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Recent surveys suggest that consumers continue to demand environmental and social values in products along with price and quality. One of these surveys, from the Boston Consulting Group, [January 2009 - http://www.bcg.com/impact_expertise/publications/files/Capturing_Green_Advantage_Consumer_Companies_Jan_2009.pdf] found that despite a down marketplace, consumers care about green product attributes, relatively in food, appliances and personal care purchases.
3. Connecting to customers and driving revenue. Consumers are buying less, so it is more important than ever to maintain a connection on your customers and encourage loyalty.
4. Enhancing brand and image. Stakeholders, corresponding to employees and customers, are loyal to companies that do the right thing and communicate about it in a transparent and compelling way. With faster communications, a company's reputation is on the line daily.
Analyzing and reducing the environmental impacts of a company's supply chain is essential in an age of increased scrutiny. Just ask any considered one of the toy manufacturers or consumer goods companies who failed to monitor their suppliers. These companies became a lead story flashed around the world within 24 hours.
Who cares about greening enterprise when the economy is deteriorating? You do, if you are a corporate leader with your eye on the horizon. Yes, even though 2008 was a global economic reset, environmental sustainability remains a powerful strategy -- in operations, supply chain, human resources, product management, and marketing -- for 2009 and beyond.
Copyright (c) 2009 Daniel C. Esty, author of Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Takeaway: The conscious consumer will continue to purchase based on "value" as well as "values." Companies need to rethink their product portfolio, understand their products' environmental impacts (and attributes) and communicate this to a savvier consumer.
* California and 13 other states will soon be setting auto emissions and fuel efficiency concepts,
* Discussions about federal climate change regulations are ramping up with administration and congressional support, and
* The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator has made assessing and managing chemical risks considered one of the agency's five priorities.
Takeaway: Green initiatives are a thanks to engage employees, build morale and potentially save money.
Takeaway: Support for environmental and climate change regulations is growing. Companies need to understand what these new or revised laws mean for their enterprise.
2. Identifying and reducing risks. An environmental focus can uncover and help manage risks in the provision chain and from actual or pending environmental regulations.
Bottom Line: While the economic crisis has created an unforgiving environment for businesses, environmental sustainability remains a enterprise crucial. A focus on sustainability can help you manage short-term challenges, cut costs and position for future growth.
Employees are a particularly important group to highlight. Retaining employees, relatively high-finish knowledge workers, is essential to weathering these markets. Green initiatives provide opportunities to engage employees and boost morale.
Takeway: Not only is environmental oversight of the provision chain good management, but it is also necessary to ensure consumer and environmental safety and avoid becoming headline news.
While consumers may be confused about what "green" or "sustainability" means, they are commencing to understand that products they purchase have a life cycle impact on the environment. Brands, corresponding to Tropicana and Fiji Water, are taking advantage of this trend by assessing their products' environmental footprint and speaking it to consumers, sometimes right on the label.
Takeaway: In the short-term, companies are under pressure to manage limited resources and cut costs. Using an eco-efficiency lens to identify and implement projects can save money and cut down environmental impacts in both the close and the long-term.
Declining markets and shortage of credit challenge companies on every level. These pressing issues may temporarily mask the urgency of environmental concerns. Yet, environmental issues don't appear to be going away, and it would be a mistake to take your eye off the green ball (or your green strategy).
A couple of examples of how companies' eco-efficiency efforts can save money, cut down waste and improve environmental impacts contain:
* Harrah's Entertainment, which estimates it is saving $10 million annually with its energy and environmental conservation initiatives, and
* Wal-Mart, which, the New York Times reported, saved $3.5 million per year by recycling and selling loose plastic. Wal-Mart also predicts it will save $500M by 2020 by identifying ways to more efficiently load trucks.
Understanding environmental regulatory risk is also increasingly important. Several examples demonstrate that environmental regulations in the US will evolve unexpectedly.
Focusing existing staff on sustainability initiatives can build on employees' knowledge of the company and produce measurable benefits. For occasion, a major cosmetics manufacturer launched green teams that have pushed the company's environmental agenda ahead and identified millions of dollars of savings. These employees knew where to find savings and how to effect the changes they recommended.
Here are four reasons that an environmental strategy remains important on your enterprise:
