Creating What Matters

Staying Relevant

Bridget Marsh — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:16:04 +0000

Stay relevant.

What does this mean for a business owner? And how can you do it?

The dictionary definition of relevant is “bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent: a relevant remark.” It’s all about what people need NOW in an ever changing world of tactics, strategies, and solutions.

The good news is, you don’t have to go into fear mode to address staying relevant. It’s an ongoing job of seeing where you are, where your prospects are, what the winds of change are blowing your way, and of course where your passion is directing you.

In business terms, you can break it down in a few ways.

1. OFFERS: Is what you’re offering solving an immediate and pressing problem your client faces? Are your offers matching their needs TODAY?

2. MARKETING: Are you awake and taking note of the trends? Are you using the best tools to reach your ideal clients?

3. MESSAGE: Are you wording things in such a way that prospective clients stop, look, and swear you’re talking DIRECTLY to them?

4. NETWORK: Are you hanging with a relevant network? Are your connections connected to the right opportunities for you?

5. PERSPECTIVE: How are you keeping a perspective on all the changes swirling about? This might mean having a mentor in your life to help you see what you can’t see, following people who are on the cutting edge, or somehow being tuned into what’s shifting around you.

Important This isn’t about jumping on the latest fad or changing yourself in a way that doesn’t suit you. Relevance and Flightiness are not interchangeable! More often than not, it’s a simple tweak to one or more of the areas outlined above that can save your business and keep you on the map.

So where do you go from here?

This is what I do:

I stay awake. Awake to what’s happening around me, awake to the bigger picture, always checking what I hear against a wider world view, awake to what’s bugging me in marketing, awake to what’s overused and overhyped. To me, that spells “go the opposite way” and I high tail it out of any party that’s feeling clone-ish.
I never walk alone. Maybe you can operate in a vacuum, but not me. I need other professionals working at a high level to serve as sounding boards, trouble-shooters, idea machines. That’s why I mentor others, that’s why others mentor me. Sometimes that means I put out messages that challenge the norm.
I take risks. Entrepreneurs love taking risks and trying new things. Sometimes they pay off, sometimes they don’t. But business – and life – are a game. we choose which rules we play by.
I keep it fun. If it’s not fun, I won’t do it. I believe work should be fun, rewarding and fulfilling for everyone in the team not just me. Maybe that means I throw out a shocking title every now and then, maybe it means I drop something I’m known for (bye bye social media consulting!) Find what makes it fun for you.

Eco friendly and profitable

Bridget Marsh — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:35:30 +0000

Eco-friendly and Profitable

This month I’ve looked at an inspiring local business developed over 14 years that is profitable, employs a number of local people – and operates on eco friendly principles. Jill Main New Zealand designs and makes beautiful quality products for our homes and ourbodies. I wanted to discover how being an eco-friendly producer affected her business so I asked Jill ….

B. You are proud to be an eco friendly producer. Can you tell me what you mean by that?

Jill. We’re proud to produce product that creates a sense of wealth/value for the end receiver. It’s likely to be used until it’s totally thread bare (I’ve often seen our bags in this state still being used by their loving owners!) or passed to a loved one before at worse it ends on Trademe! I’m particularly
aware and sickened by the general publics lack of value of “things” these days with the advent of cheap imports and ever lowering standards of
quality creating a disposable mentality.

. Value = quality at Jill Main.

B. What do you do on a practical level that supports this your personal and business commitment to an ecofriendly footprint?

