I read an HBR post this morning called “How Smart Cities Save Money (and the Planet).” As I read it, I realized that if you you were to replace “Cities” with “Companies,” you can pretty much make the same argument for many fast-growth companies.

In the post, Michael J. Dixon of IBM wrote, “…today a city’s success should be measured by how wisely it uses energy, water, and other resources, how well it maintains a high quality of life for its people, and how smart it is in building prosperity on a sustainable foundation. In short, cities have to become much smarter about how they use existing capacity and resources.”

Now, let me replace “cities” with “companies” and “citizens” with “employees and stakeholders.”

“Today a company’s success should be measured by how wisely it uses energy, water, and other resources, how well it maintains a high quality of life for its employees and stakeholders, and how smart it is in building prosperity on a sustainable foundation. In short, companies have to become much smarter about how they use existing capacity and resources.”

Pretty compelling stuff, right?  At its core, any business has the imperative to use all of its resources efficiently to create value.  Any business that can effectively understand and act on its own resource use data will be able to grow and be far more successful than one that doesn’t.

Take a look at the whole article over on HBR.org and after you’ve read it, think about how some of the same data-driven “smart growth” is relevant for growing businesses, just like it is for cities.

BusinessEarth has had an exciting week at the SXSWeco Conference here in our home city of Austin, Texas.  Thousands of individuals from businesses, NGOs, governments, and more have interacted and discussed some of the biggest problems and opportunities that lie in sustainability.

There is far too much to cover in one post, but over the next few weeks and beyond, we’ll share all sorts of ideas and insights that we’ve come across at the conference.  So keep a look out for some really interesting stuff!

These are some of the main standout topics we look forward to sharing with you this month:

• How to drive corporate sustainability intrapreneurship using internal incubators, etc.;
• What it takes to get consumers and employees to make sustainable behavioral changes;
• New tools that will allow companies and individuals to better manage their energy use;
• Social media strategies for sustainable business;
• How sustainable architecture and design can take cues from nature;
• How to use “big data” to drive energy efficiency;
• Why sustainability is still poised to be the most profitable business opportunity of our time;
• And much more.

Follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed to stay up on these topics and others, as we share more of what we learned at SXSWeco 2012.

A few weeks ago, this article came out, and I figured it was worth another share.  It’s a nice corporate sustainability primer, and it also shows some really interesting insights, such as:

• “High sustainability” companies outperformed their competitors by 4.8% when looking at long-term stock returns.
• “Leaders at 72% of the sustainable companies are willing to take measured risks in pursuit of sustainability, in contrast to 40% at traditional companies.”
• Companies need both sustainable leadership AND culture to be successful.

Read the full article on the MIT Sloan Management Review.

As Americans think about military service this week, let’s consider one lesson that the military stands to teach our companies: sustainability is a strategic imperative.  The U.S. military has been embracing green technologies for years, and more private companies should follow suit.

The Army’s fight for zero

The US Army is not a feel-good organization.  They don’t make decisions because of passing trends or to seem “hip.”  The Army acts on strategy, efficiency, and competitive opportunity.  So when they set their “Net Zero” goal in 2010, which aims to have their buildings and installations produce more energy than they use, there must be a strategic reason for them to do so.

Net Zero practices make the Army more flexible, financially efficient, and sustainable in the long run.  They also save lives.  Secretary of the Army Joseph W. Westphal explained how using resources more responsibly is “about protecting the lives of our troops and making our military better and more capable.”  To resupply troops with water and fuel in Afghanistan, convoys must drive across treacherous territory.  Almost one casualty is accrued for every 24 fuel resupply convoys.  Minimizing fuel and water consumption poses to directly and literally save lives.

“More Fight – Less Fuel”

Marines use solar technologies to lessen the number of necessary fuel convoys and reduce the need for heavy batteries that troops have to carry.  This has shown to be a runaway success, Col. Bob Charette says.  Roll-up solar panels have “surpassed our expectations,” making troops more flexible, faster, and more independent on the battlefield.

Saving lives and saving money

The military has a profound financial incentive to act more sustainably as well.  “The Pentagon spends roughly $11 billion a year on energy, more than $8 billion of it on petroleum fuels,” and by reducing their dependence on outdated energy technology, they stand to save taxpayer money…lots of it.

What this means for your company

Though sustainability is less likely to be an immediate existential issue for most private companies, business leaders can learn a valuable lesson from military sustainability.  Namely, sustainability and green technology are not just marketing, philanthropic, or feel-good undertakings.  Strategic sustainability is an issue of competitiveness, not conscience.  Sure, going green is a moral, ethical thing to do, but those elements notwithstanding, sustainability and resource efficiency bring their own concrete benefits.  So next time someone tells you that sustainability is just for the deep green fringe, you can look to the military to show how it is a winning strategy for even the most unexpected of groups.

