Five Ideas:
Turning Green
Why focusing on sustainability is key to the recovery.
September 2009
“Anyone with a business plan written before the beginning of 2009 has thrown it out if they have any sense, because things have changed. The consumer is spending differently, capital is not as available as it was, oil is unpredictable. And massive new regulations are coming on that will change the marketplace. We’re not even talking about breakthroughs in nanotechnology, biotech, these changes are happening. So forget that offsite that you did 18 months ago and forget the golf. You’re going to be getting together again, this time without golf, and figuring out how you are going to be sustainable, how your business is going to exist into the next generation.”—Adam Werbach, author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto
“Getting lean gets people into the game of greening the enterprise. Most companies have not even begun getting the fat out of the system, like by finding ways to dramatically reduce energy. When they do, they learn that green is not an expense, but can actually create value, sometimes very quickly. These saving can free up capital and justify longer-term investments — and true innovation is going to take time, effort and sometimes capital.”—Andrew Winston, author of Green Recovery
“In addition to the need to manage enivornmental compliance effecitively and efficiently, there are also a number of opportunities that companies are realizing as a result of these trends that they're seeing in the marketplace. For example, there are potential cost-savings through improved resource utilization and waste reduction. Companies are seeing opportunities to generate additional revenue by innovating to meet new market demands. Think the Toyota Prius, for example. And finally companies that are harnass these market forces are able to build brand equity or at a minimum protect their brands.”—Rich Kroes, director of product strategy, Oracle
“Society at large, employees, and customers also want to understand the organization’s view of their social responsibility. Sustainability reporting is quickly becoming an important capability for EPM solutions. Companies need to collect, analyze, and share information about the positive or negative impact of their business on the environment, on society (local and, in some cases, internationally) as well as share their economic results.”—Thomas Oestreich, Chief EPM Strategist. Oracle
“Sustainability really is an opportunity to contribute to competitive differentiation. If you find ways to link it to the customer value proposition, you've really differentiated yourself from the rest. And particularly in this economy, that is one of the best things you can possibly do.”—Frank Buytendijk, VP of Oracle EPM
