Earlier this year, IBM’s ‘Institute for Business Value‘ convened some 1,600 business, NGO and government leaders along with journalists, analysts and environmental experts to discuss what we at Octopus call the Sustainability Imperative.

Their consensus, not surprisingly, was that ‘eco-efficiency,’ as they call it, will be the “biggest economic ‘game-changer’ for organizations in the next 20 years.”

They outline three specific essentials that leaders will need to pursue:

1. Deliver highly efficient “‘green’ infrastructures,” that overlay digital intelligence atop of physical infrastructure.
2. Promote resource efficiency and reduce social impact.
3. Embrace open standards for better infrastructure, water and transportation management.

In our work consulting to mission-driven and responsible organizations, we’ve learned that these points from IBM’s report summary are but the beginning of the work needed to adapt to the Sustainability Imperative. Or more accurately, they’re just the front edge of the opportunities.

It is more valuable to focus on implementing positive social impact than it is on simply reducing the negative. Organizations like the members of our new client TheChange.com are building thriving businesses that also deliver positive, enduring environmental and social value.

It is essential to rethink the nature of new physical infrastructure, as much as it is to develop and deploy the digital intelligence that can monitor existing infrastructure. Buildings, for example, are responsible for more carbon output than any other category of emitter. While organizations like Vancouver’s Pulse Energy monitor their output and empower owners and managers to improve their impact, designers of new buildings must think about the impact of a project that will exist 50, 100 or even more years from now.

And open standards are revolutionizing an incredible array of social, environmental and technological realms of our work and lives. Open government is springing new business ideas and new efficiencies in our communities; open data is helping innovators and entrepreneurs to build business opportunities that reach around the world in a fraction of the time it used to take companies to build global brands; and open communication is changing fundamentally the way our world interacts—with news from Thailand reaching overseas in mere moments.

“Outperformers in the near future will be those that will adapt a proactive and holistic approach,” says IBM. We couldn’t agree more. The challenge for organizations and their leaders today is that “the near future” is incredibly close. And with the transparency of instant global communication, there’s no space for hedging bets or balancing profit vs. benefit. The leaders are defining models and practices that are inherently sustainable.

Downloads:

The IBM Institute for Business Value report. (PDF 1.4MB)

The Executive Summary. (PDF 736KB)

On Thursday evening, Vancity Community Foundation, Enterprising Non-Profits, JDQ Systems and BC Social Venture Partners hosted the 2010 edition of their ‘Social Enterprise Dragons‘ event. Three social enterprises pitched their organizations to a crowd of 200, and in particular to four ‘Dragons,’ who judged their business plans and awarded prizes based on their businesses’ needs: Tamara Vrooman, CEO, Vancity; Alanna Hendren, Executive Director, Developmental Disabilities Association; Jon Morris, President, JDQ Systems; and Jim Fletcher, Managing Director, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital.

Octopus Strategies’ involvement was through my invitation to sit on the application review and selection committee, which shortlisted the numerous applicants to the three presenting companies. Along with Adam Wilkins of REV and BC Social Venture Partners, I also coached Katrina Pacey of Pivot Legal LLP on her presentation.

Pivot was first to present. Katrina, their Managing Partner, outlined a unique social enterprise law firm, whose purpose is to turn the profits from their general law practice to the advantage of social change initiatives such as their recent Red Tent campaign.

Mission Possible’s MP Enterprises went second. Their Executive Director, Brian Postlewait, presented an ambitious but promising plan to develop their graffiti cleanup company into a diverse general maintenance company.

And third was Public Dreams‘ Samantha Jo Simmonds, who explained their organization’s 25-year legacy, their recent success with 2010 Winter Olympic Games contracts, and their goals to develop their social enterprise—a full service event management firm.

All three presentations were inspiring. Each organization is uniting the value of business with the values of mission-driven mandates. And in the end, the Dragons couldn’t decide between them, and awarded one prize to each organization. Public Dreams was awarded a $2,500 grant from ENP, MP Enterprises was awarded a pro bono engagement from JDQ Systems, and Pivot Legal was awarded $15,000 from Vancity Community Foundation to develop their marketing and outreach.

The event itself also featured a good deal of networking among the sold-out crowd, catering by Vancouver’s Pot Luck Cafe & Catering, a social enterprise itself, and a showcase of the wares of various local social enterprises. It was a great opportunity for the social enterprising community to come together, and share ideas, contacts and plans. I look forward to being even more involved in the 2011 edition!

Matthew Bishop and Michael Green have penned a timely and insightful response to critics of their book, The Road from Ruin.

Citing various case studies, From WalMart to Warren Buffett, they argue that “a vast number of firms are starting to realize that if they want to hire the best people, they will have to stand for something more than profit maximization.”

Purpose beyond profit. It’s a concept we’ve been exploring and espousing for years. And we think Bishop and Green are spot on in their assertion that most companies are less greedy than the headline-grabbers, and more responsible than they’re given credit for being.

With the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games ongoing in Vancouver, it was timely that I came across this tremendous talk on defining ‘disabled’ by Aimee Mullins, an American athlete, actress and model, who happens to have had both her lower legs amputated as a child.

This is a pretty inspiring 20 minutes!…

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association hosted one of the most admired leaders in the modern business world at Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel yesterday. Howard Schultz is Chairman, President and CEO of Starbucks, one of the most successful brands in recent memory, and one of the strongest business success stories of the 20th century.

In a brief but illuminating address, Schultz talked about his roots “growing up on the wrong side of the tracks” in the projects of Brooklyn. He also talked about the heartbreak of seeing his father’s despair after he was injured on the job, and could no long support his family.

Amazing, isn’t it, how great leaders seem to endure adversity before achieving the loftiest of goals?

And lofty, indeed, were Schultz’s goals: He spoke of a time when Starbucks had only 12 stores, but a vision of a world-renowned brand. Today, more than 30 years into the Starbucks story, the company operates more than 17,000 locations in more than 150 countries. And they employ over 180,000 people.

Most memorable from among Schultz’s comments, though, were his discussion of the challenges he and his leadership team have faced during the past year: Starbucks is renowned for treating its employees better than most retail brands can manage. Their extended medical plan is exceptional for a company in their industry—especially in light of its annual $300M cost. The economic downturn of 2009 presented an opportunity to reduce this expenditure, but Schultz would have noting of it:

“To cut back on our commitments to our people would be to tear the very soul out of our company.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Victoria, British Columbia’s Inn at Laurel Point is the first BC hotel to go carbon neutral.

This is the latest in a long line of sustainability initiatives for the Inn: When a landmark Arthur Erickson-designed extension to the Inn was built 20 years ago, it included a seawater thermal heat and cooling exchange. This was “long before people were thinking about that sort of stuff,” notes the Inn’s General Manager, Ian Powell.

Other initiatives include paperless check-in, room keys made of recycled paper and printed with vegetable-dye inks, an organic herb and veggie garden, reducing waste and increasing recycling, bike racks, optional linen changes for guests and cutting back on use of lights when not needed.

The latest initiative, which the Inn is undertaking in partnership with Vancouver’s Offsetters, will initially support a general portfolio of carbon-offset projects. In the longer term, the Inn hopes to find a Vancouver Island project to support.

The Inn at Laurel Point is both a client and a service-provider to Octopus Strategies. We worked with the Inn’s executive and management team in 2008, helping to develop their ‘Stay Different…’ brand and marketing strategy. We have also hosted executive retreats there for other clients, and wholeheartedly recommend the hotel for its warmth, beauty, and exceptional service standards.

Congratulations to the Inn at Laurel Point from all of us at Octopus on being BC’s first carbon neutral hotel!