Do you practice eco excellence?   We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

As it turns out, habits are powerful forces, and companies are using those forces when interacting with customers and employees.  The post, Are Habits More Powerful Than Decisions? Marketers Hope So states "habits, rather than conscious decision-making, can shape as many as 45 percent of the choices we make every day, according to a study [pdf] from Duke University."  (A great read and recommended reading.)

We are all familiar with habits - they are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously, without one directly thinking consciously about them.    In the world of sustainability plans, this unconscious display of habits is a fertile ground of opportunity offering low hanging fruit for eco action.    

The gap between awareness and action may represent the single largest opportunity for global sustainability progress.  The post highlight's a process for habit formation: The Cue, The Reward, The Routine.  Cues trigger an action, a reward reinforces it, a routine develops. Take a look at a great diagram of the three elements to visualize how it works (and how to break it).

As communicated in our sustainability consulting, we view the basic formula as: change your habits= different result.  The trick is to become aware of the areas in your life that have the biggest environmental impact, and then take inspired action to create new habits.   Sounds easy, but how do you do that? 

First, what are your current habits telling you?  Where is your biggest environmental impact?  Next, create new habits.  Following are 4 areas of eco action to help get you started. 

• Vehicle Fuel Consumption: The most significant area of personal impact and one that is well within your sphere of influence.  Sustainable actions directly aligned with personal savings include: alternative fuel transportation, fuel efficiency and personal reduction (commuting, ride share, alternative transportation).
• Electricity Consumption: By switching to wind or renewable sources, the average family could save the equivalent to thousands of miles driven in a car.  Sustainable actions include: source control (wind, renewable, offsets), home efficiency (energy star appliances), and personal energy management.
• Water Consumption: Clear fresh water is rapidly becoming an endangered resource in even the most developed countries.  Sustainable actions directly aligned with personal savings include: water management (personal use and outdoor watering) and waste water management (controlling what goes down the drain and into the storm drains).  
• Waste Disposal: A large portion of what goes into the average garbage is recyclable.  By separating your plastics, glass, and paper, the weekly volume sent to the landfill could be cut by more than half.  Sustainable actions include: inquiring about recycling programs with traditional collectors and locating recycling centers in your area.

Discovering hidden treasures in your daily habits begins by becoming conscious of your cues, rewards, and routines as well as creating new habits and eco actions you take.  Change your habits and watch your world unfold differently. Remember, every eco action adds up.  Your eco actions matter.  Together, we can all make positive change in our world. 

Since the introduction of the concept of the triple bottom line, supporters and critics have debated the ability to link business sustainability actions to business profitability.  Without a definitive financial incentive, companies have traditionally not been receptive to the idea of integrating sustainability concepts into core business practices.  Recent trends tends to indicate that the business world may be changing their view, but what are the results saying?

The GreenBiz article, What Puts Companies on Top of the Sustainability Leadership List, explores the criteria that define today’s business sustainability elite.  Originally intended to define the business leaders who excel at integrating sustainability into their business strategies, the post instead brings to light a concerning divergence in economic performance and sustainability action.  Leveraging the results from a 2012 GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey, the post finds some gaps between performance and recognition.  

“Some of our clients get excited when they see the results of The Sustainability Leaders Survey. But others may be worried. In this year's survey, GE was one of a number of companies that saw a decline in the proportion of mentions, from 12 percent in 2011 to 7 percent this year. Walmart, the top-rated company in 2010, saw its proportion fall from 11 percent to 7 percent, while mentions of Marks & Spencer declined marginally from 8 percent to 5 percent. What do these falls mean, though -- are these companies standing still or headed backward on sustainability?”

At Taiga Company, we find highly effective organizations are creating business sustainability cultures to drive performance.  Rather than focusing on short-term metrics, our sustainability consulting encourages companies to drive true business sustainability through continuous communication and stakeholder engagement strategies.  In doing so, these organizations are creating a direct link to the company’s business sustainability plan and stable long-term and lasting performance.

More than 500,000 American employees now work at a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB), thanks to visionary leadership in the private and public sector. Just recently, the League of American Bicyclist announced 67 new Bike Friendly Businesses, who joined the ranks of the 412 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies that are transforming the American workplace.

“These leaders are at the forefront of a movement to make American businesses more competitive, sustainable and attractive to the best and brightest employees,” said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. “An investment in bicycling enhances employee health, increases sustainability and improves the bottom line.”

What are easy ways to become a bike friendly office?  Some business owners might argue that small business resources can be limited towards building a sustainable business; however, our sustainability consulting encourages employers to promote employee bicycling commuting as a great way to attract and retain those eco minded employees.  The post, Top 10 Benefits of Bicycle Commuting Programs for Businesses, explores bike commuting benefits to employers while the post, 10 Reasons to Bike Commute to Work, gives employees ideas and inspiration to ride to work. But what can a business do to promote and maintain a winning bike commuting culture?  Our business sustainability consulting advocates taking the following eco actions to keep bike commuting fun and safe for employees.