Jill Practically, we buy as many raw
materials as possible from local suppliers (this isn’t easy as more and
more manufacturers are going offshore). We rarely if ever discard any raw
materials or seconds etc. There is always some use found. Even our
smallest fabric swatches are donated to schools.
Every bit of paper is recycled within the business – using both
sides of paper where printing is needed. Between a staff of seven we’re
lucky to put out ½ to 1 rubbish sack per week and less than 1 blue bin of
recyclables every 2 weeks. We’re very aware of our power useage and if
offices aren’t in use, doors are closed to retain heat in smaller areas
and lights are turned off in those spaces.
We use recycled boxes for our dispatch of product – for many years
I used to scoot around filling my car from the bins behind the 4 Square,
chemists and when the shops were putting out their old boxes – I haven’t
done that for a while but now remembering that I’m thinking perhaps I
should do it again – nothing like finding a good solid clean box for
free!!!
For a number of years now we have reduced the packaging of our
products and when we have used packaging it’s been either from recycled
card/paper or we have made the packaging (never from plastic!) desirable
enough and useable enough for the customer to hopefully hang on to and
continue using –
I personally have a huge passion for plants and trees and plant as
many of these as I can afford to do (most of Jill Main NZ profits goes
into this!!!)

B. What do you want your customers to understand by eco-friendly?

Jill I want our customers to understand that we do care and consider our
methods and means of production. That we’re not producing for the sake of
just making money. That we are considerate of our environment, our
environmental practices and the future of this planet.

B. Why is being an eco producer important? And why is caring for our planet important?

Jill It’s important to me to know that
I’m doing my bit within my personal and business life to reduce the impact
on our planet. I see cleared land with erosion where there was once native
forest and this depresses me, that people continue to leave these areas
with no regard for what that is doing to our environment, money being at
the forefront of their mind. If I can someway do my bit to compensate for
this kind of thing, I will. Our planet is a beautiful place and there are
so many species that have already been made extinct or are on the danger
of extinction lists and these seem to keep growing. Of course the ultimate
is that like the Easter Islanders – Man could be the next threatened
species!

B. How has it helped your business?

Jill An example for this is that particular customers are equally if not more aware and educated on
sustainability and are not interested in product that doesn’t meet certain
criteria for them eg what materials are used in the product, where it is
sourced from, reduced packaging or what packaging materials are used.

B. What about marketing messages?

Jill A great “feel good” factor about our product and our customers sense of having chosen a

product from a caring company.

B. Which costs have you been able to reduce?

Jill Without a doubt. Our brand image is of a professional slick business – but we have a “make do” mentality with all our furnishings being bought second hand through auction houses years ago. And my personal philosophy’s have definitely rubbed off on the staff and they are very aware of wasteage, power useage etc It’s also made us inventive, creating product from “ends of lines” materials usually generating greater profits than if we were to buy new materials outright.

B. Are there any downsides to this business philosophy?

Jill When I am faced with a choice of a material that doesn’t meet desired sustainability practices
but I love it just the same and can see potential sales from it – this creates a lot of procrastination!!! Otherwise I can do nothing but say
it’s a “win, win” – good for the business profile – good for the soul.

B. What other benefits do you notice?

Jill We definitely have stores that do not buy product that has excessive packaging and question the source and composition of materials
before they buy from us.

Every business can profit from taking a look at their
operations and working out how they can be more resilient and profitable and good for the planet at the same time.

If you’d like to work out what would be the most beneficial place to start from your profit perspective and your customer’s perspective give me a call 09 4129485

or email bridget@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz

To listen to an audio explaining the benefits of opting for a sustainable business strategy click here http://www.profitableteams.com/about-profitable-teams/bridget-marsh/

Profit through Sustainability

Bridget Marsh — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:07:07 +0000

10 Ways to Quickly and Easily Profit from Becoming a Sustainable Business

Becoming a sustainable business is a strategic decision…. When you choose to turn a blind eye to the benefits of becoming more sustainable you are putting your business at an immediate competitive disadvantage, and quite possibly setting yourself up as a target for regulation in the longer term. That’s because the larger players in the market are being required to take on some sustainability initiatives. This is happening through either NZ or overseas government regulation (e.g. Fonterra has been forced to look at sustainability because in Europe the food miles issue meant their products were questioned by consumers and the big supermarket chains) or consumer demand.

So what is a sustainable business? That’s the question that came up very often at the Sustainable City Showcase in November. There are a lot of definitions, some that focus on the environmental impact of a business or its ecological footprint. But I prefer to think of it very broadly.

