Stories About Consulting
Found 101 stories. Page 5 of 6.
Moving Pieces: UNC's Big-Business Approach to Sustainability Consulting
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - At the University of North Carolina, sustainability consulting projects have an unique way of taking shape.A marketplace type of approach to teaming up with industry partners has helped UNC’s Center for Sustainable Enterprise take aim at large-scale projects with multiple clients.
CH2M Hill, Tetra Tech Top Environmental Consulting Firms Ranking
LEADERSHIP - CH2M Hill and Tetra Tech lead the global environmental consultancy market for the second consecutive year, which saw a 0.8 percent decrease to stand at $28.7 billion in 2013, according to new research by Environment Analyst.
Measuring Sustainability, Part II: Constructing a Sustainability Index
NEW METRICS - In Part I of this series, we explored the basics of why a company would use a sustainability index to help guide decision-making. Here, we go into further depth on the steps to create such an index.Step 1: Determining what’s importantThe first step in defining a sustainability index is to determine what factors need to be considered for inclusion in the system. What is important to your company, your customers and your stakeholders?
Tradeshift Waiving Fees for Companies Building Circular Economy Apps
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Tradeshift, which digitally connects enterprises with their suppliers via a cloud-based platform, announced on Tuesday that it will waive the 30 percent revenue share it receives, for organizations that use its platform to build apps that help to support the circular economy. Organizations that build apps supporting the circular economy will receive all profit from their app.
Report: Global Environmental Industry Grew in 2013
MARKETING AND COMMS - The global environmental industry grew 3.6 percent in 2013, generating revenues of $1.047 trillion, while the U.S. environmental industry grew only 0.7 percent in 2013 compared to 4.5 percent in 2012, according to new research from Environmental Business International.In 2013, the U.S. environmental industry’s total of $344.84 billion in annual revenues represented 2.81 percent of the gross domestic product, while the environmental industry employment reached 1.75 million.
Measuring Sustainability, Part I: The Basics of a Sustainability Index
NEW METRICS - When we work with a company that is just starting its sustainability journey, we try to focus on one central framing question: What does sustainability mean to your organisation? Sustainability has evolved way beyond merely measuring carbon emissions, which means it requires management of many factors. There are a multitude of impacts to consider: impacts on water use and water supply; impacts on human health; and even social impacts on workers and communities.What Does Sustainability Mean to You?
Report: Chief Sustainability Officers Expanding from Tactical Executors to Strategic Lynchpins
LEADERSHIP - Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) have expanded their responsibilities from internal program managers to strategic lynchpins who guide corporate strategy, identify product innovation opportunities, and orchestrate sustainability initiatives both inside and outside the company, according to a new report by The Weinreb Group.
2-Part #NewMetrics '14 Panel Shines Light on Sustainability Context in Practice
NEW METRICS - A two-part session on Thursday afternoon explored sustainability context through examining the evolution of corporate sustainability goals, and case studies from leading companies proactively applying it to their goal-setting processes.First, Sustainability Context Group co-founder Bill Baue — moderator of both parts — led a discussion on the state of corporate sustainability goals and equipping companies with practical advice on how to incorporate context.
Arizona State University and STAR Communities Announce Partnership
PRESS RELEASE - Washington, DC (April 10, 2014) – This week STAR Communities and Arizona State University’s Sustainability Solutions Services announced an official partnership to support local governments who are interested in benchmarking and tracking sustainability performance.
Review: Creating Value People to People: Another Way to Craft Brands and Do Business
MARKETING AND COMMS - Authors Christophe Fauconnier & Benoit Beaufils, respectively CEO & founding partner of the consultancy Innate Motion, share their vision and the tools they use to develop purposeful brands in their latest book, Creating Value People to People.
