4 Green Business Trends for 2013

4 Green Business Trends for 2013
Don’t Go Postal
The Immigrant Exodus Examines an Entrepreneurial Crisis in America

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 11:00 AM PST

It used to be enough to adopt a highway, recycle in the break room and install a few energy-efficient light bulbs. But businesses now must take ambitious steps if they want to be seen as sustainability leaders and join the big leagues. Consider that about two-thirds of all Fortune 500 companies now publish corporate sustainability reports.

The past year has been a tough one for green businesses, though. With some financial incentives for sustainability drying up, the U.S. economy still treading water and many environmental issues getting little airtime from politicians, it's gotten harder to justify spending on sustainability.

That said, smart businesses are continuing to invest in environmental sustainability. Because when you take a long-term view, these issues are just going to continue to become more critical to business success in the future.

With that in mind, here are four emerging trends in sustainability likely to gain more steam in 2013:

Smarter Marketing

The days of broadcasting your environmental benefits to the world are pretty much over. "Green consumers" are a varied bunch in terms of the reasons they buy environmentally friendly products – and eco-friendliness usually comes second to other factors. Companies are thus getting better at tying sustainability into their brand to make it just as much about the products as the green. And they're making it more fun.

Take Unilever's Axe line of body products for men. The brand, which often uses suggestive marketing, recently launched its "Showerpooling" water conservation campaign. Besides encouraging college-age men to utilize low-flow showerheads, it also encourages fewer showers by telling them to:

“. . .enjoy the company of a like-minded acquaintance.”

More Sharing

The "sharing economy," is continuing to grow. People are realizing they can save money and help the environment by borrowing or renting anything from power tools to spare bedrooms to baby clothes to bicycles. Some industries might suffer. Why book a hotel room when someone with an amazing house is willing to rent it to you while they're away?

In the long run, some of the actual sharing websites that are enabling this practice to grow could become powerful companies of their own, helping to promote a more sustainable future in the process.. Check out websites including Yerdle, Uniiverse, and Skillshare. More businesses will try to break into the sharing business and more will share themselves as a way to reduce their footprint and costs.

Keeping a Closer Eye on Financial Payback

Early adopters of many sustainability practices and technologies jumped in because they believed in the cause. But sometimes those investments weren't the soundest from a financial perspective. They might have taken years to pay back in savings. But more companies are involving their CFOs in sustainability endeavors and doing elaborate payback and ROI analyses before investing in an upgrade.

Sustainability is no longer a fringe activity in corporate operations; it is part of how they turn profits.

Getting Serious About Data and Benchmarking

Companies are tracking their sustainability progress like never before. And government officials are becoming increasingly interested in tracking businesses' sustainability practices as a way to tout achievements, as well as spurring the laggards to do more.

The Institute for Market Transformation reports that cities including San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas have all created programs in recent years that require commercial building owners in some form to disclose energy efficiency.

What do you think will be the green business trends next year? Are you planning any green initiatives at your business?

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Don’t Go Postal

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 08:00 AM PST

Regardless of the legislation and regulations surrounding the U. S. Postal Service, there are business lessons we can learn from its experiences.

business growth

1. Plan for Change

Nothing in business remains constant. Business owners need to keep an eye on changes occurring in their industry, as well as opportunities for change. It seem like the Postal Service either wasn't paying attention to, or didn't notice the rise of UPS and Federal Express. It seems they were looking the other way when email and online invitation and card services arose.

Moreover, once these things became mainstream, the Postal Service didn't adapt and take advantage. One example is the rise of online ordering. We were warned for years about the coming groundswell of people shopping online. UPS and Federal Express made arrangements with those merchants while the Post Office stood by and watched. They lost market share and allowed the courier services to develop brand awareness.

It's a prime example of the old guard being rigid and inflexible.

If they had been watching the tides of change they could have addressed them earlier on and maximized their value to their customers. Instead, they held the door open for the competition.

2. Continuously Create Efficiencies

All businesses need to take stock of how they operate to make sure they are as lean as possible. They also should be implementing checks and balances so that money isn't spent needlessly. A WSOCTV.com story on December 3, 2012 explains that an audit of the Post Office showed how employees were falsifying expense records to pocket money that wasn't due them.

This is one example of a problem that many companies experience. When you don't have safeguards in place you run the risk of money walking out the door.

Get the staff involved in brainstorming ideas for becoming more efficient and structured. They will not only have some great ideas but you will get their buy-in if they are part of the problem solving.

3. Create an Experience

I should say – create a good experience! Have you ever gone into your local post office to find 1 or 2 people behind the counter while a line of customers waits? In my town it happens all the time. And there is no sense of urgency on the part of the staff. It doesn't make people want to do business there. As a matter of fact, this is one of the things that drives people to the competition like The UPS Store.

Put yourself in your customer's shoes and think about what you would like to experience when visiting your business. Now implement policies to be sure you are always providing that level of service. This is how you keep your clients.