Education

• Offer regular safety classes.
• Provide lunch and learn opportunities for current topics and discussion.
• Share information on how to share the road.
• Participate in bike maintenance classes.

Encouragement

• Offer incentives to ride.
• Host a CEO led ride.
• Guarantee a ride home service.
• Create a company bike club.
• Celebrate bike to work day or month or create your own company mile markers and celebrate them.

Foundation

• Make bike parking safe and secure.
• Provide lockers, showers, and changing areas.
• Utilize car sharing programs like ZipCar for off site meetings.
• Provide a repair station with tools, lubrication, and tubes.

Review

• Get to know your employee's commuting habits: what's working/ what isn't and suggestions for improvement.
• Set goals: number of commuting miles/ week/ per employee.
• Appoint a bike coordinator: the go to person for everything bike commuting related.

Wondering how many Bike Friendly Businesses are in your city or state? Check out this helpful map to find out.  Zoom in on your community — and show your bike-friendliness by patronizing your local Bike Friendly Business!  Better yet, get your business on the map: Learn more about the Bicycle Friendly Business program.

“In addition to attracting and retaining talented category managers to identify new savings areas, leading Procurement organizations also unpack complex spend categories into more manageable subcategories. Keep in mind that the highest return opportunities are not necessarily the projects with the highest amount of spend or those that are easiest to implement.”  –CEB Views

Following in these footsteps, a recent Spend Management post chronicles one organization’s efforts to make its procurement more effective.  Rather than focusing on reducing its direct spend, thereby increasing tension in its supply chain, the BBC has instead chose to expand its view of traditional cost control.  The company now works with key suppliers to collaboratively increase efficiencies and reduce process cost.

Our sustainability consulting experiences have revealed that business sustainability mindset shifts have resulted in strategic sourcing and procurement guidelines to align suppliers with defined business sustainability strategies.  We believe that just within the last year the business community at large has seen a monumental shift.

Moving forward in the next few years, our business sustainability consulting subscribes to the idea that the next generation of sustainable category management will continue to evolve.  Focused on a new level of responsibility across all supply chain activities, like those demonstrated by the BBC, will drive deeper into category value by addressing more pointed supply questions.

An emphasis on environmental awareness, social responsibility, and business sustainability actions within the supply chain has incentivized more progressive companies to begin to evaluate more than just their inbound supply.  Our sustainability consulting finds the once limited procurement functions are now expanding their organizational reach to a variety of business sustainability stakeholders.  Visit with us at Taiga Company to learn more.

Did you know? Just one tradeshow can have the same C02 footprint as one year of powering everyday office equipment and supplies? 

We all know that too much C02 in the environment is bad, how do we find out how much carbon dioxide we produce? 

Benchmarking success in green living or business starts with closing the gap between awareness and action.  Here's where the tried and true adage applies: "What gets measured, gets managed." While expressed more frequently in a business setting, it applies to our personal lives as well.  For instance, if you want to lose weight, first you have to know how much you weigh to benchmark your success.  Similarly, in living a sustainable lifestyle, you first need to know the areas of your environmental impacts to measure your success.  

Carbon calculators offer visibility to reduce emissions, but consistently taking eco action to reduce impacts can be overwhelming.  What if there was a quick, easy and long-lasting way to make a difference?  Is offsetting the answer?  From our sustainability consulting perspective, offsetting is not a substitute for reducing or eliminating emissions or other environmental impacts.  However, there is a time and a place for carbon offsetting.  

• Offsetting can be a partial solution that complements other approaches,
• Offsetting can be seen as part of maintaining the balance of life,
• Carbon offsets offers a path to eco action and raises eco awareness,
• Offsetting schemes can be used as an interim measure until other solutions are developed – efficient emission-free fuels and renewable energy sources.

What options are available for offsetting?  Introducing the Green Air Project.  GAP is a social enterprise that helps individuals and businesses offset their carbon footprints in the most sustainable and positive way- by planting trees.  As you know, at Taiga Company, we love trees!  

Why choose Green Air Project? 

• Business Sustainability: Green Air Project's offsetting of carbon dioxide by planting large numbers of trees is a viable option to a businesses' corporate sustainability plan. The program can also aid in increasing employee engagement and retention with employee participation. 
• Transparency:  Clients and other stakeholders have access to a businesses' sustainability strategies with a company-specific website and code to track how many trees have planted.
• Affordable: Businesses, individuals and families can all participate and benefit.  At $10.00/ tree, enough to offset the average American’s CO2 emissions for a month, the trees are professionally cared for including: tree- Lease and preparation of the land, professionally planting the trees, maintenance/weed control, making fire lines and maintaining them on the property, security, boundary maintenance, surveying of land and forestry service to manage the land. 

Green Air Project's offsetting of carbon dioxide by planting large numbers of trees is an easy to grasp sustainability concept for eco curious individuals and stakeholders.  Demonstrate your commitment to sustainability by taking sustainable leadership and eco action.  Visit Green Air Project website today to get started. 

