Practical Sustainability Strategies. George P. Nassos

certainly seems central to the corporate culture, with good reason—Dow is driven by the exacting art and science of chemistry, which demands precision from heaps of data. Dow's progress is credible.

      The data are so complete that their sustainability managers are able to make sense of specific anomalies when they occur. For instance, in 2009, the company's intensity of greenhouse gas emissions (the amount of energy used to create a single pound of finished product) increased 5%, which went in the opposite direction after four years of downward progress. They were able to attribute this slide to lower operating efficiencies of their production facilities during the worldwide recession. In short, they could see exactly what the effect underutilizing their facilities had on their overall emissions levels—a fantastic feat for any company as large as Dow. Dow's progress can be meticulously tracked.

There is not a company in the world that can claim to be operating in a “sustainable” way, and Dow most certainly has a long way to go to get beyond doing “less bad” and claim that they have no negative impacts on social and ecological systems. But one thing is clear: with the help of their simple bar graphs, Dow will probably know it the exact moment when they do get to that point!

      Nike's Core Values

      Nike credits TNS, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), Deloitte & Touche, and the World Economic Forum as collaborators that helped Nike define its strategic path toward sustainability, and they are very proud to have played such a larger part in Nike's ongoing efforts [11].

      This step is a big one and it reflects a cultural shift coming from the core values of the organization. CEO Mark Parker explained:

       And for all the athletic and cultural and financial successes of the company, I believe our work in sustainable business and innovation has equal potential to shape our legacy. For that to happen, we have to focus on the lessons we've learned:

       Transparency is an asset, not a risk

       Collaboration enables systemic change

       Every challenge and risk is an opportunity

       Design allows you to prototype the future, rather than retrofit the past

       To make real change, you have to be a catalyst

      As part of this work, Nike tested the real business impact of the changing world on NIKE, Inc. and explored how the consumer brand could thrive in a sustainable economy. They concluded that it needs to continue to refine its existing business model while simultaneously looking at new ways of doing business.

      In 2008, Nike partnered with TNS again to help assess and further develop its approach to product innovation by defining a long-term vision for sustainable products. The resulting North Star vision and innovation goals position Nike to become a leader in sustainable product innovation and navigate toward a sustainable future.

      As Nike entered 2010 the work continued, with a number of ambitious goals:

      1 Put investing in sustainability as a key innovation/R+D priority on consumer brands' agendas

      2 Fast track innovation through investment and collaboration

      3 Launch the GreenXchange as a platform for enabling the sharing of intellectual property to fast track changes efficiently

      4 Build an advocacy agenda to push for large-scale policies and investments in sustainable innovation

Nike's commitment did not come about overnight. It had been transforming how the organization saw its place in the market and the world for 10 years. They are proud to be part of that ongoing transformation and hope other organizations would recognize and rise to the challenges they face with similar optimism and enthusiasm. One of the company's major goals is to create “zero waste” and operate with “100% renewable energy.”

      Pratt and Whitney Canada's Sustainability Journey

      Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) wanted to explore how building on existing sustainability initiatives, toward a proactive approach to sustainability, could help capture additional market share and drive innovation for the company.

      In early 2011, P&WC engaged with TNS Canada to undertake an organizational review, create a vision and goals for the organization, and develop a sustainability roadmap to guide their progress toward minimizing their environmental impact while capturing value for the organization.

      To begin, TNS Canada undertook an organizational review of P&WC's operations and culture. This helped determine the business's ability to capture the sustainability value proposition and identify opportunities and threats that might exist. Information was collected over several months through document review, interviews, and surveys and was then analyzed to determine internal attitudes toward sustainability and how staff felt about the organization taking a sustainability-driven leadership role within the aerospace industry. In addition, an external scan conducted by TNS Canada also provided P&WC with a benchmark report about the aerospace industry's sustainability opportunities.

      Next, during a planning workshop, a group of executives, senior managers, and members of the internal sustainability team at P&WC were introduced to TNS Framework. Armed with a common language and understanding of sustainability, the group worked to identify some of P&WC's key sustainability challenges as well as strategic goals to address them. This process enabled the development of a series of transition strategies and key milestones to guide P&WC's sustainability efforts over the next few years.

      A few months later, in alignment with the roadmap from the workshop, P&WC had a more-defined approach, sustainability goals, and strategy teams in place. One of the organization's priorities became to embed all dimensions of sustainability into its corporate culture while also working toward more sustainable products and operations.

The feedback from the company resulted in: “At Pratt & Whitney Canada, we are firmly committed to ensuring that our products are designed, produced and operated to enable minimization of environmental impacts throughout their entire life cycle. TNS helped us define a clear sustainability strategy and key priorities as we continue to strive to become ‘the best aerospace company FOR the world’.”

      As a result of the work at P&WC, the parent company established goals in 2013 to improve further the sustainability of its factories, suppliers, and products by 2025 and increase efficiencies, create added value for its customers and employees, and lead industry efforts to reduce aviation's environmental impact. Pratt & Whitney's global sustainability goals for 2025—the company's 100-year anniversary—focus on Waste, Energy, Water, Safety and Wellness, Materials, Suppliers, and Products. The company's sustainability improvements to date demonstrate a record of leadership, achievement and commitment [12].

      The Circular Economy

      TNS was one of the first sustainability strategies that changed the focus from the typical linear model of “take, make, dispose” to the circular model of “take, make, dispose.” This relatively new Circular Economy will be discussed in detail in Chapter 10.

REFERENCES

      1 1. Nattrass B, Altomare M. The Natural Step for Business. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers; 1999.

      2 2. Available at https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/peace-makers/818.

      3 3. Available at http://strategiesforsustainability.blogspot.com/2006/04/funnel.html. Accessed 2019 Oct 25.

      4 4. Harris R. Global warming is irreversible, study says, All Things Considered, NPR; 2009 Jan 26.

      5 5.