Business Sustainabilty

Lessons for Creating Your Sustainability Report: An EMC Case Study

Lessons for Creating Your  Sustainability Report: An EMC Case Study

In this post Kathrin examines some of the issues and challenged that crop up in sustainability reporting from the perspective of her own recent experience preparing the sustainability report for EMC. The author gives advice to those who are about to embark on crafting a sustainability report — saying in effect that it is a big job with a very large scope that includes practically every aspect of the organization. She concludes by sharing some of what she learned from her experience and what could have perhaps been done differently.

Green Supply Chains Need Innovative Sustainable Packaging

Green Supply Chains Need Innovative Sustainable Packaging

Looks at the importance of sustainable packaging in achieving a sustainable supply chain. Many factors ranging from form factor, packaging weight, to recyclable post consumer content and so forth acting in concert go into green packaging, which can lead to significant cost savings throughout the supply chain, at each single step where packaged materials are used, including consumer packaging itself. The post goes on to list important considerations and attributes related to green packaging.

Three Ways Finance Departments Do Sustainability With Big Impact

Three Ways Finance Departments Do Sustainability With Big Impact

Beyond the obvious move of going paperless, there are a number ways that finance departments can make sustainability part of its strategy. They include: allocating a pool of capital project money to the sustainability department, calculating risk-adjusted returns realistically, and having 401K plans that offer socially or environmentally responsible investment options.

The U.S. Government’s Green Purchasing Programs Have Some Serious Problems That Need to be Addressed

The U.S. Government’s Green Purchasing Programs Have Some Serious Problems That Need to be Addressed

The Federal government recently issues a new rule that requires that 95 percent of new contract actions be green.This sounds great. But there are some underlying systemic issues related to the timing of the FARC interim ruling. Industry groups and procurement agencies are scratching their heads. Several industry associations requested that the government stop issuing rules that change federal procurement policy without first considering public comment.

Managing Reverse Logistics, Recycling, and Sustainability in the US

Managing Reverse Logistics, Recycling, and Sustainability in the US

This post looks at the pressing issues of electronic waste and at the environmental and financial costs of recycling this growing mountain of obsolete computers, displays and peripherals. It suggests that a wider adoption of reverse logistics more generally in the electronics industry may help to manage the end of life process. This is a growing problem, even though the size of electronics keeps shrinking the sheer volumes continue to grow as these devices become ever more ubiquitous.

7 Ways To Get Employees To Change For The Greener

7 Ways To Get Employees To Change For The Greener

In this post Jennifer uses excerpts from an article on change management and applies the seven strategies outlined in the article to the specific challenge of getting employees to change their habitual behaviors in ways that help the organization achieve its sustainability goals. Actually getting people to adopt change in their lives is a lot more involved than a glossy vision statement that outlines lofty and worthy goals; unless the message connects with the people it needs to reach it will soon be forgotten.

Government Agencies Required to Go 95% Green on All Purchases

Government Agencies Required to Go 95% Green on All Purchases

Two days ago, the Federal Acquisition Regulations Council released an interim rule on green procurement, requiring that the head of each agency ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions are for products and services that are energy efficient, water efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable or non-ozone depleting, adhering to criteria set out by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department. The agencies also must aim to procure items that contain recycled content and are nontoxic.

CEOs See Sustainability as Engine for Growth but Industry Sectors Split on Priorities

CEOs See Sustainability as Engine for Growth but Industry Sectors Split on Priorities

Despite an overall trend towards seeing sustainability as an opportunity for value creation and business success, according to a new research study published today by the United Nations Global Compact and Accenture, there are major differences in perceptions of sustainability between CEOs in different industry sectors, and significant gaps in the level of integration of sustainability already achieved in their companies.

Green MBA Transitioning From Marketing to Sustainability: Meet Robin Connell, Manager, Sustainability Programs, Del Monte Foods

Green MBA Transitioning From Marketing to Sustainability: Meet Robin Connell, Manager, Sustainability Programs, Del Monte Foods

As part of our Green MBA Success Series, I am interviewing Green MBA graduates to uncover what steps they took to transition to green careers using their degrees. Meet Robin Connell, Manager of Sustainability Programs at Del Monte Foods. Prior to transitioning to a career in sustainability, Robin worked seven years in media publishing in a consumer marketing role, after having spent having spent three years in that industry in a human resources capacity. Read our interview with Robin, in which she shares her story of how she transitioned from a career in media marketing to one in sustainability.