Executive Decision - March/April 2008 - (Page 42)

green at work I transforming for sustainability Perceived cost and lack of market interest have historically been reasons for not embracing sustainability. But if approached systematically, research suggests that sustainability and corporate responsibility investments actually reduce costs, add value and have a positive impact on the environment. What we’ve found at Deloitte Consulting is that many organizations understand the benefits of sustainability and desire them. They are also beginning to understand how the landscape is changing and the importance of transitioning to a sustainable enterprise. Yet, for many of them, their greatest challenge is how to get there. products, to its workforce, GE executives have begun to change how social and environmental factors affect value. And the marketplace has responded, as GE has generated billions of dollars of revenue for products labeled under the “Ecomagination” campaign. The success of GE has, however, highlighted another important issue for companies moving this direction—for all of the positive results, much has been published that is openly skeptical of GE’s motives in going green. Wal-Mart and others face the same issue—while positive strides are being made, there is intense scrutiny on what constitutes “enough.” But, few companies are pursuing sustainability on such a broad scale as Wholly Sustainable Enterprise Transforming a company for sustainability requires executives to reconsider environmental and social factors in every aspect of their business, from products and services, to the workplace, the workforce, supply chain, marketing and branding, and governance. In doing so, a company can become what we call a “wholly sustainable enterprise”—one that generates growth, profitability and value by applying principles of sustainability across the entire base of activity. General Electric was one of the early adopters of a broad approach to sustainability. From its branding of GE. The reality is that most companies are still in the early stages of their transformation. It is important to remember that the effort represents a fundamental shift in the strategy and composition of a company—a monumental task. Therefore, changes themselves must be incremental, sequenced from a well-developed strategy, based on solid business values, and implemented as a series of steps that do not disrupt operations or demand high costs all at once. While a “best practice” for framing sustainability and corporate responsibility has yet to emerge, companies can frame their activity along two critical Sustainability will present a win-win in terms of having a positive business impact and environmental benefits. 42 EXECUTIVE DECISION I execdecision.com http://execdecision.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Decision - March/April 2008

Executive Decision - March/April 2008 Contents Index of Advertisers Contributing Editors From the Editor's Desk Publisher's Note You Be the Judge - Unionization Thought Leader - Pitney Bowes Management - Flying High for Long-Term Results Strategies - Sovereign Wealth Funds Cover Story - In Whom Do We Trust? The Movement for Greater Accountability & Disclosure Finance/Legal - The New Boycott Model Green At Work - Transforming for Sustainability Technology - Embracing Risk Leadership - Executive Reputation Management The Global Village - China Moves to Curb Prices Economic Profile - California Gold Rush Transformations - I Can See Clearly Now, The Brain Is Gone Marketing - Effectively Using Market Research The Bottom Line - Brands: A Shrinking Advantage or Shifting Advantage? Pulse - Pandemic: Not If But When SPECIAL SECTION - Living On the Green: Luxury Golf Destinations

Executive Decision - March/April 2008

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