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Organizational Change

The latest creative strategies and tools helping organizations to engage their teams in building market-leading, purpose-driven brands.

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SAP: Increased Employee Engagement Helping Bottom Line

Cross-Posted from New Metrics. German software company SAP’s operating profit improves EUR35 million ($38 million) to EUR45 million ($49 million) when its employee engagement index rises one percentage point, according to the company’s 2014 integrated report.The financial impact of a higher employee engagement index results, among other things, from the fact that dedicated employees are more innovative and absent from work fewer days. Likewise, because they are more loyal to the company, there is less missed revenue and less recruiting and training costs traditionally associated with higher turnover rates.

Nestlé Shares Challenges, Progress, Renews Partnerships in Efforts to Create 'Shared Value'

This week, Nestlé released the summary of its 2014 Nestlé in society: Creating Shared Value report, which highlights the company’s progress — and challenges — in meeting its societal commitments. The report gives stakeholders the opportunity to scrutinize Nestlé’s progress during 2014 against 38 specific objectives. The full online version of the report will be available from April 7.Three new commitments cover responsible marketing to children, ensuring that all employees and stakeholders can easily report possible compliance violations, and working against corruption and bribery.

Almond Farmers Explain the Switch to Organic in CLIF's Latest 'Farmers Speak' Video

Clif Bar has released the second installment in its Farmers Speak series. Where the first centered on organic oats; the second installment “gives voice” to organic almonds — a key ingredient in 17 products across the company’s CLIF®, CLIF® Organic Trail Mix, LUNA® and CLIF® Kit’s Organic Fruit + Nut Bar brand bars.The video tells the story of Burroughs Family Farm — which grows nearly 1,000 acres of organic almonds in Merced County, in California’s Central Valley — and the family’s decision to make the bold transition from conventional to organic farming practices.

London Assembly Calls on Mayor to Divest City from Fossil Fuels

Last week, the London assembly told mayor Boris Johnson to pull City Hall’s £4.8bn pension fund out of coal, oil and gas investments, after assembly members voted on a motion to support the fossil fuel divestment movement.The motion calls on the mayor to publicly support the principle of divestment and to begin the process of ridding the London Pension Fund Authority (LPFA) of its fossil fuel portfolio. But the vote is non-binding, meaning the mayor is bound only to consider its proposals and write a response.The Green Party’s Jenny Jones proposed the motion, which was unanimously supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Six of the Conservative’s nine members were absent. Those who were present voted against.

RSPO Cleans House of Companies Failing to Meet Standards; NGOs Applaud

On Thursday, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) announced it has taken action against members that are not fulfilling basic membership obligations intended to create a more transparent, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible palm oil industry. A number of prominent NGOs working in the field — including World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Rainforest Action Network (RAN) — commend the action as an important first step, but emphasize the Roundtable's need for more teeth in ensuring progress toward a truly sustainable palm oil industry.

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HP Setting Industry Standard with Zero-Tolerance Policy on Forced Migrant Labor

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Last fall, HP became the first company in the IT industry to require direct employment of foreign migrant workers in its supply chain with the release of the HP Foreign Migrant Worker Standard.Three months after HP the release of this new standard for preventing exploitative labor practices and forced labor, Sustainable Brands spoke with Bob Mitchell, Global Manager of Supply Chain Social & Environmental Responsibility, to learn how the program is enabling HP to ethically recruit and manage foreign migrant workers.

Carbon Onsetting: A Robust Complement to - or Replacement for - Offsetting

Whether as competitive differentiation, long-term risk management, or hedging against future regulation, internal carbon fees are becoming increasingly popular with companies as varied as Shell, Microsoft and Disney.

The Social Purpose Continuum: Changing the Lens, the Focus, Everything in Our Approach to CSR

For 25 years, I’ve developed CSR strategies. And now I see that CSR is becoming business as usual.You’d think I’d be celebrating. But I’m not — because CSR has stalled.This struck me in 2012 when I developed the Qualities of a Transformational Company for Canadian Business for Social Responsibility and started tracking corporate innovation in CSR (see 38 case studies of transformation in action at CBSR’s website). That’s when I saw where we needed to be.

