Connecting the classroom to the "real world"
Environmental Accounting
Sustainable Business Truths: Perception is Reality
2 years ago
Here’s a short piece from Harvard Business Publishing that makes the case that regardless of any arguments that can be made about whether or not global warming or climate change is real, the fact is that the business community needs to treat it as such. The author of this piece has written a book called Green Recovery that may interest some of you as well. His three main points in dealing with green business concepts are that resources are not infinite, the value is in the value chain, and climate change is a business and political reality.
Sustainable Business Truths: The Least Your Employees Need to Know. Andrew Winston. Harvard Business Publishing. Wednesday August 26, 2009
Cost/Benefit Analysis & Going Green
2 years ago
It isn’t popular to say so, but embracing “green” as a marketing strategy still has to pass the cost/benefit test just like any other business strategy and decision. Failing to do so would mean that green companies (and projects) would go under until there were none left.
INSIGHT, the magazine of the Illinois CPA Society explores this and related environmental accounting concerns in their latest issue.
- Is Green Worth the Money?. Criticizing the green movement isn’t politically correct. But is it wrong to want a sound business case for going green? Kristine Blenkhorn Rodriguez. INSIGHT, The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society. September/October 2009.
- Water Water Everywhere. But maybe not for long…What could easily be dismissed as an environmental issue has a heavy impact on business and industry as well. Here’s the business case for why water shortages matter. Sheryl Nance-Nash. INSIGHT, The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society. September/October 2009.
- Green Power. What will alternative energies mean to the US economy? Carolyn Tang INSIGHT, The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society. September/October 2009.
Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn
2 years ago
A short Harvard Business School piece about Corporate Social Responsibility in rough economic times contends that it is more important than ever for companies to push CSR programs when times are tough. This echoes the sentiments in some pieces I’ve posted recently such as the one that discussed the importance of spending on quality initiatives even when the economy is hurting.
Corporate Social Responsibility in a Downturn. Q&A with V. Kasturi Rangan. August 3, 2009. By Martha Lagace. HBS Working Knowledge.
Supplier Pollutes — Bad Publicity Impacts Their Customers
2 years ago
An interesting piece on tonight’s CBS Evening News was a story about a denim manufacturer in South Africa that is allegedly polluting the environment. Even though the plant is run by a local, South African company, Gap and Levi Strauss are being damaged by this news because this plant supplies denim to both. An interesting conundrum that not only must companies be conscious of their own environmental costs but it is important (and will probably become even more important in the future) for companies to know/understand/monitor the environmental policies of their suppliers and customers.
Wal-Mart to Assign New ‘Green’ Ratings
2 years ago
Wal-Mart is taking the reins in furthering transparency in environmental costs by telling suppliers that they need to determine these costs which Wal-Mart will then turn into a score that will appear next to the product on the shelf.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled an environmental labeling program for the products it carries, in a step that could redefine the design and makeup of consumer goods sold around the globe but also boost costs for suppliers and customers.
Wal-Mart Thursday will tell suppliers they must calculate and disclose the full environmental costs of making their products, then allow Wal-Mart to distill the information into a rating system that shoppers will see alongside prices for everything from T-shirts to televisions.
Costs of the program will initially be borne by the suppliers, many of whom are already in shaky financial positions due to the economy. Eventually, though, prices may rise as a result of this initiative but Wal-Mart feels that its customers born in the 1980s and later will be more willing to pay higher prices to have this information (and they may very well demand this kind of information).
Eventually, through product labels, the experiment will test whether consumers pay more for environmentally superior products. Wal-Mart does not believe consumers now are prepared to pay much more, but it believes that will soon change as those born in the 1980s become the company’s primary customers.
I expect other retailers to follow suit with similar plans especially since many of the suppliers deal with other companies and they may figure that if they are computing these costs for Wal-Mart there is little additional expense to provide the figures to their other customers. Time will tell how widespread this practice becomes.
Wal-Mart to Assign New ‘Green’ Ratings. Miguel Bustillo. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jul 16, 2009. pg. B.1
Corporate News: What ‘Green’ Labels Can Tell Us — Wal-Mart’s Move Will Add to the Clash of Claims on Store Shelves. Jeffrey Ball. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Jul 16, 2009. pg. B.4
3M Pollution Suit Starting Today
3 years ago
A local environmental battle is reaching a climax as a suit against 3M for water contamination in Washington County gets underway. Both local dailies have pieces about it today and I suspect they will provide continuing coverage for the next several weeks as this case plays out. Once again, my impression isn’t necessarily that the most damaging/important thing is even that 3M is found guilty, but that the fact that this case is already raining down bad publicity on them whether or not they prevail.
3M Water Suit Goes to Trial Trimmed. TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press). May 4, 2009.
3M Pollution Jury Selection Starts Today. StarTribune.com. May 4, 2009.
Carbon Footprint on Food Labels
3 years ago
According to this ABC News report I found on YouTube, food companies in Britain are beginning to label foods with the amount of carbon produced to make the product in question. I’m not sure how accurate these estimates really are or whether consumers here will demand this kind of thing soon, but in the context of what we’ve looked at in terms of Environmental Costs becoming more in-focus with consumers, this is interesting.
Minneapolis Superfund site gets more cleanup money
3 years ago
A local environmental issue receiving Superfund money is the topic of several news articles today. You can choose from a few different links to get a few different angles on this story:
An arsenic-tainted neighborhood in south Minneapolis will get an injection of as much as $25 million in federal stimulus money to continue cleaning up the site.
http://www.startribune.com/local/43041332.html
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/04/15/hazardous_stimulus/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/15/politics/100days/domesticissues/main4946809.shtml
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STIMULUS_HAZARDOUS
If a Tree Falls in the Forest, Are Biofuels to Blame? It’s Not Easy Being Green
3 years ago
From the Wall Street Journal, an article that deals with some of the difficulties with being environmentally conscious:
- If a Tree Falls in the Forest, Are Biofuels to Blame? It’s Not Easy Being Green. The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2008. Page A13.
“Greenwashing”
3 years ago
We touched on “greenwashing” last night — the practice of a company claiming to be “green” and environmentally friendly but then being exposed in some manner as making fraudulent claims. Here is a blog post I ran across this morning on this topic…unfortunately, I ran across it because my own company, Archer Daniels Midland, made the list. I won’t pass judgment on their analysis as I’m not familiar with ADM’s palm oil business (their main target here) but I’m sure some of the claims, if not most, in this piece can be substantiated. Green is marketable…but companies will continue to be exposed if they make false claims.
Here is the link:
