Creating Growth and Revenue Opportunities by Going Green
It's time to stop thinking about sustainability as a green option. Sustainability is a core strategic competence for businesses in 2011 that want to be around for the long term and create extra revenue generating and cost saving activities. Here are some of the ways how:
Business Growth StrategiesCompanies adopting sustainable business practices have been able to create growth opportunities by:
- Appealing to customer values, building trust, and establishing a more socially and environmentally responsible brand image.
- Launching new products and services that meet the increased demand for socially and environmentally conscious alternatives.
- Improving product safety and quality, in turn leading to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Seeking out markets for material wastes and other by-products of the manufacturing cycle.
- Increasing partnership opportunities with research institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders.
- Increasing access to capital sources and investment opportunities.
- Being recognised as a leader in the industry and a positive economic force in the community.
Through the development of more sustainable business models, companies have been able to produce goods and services using fewer resources and lower costs by:
- Leveraging alternative sources of energy such as solar and wind to reduce dependency on hydroelectric, coal-burning, and nuclear power sources.
- Improving product design and production processes to: reduce energy and material waste, reduce packaging and shipping cost, and encourage the recycling or reuse of materials in the creation of future products.
- Adopting "lean" techniques to eradicate costs that do not add value to a product or service. For example, the transportation and storage costs associated with holding large inventories.
- Using a Systems Thinking approach to manage suppliers and distributors. Systems Thinking has shown to increase efficiency throughout the entire value chain by decreasing waste, energy use, and material costs and by streamlining efforts with suppliers and vendors.
- Leveraging technology to reduce paper, energy, and water consumption. Implementing Total Cost Accounting measures that take into account the ongoing costs and cashflow impact of property, plant, and equipment over the life cycle of the asset.
- Improving working conditions through cleaner air and natural lighting, which have shown to increase worker productivity and reduce employee turnover.
Source: Thomas Tracey from sustainablebiz.blogspot.com
GreenBizCheck's program has a framework in place that addresses all of the above key considerations and can help your business create an effective environmental policy.
Click here to view iOnline's testimonial on how becoming greener has helped their business.
By Holly McCarthy, GreenBizCheck