While escalating conversations on topics such as climate change, carbon legislation, energy independence, and growing consumer eco awareness generate forward eco movement for some it simultaneously creates confusion and skepticism for others.   To address these complex issues, it's going to take all of us demonstrating eco awareness in our daily lives.  Some eco actions are easier than others.  In fact, at Taiga Company, we promote green cycling as a means to make a difference. 

What is green cycling?  It is bike commuting or riding your bike and it is a win-win on many different levels.  For businesses and individuals looking to reduce costs, embrace eco awareness, and adhere to business and personal sustainability programs, bike commuting benefits everyone.  How so?  even if you don’t ride a bike, we all enjoy the benefits of bicycling infrastructure. Every cyclist on the road is one less car, which means there is less need for expensive road projects that take money from other important government programs. Bicycle and pedestrian improvements cost a fraction of what it takes to widen streets and highways and improve the livability of our cities, attracting new businesses and development. 

As we are mid way through National Bike Month.  We encourage you to read and gain eco awareness of the many benefits green cycling has to offer.  Enjoy! 

• David Suzuki: The benefits of cycling go beyond reducing climate change 
• Transportation and Young Adults: Driving is Down, Biking and Public Transport Way Up 
• Bicycle-Friendly Businesses Are Booming: 67 New BFBs Announced 
• New Report: Americans Driving Less, Especially Youth 
• If You Build Bike Lanes, They Will Ride 
• Bike Commuting Trends are UP: Here's Why 
• Bikes are Good for Business 

Happy National Bike Month When people ride bikes, good things happen.  Why? Because bike riding is a win-win for both businesses and individual looking to reduce cost, embrace eco awareness and adhere to business and personal sustainability programs.  But wait! There's yet another reason to use your pedal power for good! May is National Bike Month! In this newsletter edition you'll find all the reasons and resources to kick off a National Bike Month!  Ride ON!  May is National Bike Month  When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~ H.G. Wells Mark your calendars! Bike to Work Week is May 14-18and Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 18. Green Cycling: Resources & Tips to Get You Riding Top 10 Benefits of Bicycle Commuting Programs for Business  Get Paid to Bike to Work  Easy Ways to Become a Bike Friendly Office  10 Reasons to Bike Commute to Work  The Bike Commuter's Guilde to Stay Fresh and Clean at Work  Eco Resources to Gear Up for Bike to Work Week      Download our Free Green Cycling Whitepaper learn more Promote your cycling event with our social media services learn more Ways to get involved for National Bike Month:    Become a two wheeled friend!PeopleForBikes.org is dedicated to channeling that velo passion to improve the future of  bicycling.  Their goal is to gather a million names in support.  To date, they are at 500,000. Sign the pledge to speak one, powerful voice to promote cycling and bike commuting.  Take the National Bike Challenge! Sponsored by Kimberly-Clark,the League of American Bicyclist, and Bikes Belong, the National Bike Challenge runs May 1 - August 31 with the goal of uniting 50,000 people to bike 10 million miles.     Cycling Inspiration!  Need Inspiration? Check out Taiga's Race Pictures on Facebook!

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When people ride bikes, good things happen.  Why?  Because bike commuting is a win-win for both businesses and individuals looking to reduce costs, embrace eco awareness, and adhere to business and personal sustainability programs.  

In recent years, the bicycle industry has stepped up to support bike advocacy and education programs like never before. Much of that leadership has come from Bikes Belong, the industry's advocacy and education organization.  In fact, just over two years ago, PeopleForBikes.org was launched with the goal of collecting one million pledges for a better future for bicycling.  As if the timing couldn't be better, May is National Bike Month and to date, PeopleForBikes.org stand 500,000 riders strong.

While only halfway to their goal of one million supporters, there is still time to get involved, contribute to making our nation a better place to ride, and to send a powerful message to our elected leaders, the media, and the public that bicycling is important and should be promoted.

At Taiga Company, we are no strangers to the bike community.  We have the opportunity to work with individuals and businesses to integrate sustainability concepts into the workplace and daily life.  We refer to it as green cycling and naturally view how bike riding and commuting benefits the needs of both worlds: business and individuals.  Clients commute to work; businesses provide resources and incentives for cycling commuters.  So, why is bike commuting so wonderful? 

