The Sustainable MBA: The Manager’s Guide to Green Business

Author: Giselle Weybrecht

ISBN: 978-0-470-74114-6

Hardcover; 416 pages

Published in November 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recommended Retail Price: US$34.95 / S$62.01

Available at all major bookstores

Book Review

The Sustainable MBA is for managers and business leaders who wish to learn and apply sustainable practices in their business. The author introduces green trends, explains various aspects of greening businesses, and shares a wide range of concepts, tools and guidelines.

The book is organized like a typical MBA programme with the coverage of core topics such as:

• Accounting
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Ethics and corporate governance
• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations
• Organizational behaviour
• Strategy

This is a comprehensive book that would give you a good overview of sustainability practices and tips on how to green your business.

Promotion for Green Business Times Readers

Readers in Singapore can now buy the book from John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd at a 20% discount from 9 Feb 2010 to 9 Mar 2010.

1. Place your order to this email address: csd_ord@wiley.com or call: +65 6463 4604

2. Quote the ISBN of the book title

3. Quote the 4 digit promotion code to be entitled to the 20% discount – Promo Code 2465

Some Banks Just Don’t Get It

It is amazing how some banks waste resources in their marketing campaigns. One example is when banks send pre-approved credit cards to their customers, even though their customers never ask for those cards.

The photo above shows all the material inside a single envelope by DBS, including the letter, pre-approved credit card, brochures, card agreement, and discount vouchers. Customers who are not interested in the credit cards offered by the banks simply throw them away, hopefully into recycling bags or bins.

Imagine the envelopes, letters, brochures and credit cards that go to waste, just because the banks simply chose to throw them at their customers without asking them if they want the credit cards in the first place. These banks are not only wasting resources and money but also ending up irritating their customers.

Are you one of those banks? It’s time to rethink and do things differently (hint: read Seth Godin’s books for help).

Interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR

This interview with Thomas Thomas, Executive Director, Singapore Compact for CSR, is submitted by the organisers of the International Singapore Compact CSR Summit.

1. What are your hopes for International Singapore Compact CSR Summit that will be taking place from 6-7 October 2009 at Orchard Hotel?

I hope that there will be a surge in CSR awareness and implementation in Singapore and this will in turn act as an impetus for the region. The ideas and discussions leading from the Summit will motivate and ingrain the values and principles of CSR. It will result in better managed companies that take into account the interest of stakeholders and a better world for all. Read more

The Green Marketing Manifesto

Author: John Grant

ISBN: 978-0-470-72324-1

Hardcover: 320 pages

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recommended Retail Price: SGD 52.38 (including GST)

Available at all major bookstores

Book Review

John Grant is the co-founder of the St Luke ad agency and has worked with clients such as IKEA, LEGO, Body Shop and innocent on green marketing and sustainability. His experience and thoughts can be summarised in The Green Marketing Manifesto, which articulates a green marketing strategy grid  with 9 different approaches to green marketing.

The green marketing strategy grid is made up of three marketing objectives:

A. Green: Setting new standards in responsible products, policies and processes

B. Greener: Sharing responsibility with customers

C. Greenest: Supporting innovation – new habits, services, business models

And three levels at which marketing can operate:

1. Personal: Product/benefits/individual

2. Social: Brand meanings/herd instincts/tribes/communities

3. Public: Company as credible source, as cultural leader or partner

This 3 x 3 grid results in nine strategies that companies can adopt for their green marketing:

A1: Set an Example (Framing vs Pointing)

A2: Credible Partners (Eco-label vs Cause-related)

A3: Market a Benefit (Less vs More)

B1: Develop the Market (Educate vs Evangelise)

B2: Tribal Brands (Exclusive vs Inclusive)

B3: Change Usage (Switch vs Cut)

C1: New Business Concepts (Social Production vs Property)

C2: Trojan Horse Ideas (Tradition vs New Cool)

C3: Challenging Consuming (Treasuring vs Sharing)

Besides the green marketing approaches, John explains that companies need to go beyond image marketing to create sustainable brands. Companies should not make normal products seem green (greenwashing), instead they should make green products seem normal and acceptable. His vision is:

Green (and sustainable) products are not just responsible. They are better: more durable, cheaper, nicer, healthier, more thoughtful, offering extensions into social communities, belonging to something. The green products, services and businesses of the future are creative, in a sparky, thrilling way.

