How sustainability drives innovation and growth?
- Introducing a more inspired, more balanced approach to business. Full of case studies and practical tools, it is the essential guide for managers
- Addressing social and environmental challenges through customers and brands in a way that has more impact than politicians or environmentalists ever could.
- Recognized as Management Book of the Year 2010 by Management Today
Why does it matter?
• People do not trust business. They increasingly see companies as irresponsible, greedy and inhuman. Climate change and economic downturn have accelerated new expectations.
• Businesses need to reengage people, to understand their new priorities, rethink their role and propositions, work in new ways, and enable people to do more themselves.
• Resolving the many paradoxes faced by customers who want the best things but also to do “the right thing” and business leaders who want to grow but in more responsible ways.
• People do not trust business. They increasingly see companies as irresponsible, greedy and inhuman. Climate change and economic downturn have accelerated new expectations.
• Businesses need to reengage people, to understand their new priorities, rethink their role and propositions, work in new ways, and enable people to do more themselves.
• Resolving the many paradoxes faced by customers who want the best things but also to do “the right thing” and business leaders who want to grow but in more responsible ways.
How is it different?
• Positive not negative, about opportunities not problems,
driven by creativity not compliance, a whole business
challenge, not left to a few people.
• Connecting social, environment and economic challenges, to achieve a new balance, that is more different from competitors and inspiring your people.
• Building brands in way that builds capacity rather than just making sales, enabling people to do more for themselves and their worlds, rather than just buy your product or service.
• Connecting social, environment and economic challenges, to achieve a new balance, that is more different from competitors and inspiring your people.
• Building brands in way that builds capacity rather than just making sales, enabling people to do more for themselves and their worlds, rather than just buy your product or service.
Introduction
We live in a time of unprecedented change. In business we face
challenges and opportunities that are more critical and complex than ever -
where the consequences of failure are unimaginable and the impact of our
decisions are felt instantly across the planet.
A fragile economy and a climate out of control, poverty across
half the planet and scarcity of natural resources, the extinction of species, a
explosion in population, ethical dilemmas on every corner, and low confidence
and trust in business: symptoms of a changing world.
Change is all around us. The cries for help at the end of an
industrial age, the shift in power towards the developing world, from big to
small, masses to niches, and the recognition that we can only sustain our
livelihoods with new thinking, new behaviors, and new balances. We know that
the old short-term, sales and wealth-obsessed models of business are broken,
and we are now beginning to feel the consequences.
We struggle to balance our priorities and ambitions - the pursuit
of personal and business success, whilst also seeking to make the world a
better place. Is it possible to do both? These are challenging times to lead
and manage a business, even more difficult to create and sustain profitable
growth.
Rethink
Social and environmental issues are more important than ever. For business, they represent some of the greatest opportunities to find new markets of profitable growth, more lasting and engaging sources of competitive advantage, and more effective ways to reduce cost and risk. Consumers no longer feel conflicted by the issues, but committed to supporting change.
Social and environmental issues are more important than ever. For business, they represent some of the greatest opportunities to find new markets of profitable growth, more lasting and engaging sources of competitive advantage, and more effective ways to reduce cost and risk. Consumers no longer feel conflicted by the issues, but committed to supporting change.
Doing good is no longer about sack cloth and frugality, it can
feel and taste good too. We realize that it is no longer a nice to have, but a
must do. We realize that it is no longer a peripheral activity but fundamental
to every aspect of how we do business, every day, for everyone. People,
Planet, Profit is about business opportunity, operational improvement and
competitive advantage.
This is a practical handbook for CEOs and business managers
who are searching for new ways to create value, to make sense of business in a
rapidly shifting landscape, to deliver profitable growth whilst also doing “the
right thing”.
Can business growth be good?
Of course the world faces immense problems, so great that few
organizations have the power or scale to solve them. Business is unique in this
sense. Through engaging brands and thoughtful innovation it can mobilize
consumers to change behavior in positive ways. By adapting the resources it
uses, and the ways it works, it can make huge difference to the environment. It
can be a powerful force of positive change.
There is no paradox or conflict, as some suggest. Business really
can grow and be good. People, planet and profit are not alternative goals, or a
compromise result. A positive impact on people and planet can be achieved
whilst delivering profitable growth too. Indeed, a positive impact on people
and planet is increasingly becoming the best source of profitable growth.
