DirectGreen Underway, Sustainable Brands Light Up, Dubai has a Week of it

The value and importance of sustainability for businesses are no longer disputed, and leaders from across all industries have realised the necessity to update and upgrade themselves on issues pertaining to it. In Singapore the innovative move by DirectGreen to “Make Shopping Green” has started.The upcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will be the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East, bringing together leaders and experts to discuss and address the sustainability challenges of the future. The recent Sustainable Brands Conference also addressed the themes of unified vision, collaboration and simplicity, and their roles in creating a better world. Read more

Announcement from Ken Hickson/SASA:

SASA is pleased to be associated with the launch of DirectGreen, an innovative approach to “Make Shopping Green”. We mentioned this was coming up in our book “Race for Sustainability”. Serve Sondeijker has worked hard over the last couple of years to make this a reality.

Direct Green Capital Pte Ltd will be announcing this week the official launch of DirectGreen, a sustainability program that helps both shoppers and sellers work together to green purchases and make an impact. Sellers pledge to invest a portion of their sales towards sustainable actions, either as a sustainable investment in their own business or a contribution to a Directgreen Foundation project.

Serve says the programme allows retailers to start a small investment and make their business sustainable step by step. Shoppers are rewarded for shopping sustainably with loyalty points. So not only do their purchases go towards a sustainable action, they get to support Directgreen Foundation projects with their loyalty points.

With both sustainable business investments and Directgreen Foundation projects, each dollar a shopper spends with a DirectGreen seller makes double the impact.

Serve says: “These days, more and more consumers are concerned about the sustainability impact of their purchases. The DirectGreen programme allows retailers to take small steps towards sustainability, at their own pace, while assuring customers of their sustainability credentials, giving them a competitive edge.”

Obviously, sustainability is good for business because it reduces many operational costs, gives business a competitive advantage and increases profits in the long run. But, as Serve says,  it can be hard for businesses to become sustainable overnight.

 “With DirectGreen, even the smallest retailer can start to benefit straightaway with only a small investment.”

Serve also believes that with DirectGreen,  shoppers and sellers can work together to make a green impact – with a little help.

“That’s why we work with local businesses and communities to provide a sustainability framework for companies so their customers know that their purchases are making a genuine difference,” says Serve, who already has a number of busineses on board.

Source: www.directgreen.net

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2014

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East, and a significant platform for international dialogue and cooperation.

In 2013, ADSW welcomed over 30,000 participants from 150 countries, in an effort to:

• Tackle the world’s pressing issues in energy, water and environment
• Accelerate the global adoption of renewable energy and sustainable development
• Address water challenges in arid regions
• Elevate the water-energy nexus topics on the global agenda
• Encourage the dialogue between broad industry stakeholders to strengthen strategic partnerships
• Stimulate investment in water, energy and environment projects
• Empower the young generations and entrepreneurs

This year, between 18th and 24th January 2014, ADSW will, once again, bring world leaders, policy makers, thought leaders, decision makers, experts, scientists, business leaders and academics together to discuss, debate, and ultimately address the energy and sustainability challenges of the future.

Anchored by the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), the 2014 programme will feature a series of complementary events, conferences and exhibitions, including: The International Water Summit; The Abu Dhabi Renewable Energy Conference; The Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony; The International Renewable Energy Agency meeting; and Ecowaste.

Source: www.abudhabisustainabilityweek.com

Sustainable Brands 2013: Imagining—And Creating—a Better World

By Paula Oliveira on Brand Channel (29 November 2013):

One year ago, speakers at the Sustainable Brands Conference in London focused on three key themes: unified vision, collaboration and simplicity. In 2013, many speakers addressed the same themes once more. Does that mean nothing has changed? Or have we lost our imagination?

In fact, things have changed. Fewer business professionals question nowadays if sustainability (or triple bottom line, social responsibility, corporate citizenship, or whatever you want to call it) is good for business, and it is now more intrinsically linked to business strategy. More sustainability advocates are capable of proving with strong business cases that the investment pays off.

