While I was conference at Ford Motor Company during the North American International Auto Show, Andrew Winston, a noted green business expert, presented a compelling Climate Change lecture. As I sat there, I wondered how can this urgency to reduce our carbon footprint be translated to create action in small and medium size businesses.
As a sustainability consultant, these are the same companies that I try to convince every day to change their lighting and heating units. However, the answers are always the same. No money in the budget. The problem is the upfront costs associated with the upgrades despite the forecast of a reasonably quick return of the outlay.
In my frustration, I reached out to Winston after the conference and asked his advice during the interview. He worked in corporate strategy while at the Boston Consulting Group, held management positions in strategy and marketing at Time Warner and MTV, and assisted various companies with their environmental strategy. In addition, he is the author of “Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge From the Downturn On Top“ and co-authored “Green to Gold.”
Given his diverse background, I knew he could shed some light on how medium and small businesses could embrace going green.
Small and Medium Size Businesses Must Do Their Part to Reduce Climate Change ==>Click to Tweet
Listen to his podcast interview below as he provides sound advice for all companies:
During the interview, Winston made the following key points:
- Some large companies used to think sustainability was expensive or was corporate philanthropy. It took decades for this corporate mindset to change.
- As for small businesses, Winston thinks they are more nimble and can innovate quicker than the Fortune 500 companies.
- Sustainability is not valued in the financial markets. However, some private equity firms, such as KKR, which buy 100 million dollar companies look at their environmental practices, innovations, and risks in determining their financial value. So, the argument for sustainability in medium size companies would be seen as an enhancement.
The Bottom line- if there is a will, there is a way. Simple steps that cost little or no money being the initial investment.
Join the Conversation:
- Are you an environmental champion at your business? If so, how have you helped to spur innovation and environmental change at your business?
- If you are a consultant, how have you been able to convince upper management that being environmentally savvy will be profitable to the business?
Disclaimer: Affiliate links for Winston’s two books.
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