#######################################

     KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
   ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
             Volume 92, November 2008
  Publisher: © Key Associates, 2008
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com/

#######################################

                         

This Issue: On "Think Green"

Contents:

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. 
I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. 
Much that once was, is lost, for none now live 
who remember it.”
                              - Galadriel

"Whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever 
we do affects everything and everyone else, 
if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly 
flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world; 
when a speck of dust falls to the ground, the 
entire planet weighs a little more; and when 
you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly 
off its course. Whenever you laugh, gladness 
spreads like the ripples in a pond; and whenever 
you're sad, no one anywhere can be really happy. 
And it's much the same thing with knowledge, 
for whenever you learn something new, the 
whole world becomes that much richer.”
                              - Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

"(Tolkien) is a great enough magician to tap 
our most common nightmares, daydreams and 
twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: 
he found them a place to live, a green alternative 
to each day's madness here in a poisoned world.”
    - Peter Beagle, Forward to The Fellowship of the Ring 

"To cherish what remains of the Earth and to foster 
its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival."
                               - Wendell Berry

**************************************
WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
**************************************  
BELIEF IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

SHOWING RESPECT FOR ALL LIVING THINGS.

FIERCE OPPOSITION TO WASTE AND NON-
VALUE-ADDING ACTIVITY.

EDUCATING YOURSELF AND OTHERS 
ABOUT CORPORATE RENEWAL AND WISE 
STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES.

***************************************
MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
***************************************
"Going green" is not a political or fashion issue; 
it is a corporate and civic responsibility.  The term 
"sustainable development" means a pattern of resource 
use that aims to meet human needs, while preserving 
the environment for future generations.  Every 
corporate entity should be focused on how to 
reduce its environmental footprint.

There are so many simple things that can be 
done, it is inexcusable not to do them.  In a recession-
style economy, does it not make sense to go back 
to the old adage, Waste Not, Want Not?  Get 
everyone involved in designing your green future.

*************************************
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
************************************* 

What are the simple things to do?

1.    Recycle--seek multiple uses for everything.  
Use recycled materials.
2.    Turn off electronics when not in use.  Unplug them.
3.    Plant greenery.
4.    Travel less.  Use the Web/phone for meetings.   Reward carpooling.
5.    Replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones.
6.    Adjust your thermostats up or down 2 degrees.
7.    Avoid lots of packaging and printing.
8.    Decrease cycle times.
9.    Streamline your processes and focus on efficiency.  Seek 
single point-of-service solutions.
10.   Stop "pushing" information on employees, contributing to overload, 
and use "pull" systems instead.  Leverage technology.
11.  Request that your employees and customers do the same--
spread the change widely.  Do business with other companies who are 
greening. 
12.   Donate to environmental causes and lobby for environmentally 
friendly legislation.

 

Isn't it going to cost more to implement all these changes?

The benefits outweigh the costs, according to Upstream Waste 
Management's  report.  http://www.wmupstream.com/documents/SustainabilityWhitepaper.pdf .  
Worker productivity increases in companies who care.  Energy 
savings reduce the cost of operations.  Buildings increase in value.

Companies with effective programs were on average 16% 
more profitable than competitors and had a share price that 
averaged 45% higher ("Doing Good: Business and the Sustainability 
Challenge,"  The Economist Intelligence Unit Report in UWM's report).  
There are also government incentives, such as tax breaks for solar power 
and grants for conservation.

 

So who's watching anyway?

The community, your employees, customers, potential customers, 
regulatory agencies, and stakeholders.

TheCRO.com (Corporate Responsibility Officer) gives visitors 
web access to the globe's largest database of corporate responsibility 
and sustainability reports.  http://www.thecro.com/node/391

Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes 
are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance 
of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.  For 
free access, check out: http://www.sustainability-index.com/.  
There are also organizations for social investing, like Ceres 
 http://www.ceres.org/page.aspx?pid=705.   Bankers, analysts, 
fund managers, and investors are staying on top of the "green wave."

 

So how do we get started?

Have a look at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) 
website: http://www.nrdc.org/greenbusiness/default.asp.  They suggest 
these steps:

Paul Hawken (1994), the entrepreneur behind the Smith & Hawken gardening 
supplies empire, is on a one-man crusade to reform our economic system 
by demanding that First World businesses reduce their consumption of 
energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years.  Want to join in?

EXERCISES AND ACTION ITEMS:

* Develop a corporate vision of "Green" and set stretch goals.  
In August, Dell met its much publicized goal to be carbon neutral 
ahead of schedule, lending some credibility to its quest of being the 
"greenest technology company on the planet."

* Calculate your existing carbon footprint:  
http://www.ge.com/ivillage/calculator/#

* Examine the waste streams that go in and out of your office.  
Assess clutter (e.g., emails) and set about streamlining messaging, 
or count the number of steps to do a task and reduce them.
**************************************
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
**************************************
Ten ways to go green in the workplace:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/article191852.html

A practical guide on How to Develop a Successful 
Corporate Sustainability Program
http://www.wmupstream.com/documents/SustainabilityWhitepaper.pdf

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth video study guide
http://www.takepart.com/ait/studyguides.html and 
10 simple things to do http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/pdf/10things.pdf

PowerPoint presentations making the case for green buildings
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1720

Key Associates offers green training and consultation: 
Call  1-888-655-3901 or visit http://www.mkkey.com/.

**************************************
OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES 
**************************************
 Explore potential products and improvements 
http://www.energystar.gov/.  

Pamphlet on "Bringing Your Green to Work" 
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/challenge/bygtw/EPA_T4293_BYGTW_TpCrd_508.pdf

A compendium of information on green from CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21344232

Have some fun with Green
http://www.greenisuniversal.com/greenfun.php

Former Keyzines on related topics:
Volume 19, October 2002 - Lean Does Not Have to Be Mean
Volume 50, May 2005 - Picture of a Process
Volume 69, December 2006 - Changing Habits
Volume 71, February 2007 - Lean Organizations
Volume 74, May 2007 - Simplify
Volume 77, August 2007 - Constructive Confrontation
Volume 90, September 2009 - Value Management

**************************************
ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS                              
************************************** 
Carson, Rachael.  Silent Spring.  Mariner Books, 
2002 (originally 1962).

Blackburn, William R.  The Sustainability Handbook: 
The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, 
Economic and Environmental Responsibility.  
Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2007.

Epstein, Mark J., John Elkington & Herman B. Leonard.  
Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing 
and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and 
Economic Impacts.  Berrett Koehler, 2008.

Esty, Daniel C. & Andrew S. Winston.   Green to Gold: 
How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to 
Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage.  
Yale University Press, 2006.

Harvard Business Review on Green Business Strategy 
(Harvard Business Review Paperback Series.  Harvard 
Business School Press, 2007.

Hawken, Paul.  The Ecology of Commerce.  Collins Business, 
1994.

Hitchcock, Darcy.  The Business Guide to Sustainability: 
Practical Strategies and Tools for Organizations.  
Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2006.

Lovins, Amory.  Harvard Business Review on Profiting 
from Green Business.  Harvard Business School Press, 2000.

MsDonough, William & Michael Braungardt.  
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.  
North Point Press, 2002.

Song, Mike.  The Hamster Revolution.  ReadHowYouWant, 
2008.