Tips for Business Sustainability: Go Deep, Go Wide, Go Local
The Financial Times ran a great story yesterday that outlines why sustainability is still “alive and kicking” –and in some cases, even thriving –despite the current economic crisis.
In “Managing in a Downturn: Why sustainability is still going strong,” authors Daniel Vermeer and Robert Clemen, who are both on staff at the Fuqua School of Business, predict that the economic downturn will produce more integrated, strategic and value-creating sustainability efforts in many companies. Traditional corporate responsibility and philanthropic initiatives may suffer, they concede. But core elements of the sustainability agenda are here to stay; many are likely to grow even stronger.
Sound familiar? This article echoes the results of the A.T. Kearney study I posted about a few days ago. In their study, A. T. Kearney found that companies with a commitment to sustainability tend to outperform their peers, even in this tough economic climate.
There are lots of us talking about the same key elements of success: strong corporate governance, efficient use of resources, reduction of waste, greening the supply chain, embracing sustainability as a strategic differentiator…
Or, as Vermeer and Clemen neatly sum it up: Go deep, go wide, go local. Here’s a paragraph from the end of their article:
“‘Going deep’ means institutionalising sustainability into the company’s DNA to the extent that it becomes part and parcel of strategy. 'Going wide' implies a full understanding of how sustainability impinges on every aspect of the organisation’s value chain. Finally, 'going local' paradoxically goes hand-in-hand with globalisation, forcing companies to examine their global operations in order to identify and ameliorate specific local issues that affect the company’s operations, customers, competitive position, brand image, political standing or any aspect of its ability to do business.”
Successful companies are adopting strategies like these. They're reworking the traditional business model and incorporating sustainability into their core business plan.