Could it be yours?

Image used via Creative Commons from Keoni Cabral.

I read a figure from Ernst & Young last week that shocked me.  In a recent survey, nearly 40% of tax department respondents inside of companies that have a sustainability strategy were completely unaware of any green tax incentives that may be available to them.  To me, this says two major things:

One: sustainability departments are insufficiently aware of the many federal, state, and local tax incentives that are available to them.

And two: sustainability is good business, even without tax savings, for many companies.

To address that first point, I encourage you to take a look at the following resources, which may help you find incentives that are relevant to your business:

• Energy.gov – a federal listing of energy savings incentives
• DSIRE – The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency
• EPA Funding Opportunities – though not directly tax-related, this is a list of resources for getting funding for green facilities projects

Additionally, there are far too many local incentives to list, but you should look to see what is available in your own city.

And on that second point, I’m somewhat encouraged that such a large group of companies realize that sustainability is a vital key to their success, even without governmental help.  Though I hope that more businesses take advantage of what is available so that they will continue to grow.

What incentives does your company enjoy?  And do you know of any more resources to help other businesses find them?  If so, please share with us in the comment section below.

One of the most impactful SXSWi panels I attended was the Creative Energy: Renewing the Fight for Renewables session where Tara DePort of the Human Impacts Institute  presented a series of questions:

• What’s your vision?
• What’s your ask?
• What are you going to give?

Now, the wheels are turning…

Sustainability captures the passion for change; change that will better our environment, our communities and our economies. As I defined sustainability in my last post, I realize that I need to think about my vision. I need to have a purpose behind my ambition and a mission that I can work toward.

Joel Barker takes the stance that “vision without action is a dream; action without vision is simply passing the time; action with vision is making a positive difference.” He wasn’t specifically discussing sustainability but his statement is thought-provoking and very effective in discussing green initiatives.

Growing movements like Purpose and the Canary Project’s Green Patriot Posters are making it easier to ‘take action’, whether through volunteering, through donation, education, and even the arts. As people get more passionate about sustainability, they are looking for an organization with which to take action. But I feel that has been the easy part; there are numerous groups building a network of sustainability professionals and enthusiast. And, as that is the beginning, we also need to foster people’s desire to find their vision.

Helen Keller famously said, “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” If that doesn’t push you to figure out and realize your vision, then read it again.

My vision: I want to be a catalyst for a sustainable society; I want to work with corporations to change the way we operate big business; and I want to succeed in showing the positive economic impacts of sustainability.

What is your vision? Post your responses to our blog or use the hashtag #GreenVision; let’s get people motivated to brainstorm and define theirs!

SXSW Interactive 2012 is off to a great start. Over the last few days, I’ve seen many fantastic panels and talked with interesting folks who are doing some really cool things in sustainability.

Last year, I was deeply interested in collaborative consumption.  The idea was that maximum economic value and environmental benefit would come when more and more people share the same physical goods was a hot topic.  This year, that same idea is really getting traction, but on a bigger scale.  Collaborative consumption has shown to be just a single element of a larger “cleanweb” which shows promise to be widely adopted as a much more efficient way for consumers and companies alike to share goods and services.

Behold the “cleanweb”

A session that Sunil Paul of Spring Ventures hosted went into detail about how the cleanweb is really creating some serious economic and environmental value.  He used examples like Zipcar and Airbnb to illustrate how large-scale adoption of these ideas is on the way.

Mass adoption is happening, now

These services are becoming increasingly popular.  In the last year, Airbnb usage has expanded five-fold, from about one million nights booked to over five million.  This creates more value for both the host and visitor.  And since a night stayed through Airbnb only creates about a third of the carbon emissions that a traditional hotel stay would, it has profound environmental benefits as well.

Not just for consumers

Another session I attended was about another cleanweb company, Recyclematch.  Recyclematch’s COO, Chad Farrell, explained how his company’s SaaS allows other businesses to work together to find value in their waste.  By facilitating the flow of information between businesses, Recyclematch uses the cleanweb to turn waste from a liability to an asset.

Economic opportunities in cleanweb for business

First of all, companies can utilize the cleanweb to reap benefits by simply using cleanweb services.  Since cleanweb work is necessarily valuable, companies can make or save money by spending less on transportation, or lodging, or waste disposal.  It’s fairly straightforward, as long as businesses are able to recognize these opportunities.

The other side of cleanweb’s opportunity lies in developing the technologies that comprise the cleanweb altogether.  This space is ripe for disruptive innovation.  Startups like the ones I’ve already listed are already reaping the benefits, but there is surely room for many more cleanweb successes.