• Bike commuting helps the environment by reducing your carbon footprint.
• Bicycles emit no pollution when in use; they require far less materials, energy and waste in their production than even the ‘greenest’ car. 
• Cycling offers a certain connection to the open air and the surrounding trees.  It's amazing how usual surroundings look different when on a bike.
• Cycling can be done by toddlers, teenagers, youngsters and adults as well.  It can be used as personal time to reflect upon your day or a means to unite friends for regular rides.
• Regular participation in a cycling routine naturally shifts your focus to include thoughts of the weather, areas in your community to ride, road safety, and traffic.  Thereby increasing your awareness of the link between the environment and your community.
• Enjoy the freedom your bike gives you- go places your car can't.
• National health statistics show that when you're more active, you decrease your risk for cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
• Bicycle commuting allows you to include your workout in your daily schedule and helps to meet fitness goals.
• Bike commuting saves you money:  reduce car maintenance, reduced gas bill, reduced parking cost.
• Cycling is a good exercise for overall fitness of the body.  It improves health and reduces stress and tension.
• Cycling contributes to a positive work/ life balance.
• Bicycles can be produced and maintained locally by local bike shops contributing to local job opportunities as part of a sustainable economy.
• Increased cycling commuting reduces air pollution generated from motorized vehicles.
• The bike industry is getting involved.  Check out Action Outdoor Bike Magazine for resources.
• Bike riding is FUN!

Express your passion and commitment to our two wheeled friends.  Please take a moment to visit the website and sign the pledge. It is quick and easy. You will help the future of biking and ultimately you will be enhancing the work of the League. All the campaign needs is your name and email address: www.peopleforbikes.org/signpledge

How do you connect with nature?   Does it matter?  Actually it does.  According to Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, paying attention to the natural world not only makes you feel better, it makes you behave better. As sustainability consultants, we can't see a better connection between the natural world and eco inspiration.  Inspiration is a source of life.   What fuels our souls and calls us to become more in our lives differs from person to person in as much as how one chooses to fulfill these needs. At Taiga Company, green cycling is what inspires us to ride our bikes outdoors in nature.  

When people ride bikes, good things happen.  Why?  Because bike riding is a win-win for both businesses and individuals looking to reduce costs, embrace eco awareness, and adhere to business and personal sustainability programs.   But wait! There’s yet another reason to use your pedal power for good!  May is National Bike Month.  Kicking off National Bike Month, we share pictures from our recent 60+ mile mountain bike race in Castle Rock, Colorado.   

Enjoy! 

April showers bring May flowers and…National Bike Month!  May is recognized as National Bike Month and as sustainability consultants, we couldn't be happier!  Bike commuting, or green cycling as we call it at Taiga Company, is part of a sustainable lifestyle, alternative transportation, helps the environment, and also raises eco awareness.   It seems that most people think of bikes as recreation but in our sustainability consulting with business and individuals, we encourage employers and workers to consider cycling as alternative transportation as well as part of a sustainable business strategy.  Cycling to work is an easy way to integrate sustainability concepts into the workplace.  

Kicking off National Bike Month we will be posting educational resources on bikes, cycling, and gear as well as sharing mountain bike race photos from our Taiga Cycling team exploring the great outdoors in Colorado.  

Here’s how you can participate in National Bike Month. 

Begin by marking your calendar:

• Bike-to-Work Week 2012 from May 14-18
• Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 18.
• Do you want to know how many people ride bikes in America , who's riding, and how many miles of bike lanes there are? The Census Bureau collects American Community Survey (ACS) data from a sample of the population in the United States and gives us this insight. Find out who's riding bikes  in the largest 244 cities in the U.S.

Resources and worthwhile reading: For Business/ employees:

• Bike Commuting Trends are UP: Here's Why
• 10 Reasons to Bike Commute to Work
• Easy Ways to Become a Bike Friendly Office
• Top 10 Benefits of Bicycle Commuting Programs for Businesses

For Commuters:

• The Bike Commuter's Guide to Stay Fresh and Clean at Work
• Get Paid to Bike to Work
• Green Resources for Bike to Work Week
• Live Green! Ride a bike!

Want to get more involved?  Get Up & Ride- Take the National Bike Challenge!  Launched  by a powerful alliance between Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong and Endomondo, the National Bike Challenge aims to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health.  The Challenge is simple: Sign up as an individual or as a team, log your miles, share your stories and encourage others to join you. Riders will compete for prizes and awards on the local and national level, including a Grand Prize trip through California wine country from Trek Travel.  

What are you waiting for?  Pump up your tires, lube your chain, and put your pedal power to good use!  Ride ON! 

With the shift in consumer preferences over the past few years, companies have been aggressive to respond to the growing ‘green’ value opportunity.  However, lifecycle questions remain on company responsibilities once the products are in the hands of the consumer.   Does a sustainable business need to market and sell to a responsible consumer to be sustainable?  Do customers respond to a product or should products arise from the needs of the customer?  Our sustainability consulting explores.

As a professional consultant and an advocate for sustainable change in business, I express to clients, peers, and friends that everything we buy is an expression of consumer preference.  This purchase choice tells the business world that we approve of the product and service they are providing.  On the flip-side, businesses also have a responsibility to position their products and services in a way to attract the right consumers.

“Companies struggle to create products that consistently satisfy customer needs. Focus insight generation on the ultimate benefits that customers derive from a product or service. This helps guide technology project selection towards the highest-value opportunities.”  -CEB Views

The good news for business is there seems to be a general trend towards increasing eco awareness and a decreasing resistance for more sustainable products.  In fact, a 2009 consumer survey  indicated that 34 percent of American consumers are more likely to buy environmentally responsible products today, and another 44 percent indicate their environmental shopping habits have not changed as a result of the economy.  For this reason, we ask: How can a company effectively engage the shifting dynamics of the market and the ever changing expectations of the consumer.

