So why are businesses prioritising sustainability? This is a question that puzzles businesses who haven’t yet understood the business case of sustainability and therefore missing out on opportunities but also threatening their businesses future!

Throughout the years there have been countless researchers conducted on the development of Corporate Responsibility and since 2002 universities have created new departments for this movement.  Recently edie along with Sustainable Business and Temple conducted a research to answer this question. Their results are indeed profound and most certainly answer any questions businesses not prioritising sustainability might have!

Seven in 10 businesses (69%) consider sustainability to be a priority business driver for success in 2012, by doing the math you will find that more that 40% of those see it as a high priority, principally placing it at the core of their business! But why is this so?

In a nut shell, “going green” creates opportunities and identifies risks before they are brought to the surface. By prioritising sustainability the report finds that companies are driving down costs by focusing and engaging in energy, waste, carbon and water efficiency.

Shorly it comes as no surprise that energy is the largest issue among all, given that minimizing energy consumption also narrows down the profit margin, but positively carbon also. But then again with energy prices rising, and have no doubt that they will continue raising, and mandatory carbon reports booming in 2013, it makes perfect sense why up to 95% of the largest firms are addressing this matter by “going green”! The same case applies for waste reduction being among the top five priorities businesses are addressing! In turn, increasing efficiencies to drive profit margins is a critical business driver with 43% of businesses saying that it is among their top three priorities for the next three years. In fact 85% of these believe that resource efficiency will become fundamental to their business within in the next two years.

Essentially, the report places it perfectly by stating that “across sectors, most respondents seem to have realised how ‘green’ can also mean ‘lean’ in today’s harsher economic climate”. Facts sheet? Sure, nearly 71% already have energy-use targets in place, whilst 65% of companies have set themselves waste targets.

Businesses who have chosen to not go green should perhaps encounter that by 2014 carbon and waste reporting will be almost be a common practice.

Begin prioritising! Found out how CSE can guide you through the journey of sustainability…

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), once a concept, has now turned into a passport for any leading company, regardless of its sector, to operate in modern society. Indeed the interest in CSR began in the 90’s as businesses undoubtedly began having significant power and wealth, some even wealthier than entire countries!

Yet, as businesses presence and power continued to grow in the 20^th century, so did society’s awareness that businesses also have a massive duty to fulfill towards society, namely acting as good corporate citizens! By and large this a result of the alertness that what makes companies wealthier simultaneously weakens our common good! This alertness was delivered by the risks climate change inherently began showing among the poorest nations of the world. The threats and impacts of climate change were brought to the surface by key conferences in the early 90’s focusing on sustainable development, alike the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro 1992, followed by courageous key authors and documents awakening society as a whole.

The awareness and knowledge about the risk of climate change is now well understood being an issue that needs to be tackled on a global scale, some prefer the term “glocal”. Why? Because society is now also aware that to achieve results, action must be taken from a local scale up the ladder to global, this would suggest individuals doing their own part for the environment as well as acting as responsible consumers by supporting ethical corporations.

Studies alike Cone Communications mirror the movement in society’s ethical behavior as their latest survey found that consumers nowadays do not view CSR as an inspirational mission statement, but something they narrow down their decision making to! The specific survey found that 86 percent of consumers are more likely to trust a company that reports its CSR results, and 82 percent say they are more likely to purchase a product that clearly demonstrates the results of the company’s CSR initiatives than one that does not, according to the report. Such results are profound in comparison to a few years ago and reflect the blossoming of CSR and its significance towards a sustainable development and future!

So why is CSR a passport to leading companies? Well, numbers, at times, speak for themselves and reflect consumers using their choice as a vote, and it is clear to see that their votes honor responsible businesses and essentially punishing the others, simply by not choosing them!!! Are you an ethical consumer?

Sustainability challenges businesses of all shapes and activities around the world to rethink their missions and to re-structure their operations, core business priorities and communication channels.

Sustainability needs not only to be explored as an outcome and a process of enterprising, but also as the catalyst for industry change and organizational innovation.

Pressures for achieving Ecological Balance, Economic Prosperity and Social Development, force organizations to make decisions that simultaneously consider and advance green operations and green business as a whole.

“Becoming Green” for a business is not just a recent trend in international level, but a sign of introspection, where businesses reevaluate the way they work and expand. Although climate change and sustainable development has been in the epicenter of the business community for quite some time, for many industries it remains hard to quantify, define, adopt and communicate the notion of green business.

Encountering the enterprising side of green, means meeting the challenges and assisting the green business sector, businesses with deep social and environmental commitments, emerge and succeed in a new competitive environment.

