Entries by Bob Willard

3 Options for a More Sustainable Society

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In September, 165 university and college student leaders from across Canada came together for three days with national business and sustainability leaders to explore real sustainability solutions. The Co-Operators Group convened this amazing IMPACT! conference at the University of Guelph, Ontario. I was on an opening night panel with three other cross-sector panelists.

Spurred on by insightful student questions, at one point, I thought it was appropriate to acknowledge that we all have different comfort levels with various options available to us as corporate sustainability change agents. I outlined three things that we can do to make businesses sustainable (the link is to a short video of my spontaneous response). This blog builds on the options that I outlined which are open to us when we wake up and decide to take action to change the current unsustainable business model. Read More

Risk to Revenue from Sudden Supply Chain Disruptions

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Every company faces a particular set of physical and operational risks from severe weather, or political uprisings, or other snags in its value chain. Sustainability strategies lead to more local supply chains and a focus on local markets. Doing so may mitigate risks associated with far-flung supply chains which events like earthquakes in Japan, floods in Tailand, or uprisings in Greece could severely disrupt.

Further, when a company reduces its carbon footprint, it mitigates future severe weather events.

Extreme weather events are happening more frequently, can damage the company’s facilities, and may require extensive time and money to rectify. The homes of employees may be severely damaged, or infrastructure providing access to the company site may be destroyed. Supply chain resilience after severe weather events is a growing issue for companies with far-flung global operations and suppliers. Storms at supplier locations or en route can jeopardize supply and force the company to use more expensive alternative sources. Read More

The Risk to Revenue From Less Competitive Prices

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There are at least seven threats to a company’s revenue stream if it fails to embrace sustainability strategies. In my last blog, we outlined five risks to revenue from a poor reputation on; 1) energy and carbon management, 2) water management, 3) materials and waste management, and 4) eco-system damages, as well as 5) the risk to revenue from poor reputations of the company’s suppliers.

This week, we’ll look at another: the risk to revenue if the company loses its competitive price advantage. Read More

5 Reputational Risks to Revenue without Sustainability Strategies

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If a company decides to take a pass on sustainability strategies, it behooves sustainability champions to forewarn them that they may be jeopardizing their reputation with their customers. That reputational risk can quickly translate into lost revenue if customers decide they are more comfortable doing business with competitors.

It helps to size the potential revenue at risk by estimating its impact and factoring it by the probability of it occurring within the next three to five years. Assuming the company’s current revenue is $500 million, let’s look at a methodology for sizing five reputational risks to revenue: Read More

7 Risks to Revenue without Sustainability Strategies

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“Thanks, but no thanks. Maybe later.”Those words are like the kiss of death to a sustainability champion. Usually the rebuff follows a presentation to a busy executive who is surprisingly unexcited about the financial opportunities the company can capture if it embraces sustainability strategies. Now what?
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4 Contributors to Revenue from Services and Leasing

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In my last two blogs, we looked at how company sustainability efforts can help generate more revenue because of its enhanced brand image as a responsible corporate citizen, as well as more revenue from new products and new markets. This week, we will look at additional revenue from selling services and leasing products.

There are four new revenue streams that companies exploit when they focus on selling services instead of producing goods that deplete natural capital. Read More

New Revenue from New Products and New Markets

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In my last blog, we outlined how companies can gain more Business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) revenue from a more responsible company brand. This week we will look at a second way that sustainability strategies bolster revenue: the green attributes of the company’s products and services become differentiators.

The payoff for differentiation is increased market share as customers who seek “green” solutions are attracted to the company’s products and services over its competitors’. That is, the sustainability attributes of a company’s products are differentiators to B2C and B2B customers who seek “green” solutions. Read More

More B2C and B2B Revenue From a More Sustainable Brand

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People buy from companies they trust. More and more, customers prefer to do business with companies that are doing good things and are responsible. The responsible image of the company builds loyalty with customers who identify with the values of the company – their loyalty is more to the company than to its products.

Even when buying green products, consumers may gravitate more towards buying from companies that best walk-the-talk on sustainability at a corporate level. Read More

3 Sustainable Ways to Rev-Up Revenue

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A powerful rationale for sustainable development is enlightened self-interest, fed by the prospect of increased revenue, markets, and profits. Savings are good; revenue growth is exciting. Business strategy is often driven by bolstering revenue more than by cutting costs. Over time, societal expectations change. Companies should anticipate those changes and develop new practices, new products, new services, and new markets in advance. Doing this before competitors do is the key to revenue growth and to profits.
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4 ESG-Friendly Findings about Borrowing Rates

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In my last blog, I outlined three concerns that lending institutions have about companies with poor environmental, social, and governance (ESG) track records. First, environmental practices may expose borrowers to expensive legal, reputational, and regulatory risks that could jeopardize their solvency. Second, lenders want to ensure they are not stuck with the borrower’s current and past environmental liabilities if the borrower defaults on the loan. Third, lenders are wary of risks to their own reputations if the public perceives they are abetting the borrower’s irresponsible corporate behavior.

For these three reasons, laggard companies with poor ESG track records may find they pay a higher rate for their borrowed capital. The Social Investment Forum’s 2010 Moskowitz Prize for scholarly research on socially responsible investing was awarded to Rob Bauer and Daniel Hann for their paper, “Corporate Environmental Management and Credit Risk.” In it, they analyzed 1996 to 2006 data on the environmental profiles of 582 U.S. public companies and their associated cost of debt. They found: Read More