The role of corporations in attaining sustainability

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At the 2010 Environmental Sustainability Symposium in San Jose on March 25, featured speakers, panelists and attendees discussed how businesses are successfully addressing concerns regarding environmental sustainability within their business strategies, operations and in their markets.

Hosted by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the symposium offered a dialogue, resources, and a platform for sharing the challenges and solutions embraced by leading Silicon Valley organizations.

Keynote speaker Aron Cramer, CEO of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), presented a holistic approach to becoming a sustainable corporation. Mr. Cramer talked about the importance of innovative and sustainable business practices that lead the transition to a low-carbon economy, promote economic development, and rebuild trust in business.

BSR is a global strategic organization that provides consulting, research and cross-sector collaboration to its global network of member companies, guiding them in developing sustainable business strategies and solutions. BSR has developed a couple of pubic reports on the sustainable economy in changing global business environments and the challenges we face. The report outlines BSR’s experts’ view on the impact of current economic, social, and environmental conditions for sustainable business, and outlines the roadmap for sustainable business success. Read more in the BSR’s report 2008.

In many countries, corporations have been moving into sustainable frameworks. Mr. Cramer outlined the following steps that will enable companies to “navigate a changing world effectively, maintain competitive advantage, and, most importantly, create lasting solutions to global challenges.”

1. Develop business strategies based on long-term trends - The environmental and demographic challenges are getting bigger. The forecast for the middle of this century indicate a population growth from six billion to nine billion. Food and water supply are a major issue. New business models are required to prepare for the future.

2. Innovate for sustainability and value – To emerge from current economic crisis, companies who innovate with sustainability in mind, while being flexible and adaptable, will prevail.

3. Think global - Solutions to sustainability challenges, which encompass climate, water, labor standards, and human rights, require broad thinking and cannot be done by one company or even the entire private sector alone.

4. Focus on partnerships with policymakers, worldwide.
Businesses have the opportunity to influence policy and regulation.

5. Rebuild public trust - With the economic crisis, the public’s faith in the private sector has dropped. Businesses need to meet sustainability challenges and act with social responsibility. In the process of rebuilding trust, transparency is key.

He also said that the flow of innovation is changing from localized research and development (R&D) efforts to global endeavors, where learnings are shared worldwide. Big US corporations may seek to learn form other countries and other regions, and vice versa. For example, a prominent bank in India who’s serving rural villages, can teach any large US bank on rural banking. “Collaboration is crucial,” Mr. Cramer said. Transparency in media and communications is a powerful tool in propelling global efforts.

The future of corporations depends on how fast and efficiently they embrace sustainable change. Sustainability is a driver for innovation. But we can also say that innovation is a crucial driver for sustainability.

Additional information:

Silicon Valley Leadership Group was founded in 1977 by David Packard to create a proactive voice for Silicon Valley businesses (initially named the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group (SVMG), it was renamed in 2005 as the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) to better reflect the work of the organization).

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) is organized to involve principal officers and senior managers of member companies in a cooperative effort with local, regional, state, and federal government officials to address major public policy issues affecting the economic health and quality of life in Silicon Valley.
It is SVLG’s vision to ensure the economic health and a high quality of life in Silicon Valley for the entire community by advocating for adequate affordable housing, comprehensive regional transportation, reliable energy, a quality education system and prepared workforce, a sustainable environment, and business and tax policies that keep California and Silicon Valley competitive.

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