Sustainable Business Weekly

At the recent 2degreesLive event on stakeholder engagement, CEO of the Energy Managers Association (EMA), Rupert Redesdale shares the best way to save energy. Using a Star Wars analogy, Redesdale says that while there are a lot of forward-thinking companies out there that are like noble Jedi, the EMA is much more like a sith-lord. So why should we listen? In this podcast, learn: * Why energy saving isn’t about selling it cheaply * How to stop the bottom-line suffering because of rising energy prices * How to control the energy your using * How much carbon 10,000 emails with attachments use

At the recent 2degreesLive event on stakeholder engagement Bill Eyres, head of sustainability at O2, describes the hard headed business case for employee engagement, and how the company calculated the financial value for it. After the presentation, Eyres also answers some questions from the audience. Listen to this podcast to learn:        How O2 used ThinkBig to liberate and engage its employees        Why employees were empowered to make a difference         What the financial benefits of employee engagement are and how the company compiled and presented the data.

At the recent 2degreesLive event on stakeholder engagement Caroline Taylor, CMO of IBM Europe, described several profiles when it comes to our response to sustainability. The question is, are you (or your customers) peacocks, bears, gorillas, ostriches or mules? (You can imagine what traits the latter has…) As well as finding out what animal you’re most like, listen to this podcast to learn:          How to get non ‘polar bear-fanciers’ into sustainability           How to infuse passion into marketers           Three pieces of advice in engaging with customers

Youth is a key demographic in Hilton Worldwide’s social value efforts. Helping young people gain experience and employment within the company is part of this strategy, but there is a crucial value in encouraging them to achieve their own goals - within and beyond the travel industry.

AMD’s director of corporate responsibility, Tim Mohin, talks to Victoria Knowles about the company’s engagement strategy, and how to use video games to successfully sell your ideas.

Tom Idle talks to the CBI’s director of business environment, Rhian Kelly. Is the lobbying organization creating the right conditions in which sustainable businesses can flourish? And is it happy with the progress being made by the UK government in promoting a green economy. Tune in to find out. You can also watch the video here.

2degrees’ editor Tom Idle interviewed Ramon Arratia, sustainability director at Interface live from the company’s London showroom to gain a unique understanding of how one of the world’s most innovative manufacturing companies is leading its sector through sustainability. Take a listen to find out: About lifecycle analysis and how it can help you understand the environmental impacts of your product or service; Why you can find the hotspots that should drive your sustainability strategy; Why Ramon feels sustainability labels are unnecessary “‘fluff”; Why industries need to move from corporate social responsibility to full transparency of products You can also watch the video here.

Triodos Bank’s latest accounts show both its balance sheet and customer base jumping 23% in the last 12 months – and its profits soaring 31% as it made a net profit of €22.6m. It is one of a growing number of ethical banks that is bucking the trend seen in the mainstream banking sector whose toxic reputation continues to be fuelled by stories of fat cat bonuses and worryingly low levels of trust among the people whose money the industry so depends. Banks like Triodos are making money available where it is needed most, investing as it does in socially-, environmentally- and ethically-sound projects and organizations. It is making money available that will genuinely support a truly sustainable economy. And its success – and the positive performance of banks like it – offers a useful anchor upon which to question the role of banking in society. Hear 2degrees’ Tom Idle gain a more personal viewpont into Triodos from the bank’s head of market and corporate development, James Vaccaro. You can also watch the video here.

Since the recent financial crisis, a typical reaction to any mention of financial innovation has been: “Did financial innovation not cause this crisis?” or “Does the world really need further financial innovation?” Marc Chesney, Professor of Finance at the University of Zurich and external expert with the World Bank, joined this session to explain: How financial innovation can be improved to better serve society’s needs and reduce the risk of adverse consequences What kind of enabling framework could allow positive financial innovation to flourish Download the slides to find out more.

What do you know about local food sourcing? We held a session with Mark Holmes of ADAS and Peter Lefort of Community Action Groups to give us some insights into this issue. Check out the podcast to learn about the different meanings of “local” and how both consumers and supermarkets play a role in food sourcing.

