Best Practices in Sustainability: Employee Engagement and Reporting

It is widely understood that adopting best practices in sustainability can offer a significant competitive advantage. There is ample incentive to get on board. In 2012, sales of sustainable goods and services reached $1 trillion globally and in 2013, it may double to reach $2 trillion. As early as 2017, the sustainable economy could be worth $10 trillion in annual global revenue.

Almost three out of four Americans now believe that climate change is real and they want companies to do something about it. The implementation of best practice campaigns can help companies to respond to consumer demand and capitalize on the rapidly growing sustainability market.

Sustainability is an Economic Imperative: The 2012 CK Prahalad Award Winners (Video)

See how the 2012 winners of CK Prahalad award are weaving sustainability into their business models and flourishing in the process. Companies like Unilever and Sustainable Apparel Coalition are leading the way and showing that the business case for sustainability is undeniable. As explained in this video sustainability is an imperative for all companies. The questions that must be asked is how can you have a business model that continues to take away from future generations? Any company that does not pay attention to its environmental interface is doing so at its own peril. The companies in this video prove that commitments to sustainability initiatives pay off while the failure to engage sustainability poses a very serious risk.

The Most Sustainable Companies in the World

We are seeing an ever growing number of companies address the issue of sustainability with sincerity and depth that go far beyond the public relations ploys of yesteryear. This preoccupation with efficiency is an important bottom line issue. As water, land, minerals, and fossil fuels get more scarce and costly, sustainability is an unavoidable imperitive. Here are some examples of companies that are leading the way towards this resource constrained future.

The 8 C's of Sustainability Branding by Marc Stoiber

In 2010, Marc Stoiber, creative director, writer, innovator and green brand specialist wrote a piece called the 5C’s of Sustainability Branding. In 2012 he has added some new C's. Here is his original 5C’s, followed by his new C's for 2012.

The 5C’s of Sustainability

1. Consumer-Facing - Not sure what to do first? Look at what the consumer is looking at. There are plenty of ways to improve corporate sustainability, but consumer-facing changes will have the most immediate impact on your brand’s public perception. Think of Method’s Omop, with its compostable / recyclable bamboo and paper packaging – it stands out like a beacon at shelf, where consumers can really notice the difference.

Top Climate Innovators

GE, Alcoa, Johnson Controls, Ford, Intel and Hess are leaders in the innovation of clean-tech solutions and products, mitigation of climate change-related risks and management of carbon emissions, according to a rating by risk analysis company Maplecroft.