Despite a rapidly increasing global population and carbon
emissions that threaten the air we breathe – it is possible to continue to grow
economically, and replenish the resources we use. Of course it is likely to be
a different sort of growth. It will be less about volume, more about profit;
less materialistic production and more about supportive services, less self
indulgent and more enabling people to live better lives. Whilst the importance
of social and environmental issues might seem obvious, they are not always seen
as key to business success. Indeed, waves of restrictive legislation and
anti-capitalist lobbying can put them in conflict. This is because we haven’t
seen the connections.
However, as Ben Clarke from Kraft Foods says “Sustainability is
now about profit ... it is the opportunity of the twenty-first century.” The
business case for “people and planet and profit” is based on both the
profitable new opportunities of sustainable markets – embracing these issues
within existing markets, and investing in new market spaces such as renewable
energies - and also on the significant cost and risks likely to be incurred by
unsustainable practices in future.
These growth opportunities are rapidly being embraced, the gold rush is on. Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are now firmly focused on sustainable markets. Similarly the costs and risks are already hitting balance sheets. Investors are penalizing “dirty” companies for their vulnerable future cash flows, and finance managers are calculating their liabilities. The consequences of not changing are not just for the world we leave behind for our children, but more immediately through the liabilities of increasing financial penalties imposed by governments (for example, taxation on transport and industrial emissions), by supply chains, and ultimately by consumers (for example, the prohibitive cost of insurance in areas vulnerable to extreme weather).
These growth opportunities are rapidly being embraced, the gold rush is on. Venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are now firmly focused on sustainable markets. Similarly the costs and risks are already hitting balance sheets. Investors are penalizing “dirty” companies for their vulnerable future cash flows, and finance managers are calculating their liabilities. The consequences of not changing are not just for the world we leave behind for our children, but more immediately through the liabilities of increasing financial penalties imposed by governments (for example, taxation on transport and industrial emissions), by supply chains, and ultimately by consumers (for example, the prohibitive cost of insurance in areas vulnerable to extreme weather).
Sustainable agenda: how social and
environmental issues have moved
from the organization fringes to core business.
from the organization fringes to core business.
Sustainability is no longer an adjunct to business. It is no
longer a separate department, or even a team within the corporate affairs
department concerned only about compliance and reputation. It is no longer
enough to have some worthy goals, a sustainability strategy as an appendix to
the business plan, or a sustainability report as an afterthought.
CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategies were typically peripheral compensation for the damages already done, relieving the guilt of companies that couldn’t see the light. They were the clean caring icing on the big dirty cake. They sought to protect superficial and increasingly fragile reputations.
“People and planet and profit” is much more than that. It is about moving the issues of sustainability from the fringes to the heart of business. It demands that business leaders rethink fundamental strategic questions – why we exist, where we should focus, how we are different, and why people will choose it, want to work for us, and invest in our business.
CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategies were typically peripheral compensation for the damages already done, relieving the guilt of companies that couldn’t see the light. They were the clean caring icing on the big dirty cake. They sought to protect superficial and increasingly fragile reputations.
“People and planet and profit” is much more than that. It is about moving the issues of sustainability from the fringes to the heart of business. It demands that business leaders rethink fundamental strategic questions – why we exist, where we should focus, how we are different, and why people will choose it, want to work for us, and invest in our business.
People and Planet
The social and environmental challenges are known and numerous.
But by rethinking they also represent some of the best opportunities for
business.
Consider just some of them.
As the global population mushrooms towards 9 million, cities like Beijing, Los Angeles and Mumbai will triple in size.
Whilst the global “middle class” is the fastest growing section of society, with its high aspirations and higher consumption, a billion people survive on less than $1 a day, 3 billion on less than $2 a day.
3 billion people have no access to clean water, 800 million are hungry, and 10 million children die before they are five.
Yet the “bottom of the pyramid” have dreams too, they seek better lives and demand more. Together, they represent an estimated $5 trillion market.
Add to this, the environmental challenges. Every year we destroy 44 million acres of forest, creating an increasing imbalance in the way nature produces and absorbs carbon dioxide. We lose 100 million acres of farmland, cutting down trees, diverting natural irrigation, and creating 15 million acres of new desert around the world. We emit 8 billion tons of carbon into our atmosphere, only 3 billion tones of which can be reabsorbed. We use 160 billion tons more water each year than is being replenished by rain, enough to require a 450,000 km convoy of trucks.
As a result of this damage 200 million people will become refugees due to flooding and drought if the climate warms by 2-3 degrees by 2050. Or financially, insurance claims will increase by $320 billion due to storms and floods, if carbon emissions continue to rise at present rates – making insurance premiums too expensive for most individuals or companies. The deforestation will reduce crop yields across Africa by 33%, adding to the hunger. And a 5m rise in sea levels, caused by melting polar ice caps, will wipe out many coastal areas, with consequences including a predicted 11% decline in China’s GDP.
