I’m reading an advance copy of Auden Schendler’s “Getting Green Done,” coming out next week. It’s filled with lots of wisdom from the front lines and its a great read. It has also given me some great insights for the
book I’m writing on greening small businesses. I thought I’d share three nuggets of wisdom with you here:
1. Sustainable practices are proving to make business sense—but ethics also have to play a role. We all know that sustainable business, is good business. For example, a recent Aberdeen Group study of green practices among retailers found that green mandates were “essential cost control and customer service practices.” On average, best-in-class retailers achieved a 20% decrease in energy costs, an 8% decrease in their overall logistics and transport costs, and a 5% decrease in merchandise costs through their green initiatives. But, Schendler says, ROI is not enough:
“Ethics have to play a role…an economic pitch in a vacuum may not make sense to managers if there’s no context, no broader environmental mission within the company.”
His point is that it may be easier to “sell” sustainability when you start by getting everyone at the table to agree/admit that businesses have a responsibility to help protect the environment.
2. Do a sexy project. Schendler’s advice is to start the greening process with things that you will find fun to implement. Things that interest you. Things that are sexy. This will get everyone engaged.
Businesses can most effectively implement greening programs when they start with something sexy so that senior management feels good—and can understand. Note to ecopreneurs: Make your products and projects sexy.
3. Look for the levers. Use your leverage—the things you can do to move others to be greener—to make a broader impact on the environment than your own business alone can effect. In other words, look for ways to influence others. I interpret this to mean: Ask yourself: Can we influence our suppliers to be more environmentally responsible? Can we influence our customers to be more environmentally responsible? Schendler calls this approach “asymmetric warfare.” He cites the example of when Aspen Ski Company, which only spends about $30,000 a year on Kleenex banned the brand from the resort, the CEO of $32 billion parent company, Kimberly Clark, reached out to them. As a result, ASC was able to begin an environmental dialogue with a company 160 times its size.
Schendler’s book is filled with great advice for, well, getting green done. Come back next week to read an interview with Schendler.
Photo: Kathleen Parkes on Flickr.com
About Jennifer Kaplan