A Sustainable Business is a business that:

• makes every decision as if it is going to be around for hundreds of years
• considers the impact of every decision on all parts of the system in which it operates which means it considers the impact on the health and well being of its owners, staff, its customers, and their children and children’s children. It considers where it will source its materials and whether that is a sustainable source. What the impact of taking those materials from there is – whether it is a local supplier or a village in the pacific.

• uses materials that are reusable and recyclable so no waste goes to landfill

• creates quality products and services so that the need to use resources making new products is limited

• creates real value for its owners, workers and communities

• recognises itself as part of the ecological system

You’re probably thinking this is sounding very lofty and high handed – you’re right!! But if I don’t think like this I’m continuing to add to the problems we currently face. And its far more fun to be working towards something exciting like an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling world in which everyone can enjoy health, and well being.
And its about taking a step. So here’s 10 ideas you can consider.
1. It’s just good business sense
Consider sustainability not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes good business sense. Consider each initiative and look at it from a strategic, financial, operational, marketing, or employee recruitment/retention perspective, and work out the benefits, if there aren’t any don’t do it. I guarantee that in almost every corner of a business there is a fundamental business reason for being more sustainable i.e. looking for how things can be done more efficiently and effectively with less resources. Energy savings alone can cover any of the costs involved in becoming more sustainable. Green focussed products also enhance the brand image, improving sales in other areas. If you’d like some help to work out these benefits there are people who can help you, specialists in each area. Your business will look much healthier financially as well as in other ways when you are courageous enough to take steps towards sustainability.
2. People want to work for a business that is interested in more than bottom line and profits for the boss.
The latest Colmar Brunton research conducted this year 2011 shows that an increasing number of New Zealanders want to work in a business that’s socially and environmentally sustainable. Put this initiative in place and your staff will work harder, give more of themselves and stay longer.

3. There’s money to be made from reselling used products and materials
You might find you can resell used products and materials that were formerly considered waste. When Paraoa Bakehouse focused on creating more sustainable operations, they reduced their weekly waste to less than a netball (less than 1 kg) saving thousands in waste removal costs.
4. It’s for big small and large companies
Sustainability means being lean (reducing wastage everywhere in the business including staff time ) resourceful (ensuring the whole team is contributing in significant ways also ensures that work is more fulfilling for everyone) and nimble – seeing opportunities as they arise and making the most of them.
Bigger companies do have an advantage when it comes to influencing their supply chain to be sustainable (Marks and Spencers and Tesco are prime examples in the UK that are affecting NZ exporters), and in influencing policy at the government level, but smaller companies can be just as effective, if not more so, at almost everything else.

5. People are asking for it
Who makes purchase decisions at companies? No points for the right answer. We are hearing from an increasing number of large B2B companies that their customers and prospects are asking about their sustainability efforts. You will find it put explicitly in purchase criteria of an increasing number of companies and organisations e.g. RWC official suppliers that preference will be given to sustainable organizations, and Councils.
Your customers care who they buy from, whether they are consumers or million-dollar companies. 78% of NZ’ers have some level of commitment to a sustainable lifestyle and it is not limited by age, socio economic status, or gender. But 72% when asked to name a sustainable business couldn’t do so. This simply means if you can show how you are becoming more sustainable and helping them do likewise you can increase your share of the market simply by doing that.
6. Become more transparent about what you do with your waste, how you are affecting your environment, what your policies are with regard to working conditions. This increases the level of trust – and is the biggest and easiest marketing opportunity around today.
As I just said in point 5, 72% of people can’t name a sustainable business but want to live more sustainably. Tell your customers and prospects about what you are doing. Need some help?

