown from a $128 million niche market to a $1 billion a year industry with nearly two out of every three shoppers buying chemical-free produce over the last 12 months, The Age reports.

Commentators say there is a distinct possibility that entire parts of the grocery market industry could soon devote themselves to organic offerings as a result of the trend.

Research indicates fruit and vegetables are the most commonly purchased organic products, while baby foods, canned goods, diary products and other ingredients are also growing in popularity.

And in an added bonus for marketers of organic products, research indicates that a recent drop in the price of organic foods has not damaged the 'premium' reputation of chemical-free goods.

However, it's claimed the industry has a few barriers to overcome before it can become mainstream including overcoming general confusion over difference between organic and free-range products.

Is organic food all it's cracked up to be? The following Time video looks into the issue.

Doing business with Earth Inc.

If organisations want to successfully build profits by developing green products and services they must play by nature's rules, according to author Gregory Unruh.

Speaking to the Harvard Business Review, Unruh outlined his ideas, including a 'foolproof sustainably' model, contained in Earth, Inc.: Using Nature's Rules to Build Sustainable Profits.

A podcast of the interview can be found here.

Ridding the world of styrofoam

The ecological threat of styrofoam and plastic packaging materials is an issue that's well within the sights of biomaterials company Ecovative Design.

In this PopTech! video, the company's Eban Bayer explains how a new generation of biodegradable alternatives derived from mushrooms can work as direct replacement for styrofoam.

Scooter numbers on the rise

Expect to see more professionals leaving their cars at home and deciding to ride a scooter or motorbike to work, social trends researchers predict.
       
The Sunday Telegraph says new research has found there has been a 10 per cent increase in bike registrations in the last 12 months alone and a 36 per cent increase in numbers since 2003.
   
Speaking to the Telegraph, social researcher Mark McCrindle says the growing popularity of scooters stems from their ability to make riders feel both green and cool.
       
The ability to take advantage of free parking at inner city locations and avoidance of the waiting times involved in public transport commutes are also cited as reasons for their growing popularity.

Green innovation - turning whisky into energy

An innovative alcohol manufacturer located on a Scottish island is attempting to turn whisky into energy in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of its distillery industries.

A recent article in The Australian describes how Bruichladdich Distillery is building an anaerobic digester to convert whiskey byproducts into energy-providing methane gas.

According to the article, the distillery has initiated the project in response to the whisky industry's growing concern about its carbon footprint, one of the highest for any food or drink.

Converting yeast waste into electricity could also help solve the environmental problem of sending distillery byproducts out to sea.

If also adopted by other local whisky makers the system has the potential to generate enough power to meet the entire island's energy needs.

Game play goes green

A London-based company has launched a board game to help innovators discover new ways of redesigning everyday objects in order to make them more sustainable, Springwise reports.

According to the article, PlayRethink's 'The Eco-Design Game' comes with a multicoloured game wheel, drawing cards, key cards and an instruction sheet on how to innovate with a green twist.

To play the game participants spin the wheel and are prompted to consider how a range of objects, such a dining chair or vacuum cleaner, can be made more eco-friendly.

And if you're proud of the new ideas your game play uncovers (and not concerned about someone taking inspiration from it) you can upload your drawing to the PlayRethink website.