Energy saving as a catalyst for customer satisfaction

Data from Aedes shows that the social housing sector of the Netherlands has invested 222 million euro in energy saving measures in 2008. Within the sector the realization is growing that energy saving measures in itself, such as double glass and efficient central heating is insufficient. The tenants need to join! But how to achieve that?

Building the business case for sustainability

How do you ensure that your sustainability strategy actually is implemented at all levels in the organization? The core is in motivating and involving managers and employees with a core message which aligns with their targets and reality. Concurrently this often happens from the passion of the GreenTeam which communicates too much from their own world. It is key also to fulfill the financial wishes of the organization. David Bent of Forum for the Future recently published a shortlist with seven steps to support the business case for sustainability, rooted in his experiences at British Telecom.

Real-time reviews

In food retailing the labeling of CO2 impact on product level is emerging. Increasingly retailers are following the example of frontrunners such as Tesco to indicate the footprint per product on the packaging. For fashion retailing and related industries it is to be expected that the same level of transparency will be required within the coming years.

Xerox: Sustainable innovation leads to new market potential

Paul-Peter Feld, former Director HR & Organisation gave a presentation during the KLM Open on how sustainable innovation carries the potential to open up new markets.

Get lean, get smart, and emerge from the downturn on top

Value creation out of sustainability takes place in four dimensions, which are issue management, reputation management,innovation and eco-efficiency. Because of the current economic conditions there is an increasing interest for the gains to be made through eco-efficiency. The recently released book Green Recovery can serve as a guide in this journey.

Crisis puts reputations under pressure

The McKinsey Quarterly edition of June 2009 carries the article “Rebuilding corporate reputations” which again underlines the value of effective stakeholder management. The top 3 priorities they indicate when dealing with stakeholder management are:

Effective marketing of Sustainability

Despite the economic downturn, sustainability is still high on the corporate and governmental agenda. Fortunately, as our problems with the environment and social injustice in the world go a layer deeper than the financial challenges the market is facing at the moment. The bottom line is though that, in times of budgetary constraints, sustainability related initiative have an increased need to be focused and value adding. This trend toward maturity also fits perfectly in the global development of sustainability as a theme.

IMD’s Open Forum September 2009

The Forum for Corporate Sustainability Management (CSM) is the IMD applied research centre for Corporate Social Responsibility and a business partner of Finch & Beak. Their focus is on working with companies to embed social and environmental sustainability strategies in organizations.

Macintosh Retail Group realizing Sustainable Growth

Finch & Beak recently supported Macintosh in the translation of her activities into a CSR-strategy. The twelve formulas that belong to the Macintosh Retail Group will follow a common CSR policy. The concern has recorded its CSR ambitions in a code of conduct entitled ‘sustainable growth in retail’.

Vattenfall Climate Greenwash Winner 2009

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall has been revealed as the winner of the Climate Greenwash Award 2009 at a ceremony in Copenhagen on the eve of the World Business Summit on Climate Change. The Climate Greenwash Awards were organised by Corporate Europe Observatory, Attac Denmark, The Climate Movement, ClimaX and Friends of the Earth Denmark.