7. Don’t be afraid of Greenwash.
When you set meaningful goals, and achieve them, you have every right to tout your successes and the media takes note increasing profile and exposure – for all the right reasons.
Transparency becomes an important element in this process not just for achievements, but also for failures. There is nothing better for building the credibility of your success like admitting to your failures; and how you are rectifying them. And as the next item illustrates, partnering with NGOs can help build credibility about some of your claims.
8. Partnering with Non profits and NGO’s adds to opportunity
If you think of NGOs as adversaries, and are quite content if you are not approached by them I believe this is a missed opportunity. The opportunity is to benefit from their expertise in material sourcing, water treatment and a host of other issues. Organizations like Forest and Bird serve as partners to advance many leading companies’ sustainability efforts.
Bonnie Nixon said that HP realized many years ago that an adversarial relationship was counterproductive and now partners with several NGOs.
9. Even if you don’t make things – it makes good sense
Some companies we have worked with claim that because they don’t make things, they don’t buy much, and hence don’t have much of a carbon footprint. Or that their products don’t consume much energy, so their environmental impacts are minimal.
Westpac bank is a prime example of a company that doesn’t make things, yet has been named NZI Sustainable Business of the Year 2011 in this year’s Sustainable Business Network Awards.
You will find that businesses that don’t make products spend millions of dollars on its suppliers, on everything from computers to office supplies to utilities. When large companies aspire to be a leaders in sustainability, they have a tremendous opportunity to influence the supply chain and reduce their (indirect) environmental impact. This is where the opportunity is for suppliers.
10. If you don’t do it now it’s likely that regulation will force you to do it and regulation is always more costly.
If you’re ready to look at some of the financial benefits your business can achieve by taking steps towards more sustainability and would like to talk about what that might look like, give me a call. I’m passionate about finding ways to support business in this initiative, because it makes the world a better, happier and more fulfilling place for everyone.
phone me 64 9 412 9485
email bridget@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz

Systems Create Breakthroughs for Growth

Bridget Marsh — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:49:31 +0000

Systems play a key role in having a breakthrough in every area of business. Systems create freedom and lead to flow and continued success.

As a business coach, I help my clients find systems that will work with their values and natural style. A system has zero value if you won’t use it or your team isn’t on board. It’s important that it is easy to follow and implement while making your life easier once you’re in the habit of using the system. As a client said to me last week “now I can see how lead generation and marketing systems will ensure that my busines grows”

My intention in writing this newsletter is to have you identify a least one area of your business that needs improvement and create a system as a result of reading this, then implement it in the next week. Are you willing?

What area of your business needs attention right now?

The 3 big ones right now that I am hearing are:

Increase cash flow

Attract ideal clients

Get out of overwhelm

But it could also be, your marketing, your sales process, your team management, your website or social media management.

Increase cash flow:
This year I created follow up emails for all of my on-line seminars. A lot of writing up front, but now my autoresponders do all of the work. And new leads come even months after an event.

If you contact potential customers through emails, phone conversations or in person, I’d create a structure for when, how and what you’ll say. Do you have a system for tracking the conversations and conversions?

If you’d like

“Simple Strategies To Get New Clients Into Your Business – Fast!”

take a look at this 90 minute online training happening on November 23^rd 1.30 pm NZST.

Click here to find our more or register for the training

The training is priced at a very low AU$37 but because I want to make this affordable to all of my valued subscribers and clients, I’ve created a “coupon code” that reduces the price of the training to a ridiculously low NZ $19 …

Simply use the discount/coupon code “NEWCLIENTS” when you order and the AU$39 will magically transform into NZ$19.00 approximately. Note Tom with whom I’m in partnership at the 8020 Center lives in Australia so its an Australian site and you get an email response from Australia.

Attracting ideal clients:
I’ve created a process, with many clients, to attract their ideal clients. It includes writing down every little thing you know about your ideal clients and what you’d want to have in a client, from the way they treat you to paying on time without questioning your invoice. I also use this process for attracting my ideal team members, house cleaners, etc. You can create a checklist for what they need to have, in order for you to say ‘yes’ to them.

Do you have a welcome packet ready for all of the new clients you’ll be attracting? Do you make it easy for them to pay you? Do you describe their hot issues on your website and in other marketing so that they know you’re speaking to them? You need a system for all these activities.

