Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008 - (Page 23)

CUSTOM RESEARCH VENDOR PERSPECTIVE BY PETER CAPOZUCCA, PRINCIPAL, AND MICHAEL DAHER, MANAGER, DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP THE GREEN GAP L E S S O N S L E A R N E D O N T H E S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y PAT H TO S H A R E H O L D E R V A L U E Doing good for the environment and society has long differentiated consumer products companies,and executives are making sustainability a top agenda item. But what lessons have they learned along this path to sustainability? Develop a clear definition: The strategic opportunity for sustainability is at the intersection of environmental,social and economic factors.This may become tricky when the environmental or social benefits outweigh the short-term financial bottom line.Defining sustainability is a critical first step to leveraging it as part of an enterprise strategy. Employees need to clearly understand what it means to help product engineers and operations managers design products and processes, and the salesforce,product managers and public relations departments to speak to external parties in a meaningful way. Make it part of your organizational DNA: A company’s mission statement commonly defines the organization itself. It is sometimes referred to as the company’s DNA. Therefore, it is critical to develop a sustainability vision statement that aligns closely with your mission statement. An inspiring, action-oriented sustainability vision statement can help a company further engage its employees and stakeholders, which is the first step in embedding sustainability within the company’s culture. Develop clear priorities: Sustainability is a large, strategic issue that can impact multiple areas of an enterprise. Taking one large environmental challenge head-on can require significant resources. Taking on many challenges on a smaller scale can dilute the desired environmental benefits and confuse key stakeholders. Defining priorities requires analyzing enterprise inputs and outputs at the operational level. In assessing inputs, a company may consider its top spend categories for raw materials.As some commodities experience increasing levels of volatility, companies may make them higher priorities for environment and economic benefits.Defining clear priorities helps decision-making when ROI is foggy or payback appears further out. Collaboration is key: Companies must keep up with changing technology to better understand environmental and social affects of enterprise operations as well as new potential solutions to sustainability challenges. However, companies can’t take full advantage of technology benefits without collaborating with external organizations to help navigate the ever-changing sustainability landscape. Companies should collaborate with non-profit organizations, academia or industry groups to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the issues, to identify more innovative tactics or technology to address the issues, and to engage potential stakeholders to achieve sustainability goals. CONSUMER GOODS TECHNOLOGY | J U LY 2 0 0 8 | W W W. C O N S U M E R G O O D S . C O M 23 http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/section_node/0,1042,sid%253D6233%2526fd%253DY,00.html http://WWW.CONSUMERGOODS.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008

Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008 Contents Edit Note Insights Special Report Catching Up With... Energy-Minded Efficiency Waste to Wonder Greater Good Natural Business Built to Last Setting Sustainable Goals Sustainability, Part 2 CGT Events Between the Lines

Consumer Goods Technology - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.