“Progressive companies focus on understanding customer needs at the earliest stages. They continuously integrate knowledge outside the gate review process to execute faster without wasting resources.” –Procurement Strategy Council

Our sustainability consulting is mindful of the voice of the consumer as a key business sustainability influencer.  In fact, we view the expanding eco awareness of the global consumer to be a driving change in business.  For the companies sensitive to this change, there is a tremendous opportunity in managing the many voices of business sustainability.  Visit us at Taiga Company to learn more about this concept and how social media engagement strategies for key business sustainability stakeholders can transform your organization.

Super powers are cool.  They  invoke the imagination of superhuman qualities capable of tacking any challenge and succeeding. In many ways, the call for sustainability invokes the better qualities of us as humans.  If we were to have sustainability superpowers, what would they be?  How would we use them? How could we invoke sustainability superpowers to not only change the world at large, but also our personal worlds?

Most of us recognize that change can be unsettling.  It can be scary, and too often it is just easier to slip back into a traditional and comfortable way of doing things.  However, implementing effective sustainable change does not have to be a laboring process.  How so?  All too often, we turn our attention to the barriers and roadblocks to the incorporating sustainability concepts into our businesses and personal lives.  There is a tendency to take too broad of a view of the concept of sustainability and become overwhelmed by its magnitude and our ability to make change.  Instead, we need to focus on the benefits we are individually trying to achieve from a specific change.  What are the baby steps we can take that make change easier? 

To help you do just that, following are ways to go green each day of the week.  As a sustainability consultant, I suggest starting off with ideas in each area that are of most interest to you and build from there.  Each week can be a new platform to launch new eco actions.  Have fun with it and know that every eco action you take adds up and makes a difference.

Paperless Mondays:  Within our business sustainability consulting, we explain that when it comes to paper, producing paper from virgin fiber is both energy and water intensive.  It releases significant amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.  By choosing to use less paper and paper with recycled content you are making the choice to save wood, water and energy, and cut pollution and solid waste.   The costs savings add up and the environmental impact goes down.   Need ideas?  Check out 19 Tips to go Paperless at Home.

Turn Tuesdays Green at Work:  Keep in mind, every job is a green job: it's all in how you do it.  One approach is to increase your participation in the sustainability programs offered within your organization.  This offers a broader perspective of potential green projects and areas of improvement.  Another approach is to green your physical environment.  If you work at home, check out Green your Home Office 101 for ideas or 10 Ways to Green Your Cubicle.  Both offer ideas to embrace sustainability concepts in your work environment.  

Water Wednesdays:  Clean, fresh water is no longer just an issue for developing countries.  It has become more and more a global issue.   Water is linked to every facet of life on our planet and directly interacts with a myriad of other sustainability concepts.  Learn water wise habits to Reduce your Water Footprint.

Adventurous Thursdays:  Explore different modes of transportation .  The benefits of alternative transportation include conserving energy, preserving resources, reduced commuter traffic, cost savings (gas and parking), and reduced carbon emissions.  Fun ideas include: carpool, bus, train, cycling or telecommuting/ coworking options for work environments.  

 Friday Fun: Slay Energy Vampires with energy efficiency practices: The U.S. Department of Energy tells us that not only do appliances continue to draw electricity while the products are turned off, but in the average home nearly 75% of all electricity used to power electronics is consumed by products that are switched off.  Explore energy efficiency eco actions to use less energy.  

Saturday Waste Management/ Recycling:  When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you eliminate the disposing of waste or recycling it later.  It's the first component of the sustainability concept of the three R's: reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Clues to how to reduce waste can be found by visiting what's in your garbage.  

Sparkle Sunday with Green Cleaning:  Conventional cleaning supplies contain ingredients that are toxic or hazardous. By replacing them with eco-friendly products, you're providing improved indoor air quality, as well as reducing the 5 billion pounds of chemicals consumed by cleaning industry each year.  Get started using non toxic products and breathe easier. 

The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) describes knowledge management as a mindset that extends beyond the flow of traditional business process.  It focuses on the dissemination of information, engagement of key resources, and ultimately the adoption rate of best practices across the entire value chain.  As a sustainability consultants, we believe knowledge management and sustainability concepts to be intricately aligned.  In fact, we find knowledge management to be a critical aspect of business sustainability.   