Launching new products, services and websites:
Projects like these usually include many details and moving parts to complete. They also require help and a learning curve. All of this means they will take longer than you expect and longer than the experts tell you. Whatever system you use, you must chunk down the steps into doable size actions over the course of a month or more.

Then I do a mind map of sorts. Break down the projects into categories like:

Create my intention for what the new product, service will do for my customers and what it will do for my business.

What is the main message, what the main benefit?

What are the topics I will cover?

Write content

Plan for how I will market

Calendar out specifically when I will work on the project and for how long

Business and marketing plans:
Find a format that will inspire you to do it every year. I’ve used many fill-in-the-blank business plans from popular books and eventually created my own 1-Page Action plan. I believe in one-pagers because it keeps things simple and you can post it on the wall or keep on your desk year round. Carve out time to do it. In a day or in one-hour chunks until it’s done. If you would to know how I do this and very easily shape and plan my year email bridget@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz with Annual RAP in the subject line.

Then calendar your inspired actions monthly and weekly by checking in with your plan. Do the same with your marketing plan.

Overwhelm:
Overwhelm is a perspective. Train yourself to focus on the ‘now’ moment and give yourself less to do each day. I’m a HUGE fan of using the Big Rocks concept to organize my daily tasks. All of my clients are taught to schedule their big rocks first. It IS a system.

Finally it may be a hard pill to swallow but, all problems come back to you. You must shift the way you relate to your business to make real change. Use systems to support the transformation. Go well.

Growth Breakthrough Strategies

Bridget Marsh — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:47:45 +0000
Systems play a key role in business growth

Join for movement for a just and sustainable world

Bridget Marsh — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:21:01 +0000

4 Years.GO Change the course of History

Accelerating the creative process

Bridget Marsh — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 06:15:00 +0000

When doing nothing is the right thing to do.

Do you find yourself in situations where you feel you need to make a decision but you’re not ready to? Or you don’t think you have all the information? Or you simply don’t know what the decision is?

That’s the time when doing nothing is the right thing to do. In the creative process i.e. when we are creating what we want as opposed to problem solving’ and we come to a block the best thing to do is to stop and do something completely different for a day, two days or sometimes a couple of weeks.

I experienced this recently in a group I am working with. We’re designing a large national project and we didn’t have the answer to a product vs process question. And we left the question unanswered. When the group met again a couple of weeks later the answer was there immediately. It arrived without any pressure, stress or the group falling apart!

Let me let Robert Fritz explain:

The legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock had a talent for driving his scriptwriters a little crazy. As the team was closing in on how to structure a particularly thorny plot point or twist and turn of the story, Hichcock would offer a glass of wine, or begin to talk about his experiences traveling through Europe, or recess the session for a lavish meal. One day, after another Hichcock treatment of interrupting the writing session, one of his writers complained. “Alfred, we were just getting to a conclusion.” Old Hitch smiled and told the writer that they were getting there too soon. He didn’t want to close in just yet. He wanted to hold the tension so that a more creative possibility could emerge.

This was one of the filmmaker’s trade secrets. Set up tension, and, rather than look for a quick resolution, deepen the tension.

Of course, the tension we are talking about is structural tension. It is not pressure, stress, anxiety, or apprehension. It is the tension that is formed between the desired outcome (in Hitchcock’s case a gripping story) and current reality (in Hitchcock’s case the actual state of the script at any moment.)

Most people who are not consummate creators avoid tension. They want quick answers. They don’t like living in the realm of not knowing something they want to know. They have an intolerance for those moments in the creative process in which you have no idea how to get from where you are to where you want to be. Actually, this is one of the very best moments there are. This is when something completely original can be born, when you go beyond your usual ways of addressing similar situations, where you can drive the creative process into high gear.

