Eric Schmidt On Google’s Acquisition Strategy. The Innovative Business Models Leading the Next Wave of Sustainability | Business. When is enough enough? A group of leading companies that we work with at Forum for the Future tell us that even their substantial progress on sustainability is not enough. And we think they're right. The next wave of corporate sustainability will be about innovating the fundamental logic of how a company creates value, in short creating "sustainable business models. " In this emerging field, what examples and best practice can you suggest that help us all understand what to do next?
We think of a sustainable business model as one that achieves commercial success by delivering social value within environmental limits. Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan commits them to double sales over the next decade while halving the environmental footprint of making and using their products. Back in 2010, we convened a roundtable with representatives from M&S, Unilever [PDF], Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Kingfisher and the Shell Foundation to explore the emerging idea of sustainable business models. Today’s Better Businesses Are Green | Ecopreneurist. Business Published on October 10th, 2011 | by Guest Contributor Not so long ago, any overture an entrepreneur made toward environmental sensitivity served her company well. Customers responded favorably to these businesses, whether or not their particular shades of green came from sincere and meaningful efforts or superficial marketing campaigns.
Things are different today. Prospects are knowledgeable about environmental issues, and they have little respect for the business that makes false sustainability claims. There is an expense to pursuing environmentally aware business practices. Here’s why greening your company makes good business sense: Traditional energy and waste removal are expensive. Green businesses gain a powerful differentiator in their markets.
Jason Lemkin is VP of web business services at Adobe and the former CEO and co-founder of EchoSign. Tags: green business, save energy and money. Strong Growth in 3Q Clean Tech Investments Despite Headwinds. Cars Published on October 6th, 2011 | by Andrew Clean tech investments rose 12% quarterly and 23% year-to-year in 3Q 2011, totaling $3.34 billion and 189 transactions. Slowing activity in major economies and the possibility of another breakdown in the global financial system hampered clean tech investment growth in 3Q, yet overall investment levels continued to exhibit strong growth, according to preliminary results of a Cleantech Group research report.
“While financing remains constrained, it’s great to see growth in venture activity,” said Sheeraz Haji, Cleantech Group CEO. “Energy Storage emerged as our top sector, indicating continued strong interest in advanced technologies for grid-storage as well as for electric vehicles. Global enterprises continue to investment aggressively into clean tech.” Energy storage topped Cleantech’s investment table for the first time in 3Q, attracting $514 million of capital.
Clean Tech Investment: Geography Clean Tech Venture Capital Investment. How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media [INFOGRAPHIC] | Ecopreneurist. The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee (June 22, 2011) Fair Trade-certified coffee is growing in consumer familiarity and sales, but strict certification requirements are resulting in uneven economic advantages for coffee growers and lower quality coffee for consumers. By failing to address these problems, industry confidence in Fair Trade coffee is slipping. Jesus Lopez Hernandez picks ripe coffee cherries on a farm associated with Cooperativo Las Brumas, near Matagala, Nicaragua. (Photo by Janet Jarman/Corbis) Peter Giuliano is in many ways the model of a Fair Trade coffee advocate. He began his career as a humble barista, worked his way up the ladder, and in 1995 co-founded Counter Culture Coffee, a wholesale roasting and coffee education enterprise in Durham, N.C. In his role as the green coffee buyer, Giuliano has developed close working relationships with farmers throughout the coffee-growing world, traveling extensively to Latin America, Indonesia, and Africa.
Why do we care about fairly traded coffee? Asia Pacific's largest green business community | Sustainability and Environment | News, Opinion, Events, Press Releases, Jobs, Directory, Resources. NKSJ Holdings, Inc. (hereafter “NKSJHD”) would like to announce that it has been selected for inclusion in the DJSI World index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (hereafter “DJSI”), the world’s first and most widely used family of global sustainability benchmarks, on September 13, 2012. NKSJHD has now been selected as a member of the indexes for 3 consecutive years since the company was founded and 13 consecutive years since the subsidiary company Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. has been included. 1.
About the DJSI The DJSI is a stock index developed in 1999 jointly by Swiss asset management advisor Sustainable Asset Management AG (hereafter “SAM”) and Dow Jones & Company of the United States. Fifty-five asset organizations have concluded license contracts with SAM to use the DJSI as a benchmark for measuring the extent of sustainability initiatives carried out by companies. 2. . (1) General Overview (2) Assessment of NKSJHD About Sompo Japan CSR Office.