Consider just some of them.
As the global population mushrooms towards 9 million, cities like Beijing, Los Angeles and Mumbai will triple in size.
Whilst the global “middle class” is the fastest growing section of society, with its high aspirations and higher consumption, a billion people survive on less than $1 a day, 3 billion on less than $2 a day.
3 billion people have no access to clean water, 800 million are hungry, and 10 million children die before they are five.
Yet the “bottom of the pyramid” have dreams too, they seek better lives and demand more. Together, they represent an estimated $5 trillion market.
Add to this, the environmental challenges. Every year we destroy 44 million acres of forest, creating an increasing imbalance in the way nature produces and absorbs carbon dioxide. We lose 100 million acres of farmland, cutting down trees, diverting natural irrigation, and creating 15 million acres of new desert around the world. We emit 8 billion tons of carbon into our atmosphere, only 3 billion tones of which can be reabsorbed. We use 160 billion tons more water each year than is being replenished by rain, enough to require a 450,000 km convoy of trucks.
As a result of this damage 200 million people will become refugees due to flooding and drought if the climate warms by 2-3 degrees by 2050. Or financially, insurance claims will increase by $320 billion due to storms and floods, if carbon emissions continue to rise at present rates – making insurance premiums too expensive for most individuals or companies. The deforestation will reduce crop yields across Africa by 33%, adding to the hunger. And a 5m rise in sea levels, caused by melting polar ice caps, will wipe out many coastal areas, with consequences including a predicted 11% decline in China’s GDP.
World changing: 250 years of population,
economic and consumption growth,
and the impacts on our environment (sources: WEF, WWF, New Scientist).
and the impacts on our environment (sources: WEF, WWF, New Scientist).
“In a world where the ideology of free enterprise has no real
challenges, why have free markets failed so many people?” questions Noble
prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, arguing that “Instead they exacerbate
poverty, disease, pollution, corruption, crime and inequality”.
Challenges and Opportunity
The challenges are complex and connected. Whilst we seek to reverse climate change, conserve water and relieve poverty, we also care about issues such as human rights, fair trade and supporting our local communities. Whilst we seek to act more ethically and responsibly, we also care about our own wellbeing and happiness.
Green is not enough. It requires a more joined-up approach. It requires business to do more than improve, but to think differently, to change its game.
Maybe blue is a better color.
The new business world demands “blue sky” thinking, ideas that open up new “blue oceans” of opportunity, and redraw the blueprints for business practice.
It is not just about “reducing, recycling and reusing”, as the mantra goes. It is about rethinking.
Climate change is most effectively addressed by rethinking and redefining the resources we use, rather than seeking to limit the damage by belatedly planting a few more trees. Similarly, in business it is not about product enhancements and campaigns that jump on the bandwagon. People quickly see through the green wash, demanding real transparency in return for trust.
The challenges are complex and connected. Whilst we seek to reverse climate change, conserve water and relieve poverty, we also care about issues such as human rights, fair trade and supporting our local communities. Whilst we seek to act more ethically and responsibly, we also care about our own wellbeing and happiness.
Green is not enough. It requires a more joined-up approach. It requires business to do more than improve, but to think differently, to change its game.
Maybe blue is a better color.
The new business world demands “blue sky” thinking, ideas that open up new “blue oceans” of opportunity, and redraw the blueprints for business practice.
It is not just about “reducing, recycling and reusing”, as the mantra goes. It is about rethinking.
Climate change is most effectively addressed by rethinking and redefining the resources we use, rather than seeking to limit the damage by belatedly planting a few more trees. Similarly, in business it is not about product enhancements and campaigns that jump on the bandwagon. People quickly see through the green wash, demanding real transparency in return for trust.
People and
planet and profit: Economic growth is only sustainable if business activities
are integrated with social and environmental priorities (source: Genius
Works).
“People and planet and profit” is a more connected approach to business. It demands systems thinking, seeing the bigger picture of why and how we work. It will require us to reject many of the conventions and conveniences of business that created past success - taking new perspectives, finding new solutions, and even finding new measures of performance.
It requires us to reconnect with consumers who have lost faith, suppliers who feel beaten up, and sometimes even with competitors where together we can have more impact.
Inspired Leaders
It demands the vision and courage of business leaders, and every manager across the organization, to release business from the shadows of a failing world, to realize a new spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation through which we and others can prosper.
Crisis is the prelude to change. Whilst some see change as a threat, others seize the new opportunities. If we look to the East, perhaps to learn a new language as well as find new markets, we would find that the same character in Chinese script represents both ideas, threat and opportunity.