And, this is counter-instinctive. Our instincts are to end discrepancies, resolve tension, have it over with. And that’s why what I am describing is truly a discipline. All disciplines are unnatural. When you learn to ski, your instructor takes you to the top of the mountain and says, “Lean down.” You look down, and it can scare the daylights out of you. It’s a long fall. Your instinct is to lean backwards. As it turns out, if you lean backwards, it is like flooring the accelerator in a classic Ferrari. You will just take off right down the steep incline of the hill. But if you lean forward, you are putting the breaks on and be in full control of the skis. To learn how to ski, you need to learn how to be counter-instinctive.

As it is with most important skills we develop in life. When people complain at first it doesn’t feel right, that’s usually because they are moving against their instincts. But to master the skill it is one thing that comes with the territory.

And then there’s Ernest Hemingway. He would write his short stories in a café in Paris and, at the point where he knew where the story was going, he would stop for the day. He didn’t want to resolve the tension too soon. Now the tension I’m talking about is not about the plot development, but his own structural tension as a writer. He would sleep on it and, next day, have a fresh and more developed idea of where to go next.

The principle is this: to supercharge the creative process, increase the focus on structural tension. This is the same as an archer stretching the bow a little more than normal while aiming the arrow at the target. For the creative process, the focus on the tension will generate exceptional creativity, invention, and innovation. Not only that, but energy and momentum increases within the process, and that deepens the creative process.

Now there are those who don’t understand this underlying principle. They don’t understand the creative process, and they think creativity is not about focusing the mind, but freeing the mind. This is the opposite of a popular field of creativity. Those who are so called “experts” do not have a clue as to the real creative process. They tend to come from psychology rather than the arts. They do not understand the “trade secret” of writers, composers, filmmakers, inventors, engineers, scientists, and others who’s job it is to meet deadlines, produce exceptional results, and accomplish creating with an economy of means.

I am very grateful to Robert Fritz and all he has taught me. To learn more about Robert Fritz and his ground breaking ideas on the creative process go to http://www.robertfritz.com/

4 Years. GO

Bridget Marsh — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:31:33 +0000

4years.GO

The goal of FOUR YEARS. GO. is to build a global movement of commitment and action that will cause a positive tipping point in humanity’s future by the end of 2014, setting us irreversibly on a new path to a just, thriving and sustainable future for all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_6iTCo5Ci8&feature=player_embedded

Join me on a journey to create a sustainable and fulfilling world for all.

Build Trust in your brand and increase profits

Bridget Marsh — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:01:18 +0000
Build Trust as a pillar of your brand The question is; how do I work with my staff, customers and suppliers to build trust? In this seminar we will explore how Trust has an invisible impact on our businesses. You will learn how this invisible impact can be negative or positive …building profitability or decaying profitability. Without Trust business growth will be slower and cost more. When trust goes up speed goes up and costs come down. Truly this is the business imperative for thriving. At this training you will learn the 5 essential steps you can take to establish, build or rebuild Trust in your business. And understand the 4 cores and 13 behaviours that will build trust in your business, with your staff, your customers, suppliers, peers and even with your colleagues and family. The Presenter: This workshop will present an overview of how to build trust in your brand, product or service. Bridget Marsh will be presenting The Economics of Trust at the HRINZ conference in September 2010 and a 2 day workshop on Trust as a Strategic Competency at the University of Auckland Business School later this year and in 2011. Date Thursday 29 July 2010 Time: 9 – 11 am Cost: Early bird registration $69.00 Venue to be confirmed register by emailing admin@creatingwhatmatters.co.nz

Sustainability – 10 good business sense reasons to do it

Bridget Marsh — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:43:06 +0000

It’s time to stop thinking about sustainability as a green option. Sustainability is a core strategic competence for business in 2010 for businesses that want to be around for the long term.

Here’s 10 ways becoming sustainable will improve your bottom line.
1. It makes good business sense to find ways to use less resources and do things more efficiently.

Sustainability should be considered not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it makes business sense. If an initiative cannot be justified from a strategic, financial, operational, marketing, or employee recruitment/retention perspective, don’t do it.
In almost every corner of a business there is a fundamental business reason for being more sustainable i.e. looking for how things can be done more efficiently and effectively with less resources, less impact. Energy savings alone can cover any of the costs involved in becoming more sustainable.
2. The Y generation want to work for a business that is interested in more than bottom line and profits for the boss.