Social media has an emerging role in knowledge management.  Creating bridges between the corporate world and its stakeholders, social media closes the gap on knowledge management and business intelligence. Specifically so if sustainable communications and performance is valued by your stakeholders.  Social media for sustainability communications has become a risk or an opportunity. Monitoring, listening, and dialoguing with key stakeholder in the social space not only offers a competitive advantage but also provides other key ingredients for successful social media engagement:

• Information or Data Collection
• Crowdsourcing
• Brand and Reputation Management
• Public Relations
• Media Management
• Crisis Management

Further exploring social media's role in knowledge management and sustainability communications, we look at two recent posts, Business Blogging for a Sustainable Purpose and Who are the Tweeps Tweeting for A Better Green Brand? to demostrate the value of social media for sustainability communications.  Additionally, our friend Fabian Pattberg asks,  Facebook – A useful Sustainability and CSR platform? Finally, mirroring thoughts on the subject include those found in the post, Sustainability Professionals + Facebook = Worth It?

Because social media intelligence  incorporates a thorough 360-degree assessment of stakeholder engagement, there are a number of ways you can use information to your advantage. The right kind of information can be used for a whole range of processes in the business that can ultimately lead to your business' success.  Need help with your social media for sustainability?  We're here to help! 

Do you fall prey to routine habits out of convenience or do you take extra steps to embrace sustainability concepts in your daily life?   It seems in recent years being busy has become the rule rather than the exception.  With busy comes conveniences and sometimes conveniences means having to compromise on values.  Fortunately, that's no longer the case.  With growing eco awareness sprouting more and more environmentally friendly options, those living a busy and sustainable lifestyle can take their green on the go.  

At its essence, personal sustainability is about addressing the environmental concerns of carbon, water, and energy on a smaller scale: your life.  Committing to sustainability in your personal life is holding yourself accountable for the very commitments and eco actions we are asking our leaders to make.    Additionally, it's about leveraging your financial dollar to support credible and sustainable businesses.  Vote with your financial dollar; as a shareholder, uphold reporting, transparency, compensation related to business sustainability.

Looking to make your green life more convenient?  Enjoy some of the iPhone apps shared in our eco friendly consulting practice.

• Carbon Tracker: This GPS-enabled carbon footprint application allows users to calculate their carbon footprint from daily commuting, business trips or vacations. Users can also create goals for maximum emissions in a month, then monitors progress. Great for expanding eco awareness in your daily life.
• iRecycle, makes it easy to find recycling locations anywhere in the U.S. Find places to drop-off your old cell phone or other items, get directions and find out what else they accept.
• GoodGuide:  Use this app to find out what’s in 75,000 common household products.  Reviewers praise the level of detail in the GoodGuide database as well as its ease of use.
• Green Gas Saver: This app tracks your driving habits and warns you through gauges and sounds if you accelerate too quickly or take a turn too hard. The app saves your score from each trip to help you improve over time. It’s a good way to become a better driver overall, in addition to saving on fuel costs. 
• Greenpeace Tissue Guide: Research brands of consumer paper products to find the greenest tissues, paper towels, and toilet paper.
• GreenGenie:  If you need ideas for how to be more green, try this app as it suggests more than 100 eco action to tackle.  It also includes a glossary on green terms and educational sustainability sources.  
• Green Outlet  tries to predict your electric bill and carbon footprint based on what appliances you use.
• Farmers Market Finder:  This app is similar to the Locavore app, which helps you find local farmers markets. However, this app does a little extra legwork and not only tells you where farmers markets are, but also tells you where you can find CSAs, pick-your-own gardens/orchards, and open markets. It also provides up-to-date information on weather cancellations and parking information.  
• EcoCharge: Wonderful app designed to help you stop doing overcharging your mobile device by alerting you when your phone’s battery is completely charged. 
• Green Square: Foursquare for Greenies You've heard of Foursquare, now there is Green Square!  If you recall, Foursquare is a combination of micro-blogging (like Twitter), and GPS geocaching (finding places) and by using your smartphone, you 'check in' with the Foursquare website, publish your physical location, and write a quick review about the restaurant or pub or coffee shop you are visiting.  Well Foursquare just got a little greener with Green Square.   For those living a sustainable lifestyle, it's natural to want to spread the good word of local green businesses, non profits, and green events.  By checking in at sustainable businesses offering green products and services, you are putting those businesses on the map, introducing those businesses to friends, as well as supporting for these businesses with your financial dollar. 
• Have an iPad? Check out 13 Awesome Green-Themed Apps For Your New iPad

Creating a sustainable business involves more than defining a vision, building a consumer forecast, and bringing a green product or service to market. Business sustainability is a commitment to the social, environmental, and economic impacts of your business.  It includes a commitment to improving business process that challenges the internal capabilities of a company towards business innovation as it strives to meet the changing needs of the external business environment.

That sounds great. But so frequently, within our business sustainability consulting, we are asked, “How do you make that happen?"  Answer: Innovation, Leadership, and stakeholder engagement.

A common misconception is that innovative ideas generate from a select few; however, innovative ideas can spring up from multiple sources.  They can generate from within the company at the ground level, from the customers you service, or your suppliers.  

While management is ultimately responsible for creating corporate direction, business sustainability minded executives now realize that their stakeholders have an equally important leadership role to play.  Recognizing this shift, many companies are seeking to refine their business sustainability strategies, improve internal and external communication, and bring cohesiveness to their organization by promoting greater stakeholder engagement.