If your business is experiencing financial losses like the Post Office is, think about these three things and ask yourself how well you deal with each of them. If you find that you are creating some of the problems you are experiencing – change!

Fixing the experience can lead to greater business which can help your financial situation. Efficiencies can help free up time to be able to provide that good experience. Pay attention to what's going on and be on the leading edge of confronting change.

These, in my opinion, are the lessons we can learn from the U. S. Postal Service that will keep us from going postal.

Don’t Go Postal Photo via Shutterstock

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The Immigrant Exodus Examines an Entrepreneurial Crisis in America

Posted: 09 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST

The Immigrant Exodus

"A vibrant United States that opens its doors to skilled immigrants will provide a greater benefit to the rest of the world than a closed, shriveling United States because the rules by which the US practices the game of economic development, job formation, and intellectual capital formation grow the global economic pie."

So says Vivek Wadhwa (@wadhwa), author of the book The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing The Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent. I discovered the Wharton Press book via a mention in the author's Twitter feed and I reached out to ask for a review copy.

Wadhwa's bio reads exactly as a pinnacle of venture research would be imagined. He holds multiple distinguished university roles – Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and distinguished visiting scholar, Halle Institute of Global Learning, Emory University.

His bio notes that in February 2012, Wadhwa received the distinguished recognition as an "Outstanding American by Choice" from the U.S. government— for his "commitment to this country and to the common civic values that unite us as Americans."

Wadhwa briefly notes his honor of receiving the award – and his cherished affirmation of the American dream – as he raises the question why America should be concerned about incorporating skilled immigration into its economy. He also shares the challenges he has faced in discussing immigration (receiving threats in one instance).

Overall, the reader gets a short but powerful 84 page book on immigration and its impact on the US economy. The book simply gets to the heart of an elusive yet stirring crisis without feeling abridged in its topic.

And that crisis is growing, slowing shifting the economic direction of the country. The end result is a disturbing brain drain that masks America's diminishing global economic impact:

"The American dream is losing its luster. Restrictive US immigration policies and the rise of other countries' economies are driving talent elsewhere….The irony is that the majority of these skilled immigrants and the thousands of startup founders who have been barred from getting a visa remain intent on obtaining one."

That irony stems from the increasing institutional education capabilities developing abroad. Wadhwa notes evidence that improvements are leading to more attractive entrepreneurial environments outside the US, even in neighboring Canada.

"Countries competing for global talent have mounted strong campaigns to bring in skilled immigrant students. For example, in Canada, foreign science and engineering students comprised roughly 7% undergraduate and 22% of graduate science and engineering enrollment in 2008. This represents a significant uptick from 4% and 14% in 1999."

Stats also convey the scope of the impact among universities and the research community, significant sources of research and development for large organizations as well as a springboard for many startups.

"A June 2012 report by the Partnership for a New American Economy found that 76% of the patents awarded to the top patent-producing universities in 2011 had at least one foreign-born inventor."

Real Lives Behind The Numbers

Stories from entrepreneurs and professionals paint a clear portrait of real people impacted by policy. For example, take Sophie Vanderbroek, a CTO at Xerox. She joined Xerox after a New York multinational firm dragged its heels in support of her and other internationals for a green card. During this time Vanderbroek commuted 300 miles to work with two children at home; She joined Xerox, which immediately sponsored her.

Wadhwa surmises that Vanderbroek, like many foreign students, would have left if she was forced to wait longer – he conducted a follow up to an earlier research study to note the decline of entrepreneurs.

I always enjoy books with a few stats to make you think, but as I earlier mentioned, Wadhwa shines by offering his context in an efficient manner. He has a straightforward explanation of H-1B worker status, while other text will help you understand why a lopsided green card process can disrupt future entrepreneurial development.

The last chapter features recommendations meant to reduce the bureaucracy that hinder immigrant contributions. They include untethering the H-1B worker from the employer and instituting a startup visa, to address delays cause by. The suggestions are made with a clear love for the US – not at pro-US propaganda-levels, but with such terrific appreciation, one that makes the reader appreciate the irony Wadhwa raises.

Some insights of what institutions are currently doing to address the crisis could have been offered, but further in-depth topics are most likely tied to an in-depth research study Wadha co-authored with Dean AnnaLee Saxenian of UC Berkeley and Prof. Dan Siciliano of Stanford Law School. This book compliments that study.

Startups and human resource managers at large companies will want to take some cues in discovering what impact immigration policies have in attracting talent.

Those whose outlook on immigration goes no further than a definition in Wikipedia will certainly reconsider the value of their knowledge after reading the book. In fact the book compliments analytics in some ways – the human mind is the new capital, essential to draw value from today's challenges such as big data and spreading equal access to resources for small businesses.

Wadhwa has been a champion of diversity in Silicon Valley. His book shows that the mantle awarded his research of key influences of global economies is well earned.

Even better, The Immigration Exodus shows small startups and large organizations how to make a true mark in the world beyond a balance sheet.

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