For instance, UK retailer Marks & Spencer says in its annual report that the net benefit generated by Plan A (M&S’s commitment to sustainable business) was £135 million, an increase of 29 percent over the previous year, and during the conference, Adam Elman, M&S Global Head of Delivery, said Plan A has delivered 193 percent return on investment. Not bad, is it? Another example is Kering (formerly PPR, owner of brands such as Gucci and Puma), which pioneered a methodology to value the ‘ecosystem services’ it uses to produce Puma’s sports shoes and clothes. But it’s not all about costs: “At Kering, sustainability is seen as an opportunity. Sustainability creates value and stimulates innovation,” said Marie-Claire Daveu, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, who joined the business due to its CEO’s strong commitment to sustainability. “Leadership commitment is everything in this area.”

Sustainable innovation was also high on the agenda and there were some inspiring stories such as one from Fairphone, which has sold all 25,000 of its smartphones that have been produced so far by making production more transparent and ethical. While the number is miniscule in comparison to the whole of the smartphone market, their aim is to “redefine the economy one step at a time.”

Ecover, the “powerful cleaning and washing products without the chemical nasties,” is piloting a project in Mallorca, Spain, to make cleaning products based on local waste—a project that could revolutionize the local ecosystem. This is in line with the circular economy concept that has been making its rounds or a few years now. Ellen MacArthur Foundation CEO Jamie Butterworth spoke about partners such as Philips, which is building and internal center of excellence on circular economy, and B&Q, which is committed to produce more energy than they use and to create 1,000 products based on circular economy principles.

So why are we still debating the same issues around collaboration and simplicity? As highlighted by Jo Confino, editorial director of The Guardian’s Sustainable Business, there are many great initiatives all over the world, but they are not properly connected and therefore not enough to change the world at the pace we need. Mondelēz International’s ‘coffee made happy’ program, for example, committed to invest a minimum of $200 million to empower one million coffee-farming entrepreneurs by 2020, providing skills and access to resources they need.

This is a beautiful and inspiring example, but according to Geraldine O’ Grady, Global Platform Manager at Mondelēz International, there are 25 million smallholders producing 80 percent of the world’s coffee, and many of them are giving up their land to seek better ways of living. Considering that coffee consumption is growing while coffee production is declining, there is a lot to be done to support the other 24 million small farmers (and guarantee we’ll be sipping espressos in the future). Indeed, collaboration among coffee businesses is paramount to guarantee their existence.

As for simplicity, we need to cut the jargon and stop praising ourselves for doing what we should have always been doing: looking after our people and our planet while creating profit for our shareholders. As brand professionals, we have known for a long time that if we want to engage our customers, we need a relevant and differentiating business and brand proposition, based on an internal truth and delivered consistently across the customer journey. We need to be responsive and present where our customers want and need us to be. And we need imagination to be good story-doers and good storytellers, so we can create business that can change the world for the best and share our knowledge with the next generations.

Paul Oliveira is Director, Valuation and Analytics, at Interbrand London.

Source: www.brandchannel.com/

In the past, states such as California and Florida have led the charge when it comes to regulating retail hazardous waste disposal. Now the US Government is demanding more from all states. Hazardous waste management is an incredibly complex industry from both a logistics and regulatory standpoint, and sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in defining a good management plan. Some of the key trends now reflect that importance as the industry evolves to comply with environmental pressures. Read more

Sustainability Trends Impacting Retailers in 2014

By Mike Rozembajgier, Vice President Stericycle Expert SOLUTIONS for Environmental Leader (10 December 2013):

Retail hazardous waste management is an incredibly complex industry from both a logistics and regulatory standpoint. There’s only one constant—it is always changing.

Definitions of which materials are considered hazardous vary at the federal, state and county levels, and are constantly evolving with political, environmental and economic pressures.

In addition to these challenges, a number of trends are emerging to further complicate the industry and force major retailers to evaluate their environmental compliance programs. In 2014, digitalization, geographic shifts and a need for inventory optimization are developments that retailers will need to consider as they evaluate their approach to hazardous waste management.

Digitalization

While many businesses have already gone digital—take online banking or retail, for example—the EPA is playing catch up. In October 2012, President Obama signed into law the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, which directs that by 2015, the EPA must come up with a uniform plan to move from paper-based to digital documents for all of its records. Referred to as e-Manifest, this national system will extend to all federal- and state-regulated wastes.

The e-Manifest initiative will help waste generators by allowing them to complete manifests online with easy drop-down menus. It will also facilitate the tracking of shipments and provide confirmations that shipments have been received. Lastly it will help reduce the inefficiencies of paper record-keeping by centralizing the data electronically.