“Are we any closer to being able to consistently demonstrate the business case for sustainability?” Is this one of the remaining unsolved aspects of sustainability strategy and implementation?  Any internet searches on the subject reveal thousands of hits.  Everybody seems to have an opinion, so surely within all of this there must be an answer? But reading some of the results, I can’t find anything particularly radical or new.  You can almost summarise a lot of the material into two key benefits: having an effective sustainability programme can 1) drive down costs and 2) generate growth. There is also discussion of some of the intangible benefits, although there appear to be few facts and figures  that would enable me to provide a truly effective response to the anticipated “so what” and “by how much” questions in the boardroom. In a discussion with Vanessa of 2 degrees I have shared some of my thoughts on why this remains such a challenging area, as well as why I believe that we may at last be making some progress. -Sally Vivian, URS

Following her popular article and Salterbaxter report, Olivia Sprinkel speaks to us about the hot topic of embedding sustainability. She discusses the definition of the concept, her thoughts on Embedded Sustainability, and reveals a new model for organizational change comprised of 4E’s: Encoding Engaging Enacting Expressing Listen to find out more.

2degrees’ Brittany Taylor talks to labelling expert Per Bogstadt from the Rainforest Alliance.  Per provides an insider’s look at the current state of labeling and what we might expect from the future.  He addresses the proliferation of labeling programs as well as recent trends of self-certification, and provides suggestions for keeping labeling relevant and meaningful.  Drawing on his with Rainforest Alliance, Per outlines the challenges of labeling and the potential benefits for the producer, for the customer, and for business.

Martin Chilcott interviews Nadya Zhexembayeva, author of Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage. Nadya discusses the importance of embedding sustainability within an organization, likens business’ approach to the concept to that of the internet in the early 00s, and gives a twist answer to the question “What organization is doing best in sustainability?” To find out more about Nadya and her book, see the 2degrees Book Club.

Abbie Buckman was joined by Anita Kedia, Senior Business Development Manager, and Mike Schwartz, Organics Program Manager, of Waste Management Sustainability Services to discuss the direction of the organic waste management industry, including the questions and challenges posed by the increasing emphasis on diversion solutions. Find out more about 2degrees, the world’s largest community for sustainable, efficient business here. Music today by Bowerbirds

Last month Birmingham fought off 140 cities from around the world to become the first English city to be awarded an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge. Their successful bid outlined plans to develop a strategic city ’simulator’, a sophisticated tool which will support future investment decisions and help identify ways to maximise and accelerate jobs and long term growth in Birmingham. On today’s podcast, Stephen Kennett, 2degrees Cities and Built Environment Community Manager, speaks with Mark Wakefield Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs Manager at IBM UK about what attracted them to the idea and how it will be taken forwarded. Find out more about 2degrees, the world’s largest community for sustainable, efficient business here. Music today by The Whalers

Not all buildings are created equal. In today’s podcast, Diana Nezamutinova of Dalen Strategies compares the US and UK green building markets, discusses LEED vs. BREEAM certifications, and touches upon energy consumption in buildings. Music: Secret Song by Blooper

In today’s podcast we’re joined by Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services at BSR, Business for Social Responsibility. Cody tells us about the NICE Consumer Project, which aims to create a framework for the sustainable consumption of fashion.  He shares the main findings from the initial online discussions with stakeholders, and the key challenges for moving towards sustainable fashion. Cody  highlights the solutions which could be developed to move sustainable consumption of fashion forward, including increased supply chain transparency, empowerment of consumers and sustainable design.

In today’s podcast we’re joined by responsible procurement expert Alis Sindbjerg Hemmingsen of the global advisory company, Responsible Procurement. Alis describes the main pitfalls to look out for when going forward with a responsible procurement strategy, discusses how to go about building the business case, and shares 5 top tips for companies to get started on the responsible procurement journey.

Stephen Kennett, Cities and Built Environment Community Manager talks to Robin Haycock, Head of Transport at the Climate Group, about the recent ‘Plugged in Fleets’ study, which outlines opportunities for businesses and organizations who operate or make use of vehicle fleets in their day to day operations. The Climate Group is an independent, not-for-profit organization, that works internationally with business and government to promote clean technologies and policies. Download a copy of the ‘Plugged in Fleets’ reports Music today by Agent Ribbons