Lost in Translation -- why businesses balk at being green

The May 2010 issue of our newsletter is all about behaviour change, and who gets picked on more than 'big, bad business'? If you really want to effect change, you need to follow the old saying: "you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar." According to Bob Willard, the honey business needs to come over to the 'green side' sounds more like business talk, and less like radical demands.

Willard, a long time employee of IBM, has written a book to help break down the language barriers and show both sides what they have in common. The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-In walks you through how to convince a business to be more environmentally sustainable in a language that they will understand.

His key point is that businesses turns off its ears if a request is not phased in a way that makes sense for the bottom line. Think of Kevin O'Leary on CBC's Dragon's Den: if a business plan presenter does not immediately show how he can make Kevin money -- he's out.

Environmental sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand, but that is not usually how it is presented. Willard goes through the many knee-jerk reactions that businesses tend to have when being approached to 'go green.' He then shows you how to dispel their fears by pointing out how to incorporate sustainability while maintaining, or even augmenting, the bottom line.

For example, many companies will say that they are too busy and don't have any extra time or capital to invest in environmentally sustainable activities. Willard points out that it doesn't have to mean additional activities, so much as a new way of looking at current practices.

All companies already have some type of waste management plan in effect. By reevaluating it with a focus on environmental sustainability, significant cost saving opportunities can be realized. He uses the example of 3M's Pollution Prevention Program that has saved the company millions of dollars since its inception.

More and more, consumers are paying attention to corporations' environmental responsibility, and choosing products based on their perception. Companies are taking notice and its hard to see an ad these day that doesn't include some environmental spin.

As consumers, we hope that their claims are true, and an indication of how the whole corporation is run. Willard makes a good case for why corporate environmental sustainability makes good business sense.

(Source: May 2010 WasteWatch)

Back to 3Rs main page

Back to Resources main page

Back to Home page