As the e-Manifest initiative takes shape, retailers will need to modernize their own compliance reporting environments for the digital era. To get ready for e-Manifest the EPA recommends that retailers:

Participate in one of EPA’s system requirements meetings or webinars and help EPA to understand data systems used to track hazardous waste and generate manifests.

Communicate with transporters and treatment storage and disposal facilities since they often supply the technology with which generators will participate in e-Manifest.

Check the e-Manifest website regularly for new information as it becomes available.

Geographic shift

Coastal states have historically been the drivers of compliance because of their proximity to watersheds and coastlines. But this is beginning to change as many landlocked states are now taking hazardous waste regulatory activity more seriously.

In the past, states such as California and Florida have led the charge when it comes to regulating retail hazardous waste disposal. But now, with greater focus from the EPA on a national level, retailers with facilities across the nation must divert their attention to areas not historically considered active sites of regulation.

This geographic shift has significant implications for retailers. Companies that have invested compliance program dollars in states that have been highly regulated historically, will be left scrambling to address these new vulnerable areas.

States that have reportedly stepped up oversight of retail hazardous waste disposal include Minnesota, Kansas and Missouri. Companies with retail locations in these areas must ensure their compliance programs are up to par. Because geographic location can have an impact on regulatory activity, retailers should take stock of their hazardous waste volume to better manage it in a compliant manner. The EPA divides hazardous waste generators into three categories based upon the quantity of waste they produce.

Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) generate 1,000 kilograms per month or more of hazardous waste, more than 1 kilogram per month of acutely hazardous waste, or more than 100 kilograms per month of acute spill residue or soil.

Small Quantity Generators (SQGs) generate more than 100 kilograms, but less than 1,000 kilograms, of hazardous waste per month.

Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generators (CESQGs) generate 100 kilograms or less per month of hazardous waste, or 1 kilogram or less per month of acutely hazardous waste, or less than 100 kilograms per month of acute spill residue or soil.

By understanding how much waste is being generated at each retail location, retailers can assess their risk of non-compliance.

Inventory optimization

In the past it has been enough for retailers to recycle the majority of their waste and contract companies to haul away hazardous materials for proper disposal. But with a greater focus on sustainability and environmental compliance, retailers need a more organized, proactive approach to hazardous waste management.

The EPA requires that retailers understand which of their wastes are hazardous so that the material can be properly managed, reported, tracked and disposed. To start, products deemed unsalable should be kept segregated from salable merchandise. Each unsalable item must then be identified as either 1) returnable to the manufacturer, 2) able to be reused via donation, 3) resold, or 4) as waste. Hazardous waste generally falls into the following six categories: flammables, corrosive acids, corrosive bases, reactives/oxidizers, toxics, and universal non-aerosols.  This EPA reference guide provides a full listing.

As more retailers invest in inventory optimization, their compliance programs should be integrated to digitally record hazardous waste as it is segregated, classified and reported. With this approach retailers have access to data about customer returns, expired inventory, overstocked inventory and more. By saving these costs, a compliance program in hazardous waste disposal could deliver a positive impact on the bottom line. For example, a retailer could receive manufacturer credit for expired medication, or order less volume of a seasonal product like sunscreen that may have low sales, but must be treated and discarded as a hazardous material. Retailers can also nalyse waste production identify ways to optimize inventory, decrease scrap and potentially receive credit for inventory scrap losses, much like the manufacturer credits received for expired medications.

While there’s no crystal ball to predict the many changes that have an ongoing impact on companies trying to manage their hazardous waste, it can broadly be assumed that sustainability will continue to grow in importance. Taking responsibility for the waste streams produced at retail locations plays a critical role in protecting the environment.

Mike Rozembajgier is vice president at Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS where he currently oversees marketing and business development initiatives for the StrongPak service – the leading, comprehensive answer to nationwide retail hazardous waste compliance.

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/12/10/sustainability-trends-impacting-retailers-in-2014/

There still remains some inertia against the adoption of more sustainable business practices, partly due to the stranglehold of some pervading sustainability myths. One of the most pervasive ones is that sustainability makes no business sense, which is not only untrue, but could potentially block the way to greater profitability. Here, the myth is busted by scrutinising businesses that have successfully integrated sustainability into their day-to-day operation while bolstering their bottom-line. Read more

Sustainability Mythbusters: Debunking the Sustainability Myths

By Mike Fraser, VP, Global Sustainability Services, Schneider Electric for Environmental Leader (9 December 2013):

Welcome to the Sustainability Mythbusters series presented by Schneider Electric. In this six-part series, Schneider Electric’s Global Sustainability Services team explores common misconceptions related to the topic of sustainability and presents a business case to “bust” each myth.

