In The Aftermath of The Global Financial Meltdown, Corporations are facing unique Challenges. The Future is in Incorporating and Capitalising on a Green Strategy writes Andrew Winston, Co-Author of Green to Gold and author of Green Recovery.
All of these pressures are making up for a green wave which is altering business dynamics permanently. Like it or not, companies and countries must deal with current and longer-term environmental issues while simultaneously working on current economic challenges. Luckily for businesses, the solutions to both economic and environmental problems overlap heavily. The same strategies and tactics that address long-term environmental challenges will help companies survive today’s economic conditions.
Companies that want to stay healthy today, and also get ready for the inevitable upturn to come need a strong green plan. In tight times, figuring out what to prioritise is even more important. I suggest focusing on four areas:
Get lean by revving up your energy and resource efficiency to survive the downturn.
Get smart by using environmental data about products and value chains to save money, innovate, and generate competitive advantage.
Get creative and rejuvenate your innovation efforts by asking heretical questions such as “Can we run our business with no fossil fuels?”
Get (your people) engaged and excited by asking employees to solve their own, the company’s, and even the world’s environmental challenges.
The four major areas of focus will benefit your company today and tomorrow. Betting on efficiency and getting lean will save you money quickly, but also make you more competitive in a future with higher resource prices and more questions from customers about your environmental footprint. Gathering data on the company’s environmental footprint up and down the value chain will help you identify high-priority areas for cost cutting today and make you smarter about where to focus longer-term innovation efforts. Getting creative means optimising today’s processes and operations and developing tomorrow’s new products and services. And of course, engagement and alignment of all your people makes all of these efforts possible. In short, green isn’t an additional, tangential pursuit that clashes with business functions; it is a core part of operations today.
In tight times, more than ever, a solid plan for a green recovery will make your company more competitive, no matter what its size.
Companies that want to stay healthy today, and also get ready for the inevitable upturn to come need a strong green plan. In tight times, figuring out what to prioritise is even more important. I suggest focusing on four areas:
Get lean by revving up your energy and resource efficiency to survive the downturn.
Get smart by using environmental data about products and value chains to save money, innovate, and generate competitive advantage.
Get creative and rejuvenate your innovation efforts by asking heretical questions such as “Can we run our business with no fossil fuels?”
Get (your people) engaged and excited by asking employees to solve their own, the company’s, and even the world’s environmental challenges.
The four major areas of focus will benefit your company today and tomorrow. Betting on efficiency and getting lean will save you money quickly, but also make you more competitive in a future with higher resource prices and more questions from customers about your environmental footprint. Gathering data on the company’s environmental footprint up and down the value chain will help you identify high-priority areas for cost cutting today and make you smarter about where to focus longer-term innovation efforts. Getting creative means optimising today’s processes and operations and developing tomorrow’s new products and services. And of course, engagement and alignment of all your people makes all of these efforts possible. In short, green isn’t an additional, tangential pursuit that clashes with business functions; it is a core part of operations today.
In tight times, more than ever, a solid plan for a green recovery will make your company more competitive, no matter what its size.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