Luxury Most Poised for Instigating Positive Change Within Fashion Industry, Says Eco-Age
MARKETING AND COMMS - In a sector where social and environmental commitments have traditionally focused on philanthropic efforts, luxury is perhaps the most poised for instigating positive change within the fashion industry, argues Nicola Giuggioli, CEO of Eco-Age. According to Giuggioli, the luxury industry’s intimate knowledge and appreciation of high-quality materials, manufacturing and notions of provenance, alongside its smaller scale in comparison to mass fashion, position it to become a leader in the sustainability space.
Brand Deep Dives: A Tool to Co-Create Common Convictions
MARKETING AND COMMS - In this series, Christophe Fauconnier & Benoit Beaufils, respectively CEO & founding partner of brand consultancy Innate Motion, present the tools that the company uses to develop purposeful, mission-driven brands with their clients. Benoit & Christophe view their tools as a free “thoughtware” suite, and propose that readers borrow and reapply.
Why You Can’t Fight Fear with Facts
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - The field of environmental sustainability is fraught with emotional issues: climate change, water shortages, population growth, food purity, animal extinction … the list goes on and on.These complex issues are intricately entwined with national economics, social mores, political and religious beliefs and fear.Clients are always asking us to develop “education” campaigns to change attitudes or behaviors, thinking (logically) that if people only understood the facts, they’d change their behavior.
Defining Sustainability: A Process and Strategy Focus
MARKETING AND COMMS - Currently, sustainability is a lot like beauty — its definition lies in the eyes of the beholder. This author’s preference is for actionable definitions that can be integrated into daily operational processes. The following is an attempt to define sustainability through this lens.
E&S Topics Comprised 40% of Shareholder Proposals Filed in 2013
MARKETING AND COMMS - Nearly 40 percent of all shareholder proposals filed in 2013 came from the environmental and social (E&S) category, representing the largest category overall, according to a recent report by Ernst & Young.Taking flight: Environmental sustainability proposals gain more attention identifies the specific requests investors are making in environmental sustainability proposals, company practices referenced by shareholder proponents in their supporting statements and examples of company actions that have led to withdrawals.The top five E&S proposal topic areas were:
If It Involves People (And What Doesn't?), Start with a Powerful Engagement Strategy
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE - What single success driver do branding, design, innovation, sustainability, public policy, product development, sales, social sector program management and organizational change have in common? The answer is simple: engagement. Whenever we do something for people or involving people, engagement must be at the center. If we leave out engagement we’ll quickly become cut off from the very people whose benefit we are working for, and separated from the people we need to help forward our objectives. Then we’ll be left wondering what went wrong.
The True Cost of 'Cheap'
NEW METRICS - All businesses stay alive by being price competitive. After all, if there are no customers to pay for your product, you can’t make sales and without sales there are no revenues. In an ideal world, a business sets its pricing based on the costs it incurs to produce but other businesses compete by offering different pricing (some do choose strategies based on servicing or other value-added activities).
Customer Behavior Change: The Holy Grail of Conscious Brands
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - “If we can’t get the consumer involved, we will always be behind the curve,” Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland said when he launched the retailer’s ‘Plan A’ sustainability stakeholder consultation.The logic is compelling. Changing customer behavior is a natural part of the sustainable business strategies businesses must create to achieve long-term success. And instead of being seen as an extension of CSR strategies they will be seen more as Long-Term Marketing strategies that are creating the company’s preferred future operating environment.
Pure Strategies Partners With CDP To Help Companies Disclose Emissions, Reduce Climate Risks
MARKETING AND COMMS - U.S.-based sustainability consulting firm Pure Strategies this week announced a partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to help companies that disclose emissions to CDP to minimize climate risks and impacts in their organizations, products and global supply chains.
Design Matters, for the Circular Economy
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - A team from Seymourpowell, one of the UK’s most established design and innovation consultancies, were thrilled to spend an evening in the company of a select group of motivated Design & Technology teachers, at the recent Tunbridge Wells Teardown Lab led by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. It proved a fascinating evening of new insight and practical hands-on learning.
