Incentive - January 2009 - (Page 16)

COVER STORY began its green efforts about two years ago, it was as much to curb rising energy costs in the buildings CBRE managed as it was from a desire to do the right thing. As it switched out lightbulbs, reduced water usage and instituted recycling programs, the firm used a one-size-fits-all approach, working from a list of 12 Standards of Sustainability. But as CBRE expanded these efforts to the many companies using it for facility management, a opportunity for some very clever green practices, beyond encouraging the reuse of towels. Instead of delivering printed material to the room, Ambassadors equipped each room with a digital picture frame and a USB drive containing the information attendees needed, with the dates and details already saved and ready to read, thereby eliminating waste. “You just need to be creative,” says Leslie Saeta, a founding partner for Ambassadors meeting that we’ve done has been less expensive than one that wasn’t,” she says. Environmental and Economical It’s not just Saeta who is seeing hard evidence of the synergy between fiscal and environmental responsibility. The recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study, The Food, Beverage, and Consumer Products Industry— Achieving Superior Financial Performance in a Challenging Economy, reports that “companies that report sustainability data generally experience higher gross margins and return on sales, higher return on assets, and stronger cash flow and rising shareholder return.” The report offers several explanations for this, including that companies focused on sustainability have adopted best practices in their operations and save on their energy and overall input costs. Drawing on this study and others, Meeting Strategies Worldwide, based in Portland, Ore., published a white paper in December titled The Economy and the Environment: One Solution for Two Meeting and Event Industry Issues. As the title implies, the paper makes the case that in this time of trying economic times, sustainable practices offer a number of compelling advantages deriving from cost savings, a stronger position against competitors and employee retention. The paper concludes with a quote from green business expert Joel Makower. “At the end of the day, most green business activity is—or should be—about making companies, and economies, more resilient and competitive,” writes Makower. “That seems to me to be a recipe for success during good times and bad. Green can make sense when times are tough— and even because times are tough.” Tim Sanders, former chief solutions officer at Yahoo and the author of Saving the World at Work, believes that as the state of the economy shifts, so does the approach to “going green.” “For the last three or four years, green used to be a spending strategy—you “To date, every green meeting we’ve done has been less expensive than one that wasn’t.” more varied approach was required. “They’re at different places. They have different attitudes, they have different price and cost structures…sustainability is an aspect of most of these companies, but they’re all dealing with [the standards] in different sorts of ways,” says Pogue. He explains that the goals CBRE encourages each client to take on depend on whether they lease or own their building, what type of industry they are, and a number of other considerations. CBRE’s leadership holds the company to even more rigorous environmental standards. Aiming to be carbon neutral by 2010, it has established minimum environmental standards at its facilities based on current environmental programs such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification and Green Star for waste reduction and air quality. This green orientation extends to its corporate incentives. Working closely with the Newport, Calif.–based Ambassadors LLC (an industry green leader in its own right), the company has kept environmental and social responsibility front and center. Last year’s annual Recognition Conference for CBRE’s top 200 plus brokers provided an —Leslie Saeta, Ambassadors LLC LLC. “We need to help educate people that being environmentally responsible does not mean being not luxurious… People can have a wonderful experience and not leave a footprint.” Ambassadors has been working with CBRE for a number of years, and like its client, the incentive house has not only set high green standards for its own activities, it has motivated those it works with to boost their environmental and social responsibility as well. In 2007 the company formally introduced the PlanIt Green program for sustainable incentive programs and events. This has led it to require properties it is considering for a program to fill out a form verifying how green they are and—perhaps more significantly—how green they can be by the time of the program. Saeta says she has seen properties begin green practices to meet the PlanIt Green standards and keep them in place after the event ends. Saeta expresses concern that in the wake of the economic crisis, companies may be putting green efforts on the back burner. She believes the smart thing is to do just the opposite. “To date, every green 16 | Incentive | January 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - January 2009

Incentive - January 2009 Contents Editor's Note: Rewards Must Be Sustainable Headlines Cover Story: Responsibility's New Role Incentive Interview: Patrick Lencioni Family Rewards: Who They're Working For Primer: Working Design Leap of Faith: Religion in the Workplace Cook Up Engagement: Kitchen Teambuilding My Turn: Procurement Possibilities Motivation@Work: Hard Times Recognition Legal Ease: The Tax Facts on Corporate Gifts Travel News: Where to Go and What to Do The Bahamas: Islands in the Sun Field Reports: Four European Destinations Golf: Around the World in 18 Holes Potentials Here and Now Watches and Clocks: Strike the Pose Golf Merchandise: Awards with a Solid Swing Computers: Digital Delights Retailers Band Together for Gift Card Market Gift Cards: The Prepaid Reward Spectrum Advertiser Index On the Web www.Incentivemag.com

Incentive - January 2009

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