In order to simultaneously achieve economic development, social justice and environmental protection, each organization will need to strategically plan and implement a holistic approach to corporate social responsibility where the environmental aspect plays a key role.

The latest trends in Corporate Greening focus on new technologies, processes and services that strengthen a company’s business model while generating significant environmental benefits.

And remember: succeeding is not only dependant on a great idea, but on the insight of the state of the green marketplace, on acquiring the right marketing and financial models for the business, establishing measurable sustainability goals and monitor, evaluating and reporting on performance as well as selecting and retaining the right knowledgeable individuals.

The news on CSR reporting are very promising since the number of reports published on 2011 have been increased, followed by a rapid increase in the number of companies which measure their performance by adopting the GRI framework. Sustainability reporting is creating a new dynamic for markets and businesses and no matter the extent or the application level check of the CSR reporting it is very encouraging and promising that more and more companies realize the need and the benefits of reporting and engage themselves to this direction.

Is that a surprise? Why have companies and organizations started to focus more on this direction? Simply because this approach helps them to set goals, measure their performance, shape their strategy and policy and finally to introduce innovation in their organizations.

A sustainability report is not a pr or marketing tool but a key platform for every organization which wants to communicate its economic, environmental and social goals. The process used by larger organizations differs than the process used by small and medium enterprises.

Large Organizations with well established management systems, functions and policies benefit from sustainability reporting since

• Reporting is supported by the GRI framework which provides comparable data, agreed metrics and a holistic approach that forms an integral part of the company’s management cycle and reporting (& vice versa).

• The reporting methodology can be integrated to all functions and operations at all levels, from HR to procurement, corporate affairs and HSE, and can support a reliable and long term business strategy.

On the other hand medium size companies improve their operations and development through reporting as:

• Employee culture drives for better quality, cost reduction, customer satisfaction

• Customer satisfaction is gradually improving to customer loyalty

• Local communities perceive the company as a reliable and responsible citizen

Therefore sustainability report is a vital step for every organization interested to secure the consistency on targets & strategy as well as to invest on a future where profitability is combined with environmental care & social responsibility.

If you want to learn how to create a CSR report based on the GRI framework join us on our next Certified GRI Training on Reporting in Athens, 22&23 October 2012!

The new era of globalization and transparency triggers the efforts concerning Sustainability, a concept explained through many definitions. A general understanding suggests that Sustainability concerns a broad spectrum of duties that businesses are required to recognize and reflect in their actions to survive. Among the issues covered by Sustainability are the responsibility of organizations to fairly treat human resources, customers and suppliers, to demonstrate proper corporate citizenship, and to actively show respect towards the natural environment. These responsibilities should be considered not only as morally and ethically desirable ends in themselves but also as evidence regarding the societal allowance to organizations for long term survival.

Therefore, the embodiment of Green Project management as an element of Sustainability, with a strategic mindset, falls into the operation of all major projects globally and ensures their positive impact on Stakeholders (customers, society, shareholders etc) and the Environment. Organizations following such a framework will not only benefit from generating profits but also from developing sustainably and strengthening its long term positioning.

A successful organization today should take green project management under consideration for a more balanced and Sustainable world.

As organisations start to take an increased focus at all areas and levels of Sustainability, adopting a “green“ view point for project management, may not be the norm yet, but has definitely progressed greatly in the last few years. Over time, an increasing number of short or longer term projects focus on the environment and the impacts of decision making processes.

Taking the environment into account is a model where organizations think green throughout the project and requires changing the way of doing business. Some decisions may seem easy, especially if packaging and transport of a product is involved; however, green project management should go beyond the obvious and tangible.

Creating a Green Project Team culture can be the first step for establishing a culture of responsibility and sustainability that will be the driving force for implementing changes through a Carbon Footprint Strategy and/or Green Product and Service, but is by no means an easy task. Widely available “quick tips” that are scattered in the market for green project management culture and solutions will not be of any effect to an organization; that is, culture is not something you copy-paste from a “top 10 list” but is acquired through experience, knowledge exchange, and value transfer. In order to built a sustainable culture to drive green project initiatives, qualified individuals will need to consider among others the role of stakeholders, the notion of green procurement and business processes, the importance of green marketing, product life cycle analysis, methods for measuring-reducing-offsetting carbon footprint, and the offering of carbon neutral products and services.

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Green project management is a link on a complicated chain of responsibilities that entail decision making, people and change management, strategy formation and deployment, and, therefore can be entrusted to individuals that have the skills and competencies to lead an innovative green business world.