Sustainability does not make business sense

Anyone who would say that there is not a business case for sustainability might want to talk to Cabela’s. The outdoor retailer saved more than $1 million in just two years by improving energy management and efficiency in 10 new stores.

Skeptics could also look at beverage company Brown-Forman, which expects to cut 350,000 annual truck trips in 2014 by moving its Jack Daniel’s distillery and warehousing operations closer together. Or they could look at Kittitas Valley Community Hospital, which saved $200,000 after simply taking the time to analyze and improve its energy usage.

There are plenty of dollars and cents examples out there that clearly lay out the business case for sustainability. Beyond that, however, is a long list of reasons that further strengthen the sustainability case; a list so long, in fact, that it turns this myth completely on its head and makes the exact opposite true. Sustainability makes complete business sense in myriad ways.

For starters, many companies these days have been experiencing increased demand from investors, shareholders, retailers and consumers for greater commitment to sustainability. And what starts as more demand often ends up becoming a requirement. For example, shareholder resolutions focused on sustainability have been on the rise over the past few years. Such resolutions may only inform discussions initially, but with enough support they often become mandates that not only call for but support sustainability initiatives.

For companies in certain industries, sustainability can be an imperative for doing business at all. Forestry companies must manage their timberlands for future harvests, and mining companies are often required to meet rigorous environmental standards in order to receive the licenses they need to conduct their business in the first place.

Likewise, more and more large companies are beginning to require a commitment to sustainability from their suppliers. The most well-known of these, Wal-Mart, launched its sustainability index in 2009 to begin rating its suppliers based on their own sustainable practices. The retailer expects to source 70 percent of the goods it sells in the US by 2017 only from suppliers who make sustainability cut. Those who don’t will be missing out on a big business opportunity: the average Wal-Mart store carries more than 120,000 items.

Sustainability also leads to gains in efficiency that ultimately results in cost savings. Hospitals that invest between $100,000 and $1 million in saving energy, for example — things like HVAC upgrades and lighting retrofits — can cut energy use by up to 20%. Those that take a more comprehensive approach have the potential to save more than 30 percent on energy costs and see their profitability rise.

Efficiencies aren’t all connected to energy, either. Being more efficient with other resources helps bolster the business case for sustainability as well. Consider the soda company that finds ways to save water in its production processes. Not only does it cut costs by reducing overall usage, but there is then less water that needs to be purchased, treated and transported. Minimizing waste also plays a huge role in maximizing efficiency and improving a company’s financial performance.

Sustainability makes a sound business case on a bigger level as well, in terms of risk management and business continuity. Climate change will likely impact all kinds of companies in the near future, whether it’s a Mexican tequila company facing a shortage of water or wheat producers enduring drought and wildfires. There are also extreme weather events, like Hurricane Sandy in 2012, to be prepared for. Committing to be more sustainable now can help brace for the challenges of the future. Companies who manage sustainability well are managing risk well and will be duly rewarded.

The business case for sustainability is no myth. It is real and can be measured in many direct and indirect ways. And while there are many companies out there who’ve made a real commitment to be sustainable and who are reaping the benefits from it, there are those who remain skeptical. That won’t be the case much longer: either they will see the benefits and make the shift — or be left behind.

Mike Fraser is the Vice President of Global Sustainability Services at Schneider Electric. Mike leads Schneider Electric’s growth initiatives in the area of sustainability consulting and services, including the company’s online sustainability and energy management software, Resource Advisor. Schneider Electric has a proven record of leading organizations to thriving sustainability programs across economic, environmental, and social dimensions. As a global leader in sustainability services, the company provides an unmatched end-to-end solution that encompasses every phase of the sustainability journey. Through our offering of strategy, technology, and implementation, Schneider Electric is able to drive successful sustainability programs that accelerate business performance. Learn more about Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Services at, https://vimeo.com/58187366, or email: sustainability@ems.schneider-electric.com.

Source: www.environmentalleader.com/