Within business sustainability programs, engagement is a critical focus.  What is engagement really?  Ultimately, it is value alignment.  Alignment of the corporate sustainability plan with key stakeholders.   The GreenBiz article, Why Corporate Boards Should Listen to Investors on Sustainability, explores the numerous factors affecting today’s bottom lines.  Leveraging a recent Ernst and Young whitepaper on the topic, the post highlights the influence investors have on critical business sustainability decision making.

“In 2012, investors will continue to spotlight sustainability issues in connection with corporate growth opportunities and risk management efforts.  A confluence of factors – investors seeking greater corporate accountability, particularly at the board level; growing attention paid by regulators to environmental and social topics; and heightened public scrutiny of corporation following recent financial, economic, political and environmental-related developments – are working to sharpen attention on the ‘triple bottom line’ of environmental, social and economic performance.” - Ernst and Young

Our sustainability consulting works with business leaders to define the unique links between sustainability concepts and business value drivers.  We provide information and professional consulting services which assist companies in building a strong platform for sustainable stakeholder engagement.  What form is sustainability taking in your business?

What is Karma?   Karma is a Sanskrit word that means "action." Karma has commonly been considered a punishment for past bad actions, but karma is neither judge nor jury. Rather, it is simply the universal law of cause and effect that says every thought, word and act carries energy into the world and affects our present reality. From a sustainability viewpoint, how does karma apply?  Many argue that business is best used as a vehicle to not only aid in solving today's environmental challenges, but also to help create a better world.

If so, then How do business leaders walk the delicate art of transitioning to more sustainable business strategies?  When you think about it, the requirements to maintain a sustainable business today are quite different than they were just ten years ago.   Companies on the leading edge are evaluating the economic, social and environmental impacts that will ultimately affect profitability.  Green business practices are becoming more and more the norm, as companies both large and small realize the value of integrating eco awareness and sustainability concepts into their operations and business strategies.   

For example, many organizations are developing strategies to reduce emissions.  These organizations are proactively implementing process improvements and new technologies to add value and reduce risk.  By focusing on and applying resources to a broad concept, a company can drill-down to more detailed sustainable actions to address:

•    Office Building Energy Consumption – evaluating the average energy use per square foot of office space and implementing best practices to reduce: energy consumption studies, efficiency practices, equipment modifications, etc.

•    Operations Efficiency – incorporating energy efficient process into their daily operations, evaluating peak hour consumption, and decreasing off-hour usage.

•    Supply Chain Efficiency: creating integrated processes with suppliers to improve communication, ensure common sustainable processes, and increase energy efficiency.

Masterful companies recognize that business sustainability is a mind-set change that should be consistent and in alignment with organizational commitment and continuous improvement efforts already in place within the company.  The critical elements to affective implementation include: executive leadership, consistent action, clear communication, and stakeholder engagement.

While eco awareness is important, demonstrating sustainability values through eco action is key.  "Like a beautiful flower that is colorful but has no fragrance, even well spoken words bear no fruit in one who does not put them into practice."  ~ Dhammapada, Sayings of the Buddha, Pali Cannon

The GreenBiz article, GE and GM: How to Get the Most Out of Convergence, explores the internal working of technological advancement in large corporations.   Armed with an abundance of resources, these leaders are beginning to realize that size and force do not necessarily drive change.  There are in fact larger forces at work that must be recognized and voices to be engaged. 

“While the technology advances being made via smarter buildings and transportation systems are impressive, their adoption is still driven by market forces. It's not just about the technology. Customers are looking for higher quality, lower cost, greater effectiveness." - Don Reed, director of U.S. Sustainable Business Solutions at PwC

In previous posts, our sustainability consulting has posed the broad question: can social media save the world?  Narrowing this to a more pointed discussion: How is social media engagement changing the face of business?  To answer this question, we cast aside traditional measures and replace them with the growing and tangible value which can no longer be ignored.

• What are the market forces and/or shifting consumer expectations shaping future innovation?

• How are businesses engaging consumers in growth markets?

• How can an aligned sustainable supply chain become a competitive advantage?

• How are these concerns and opportunities driving shareholder value?

Stakeholder engagement is no longer a defined by how well your company communicates its message to the external world.  Social media success is rapidly becoming a critical business sustainability skill and a business sustainability catalyst that is affecting the bottom line.  Our sustainability consulting offers information and tools to assess the market, your competition, and your own efforts in the social space around your business.  Visit with us at Taiga Company to learn more.

“The creation of a thousand forest in one acorn.”  Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Climb a tree - it gets you closer to heaven. ~Author Unknown 

"He who plants a tree, Plants a hope. ~Lucy Larcom  

Inspired yet?  We are! At Taiga Company, it's hard to contain enthusiasm in celebrating Arbor Day.  Why? Inspired by the taiga, that's where our sustainability consulting practice got our name!  

