Tag Archive for: Sustainability

The 6-Point Publishing Strategy for “The Ultimate Sustainability Advantage Workbook”

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The situation is urgent. We need to accelerate corporate action on sustainability issues, especially on climate destabilization. So far, we have been ineffective in marshaling sufficient corporate leadership on impending social and environmental challenges. One reason is that sustainability champions have been ill-equipped to convince hard-nosed business executives that it is in their company's interest to help. We need a more usable, complete, and compelling business case tool. My new book will will fill that need. My last blog,  Coming Soon: “The Ultimate Sustainability Advantage Workbook," provided three reasons why the "ultimate" descriptor is appropriate. Here is my 6-point publishing strategy for The Ultimate Sustainability Advantage Workbook to ensure that it is available to, and usable by, worldwide legions of sustainability champions by November. Read More

3 Recent Reports on the Unsustainable Income / Wealth Chasms

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Income Inequality and Wealth Distribution

There has been, and always will be, a wealth gap between the rich and the poor. It's the degree of this disparity that is the issue. The current global wealth chasm has reached a dangerous threshold. So has the income chasm. Within the last month, 3 reports on the unsustainable income / wealth chasms were released by organizations that do excellent research on the issue.  They confirm that the gulf between rich and poor is wide and growing wider.  It is now obscene enough that it is deemed newsworthy by mainstream media. Read More

3 Options When Your Ship Is Sinking

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Picture this. 190 people are on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean. The bilge pump is broken. The captain announces that they are in mortal danger so all passengers – businessmen, politicians, scientists, academics, and others – agree to pitch in and help to bail the ship. They take a poll of how much each person is able to do and are excited to find that they can collectively bail 100 gallons of water a minute. Unfortunately, the boat is taking on 200 gallons a minute, so the boat will sink unless they double their efforts. What should they do? You have three 3 options when your ship is sinking. Read More

7 Reasons That it’s Time for a Gold-Standard Benchmark

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performance benchmark In my last blog, I outlined five benefits of a gold-standard ESG benchmark for sustainable companies. Ten years ago, it would have been too soon to develop this benchmark. Ten years from now, it may be too late. Here are at least 7 reasons that now is the right time to create a gold-standard benchmark for ESG performance. 1. Leading companies are ready The business community has already started to set gold-standard ESG performance benchmark-like goals for their environmental initiatives. Wal-Mart, GM, Ford, Toyota, Unilever, PepsiCo, P&G, Kraft, DuPont, Kimberley Clark, and others have embarked on zero-waste initiatives. California has regulations that require all new commercial buildings to be zero-net-energy (ZNE) by 2030. Interface is using its “Mission Zero” to climb “Mount Sustainability” by 2020. These leading companies know that attaining these stretch goals will make them stronger, more resilient, and more successful. Aggressive “zero” or “100%” goals for KPIs in the gold-standard benchmark will not shock them. They already agree with them. Read More

Four New Resources for Sustainability Champions

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I love it when a plan comes together.

—Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, A-Team leader—

March was a great month. I’ve been counting backward from that date for two years. I wanted to co-release four new interrelated business case resources for sustainability champions. It worked. Read More

End of Bob Willard’s Blog – Exciting New Projects On the Horizon

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  After much reflection, this will be my last blog post. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for following my posts and for their insightful comments. I am now refocusing my efforts on enhancing my resources for sustainability champions. As context, as a certified B Corp, my vision is a sustainable world in which individuals, communities, and businesses thrive within nature’s limits. My two-fold mission is to inspire business leaders to integrate sustainability strategies into company strategies, and to provide useful resources for an army of sustainability champions so that they have the competence and confidence to accelerate the transformation toward a sustainable global society. I want to spend more effort on that last part. 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

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