The Green Marketing Manifesto is an essential guide on green marketing for companies with green products and services, marketing executives and CSR professionals.

.

Promotion for Green Business Times Readers

Readers in Singapore can now buy the book from John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd at a 20% discount from 20 Apr 09 to 20 May 09.

1. Place your order to this email address: csd_ord@wiley.com or call: +65 6463 4604
2. Quote the ISBN of the book title
3. Quote the 4 digit promotion code to be entitled to the 20% discount – Promo Code 2400.

.

Nokia Virtual Eco-Rountable

Nokia held its first Virtual Eco-Roundtable in Singapore last week and we were invited to attend the event and hear Nokia’s global and Southeast Asia Pacific (SEAP) executives speak on environmental sustainability and its commitment to the environment. The discussion was held in Nokia’s videoconference room, the Halo Room, as some speakers were presenting from the Nokia HQ in Finland.

The presentations and speakers include:

• Introduction by Chris Carr, Vice President, Sales, SEAP
• Nokia Environmental Strategy by Markus Terho, Director, Environmental Affairs, Markets
• SEAP Environmental Programs by Francis Cheong, Regional Manager, Environmental Affairs, SEAP
• Environmental Design by Tiina Karhu, Senior Specialist, Design Strategy, Nokia Design
• Packaging Design by Ulla Uimonen, Head of Packaging Design, Nokia Design

We learned 2 key points from the Nokia Virtual Eco-Roundtable: 1) Nokia is Integrating Sustainability into the Business and 2) Nokia is Advocating Sustainable Choices. Read more

Impact International Launches Connect

This is a press release from Impact International.

Demonstrating a significant commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, Impact International has launched a new online forum for developing sustainable corporate-community relationships.

Connect has been developed over the past 8 months as an online resource to help forge and support sustainable corporate-community relationships through people and organisational development methodologies.

Although the initial launch is targeted at Asia Pacific, Connect has been developed as an international forum that will help organisations to:

• share resources and ideas
• get involved in facilitated projects
• promote ideas for action and collaboration

The expectation is that through Connect Impact global clients and partners will be able to build and develop sustainable organisations and enterprises that make a positive contribution to the world. Specifically Impact are hoping that by providing facilitated community projects and initiatives they can take corporate responsibility beyond philanthropy and to a stage where CSR delivers triple bottom line results.

How does it work?

Once organisations and communities join Connect they will be able to view and post events, projects, stories and other relevant information on what they do and what kind of partnership they are looking for. They will also have access to the chat forums and to other opportunities and facilitated initiatives.

Corporate members will be able to access Connect to search for community partners in locations around the world and will be exposed to small NGO’s that do not have access to their own websites or marketing. The site also features Impact ‘Turn-Key’ projects that have been designed and are ready to go. These projects will be facilitated to deliver measurable business results as part of an organisational people development and retention strategy.

Over the next few months Impact will also be developing a set of Connect Awards for organisations and communities that are involved in sustainable projects and are examples of global best practice.

For more information or for a sneak preview please have a look at www.impactinternational.com/connect.

5 Principles for Companies to Avoid Greenwashing

As more companies jump on the green bandwagon and declare that they are green, there are some who are not being honest or who overstate their so-called green practices or products. In Singapore, greenwashing also occurs, and recent businesses accused of greenwashing include Starbucks, Tuas Power and Compass Point.

This article includes a list of simple principles that you can apply in your green marketing to reduce the possibility of consumers or environmentalists accusing your company of greenwashing. As the principles are general, you can use them in any industry and for any product or service. Read more

40% of Companies in Singapore are Aware of Corporate Social Responsibility

The National CSR Survey was released yesterday by the Singapore Compact for CSR, together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Singapore Business Federation. The survey was conducted with about 500 companies, both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and measured their awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR), including what it meant to the company, the importance of CSR, and the challenges they faced.