Aggressive capitalism without rules and ethics is a system that threatens society on a global scale. There is no doubt that empires and countries are collapsing like a pile of cards, such as Greece and Europe which will most probably be prime historical examples as the end of capitalism as we know it!

Positively aggressive capitalism, being an economy that benefits through the sole purpose of profit has reached its slow end! It has gradually reached a “balanced” form of the old one; it has essentially reforming into a “new moral capitalism”. This capitalism’s foundation is built upon the principles of sustainable development being economic efficiency, environmental protection and social cohesion.

In this form of capitalism, emphasis should be placed upon the “pragmatic economy” or what is called the economy of companies that produce real value, invest in innovative societies and the environment. Respectively, emphasis should also be placed upon rationalizing the public sector combined with the political system and corruption, as what we are currently living is a result of years of irrationality, and our children and future generations will be paying the price.

The fact is that liberalism predominantly through aggressive capitalism did not self-regulate, as many perhaps thought it would! Thus, this inevitably led to greed and accumulating wealth and large inequalities between those who gained major profits and those who resulted into substantial losses. In retrospect to the “pragmatic economy”, productivity, effective regulation of financial market and to the exemplary punishment of the few whose greed created a series of problems, it is clear to see that many are not to blame.  In turn this shows that government intervention is in need of measurement and balance to deal with the issue of corruption! Governments should be able to set sufficient and effective rules in collaboration with relevant bodies, on an international level, to create normality and a sustainable development.

Besides governments, it is time for all companies to contribute to a sustainable development by pursuing their Social and Environmental Responsibility and earning the trust of their customers, employees and society in general. It is time for companies to invest in materiality and not in marketing moves, such as investing 90% of their CSR budget programs in communication companies. Moreover, today more than ever the accountability of any business, as well as our whole country, is judged by what is actually done, not on what is said!

In particular for the banking sector, I would suggest for them to go beyond sponsorship and donations which is thought to cure CSR and “common good” aims, but to start engaging and committing towards effective customer service and most importantly evaluating with new criteria indebted families and SMEs.  This alteration would help prevent damaging both themselves and society as a whole from subsequent consequences, such as bankruptcy. Therefore, banks should implement consistently the principles of responsible lending and avoid those who contributed to the negative consequences we are currently facing. Moral Capitalism is already here even though most of us do not understand it yet.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a business management tool for organizations, especially in times where the importance of branding and reputation play an important role in their operation, such as during periods of economic recession. In recent years, the economic crisis has created a volatile business environment, where the business risk is great and the image of every company is influenced by the perception of its stakeholders. Organizations while aiming to increase their profitability are expected to reduce or even eliminate their CSR activities; however many of them try to use these effects to their advantage and to reduce their business risks.

An important factor in the decision making of companies is their customers, the consumers as members of society. Companies which have used CSR merely as a promotional “trick” have lost their consumer’s trust, and have furthermore created a stream of frustrated and suspicious consumers, unable to trust companies and their offered products. The only reliable tool that has the potential to enhance or recover the lost consumer confidence is the effort of the company towards society through CSR activities and initiatives. The question rising is whether CSR should be treated as an additional cost for companies or as an investment with measurable results, an antidote to the economic downturn.
Why should businesses then invest on CSR activities? In a few words, through CSR businesses are given the opportunity to:

• Reduce cost and risk
• Gain competitive advantage
• Creation of corporate reputation and legitimacy
• Find profitable partnerships through value creating relationships
• Promote innovation outside and inside the company
• Increase accountability and transparency for stakeholder engagement

Moreover the economic crisis revealed the importance of effective long term decision making to manage risk. Therefore CSR as a long term strategy can play significant role in managing risk in this recession period. Also CSR actions can be delivered even with reduced budgets as their application can create opportunities in reduction for example energy and stationery costs rather than cost creation.

There are numerous examples of companies which have enhanced their environmental and economic performance though implementing CSR. From Nike to Boots and big retails such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s to small companies are investing in numerous CSR actions from merely environmental (renewable energy, carbon footprint) to societal (fundraising, employee volunteering) actions with positive effects in their economic performance.

A significant example of seeing CSR as investment is Sainsbury’s which has installed 69,500 new photovoltaic solar panels, or 16 MW of power, across 169 stores in the UK.  The solar power will reduce Sainsbury’s total CO₂ emissions by an estimated 6,800 tonnes per year, and each store’s energy consumption as well as delivering energy cost savings.

Finally CSR seems to be a powerful tool in enhancing business strategy and create innovation in this period of economic crisis. For these reasons it can be seen as an opportunity for long term economic and business development.