Taiga, pronounced, tahy-guh is a biome that stretches across a large portion of Canada, Europe, and Asia.  The taiga is truly vast in extent; in fact, it makes up 27 percent of the world's total forest and occupies 11 percent of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere.  What is most impressive is the taiga's immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the plant.  It is this inspiration that I founded and named Taiga Company.  The continuous renewal that the taiga offers our planet has shaped our company vision to drive similar change in the business world.  

Celebrating Arbor Day offers an opportunity to share our appreciation for what our trees do for us.  Trees are the earth’s oldest living organisms. They improve air and water quality; reduce heating and cooling costs; provide a cool and beautiful place to live, work and play; are a renewable source of fuel, shelter, food and other products and provide benefits that directly affect the economic, environmental and social health of people and the communities where they live.   "Trees outstrip most people in the extent and depth of their work for the public good."  Sara Ebenreck, American Forests  

Celebrated on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872 and is a United States national celebration that encourages the planting and care of trees.  Founded with the same sustainable mindset many of us share today, J. Sterling Morton saw a greater value in planting a tree than from its removal in the farm lands of Nebraska.  Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care and there are several ways to get involved and take eco actions.  

• Plant a tree! Learn which trees are best in your area and techniques to plant
• Make a donation to the American Forest
• Spread eco awareness by sending a customized e-card to your friends and family for your local Arbor Day
• Discover what kind of tree you are! Take the fun quick, "Take Your Hortiscope Quiz" from Timberland to find out. 
• Download the Celebrate Arbor Day Guidebook 
• Save a tree and go paperless for the entire day or weekend. 
• Share with a friend what inspires you most about green living. 

Not only as sustainability consultants but also as avid nature enthusiasts, we are always inspired by sustainability concepts, personal action, and business direction that support the world’s forest.  So on this very special day of the year, we are overjoyed as our love of trees is celebrated across the United States in the observance of Arbor Day.

In today’s global business environment, it is rare for a company to own an entire product or service value chain.  Business operations rely heavily on external sources exposing the supply chain as a critical component of business success.   Leading organizations are using the procurement function as a means to move towards a more sustainable business by forming "strategic relationships" with companies, large and small, who demonstrate leadership.  

With that being said,misconceptions of business sustainability as a passing trend are quickly falling by the wayside.  Larger organizations, traditionally mistaken as burdened with a primary responsibility as change agents in the water, carbon, environment and climate change solutions are now shifting the burden to include suppliers.  Walmart is one example.

Recently, Walmart announced that it will broaden its initial 15-question scorecard to 100 major categories, with category-specific questions, by the end of this year.   As the post, Why Walmart's better supplier scorecard is a big deal states, " When Walmart introduced its initial scorecard, tens of thousands of suppliers increased their investments in sustainability. This expanded scorecard promises to have an even bigger impact. Not only will it shift the landscape for Walmart suppliers, but it also could greatly influence supplier scorecard programs at many other companies.'  

To unprepared organizations, the business risks of carbon, water, and climate change disclosure takes many forms:

•    Potential increase in operating cost

•    Potential increase in supply costs

•    Potential disruptions to supply or loss of supplier relationships

•    Potential loss of revenue or market share

•    Potential to business reputation 

•    Potential inability to secure investment dollars or capital

Water, carbon, waste, and energy management is becoming a critical sustainable business strategy to address internal and external supply issues.  Creating supply chain management alignment through increased eco awareness, cooperative business relationships, and applied sustainability concepts can have immediate business impacts and reduce business sustainability risk.  Taiga Company provides professional consulting and business resources to business leaders seeking to make significant and sustainable improvements in their internal and external operations.

As the world continuously adapts to shifting expectations for more sustainable business practices and end products, executives are feeling the need to redirect their resources or sharpen their innovation strategies.  In our professional consulting, we see leading businesses shifting the emphasis of their research and development to include less conventional sources of inspiration.  But from were where will the next breakthrough come? 

The Forbes Magazine post, Reverse Innovation and the Myth of Cannibalization, examines the traditional challenges of low cost idea generation in the corporate world.  Describing how innovation typically trickles down from highly funded sources, new research may now reveal that personal and business sustainability concepts may actually be breaking this top-down mold. 

“We are likely to see the reverse innovation phenomenon in a wide range of industries such as ultra-low-cost transportation, renewable energy, clean water, micro finance, affordable health, low-cost housing, and many others.” -Vijay Govindarajan, Professor of International Business at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business

Through our direct engagement with companies and business leaders seeking to inspire and motivate sustainable action in their organization, we find business stakeholders as a valued source for new ideas. Our professional consulting works with clients to step outside of the confines of the business to leverage employee, supplier, and end consumer thinking. In doing so, sustainability concepts naturally find their way into the new developments within the company.

At Taiga Company, our business sustainability programs are tailored towards the encouragement of business sustainability, innovation, and expanded eco awareness as an asset of the organization - particularly through stakeholder engagement. Contact us to learn how your business can leverage social media engagement to tap into the reverse innovation occurring around the globe.