Independent Evaluation - A Crucial Part of Our Zero-Deforestation Journey

Today marks two years since we launched our Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) and the anniversary is particularly significant as the Rainforest Alliance is publishing its independent evaluation of our progress. I believe this may be the first time that any company attempting to implement ‘zero deforestation’ in its supply chain on such a scale has submitted its programme to independent third-party evaluation.

Shell Endorses Shareholder Resolution That 'Boldly Questions Its Own Business Model'

Last week, Royal Dutch Shell’s board of directors ratified a shareholder resolution that commits the oil giant to investing in a low-carbon future. The resolution called for the company to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, invest in renewable energy, scrap bonus systems that are associated with climate-harming activities, and base its business model risk assessment against the widely considered “safe” warming limit of 2ᵒC (as signed by 141 governments at the UN’s Copenhagen Accord).

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Moving Pieces: UNC's Big-Business Approach to Sustainability Consulting

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.

The Shared Imperative: How the Humble Pint Is Helping to Advance Sustainability Science

Last week saw the launch of a new initiative that will offer 15 post-graduate scientists from nations across Africa the opportunity to work with UK academic institutions in subject areas such as water management, sustainable farming, energy and waste.The ‘SABMiller Royal Society Exchange Programme’ is a seemingly unlikely collaboration between one of the UK’s leading science establishments and a multinational brewer. I went along to Wednesday night’s launch event at the Royal Society in London to find out how beer is helping to fund new sustainable technologies.

Why Business Culture Should Be the Ultimate Aim of Sustainability Leaders

Business schools play a critical role in society.They support the continual evolution of our economies, the industries that shape them, the people that lead them, and the thinking behind it all.But it’s not just a role. It’s also a responsibility.In today’s hotter, scarcer, and more open world (to borrow from Andrew Winston’s The Big Pivot), that responsibility is greater than ever. More than at any other time in history, humanity is collectively aware of its impact on the planet. We know that our current actions, if left unchecked, will lead to unknown disruptions of life on earth.

Delivering on Profit and Purpose – a Job for the CFO?

Back in 2012, a Deloitte study remarked how chief finance officers (CFOs) were ‘coming to the table’ in matters relating to board-level sustainability. The CFO role has evolved to the point where it is now widely perceived as an enabler for sustainable business – customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders are increasingly looking to connect corporate financial performance to social and environmental impacts, and accountability for this tends to rest at the door of the CFO.

CDP: US, Brazil, China and India Least Resilient Against Climate-Related Supply Chain Risks

Lack of preparation has left supply chains in Brazil, China, India and the United States more vulnerable to climate risks than those in Europe and Japan. However, suppliers in China and India deliver the greatest financial return on investment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate the strongest appetite for collaboration across the value chain. This according to research released Tuesday by CDP and Accenture.

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So Your Company Is Doing the Right Thing. How Can You Make People Care?

When it comes to corporate transparency, times are changing. Gone are the days when a company could be considered a leader simply by publishing an annual report. Today’s stakeholders want to truly engage with your company’s story, especially when it comes to sustainability — and they want to do it on their own terms, with clickable, personalized information.

Next-Gen ERP: Managing … and Saving the Panda Bears?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an impressive concept. It covers everything from business operations to corporate governance. It includes streamlining and automating corporations; making all business processes highly efficient, cost-effective and fully automated; all resource use fully planned, controlled and understood. ERP today provides an integrated view of core business processes across various departments, ranging from sourcing, manufacturing and sales to accounting and payroll.

For Clifford, Hope Springs Eternal for 'The Greening of Asia'

Mark Clifford’s forthcoming book, The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency (Columbia Business School Publishing, March 2015), offers a hopeful take on major trends in the region, such as entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies working together to generate solutions in energy, land and water conservation that are efficient and sustainable.

Now Is the Time for Action to Preserve Our Precious Ecosystems

Paul Polman is CEO of Unilever, a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Lead Group and Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This is his observation following his involvement at Lima COP 20.

Sustainability Managers Bring More to the Table Than Environmental Expertise

Many companies today view sustainable business practices as an integral part of their overall strategy — and much more than an opportunity to enhance their brand image. A natural extension of this trend is increased demand for experienced executives who can help companies meet their environmental goals. According to a 2014 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, approximately 625,000 ‘green’ jobs were created in the renewable energy sector alone in the United States last year. In many cases, these are well-paying positions requiring higher education and/or specialized training.

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