Welcome to the dawn of a new business world.
It’s time to think and act differently.
“People and planet and profit” is a more connected approach to business. It demands systems thinking, seeing the bigger picture of why and how we work. It will require us to reject many of the conventions and conveniences of business that created past success - taking new perspectives, finding new solutions, and even finding new measures of performance.
It requires us to reconnect with consumers who have lost faith, suppliers who feel beaten up, and sometimes even with competitors where together we can have more impact.
Inspired Leaders
It demands the vision and courage of business leaders, and every manager across the organization, to release business from the shadows of a failing world, to realize a new spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation through which we and others can prosper.
Crisis is the prelude to change. Whilst some see change as a threat, others seize the new opportunities. If we look to the East, perhaps to learn a new language as well as find new markets, we would find that the same character in Chinese script represents both ideas, threat and opportunity.
Welcome to the dawn of a new business world.
It’s time to think and act differently.
The People Planet Profit Manifesto
Leaders of business
this is your wake-up call.
You’ve been living on borrowed time.
Raping the natural world of its resources, and leaving a toxic mess in its place.
These weather patterns are not freaks; they are the world you have created.
Blinding the man on the street with your superficial innovations and image.
What about the sweatshops, the emissions, the packaging, the greed?
It doesn’t look good.
Business, society and nature need to find a new way to co-exist.
If you aren’t sustainable, you are irresponsible.
It’s time to adapt or suffer the consequences.
The business world is about to go through a rapid, fundamental change.
What an opportunity, but also what a threat.
It’s time to rethink.
Time to stop living in the past, and think of our future
Business is not a machine, it’s a dynamic system – it lives, adapts and grows.
You need to think again about what is a cost and a risk, and what really
creates value in the world today.
But it will take a lot more than reducing, recycling and reusing.
It requires a fundamental rethink, radically and creatively.
Rethink your business purpose and strategy.
Rethink your processes and technologies.
Rethink your markets and audiences.
Imagine that you are looking at a piece of impressionist art. Short term, too close, you are blinded by millions of dots, stand-back and you see a bigger vision.
The environment is not a commodity, and people are not disposable.
New legal codes and financial penalties will protect them.
But this is not just about compliance. It’s much more than CSR
It goes to the heart of business. To why you exist.
Where you focus, how you succeed.
To connect business and the world in new ways.
People and planet and profit. Together, achieving more.
Business is a societal good. It has a responsibility beyond itself.
Brands and consumerism, profits and wealth can be incentives for change.
Available to anyone, the benefits shared by everyone.
Be brave. Seek out ideas beyond your comfort zone.
Create a new language of sustainability that transcends traditional disciplines
Redefine stakeholders more broadly
Everything is possible. Nothing is off limits.
From nuclear energy to GM foods, we need to rethink our prejudices too.
Collaborate with your competitors, and even your fiercest critics.
Work with governments and activists to explore new solutions.
Together we can do so much more.
We need innovation to find new ways to overcome conflicting priorities,
to make inspired choices, to find brilliant new balances.
Sustainability is about creating a more lasting and fairer world.
Where we can work and play, laugh and smile.
And our children will be able to too.
Grow by putting our future at the heart of your business.
Grow better by being and doing good as a business.
Be bold and brilliant.
Be the change.
this is your wake-up call.
You’ve been living on borrowed time.
Raping the natural world of its resources, and leaving a toxic mess in its place.
These weather patterns are not freaks; they are the world you have created.
Blinding the man on the street with your superficial innovations and image.
What about the sweatshops, the emissions, the packaging, the greed?
It doesn’t look good.
Business, society and nature need to find a new way to co-exist.
If you aren’t sustainable, you are irresponsible.
It’s time to adapt or suffer the consequences.
The business world is about to go through a rapid, fundamental change.
What an opportunity, but also what a threat.
It’s time to rethink.
Time to stop living in the past, and think of our future
Business is not a machine, it’s a dynamic system – it lives, adapts and grows.
You need to think again about what is a cost and a risk, and what really
creates value in the world today.
But it will take a lot more than reducing, recycling and reusing.
It requires a fundamental rethink, radically and creatively.
Rethink your business purpose and strategy.
Rethink your processes and technologies.
Rethink your markets and audiences.
Imagine that you are looking at a piece of impressionist art. Short term, too close, you are blinded by millions of dots, stand-back and you see a bigger vision.
The environment is not a commodity, and people are not disposable.
New legal codes and financial penalties will protect them.
But this is not just about compliance. It’s much more than CSR
It goes to the heart of business. To why you exist.