The survey showed that 40% of the companies are aware of CSR and the awareness level among the large companies is twice that of the SMEs. Among the companies that are aware of CSR, about two-thirds have implemented CSR in areas such as sustainable development, fair employment and corporate philanthropy. Their main motivation was due to their corporate culture and to increase branding. The other one-third who did not implement CSR felt that it was not relevant to their business or because they lacked the funding and training resources.

The release of the survey was accompanied by panel discussions, which reflected on the survey findings and discussed action plans to boost the CSR movement in Singapore. We share the following insights from the discussion that we think are fundamental and important:

• CSR is not what you do with your profits but how you make your profits.
• CSR is an integral part of the business and should be internalised in every aspect of the business, with everyone from top down to bottom up understanding CSR and being involved.
• A CSR champion is required in the company and the champion can be from any department. The person need not be from the HR department or from a specialised CSR department.
• A collaborative CSR effort is needed in Singapore for the various organisations and government agencies in Singapore to come together, understand each other, work together and share resources and experiences together.
• Funding for CSR training and capacity building would be useful for companies, especially for SMEs, to embrace CSR.

Source: The Straits Times via Wildsingapore.

Summary of Green News

Local News

• International panel to review BCA’s green plans (Business Times via Wildsingapore) – The Building and Construction Authority has invited five international experts to review its green building plans and recommend new directions for Singapore’s green building efforts.
• Can a green F1 ever exist? (Straits Times Blogs)- The environment takes a backseat during the F1 Grand Prix and the total carbon footprint of the event from fuel consumption, equipment transportation, lightings to air travelling is mind-boggling.
• Asia’s first carbon hub: Hong Kong closing in on Singapore (Straits Times via Wildsingapore) – Hong Kong is catching up with Singapore to be Asia’s first carbon trading hub, with its recent establishment of the legal framework to allow projects that could sell their reductions in carbon emissions, and its close location to China where a large proportion of carbon projects are.
• Biggest hike in 8 years (Today) – SP Services announced the biggest jump in electricity tariffs since the market began opening up in 2001, and consumers are expected to pay an average of 21.5% more on their monthly electricity bill.
• Are you being green washed? (Straits Times via Wildsingapore) – The trend of greenwashing can be found in Singapore. A check of about 50 necessities which claimed to be environmentally friendly, found that 1 in 4 claims was dubious and could not be proven.
• Going green: Firms can do a lot more (Straits Times via Wildsingapore)- A survey by Spire Research and Consulting showed that 8 in 10 companies surveyed in Singapore have adopted environmental conservation measures, but their green measures are still skin-deep and they need to put in more effort to be truly eco-friendly.

Global News

• First U.S. greenhouse cap-and-trade market opens (Yahoo! News UK) – Ten states in the U.S. Northeast have started the country’s first cap-and-trade market on greenhouse gas emissions to limit emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants. The states conducted their first auction of permits to emit CO2 to utilities and investors, and plan to spend the money raised from the auctions on improving energy efficiency and alternative energy.
• Companies’ Carbon Offset Strategies, Practices Detailed in New Report (GreenBiz)- A study called Carbon Offsetting Trends Survey 2008 was conducted by EcoSecurities and ClimateBiz, and sampled 65 companies across industries on their carbon offset strategies. The study showed that multinational corporations are addressing their carbon footprints and only 23% have not yet developed a carbon offset strategy.

3 Trends for the Branding of Eco Products and Services

trendwatching.com, an Amsterdam-based independent trend firm, scans the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. For their June 2008 Trend Briefing, the focus is on 3 trends for the branding of eco products and services: ECO-ICONIC, ECO-EMBEDDED and ECO-BOOSTERS. Read the full Trend Briefing.

1. ECO-ICONIC

Eco-friendly goods and services sporting bold, iconic markers and design, helping their eco-conscious owners show off their eco-credentials to their peers.

At the heart of ECO-ICONIC is a status shift (isn’t there always?): many consumers are eager to flaunt their green behavior and possessions because there are now millions of other consumers who are actually impressed by green lifestyles.

Read more