 Natural Strategies News:
April 2001 Edition
Welcome to the April 2001 Edition of Natural Strategies
News. In this edition:
WHY SHOULD
BUSINESS TACKLE
THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE?
By Susan Burns and Steve Goldfinger,
Natural Strategies LLC
How easy is it to achieve a major goal without
being clear about what you are trying to accomplish? More and more companies are embracing
"sustainability” as an explicit goal. Successfully moving toward this goal
requires a clear definition of just what is being sought.
As a society, our understanding of sustainability is new
and still coming into sharp focus. Increasing, the term is used to refer to a specific,
desirable state of our socio-economic system, one that can be "sustained" over
time. A sustainability strategy, therefore, is very different from traditional
environmental management. While the latter emphasizes a process of continual environmental
improvement, the ultimate destination is typically left undefined. In contrast,
sustainability challenges a company to set a specific goal and then continuously align its
strategy and operations toward that end.
Many readers are familiar with The Natural Step, a
science-based framework for sustainability. It describes nature as a sun-driven recycling
system that over the course of evolution has achieved a dynamic balance between resources
and waste. Modern industrial society is interfering with that balance in three ways: by
flooding the system with materials that over much of Earth’s history had been
gradually isolated deep in the planet’s crust; by converting resources into products
that nature cannot readily assimilate; and by damaging the infrastructure of the recycling
system itself (e.g., reducing the amount of green surface, destabilizing the system by
eliminating biodiversity.) As this balance shifts, resources are decreasing and waste
accumulating in the system. This trend is clearly not sustainable, and will increasingly
limit society’s room to maneuver.
In its simplest terms, sustainability means not turning
resources into waste faster than nature can turn waste back into resources. Where are we
today? Mathis Wackernagel, developer of the Ecological Footprint, has calculated that if
everyone’s consumption were to match that of the average American, we would require
five additional planets the size of the Earth in order to provide sufficient resources and
assimilate all the waste. Worldwide, we are already exceeding sustainable limits, and the
extent of this “overshoot” is increasing rather than decreasing. Wackernagel
illustrates the integral relationship between social and environmental goals when he
defines sustainability as “securing people's quality of life within the means of
nature”.
The Business Case for Sustainability:
Why focus on sustainability as a business goal? The environment is the context in which
all businesses operate, and the facts of nature create restrictions and limitations with
major economic consequences. Companies are realizing that significant economic benefit can
be gained by learning to operate in a way that does not put the business on a collision
course with these immutable laws of nature. For a business wanting to make skillful
investments, the crucial thing is to direct its investments toward the future market. This
requires minimizing those investments that are not in sync with the principals of
sustainability, and taking advantage of market opportunities to provide solutions to the
world's growing need for clean and efficient products and services.
How do we get there? Corresponding to the three ways
society currently interferes with nature, The Natural Step describes three minimum,
non-overlapping “system conditions” that must be not be violated if this
relationship is to become sustainable. A necessary fourth condition is included: “We
must become efficient and just in our use of resources.” Justice assures not only an
attractive future, but also the social stability necessary to bring about the necessary
changes. This is not a luxury, nor “simply” an ethical consideration. For
example, shifting manufacturing to areas of the world where poverty can be leveraged for
environmental compromise is not just unethical, but counterproductive; scientists have
recently discovered that plumes of industrial pollutants from Asian manufacturing
facilities are now significantly degrading air quality along the western coast of North
America.
Strategic Planning using The Natural Step Framework:
The Natural Step Framework offers a method for strategic planning called backcasting to
align a company's long term vision with its current actions and plans. When backcasting, a
company first analyzes its existing situation, examining current operations, products, and
services to determine where it is most out of alignment with the basic principles of
sustainability. Next, the company envisions an ideal future in which it operates in
accordance with the system conditions. This includes imagining how the marketplace of the
future will view its products and services, and how its core competencies can be best
positioned to service that market. This can be a tremendous source of creativity and
innovation. Finally, the company designs an action plan that will move it from its current
reality to its long-term vision. It takes advantage of activities that are easy to do
right away and that have immediate pay off, while ensuring that each short-term action
serves as a platform for longer-term goals.
There is a second reason business should care about
sustainability, one that transcends the economic argument. Business is now the single
largest force for change on the face of the Earth. Along with that power comes a
responsibility to ensure that the planet remains hospitable for future generations.
This article originally appeared on Greenbiz.com. For
more articles by Natural Strategies' consultants click: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/columns.cfm
SUSTAINABILITY
CONFERENCE:
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE THROUGH
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
A conference funded by the Compton Foundation
Sponsored by the School of Business and International
Studies at Dominican University and
Natural Strategies, LLC
Friday, May 18, 2001
Dominican University, Guzman Lecture Hall
50 Acacia Avenue, San Rafael, California 94901
A full day seminar designed to provide the tools and
strategies necessary to make your business an economic, social, and environmental success
– the “triple bottom line” for the 21st century
Featuring
Keynote Speaker Paul Hawken, of the Natural Capital
Institute
And business panelists:
- Charles McGlashan of Natural Strategies, LLC,
- Jeff Hogue of Genencor,
- Nancy Budge of Mendocino Redwood Company, and
- Bill Coleman, of Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
highlighting ecological assets trading
"The future belongs to those who understand that
doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous, and
enduring, and thus more intelligent, even competitive."
Paul Hawken
To register and learn more about this workshop either: go
to: http://www.dominican.edu/academics/business/sustainablebusiness
or:
Contact Pauline Camp, 415-458-3737, camp@dominican.edu
ADAM DAVIS TO
APPEAR ON
THE NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRER
Sometime in May, Natural Strategies Principal, Adam Davis,
is scheduled to appear on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, a PBS news program. In this
special feature, The News Hour will explore how environmental groups use market campaigns
to engage corporations in changing business practices. The strategy often results in
unique collaboration between the environmental community and corporations. The show will
feature Natural Strategies' relationship with do-it-yourself retailer, Lowe's. Stay tuned
for more details about the exact date and time. For more information about our work with
Lowe's see
http://www.naturalstrategies.com/lowes-virtual-press-kit.htm#Lowe
Natural Strategies, LLC
"We create competitive advantage for clients ready to
integrate sustainability with business strategy"
415-485-4995
www.naturalstrategies.com
1346 4th Street, Suite 206
San Rafael, CA 94901
fax 415-485-0618
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