Sustainability Consulting
Sustainability Consulting –
Key Trends 2012
By David Sherry
By David Sherry
Tables of Contents
Sustainability Consultancy Pg 2 The Wave of Green IT Pg 3 Shareholder Activism Pg 4 Supply Chain Transparency Pg 6 Employee Engagement Pg 8 Water risks becoming a new reality Pg 10 What is next? Pg 11 Bibliography Pg 13
Sustainability Consulting
“There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed”
Mohanda K Gandhi
M anagement consultants occupy the top of the economic food chain, spending heavily on business research in order to reduce client costs and enhance competiveness. Now, they are in a credible position to introduce the importance of sustainability to senior executives. In the past, sustainability has been seen as no more than a necessary compliance. However, with the current push from regulation for higher environmental targets, there is a growing demand from consumers and business’ for greener, eco- friendlier and ethical products and services. So what does this mean for businesses? It means that sustainability can no longer be treated as an add-on as it is an essential ingredient for a business’ future planning and success. From the 2012 global sustainability consultant survey, author David Schatsky notes that “a minority of businesses are actively engaged in remaking their strategies and remaking their business practices today, but there are thousands of companies below the Fortune 500 that have a lot of work to do, and that represents a very fertile ground for consultants to be offering their services".
In this paper I will be looking at the current trends in the sustainability industry and which consultancy firms are tailoring their services to abide by these emerging influences. Examples of such trends in the industry are: * The wave of Green IT * Sustainability Topics in the Annual Report * Shareholder activism * The expansion of environmental conscious operations of
Key Trends 2012
By David Sherry
By David Sherry
Tables of Contents
Sustainability Consultancy Pg 2 The Wave of Green IT Pg 3 Shareholder Activism Pg 4 Supply Chain Transparency Pg 6 Employee Engagement Pg 8 Water risks becoming a new reality Pg 10 What is next? Pg 11 Bibliography Pg 13
Sustainability Consulting
“There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed”
Mohanda K Gandhi
M anagement consultants occupy the top of the economic food chain, spending heavily on business research in order to reduce client costs and enhance competiveness. Now, they are in a credible position to introduce the importance of sustainability to senior executives. In the past, sustainability has been seen as no more than a necessary compliance. However, with the current push from regulation for higher environmental targets, there is a growing demand from consumers and business’ for greener, eco- friendlier and ethical products and services. So what does this mean for businesses? It means that sustainability can no longer be treated as an add-on as it is an essential ingredient for a business’ future planning and success. From the 2012 global sustainability consultant survey, author David Schatsky notes that “a minority of businesses are actively engaged in remaking their strategies and remaking their business practices today, but there are thousands of companies below the Fortune 500 that have a lot of work to do, and that represents a very fertile ground for consultants to be offering their services".
In this paper I will be looking at the current trends in the sustainability industry and which consultancy firms are tailoring their services to abide by these emerging influences. Examples of such trends in the industry are: * The wave of Green IT * Sustainability Topics in the Annual Report * Shareholder activism * The expansion of environmental conscious operations of
Bibliography: Ackerman, B, Kenneth, 2007, “Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management”, DC Velocity Books, 1 Jan 2007, Pg 211 Bloomberg, 2012 “Sustainability Update 2012’’ Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/bsustainable/#report_2011_10 [Accessed 25 October 2012] Wickham, Philip A, 2004, “Management Consulting: Delivering and effective project”, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Pg 14. [ 3 ]. Accenture, 2012 “ Why a sustainability supply chain is good business” [ 4 ] [ 7 ]. NEEF, 2011, “Toward Engagement 2.0” [ 8 ] [ 9 ]. Environmental outlook to 2030, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 2008) [ 10 ]