From: Why Smart Managers Will Capitalize on Sustainability First

 

Q: Can you elaborate on the correlation between sustainability and competitive advantage?

Yeah. Efficiency (lower unit costs), quality, reliability -- often these "positive" attributes of companies go hand in hand, managers will tell you. Now think about sustainability. If companies are good at developing systems that deal with health and safety, and/or treating waste and water, and/or devising innovative ways to reduce energy consumption and so forth, they usually have their act together on many other, fundamental, how-they-do-business fronts. In other words, companies that have thought hard about how to establish various management systems that promote more sustainable business practices are also companies that have thought hard about how to be more efficient or innovative or differentiate their products and services in the market.

Sustainability becomes a proxy for management quality. This is a quick way for others, be they buyers or customers or potential partners, to get information about vendors or any other value-chain partner and what kinds of systems they have. And that makes sense to me, absolutely.

Green Festival Seattle Blog #1

Saturday March 28 is a busy day as we cover the Green Festival here in Seattle, Washington.Video coverage is on Qik.

At Green Festival™, a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, we’re celebrating what’s working in our communities—for people, business and the environment.

Think of Green Festival™ as a walk through a sustainable community. It begins with finding solutions to help make our lives healthier—socially, economically and environmentally. Individuals along with business and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed, and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.

--Inclusiveness matters: Obama recorded a videotaped holiday address delivered to Iran on the occasion of Norwuz, a celebration of the Persian New Year.

-http://ping.fm/YiuMG The White House plants a graden - learn more about sustainable food at http://ping.fm/LNXrM

-I have lots of friends with kids; Here's a link about DIY Toys and Decorations http://ping.fm/yeeO7

-Just launched new green building segment with 20 videos on One Greener TV at http://ping.fm/LNXrM

--Sustainability and real estate is today's topic on my radio show at 10am Pacific 1pm eastern - http://onegreener.com

>>#sustainable Ireland is greener all year round http://ping.fm/0aQ4S

--Baxter and Its Foundation Contribute Nearly $44 Million in 2008 to Address Critical Needs Locally and Globally http://ping.fm/xyQj4

Nobel Prize winning climate scientist on One Greener Radio Wednesday 10AM Pacific, call-in, email, or Twitter - http://onegreener.com

-- watching roller derby; watch live at http://ping.fm/vgxCh

http://ping.fm/wLrO3 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change toolkits and resources

--Built Green Conference in Seattle http://ping.fm/tXyL2 -Key theme "creating more with less" an ideal for creating green businesses

--At Built Green conference in Seattle; just heard Robert F Kennedy speak; recorded it at http://ping.fm/vgxCh

One Greener Radio Show Overview March 3, 2009

Topic: Green Jobs and Economic Stimulus Package

Today we discussed Green Jobs and the Economic Stimulus Package with several experts. We covered topics such as how green jobs are being created in various states, the challenges that face policymakers and those administrators implementing green job plans, how can communities make sure that the money is spent in an equitable way, how to create long-term versus short-term jobs that address climate change, and many other subjects. Download the show at http://tinyurl.com/1greener and comment on the show here at our blog.

Our guests for Feb 3, 2009 are:
Marc Cummings, Director of Public Affairs
Pacific NW National Laboratory
http://pnl.gov

Elena Foshay, Research Associate
Apollo Alliance
http://apolloalliance.org

Shawn Fremstad, Senior Fellow
Center for Economic and Policy Research
http://cepr.net

Daniel Malarkey, Consultant
Climate Solutions
http://climatesolutions.org

--Clean energy segment started on my One Greener TV channel. Watch sustainable TV programming 24-7 at http://ping.fm/LNXrM Enjoy

--Which Sectors Are Most Resilient in Recession? http://ping.fm/hAp97

-http://ping.fm/GQHLf EDF Maps 1,200 Companies Poised to Benefit from Sustainable Climate Laws