Sustainability and the Small Business Presented To The Conference Board s Business and Sustainability Conference New York City Thursday, June 5 Presented By B. Tod Delaney, Ph.D., P.E., DEE tod@firstenvironment.com
First Environment, Inc. Strategic environmental management and engineering consulting Established in 1977 ~50 employees; 6 offices Staff includes Engineers, Geologists, Attorneys, Auditors, Policy Analysts, Economists, and Business Strategists
First Environment s Leadership by Example First environmental consulting firm in the U.S. to be certified to ISO 14001 Charter Member of USEPA s Climate Leaders Program First state-approved provider of Certification Services to the California Climate Action Registry Endorser of the CERES Principles
What is Sustainability to a Corporation Business oriented definition Traditional objective: Corporations exist to maximize shareholder value Sustainable organizations aspire to maximize stakeholder value Identify this value as the triple bottom line. Economic (vs simply Financial), Environmental, Social Economy, Ecology, Equity People, Planet, & Profits
Business and Sustainability More a strategic issue than a marketing issue Sustainability positions organization in a broader context rather than simply within an industry or a particular market Increasingly becoming a competitive issue Subscribe to a higher standard and perform better Three drivers of the triple bottom line are stronger than one financial objective
Sustainability and the Small Business Sustainability is important to small and medium size businesses The volume of small and medium organizations can make improvements implemented significant in the larger picture
Increasing Efficiency Improved efficiency (less waste) results in lower costs All businesses seeking to lower costs Constantly need to improve efficiency and performance to remain competitive
Interacting with Stakeholders Relationships with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders in the organization can impact overall performance Small businesses are more reliant on a few key customers or critical suppliers than larger corporations Need to carefully monitor and maintain these relationships through consistent dialogue
Reporting Impacts and Improvements Communication of policy, objectives and targets and results is important driver of future performance Reporting provides important information sharing and creates transparency Also acts a key check for management Smaller organization size does not inherently facilitate communication or eliminate the need for self-evaluation and corrective action
Attracting Talent All companies are interested in obtaining high quality employees Employees increasing seek to associate themselves with companies with values similar to their own interests A commitment to sustainability demonstrates responsibility for the environment, community, and society
Protecting the Environment Organizations of all sizes have impacts on the environment and should be aware and manage these impacts Small businesses can save resources while reducing pollution to land, water and air Small businesses can also influence and inspire their stakeholders such as employees and clients to protect the environment
Integration with Community Community offers business supporting resources from which to draw services, materials, transportation - and relationship should be reciprocal Small business less likely to be tucked away on a extensive site or corporate campus Small businesses require greater returns from the community, reasonable that there should be investment
Sample Issue: Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Management First Environment s GHG emissions are very small An inventory program taught us about our organization s operations and impacts New awareness led to headquarter design that is greener than typical New workplace has changed the way we work and encouraged seeking new improvements and efficiencies
Providing Diverse Strategic and Technical Resources to Push Leading Companies Further Faster First
First Environment Offices First Environment Corporate Headquarters 91 Fulton Street Boonton, New Jersey 07005 Tel: 1.800.486.5869 Fax : 973.334.0928 Contactus@firstenvironment.com www.firstenvironment.com Offices in California District of Columbia Illinois Georgia Mississippi New York New Jersey Puerto Rico