The importance of design to sustainable products cannot be understated. It is the front end of development and the point at which environmental harm can be best mitigated. The achievement of good design involves challenging designers to think "outside the box," communicate the vision and to provide them with an in-depth understanding of the product's lifecycle, from production to end of life recov…
When speaking of the need for recalibration, many executives are still struggling with developing a process that they can leverage to move the core of their firm into a place where the risk of environmental, social, and economic shocks are mitigated, and where they are positioned to take advantage of new opportunities. It is a process where no templates exist, and depending on the firm’s struct…
In the first two weeks of June, through the Beyond Business As Usual platform, we organized and hosted six events with Erin Meezan, Vice President of Sustainability for Interface. As one of the corporate executives, and a key reason for why the firm is now a firm recognized leader for their efforts to build a business with a core of sustainability, I came away with a deep appreciation for the effo…
A good brand still trumps good companies with consumers. I just scanned the GlobeScan paper RE: Thinking Consumption and came across this chart. It is a chart that struck me because it is supposed to show "How do consumers rate the environmental and social leadership of companies within their respective sectors." Yet, Interface (one of the recognized leaders) still comes after Shell and…
As firms look to recalibrate the mission of a firm, many believe that it will be external stakeholder that is the primary barrier. That suppliers won't be willing to adhere to new expectations, or that consumers won't pay the premium that may be required. It is a belief that in many cases turns out to be secondary to the fact that internal stakeholders may actually provide the greatest barrier.…
Over the last few months, I have begun to sense a change in the way that firms view sustainability at the strategic level. It is a sense that comes from the firms that I have been speaking with, but also in the depth of conversations that we have begun to have about how to move their firms forward in the face of the challenges they face. To give you an example, I received the following email fr…
