It is clear that being sustainable and green is not just about saving trees. There are clear and obvious business benefits that come from a fresh view of all aspects of your business through the lens of the environment and sustainability.
Companies are embarking on initiatives across their companies that are driving new revenues, driving down costs and reducing risk. Some examples include:
· Tracking, analyzing, and uncovering ways to reduce carbon (and costs!) at a company and product level
· Creating new products and markets from new green products or concepts
· Recall/traceability – smarter and faster recalls that keep consumers safer and drive down costs
· Complying with global, complex product regulations like REACH and RoHS
· Managing and reducing energy use in plants facilities and transportation methods
These initiatives are already paying large dividends as evidenced by the examples below:
1. Dupont’s Eco-efficiency efforts since 1990 cut costs by U.S. $3B and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 72%
2. Nike – 15% of its footware meet its “Considerd Design” status that they use eco-conscious materials, reduce factory waste, & cut toxins
3. Unilever introduced a hand washing campaign in India, reaching 120 million people so far and increasing sales of soap
4. Danone had a 22% reduction in costs by optimizing fleet utilization
5. Procter and Gamble developed $2 billion reduced footprint products including concentrated laundry detergents and has cut energy 46%, CO2 52%, waste 50%, water use 51% since 2002
6. INX reduced substance volume tracking by 75%
So here is a question to the virtual readers – what actual stories or unique ideas do you have in sustainability to drive a business case? Driving new revenue or new markets? Reducing cost or risk? Please share…..
