1.What’s trending?
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a great way for companies to save money and help the planet. Implementing energy-efficient measures can mean an initial upfront investment, however, it can also bring a great financial return. The cost of energy can be as high as the third highest operational cost for an office based business. However, money savings are accompanied by other benefits including helping the planet through green house gas reductions and demonstrating corporate social responsibility.
Research has shown that small businesses can reduce their energy bill between 10 – 30% simply by installing energy efficient measures. Some of the energy savings can be realised through small changes in infrastructure and switching to lower carbon resources. Behaviour change steps can increase energy efficiency across operations. Turning off lights when leaving a room and unplugging computers when not in use, can often offer significant potential for achieving gains in managing energy use.
2.What’s impacting the industry?
Sustainability Benchmarking
How far does your business really need to go to realise the vision identified through the companies strategic plan? Bench-marking the companies progress against certain areas of the business offers a way to understand sustainability performance. Three of the most common benchmarking tools are outlined below:
a. Assess your own performance: This may involve understanding the current mode of operation against key indicators, for example water use, energy use, recycled paper use, C02 emissions, etc. Once this has been quantified, it can be used as the basis for tracking progress.
b. Benchmark your performance with your peers: Evaluate the Sustainability strategy of your closest competitors or industry leaders (and potentially laggards) and compare your progress to theirs or use it as way to set targets.
c. Identify your strengths and weaknesses: With either of the above methods of bench-marking, or both, it is possible to identify the Sustainability areas in which you excel, or need improvement.
Companies that visibly operate towards a broader vision of sustainability and society attract high-performing talented staff while out-performing their competitors.
3.What technology is available right now?
Responding to public pressure, many countries, cities and companies are banning plastic straws. This is because the cumulative use of straws has significant impacts on the environment by contributing to the pollution of rivers, beaches, cities and natural areas.
Starbucks plans to phase out plastic straws by 2020. McDonald’s announced it will ban plastic straws at its U.K. and Ireland restaurants. The European Union has agreed to ban single use plastics by 2021 including plastic straws. United, American and Alaska Airlines will be among the first airlines to phase out plastic straws and stirrers.
The good news is there are many alternatives on the market, including paper straws, steel straws, glass straws and even straws made from papaya. However, one of the best straws on the market is the straw made from bamboo. Bamboo is a well established material and renowned for being a crop that is fast growing) is not water intensive compared to other crops, regenerates and normally grows without harmful chemicals. When plastic straws are banned, which straw replacement will you be using?
4. What are we listening to?
IdeaCast is a weekly podcast from Harvard Business Review featuring the leading thinkers in business and management. Episodes cover many corporate topics from leadership strategies to recruitment tips, but strongly feauture sustainability initiatives in business.
In episode 620, Dominic Barton, the global managing partner of McKinsey&Company, discusses the firm’s sustainability efforts. He talks about his wake-up call and how he now tries to convince CEOs hesitant to make it part of their business model that doing so will improve company performance.
You3 has seen that the truly successful business who go from good to great makes its core values around this and grow from a solid foundation that can be built from.
5. What are we watching?
Sebastian Copeland is a polar explorer, climate researcher, photographer and author. In 2017, Sebastian was named one of the world’s 25 Most Adventurous Men of the last 25 years by Men’s Journal. His work has been featured in National Geographic, Vanity Fair, Outside, American Photo, The New York Times, People Magazine, USA Today, Paris Match as well on NBC, CBS, NPR and CNN’s Larry King Live, and hundreds of international media.
Quote i’m pondering:
“In order to obtain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.”
— Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)