Where you focus, how you succeed.
To connect business and the world in new ways.
People and planet and profit. Together, achieving more.
Business is a societal good. It has a responsibility beyond itself.
Brands and consumerism, profits and wealth can be incentives for change.
Available to anyone, the benefits shared by everyone.
Be brave. Seek out ideas beyond your comfort zone.
Create a new language of sustainability that transcends traditional disciplines
Redefine stakeholders more broadly
Everything is possible. Nothing is off limits.
From nuclear energy to GM foods, we need to rethink our prejudices too.
Collaborate with your competitors, and even your fiercest critics.
Work with governments and activists to explore new solutions.
Together we can do so much more.
We need innovation to find new ways to overcome conflicting priorities,
to make inspired choices, to find brilliant new balances.
Sustainability is about creating a more lasting and fairer world.
Where we can work and play, laugh and smile.
And our children will be able to too.
Grow by putting our future at the heart of your business.
Grow better by being and doing good as a business.
Be bold and brilliant.
Be the change.
Who are the winners?
The best companies combine the three Ps –creating a fairer society (people) within environmental limits (planet) and delivering sustained business growth (profit).
The best companies combine the three Ps –creating a fairer society (people) within environmental limits (planet) and delivering sustained business growth (profit).
The book compares the many different approaches of leading
companies around the world, their different priorities and techniques, and who
is doing best. Whilst there are diverse strategies for addressing these
challenges, depending on what is important and most urgent for your market and
organization, we created some "head to head" play-offs...
Adidas (1)
v Nike (3) ... Nike bounce back with “Considered” after poor
start in Asia
Coke (2) v Danone (3) ... French
yogurts win with a social entrepreneurship business model
M&S (2)
v Wal-Mart (3) ... The US retailer uses it buying
power to transform an industry
Patagonia (2)
v Timberland (2) ... Two great brands that do more for people and the
world
Apple (1) v Nokia (0)
... We love our iPods, maybe i-Pad’s, but Apple could still do more
Google (1) v Microsoft (2) ... Gates’
billions turns software giant into a force for good
“People, Planet, Profit” by Peter Fisk is published by Kogan Page, now
available from Amazon at £18.99 with a special introductory 40% discount.
Part 1: Rethinking Business
1: Purpose beyond Profits
• Making people’s lives better
• Defining an inspiring purpose
• Turning promises into reality
• Google and Microsoft
2: Strategies for Growth
• Finding markets with sustainable growth
• Creating differentiation by doing good
• New business models for a new world
• Apple and Nokia
3: Inspiring Leadership
• Leaders of the new business world
• Leaders as the catalysts of change
• What it means personally
• Patagonia and Timberland
1: Purpose beyond Profits
• Making people’s lives better
• Defining an inspiring purpose
• Turning promises into reality
• Google and Microsoft
2: Strategies for Growth
• Finding markets with sustainable growth
• Creating differentiation by doing good
• New business models for a new world
• Apple and Nokia
3: Inspiring Leadership
• Leaders of the new business world
• Leaders as the catalysts of change
• What it means personally
• Patagonia and Timberland
Part 2: Reconnecting Business
4: Conscience Consumers
• Enabling people to be good
• The new consumer agenda
• Segmenting the conscience consumer
• Coca-Cola and Danone
5: Sustainable Innovation
• Social and environmental drivers of innovation
• Innovating every aspect of business
• The creative potential of social entrepreneurs
• Amazon and eBay
6: Engaging consumers
• Engaging people through enlightened dialogue
• Building networks to do more together
• The “good” consumer experience
• Marks & Spencer and Wal-Mart
Part 3: Releasing Business
7: Sustainable Operations
- Working better together
• Good sourcing, transporting and producing
• The power of sustainable energy and technology
• Adidas and Nike
8: Delivering Performance
• Certification, labels and sustainable impacts
• Linking sustainability to business results
• Managing business performance and reputation
• News Corporation and Time Warner
9: Transforming Business
• Making sustainable change happen
• Articulating the case for change
• Managing the implementation
• Ikea and Interface
10: Sustainable Futures
• Leading in the new business world
• Sustainable innovation and lifestyles
• Business as a force for positive change
: Resources
The People Planet Profit A to Z§
The People Planet Profit Blueprint§
The People Planet Profit Directory§
The People Planet Profit Programmed§
• Leading in the new business world
• Sustainable innovation and lifestyles
• Business as a force for positive change
: Resources
The People Planet Profit A to Z§
The People Planet Profit Blueprint§
The People Planet Profit Directory§
The People Planet Profit Programmed§
