Hasn’t it always been about sustainability
If I were “environment”, I wouldn’t have had it better. At-least not since the dawn of the industrial revolution. The two words - “environment sustainability” - have been in circulation like never before (thanks, I must say, to the humongous success of the award winning documentary “An inconvenient truth”). No wonder then that a Google search gives more than 3.3 million results.
Organizations, small and colossal alike, have embraced this term like never before and are rolling out one initiative after the next. And unlike previous times, companies are not shying away from sharing internal data pertaining to these initiatives. In fact, environment sustainability initiatives at most global companies occupy prime real-estate on the company’s web-site (P&G, GM, Boeing, Microsoft, Infosys to name a few) and are increasingly finding a presence in the company’s annual report. Naturally, trade magazines, publications, forums, summits, coalitions and partnerships have mushroomed to track and share “green information”.
Explaining the justification of this blog on this site, supply chain management is perhaps the primary choice for a global company hoping to realize significant benefits from a green initiative. The sheer potential that this domain offers – green sourcing, logistics and transportation optimization, packaging, warehouse management, inventory reduction, asset maintenance, product design….. – can be too tempting to ignore. In the coming weeks, I shall focus on the green initiatives under-taken in each supply chain function and also on how supply chain consulting companies are leveraging this trend to carve out a new revenue channel.
As for the title, it goes without saying, that any initiative in any walk of life will have an everlasting effect only if it sustains itself. Drawing a parallel to the game of Tennis, Roger Federer had a tough journey to become world #1 in 2004, but what would have been tougher is his consistent ranking at the top for a record 237 consecutive weeks. This consistency aka sustainability distinguishes the winners from the also-rans. Only the time ahead would tell which companies view this as a passing craze and which ones are truly committed.
Comments
Good thoughts..all roads of innovation in green, end towards either reducing cost or creating a different kind of a revenue channel..GM might be preparing an amazing sustainability report, but their margins come from selling fuel guzzling SUV's...Firms would sustain green only if they see value in terms of bottom line...You can't sell organic foods if you end up in the red after taking green initatives...
Posted by: venkataraghavan | October 16, 2008 10:37 AM
Well spoken Venkat (assume I can address you by your short name). The "genuinity" of companies going green has always been questionable. While the origins of their green campaigns are debatable, there is no denying the fact that carbon footprint is indeed lowered. With heightened customer awareness caused by increasing impact of global warming, I do feel that companies will be forced to come up with green products. GM's margin may have been coming from their SUV's but the changing consumer demand has forced them to admit that SUV’s is indeed a dead-end. I foresee that this very change in consumer buying pattern is going to compel industry to really act green. More on this in my new post "Are Green Supply Chains here to stay?"
Posted by: Amit | November 5, 2008 09:46 AM