Everybody's Going Green

"Environmentally-friendly."  "Organically-grown." "Safe for the environment. " "Green."

We all have seen the labels of goods and products claiming to be environmentally correct. It is impossible to engage the consumer marketplace today without encountering these bold statements from marketers and manufacturers about the "green" nature of their wares.  They often lead the commercial messages. Despite the proliferation of green marketing claims that permeate the media, the standard for green products has been a somewhat ambiguous sliding scale for years.

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped in to issue a revised set of guidelines for companies making environmental claims.  The revised guidelines are there to make sure the claims are truthful and substantiated, and backed up by legitimate science and tests.  While this might add an extra layer of unwanted regulatory compliance on these companies, the guidelines ultimately help consumers from getting duped by dubious achievements.

Since the advent of the Sustainability Revolution, consumers have shown their preference for environmentally friendly products.  This extends to everything from coffee, fruits and vegetables, to cotton, wool, poultry, paper and petroleum. As a society, we want to be in as close harmony as possible to our environment without spoiling it.  And, it appears, many consumers are willing to pay a little bit more for the "Green".

By laying out the boundaries for what can and cannot be considered environmental friendly, the FTC may have marked the end of those claims that seem to stretch the bounds of credulity.  Oil and gas extraction--environmentally friendly?  Hmmm.

(c) copyright 2012.  Adonis Hoffman.  All rights reserved

Has Corporate Responsibility Reached a Plateau?

If we believe the recent results of an IBM annual survey, it would appear that corporate responsibility in practice may have reached a plateau.

In a recent article in Forbes, two IBM execs point out that across the globe, managers are committed to sustainable practices, but don't always do the necessary follow-through. I've re-published the salient comments and advise you to read the findings for yourself.

"IBM recently completed its second annual survey of senior executives around the world asking them how they are handling green and sustainability issues in their corporate strategies. The results are encouraging in some respects, but they show how very far businesses still need to go to truly be on the road to sustainability.

"The overwhelming majority of the 224 respondents said they are committed to incorporating principles of corporate social responsibility into their business strategies--despite the global recession--as a way to improve their business performance, their contribution to society and their reputation. Some 60% said this was more important to them than a year ago; only 6% said it was less."

"And businesses, for the most part, are no longer just paying lip service to sustainability. They're trying to optimize their operations to reduce environmental impact and improve social effects while also improving business performance.

"But our survey shows a significant gap between the business and sustainability goals companies are setting for themselves and what they are actually doing to attain them. And information is at the heart of the problem.

"Specifically, our survey findings show that:

--Companies aren't collecting and analyzing the information they really need or aggregating it often enough. Because of that, they can't implement real changes to fundamentally increase efficiency, lower costs, reduce environmental impact and improve their reputations with key stakeholders.

--Few are collecting enough data from their global supply chain partners, so they're missing major opportunities to reduce the inconsistency, inefficiency, waste and risk that can ripple through a global supply network.

--Most still don't understand the concerns of their key stakeholders, particularly customers, and they're not actively engaging them to find out. That means they're missing out on knowledge that could improve their businesses and lead to new opportunities."

I suppose that means there's still a long way to go.

(c) 2009

Go Green

"Business is recognizing the role it can play in combating climate change. Thank God, is all I can say, for there is a desperately urgent need for business to play that role. Your lobbying influence can be substantial, but together, united and in large enough numbers it could prove decisive in turning the tide."

Prince Charles


If you have not yet realized the impact of the green revolution on business, you should accelerate your learning curve. Eco-friendly environmentally-conscious policies and practices are the order of the day for corporations, and consumers, policymakers and the media all expect companies to play by the new rules.

After decades of carping from the outside, environmental activists have succeeding in placing the environment on the corporate agenda. Today, environmentally conscious policies are a major part of the sustainability standards that all companies are expected to adopt if they are going to be considered responsible citizens. In addition to lowering carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, green policies and practices are proving to impact the bottom line quite favorably through reduced costs and increased energy savings.

Of course your commitment to going green will require your organization to make both short-term and long-term commitments and to open itself to even more scrutiny. But consider the impact made when private equity financiers made an environmental group a key part of the deal for a natural gas plant. In the end, leadership in this area will pay great dividends in corporate reputation, good will and consumer satisfaction.

(c) Adonis E. Hoffman, 2008

Influence Others to Do Good

“There is but one rule of conduct for a man to do the right thing. The cost may be dear in money, in friends, in influence, in labor, in a prolonged and painful sacrifice, but the cost not to do right is far more dear: You pay in the integrity of your manhood, in your honor, in strength of character; and, for a timely gain, you barter the infinite.”
--Archer G. Jones


Competition not only is good for business, it is good for society. When one company sees its competitors behaving responsibly, its own competitive instincts get into gear, especially when those competitors are being rewarded and recognized in the marketplace as is often the case.

In the same way as a company establishes itself as the pacesetter for an entire industry, it can lead the way in other areas. I am reminded of organizations such as Levi Strauss, Johnson & Johnson, and Starbucks who, by their consistent examples, have prompted their industry competitors to strive to do good things.

Corporate leaders set positive examples for others to follow. All too often, corporations are influenced by the wrong kinds of actions—spiraling executive pay, more and more perks for the board, and stupendous stock grants—while many of the basic issues that matter to their customers go overlooked.

True corporate leadership propels a company to influence others to make lasting investments in underserved communities, to take extraordinary measures to preserve the environment, and to promote sustainable development throughout the world, for example. Doing well, alone, is never enough. A corporate leader must seek to do good for others, too.

(c) 2008 Adonis E. Hoffman