It’s now proven that in a business with the feel good factor of a sustainablility initiative staff will work harder, give more of themselves and stay longer. The highly educated, mobile and tech-savvy age group that falls within the demographic band known as Generation Y wants a workplace that’s like them: urban, flexible, collaborative, environmentally sensitive and unconventional.
For them, work isn’t just a place they go to from 9 to 5, then go home. They want an office and a work culture that’s an extension of themselves and their home life — a place that supports what they value — and it better be green, according to a new study by Johnson Controls Inc. that has implications for employers, facility managers, human resources departments and building and office space designers.

3. There’s money to be made from reselling used products and materials.

Many companies have found they can resell used products and materials that were formerly considered waste. When Verizon focused on creating more sustainable operations, the company generated $27 million by sorting out and selling recyclable materials from its waste stream, while also saving over a million dollars in waste removal costs.

4. It’s for big small and large companies

Smaller companies have an advantage because their competitiveness often depends on being lean, resourceful, and nimble, which sustainability enables.

Bigger companies do have an advantage when it comes to influencing their supply chain to be sustainable and in influencing policy at the government level, but smaller companies can be just as effective, if not more so, at almost everything else.

5. Consumers and customers are asking for it

Sustainability is not just about environmental issues. Its about how you treat your staff, your customers, the livelihoods of the people where your supplies come from, its about more for all and less for none.

Who makes purchase decisions at companies? No points for the right answer. We are hearing from an increasing number of large B2B companies that their customers and prospects are asking about their sustainability efforts. You will find it put explicitly in purchase criteria of an increasing number of companies e.g. RWC official suppliers that preference will be given to sustainable organizations.

An increasing number of customers care whom they buy from, whether they are consumers or million-dollar companies.

6. Becoming more transparent about what you do with your waste, how you are affecting your environment, what you policies are with regard to working conditions increases the level of trust

7. Companies that set meaningful goals, and achieve them, have every right to tout their successes and the media takes note increasing profile and exposure – for all the right reasons.

But transparency becomes an important element in this process not just for achievements, but also for failures. There is nothing better for building the credibility of your success like admitting to your failures. And as the next item illustrates, partnering with NGOs can help build credibility about some of the claims.

8. Partnering with NGO’s adds to opportunity

Many companies think of NGOs as adversaries, and are quite content if they are not approached by them. We believe this is a missed opportunity to benefit from their expertise in material sourcing, water treatment and a host of other issues. Organizations like Forest and Bird serve as partners to advance many leading companies’ sustainability efforts.

Bonnie Nixon said that HP realized many years ago that an adversarial relationship was counterproductive and now partners with several NGOs.

9. Even if you don’t make things – it makes good sense

Some companies claim that because they don’t make things, they don’t buy much, and hence don’t have much of a carbon footprint. Or that their products don’t consume much energy, so their environmental impacts are minimal.

Walmart is a prime example of a company that doesn’t make things, yet is developing a supplier index for its tens of thousands of suppliers to measure the carbon impact from the things they sell to the company.

According to Matt Kistler, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Walmart, 88 percent of the company’s environmental footprint is in its supply chain, and only 12 percent is under its direct control. So if the company is going to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality, it is going to need to address most of its reductions in its supply chain. With their purchasing power, they have a tremendous opportunity to influence the supply chain and reduce their (indirect) environmental impact.

10. If you don’t do it now it’s likely that regulation will force you to do it and regulation is always more costly.

Becoming a sustainable business is a strategic decision…. Companies that choose to turn a blind eye to the benefits from becoming more sustainable are putting themselves at an immediate competitive disadvantage, and quite possibly set themselves up as targets for regulation in the long run. ** ** **
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/11/23/8-myths-about-sustainability-business?page=full#ixzz0oGlCKn5S