More SXSW info to come

I’m about to head to an eco-startup launch competition, so I’m interested to see what new sustainable ideas emerge in cleanweb and elsewhere.  SXSW is the place where many “next big things” get started, and I’ll be on the front lines, broadcasting what looks like the next big thing in sustainability.  Be sure to follow BE on Twitter to keep up with what’s happening at SXSW Interactive 2012.

As we all prepare for an action-packed SXSW, BusinessEarth is prepping for another year of innovative thought at Interactive 2012.  If you’re going to be at SXSW, come find us!  If not, we’ll be reporting from the conference, so you can keep up with the action from wherever you are.

Bradley Short is a SXSW veteran, and represented BE last year. Very aware of the scene, Bradley knows
how to grab people’s attention and get things done at this sometimes chaotic event. He will be blogging
about ideas and developments in responsible business. Also, he’ll be looking for insights into what is working for other startups and what we need to work on as a new company.

Lacey Miller is new this year but just to SXSW; she’s been with BusinessEarth for over a year now and is
ready to take on the SX scene. As a rockstar networker, Lacey is looking to meet some impactful people
interested in sustainability. She also has a very strong network in Austin and will be posting news on
events and things to see while you are in Austin…and as an avid food lover, she’ll probably be tweeting
about Austin’s food truck scene (get BBQ at Franklin; it will change your life)!

BusinessEarth is building a knowledgeable community of industry professionals who see significant
monetary and societal value in social and environmental sustainability.

Check out the BusinessEarth blog, follow us on Twitter, and let us know what interests you at SXSW!

When I begin to discuss sustainability with people, I get a lot of blank stares and questions. I then default to the buzzword ‘green’…

“Oh, I understand what that means!”

But that easy and fast response tends to make me cringe.

I am so passionate about sustainability but qualifying it with the concept of green, triggers images of hippies chained to trees. What I am talking about is an all encompassing term that defines responsibility; responsibility to our environment, our local communities and the world. I don’t want to deemphasize the importance of sustainability with such a simple word but I also know that an easy understanding of the concept is the only way we will grow the importance of sustainability…and, I will admit, in the world of SEO, green is a major keyword.

So what does green mean?

As a marketing mind, I consult Wikipedia for societal and trending definitions, and I found exactly the cliché explanation I was looking for:

“Recent political groups have taken on the color as symbol of environmental protection and social justice, and consider themselves part of the Green movement, some naming themselves Green parties. This has led to similar campaigns in advertising, as companies have sold green, or environmentally friendly, products.”

Another cringe-worthy moment as I read about the Green movement and green products in one paragraph. One speaks to capitalism and a greater economy; the other, to that “green” cleaning product you just bought that is “better for you and the environment”.  Green tends to be overused and misused, usually highlighting only a small piece of sustainability; I want to broaden people’s view with a much wider range of topics, the important ones.

In an article by Bahar Gidwani, he identified the rainbow of sustainability, the numerous “colors” that define this growing market. He surveyed a few thousand users from his site, CSRHub, and assigned a color to the different focuses of each group.

Green: environment focused; this group ranked environmental issues as their highest concern.

Blue: community and employee focused; this group pushed up the importance of community and employee engagement, and de-emphasized environment and governance.

Red: governance focused; this group wanted companies to be ethical, have a balanced and diverse board, and to be transparent about their behavior.

Grey: “all things being equal”; this large group of people declared all topics of sustainability to be more or less equal.

White: follow a leader; these members did not have a strong opinion, or they were more interested to know how “everyone else” feels about various issues.

Perfect; we now have a wider spectrum of colors to help us break down sustainability but what will really help professionals define this growing industry?

Robert Pojasek, via GreenBiz.com, defined sustainability as follows:

“Sustainability is about behaving in a way that can be continued or sustained. To operate sustainably, an organization must act in a way that is consistent with and supports the well-being of the physical environment and all of the biological communities and economies of the locations where they operate.”

He didn’t mention ‘green’ once and defined sustainability in a way that people can understand, well most people; Pojasek’s definition may elicit a few blank stares as it is strongly intellectual.

I want to move away from the simplicity of green but still use common words that give a smart, but understandable definition.  Then I came across and article by Tim Mohin titled “Less is More Obvious: Why Sustainability Is So Hard To Define.” Mohin put it as simply as this,

“It is an expectation that you treat people and our planet with respect.”

Amazingly well put. Society lives off this planet, we will affect it but we can control the repercussions by respecting the world around us.

What do you think? Is ‘green’ too strong and important of a buzzword to leave out or can we start to explain sustainability by using words such as respect and responsibility?