CHAPTER QUESTION 3: WHAT ARE THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF BEING
ECO-FRIENDLY?
Emphasize the business case when communicating the need for an organization to
Review EXHIBIT 11.4 “Competitive Advantages of Being Eco-Friendly,” which lists
some of the competitive advantages in terms of
oCost savings:
oInnovative market opportunities:
Product differentiation through eco-labeling
New markets for green products and producing green technologies
Customers with higher environmental expectations develop greater loyalty
to products
Qualifying for green and socially responsible mutual funds provides easier
searching for jobs
Employees are more proud to be associated with the organization
Community members are more accepting of organizational expansion
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students choose what they consider to be the top 3 reasons for being eco-friendly from
Exhibit 11.4 “Competitive Advantages of Being Eco-Friendly” or other reasons. In small groups,
share individual lists and have each group reach a consensus on the top 3 reasons. Then have
small groups share their lists with the class and as a class reach consensus on the top 3 reasons.
CHAPTER QUESTION 4: WHAT SPECIFIC ACTIONS CAN BUSINESSES TAKE TO
IMPROVE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE?
MEDIA GREEN COMPANY INVENTORY
Newsweek:
http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/green-rankings.htm
l
Fortune: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/greenbiz/
WISC-TV:www.channel3000.com/goinggreen/index.html
National Green Pages:
http://www.greenamericatoday.org/pubs/greenpages/
Green Choices: www.greenchoices.org
National Geographic Green Guide: www.thegreenguide.com
WALMART
Walmart is the nation’s largest private user of electricity and owns the second-largest fleet
of trucks.
Walmart is now the nation’s largest seller of organic products. By guaranteeing the lowest
prices, Wal-Mart makes organic products more affordable for people with less
discretionary income, which increases demand.
Import suppliers must also source 95 percent of their production from factories that
receive one of Walmart’s top two highest audited ratings for environmental and social
practices.
GREEN BUSINESS PARKS
A central theme of eco-friendliness is “waste equals food.” One organization’s waste can
be another organization’s input.
In 2000, the Umea business park’s occupants included a Ford Motor Company
dealership, a gas station, a car wash, a convenience store, and a McDonald’s.
GOING GREEN ACTIONS
The environmental literature overflows with lists of things organizations can do to be
more environmentally friendly.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students review the “15 Simple Steps for Greening Your Lifestyle” in Exhibit 11.6. List
how many of the 15 steps the students do. Why do they do them? What other eco-friendly things
do students do? Which of the 15 steps not being done would be easy to adopt? Why? What
would it take for the students to adopt them? Discuss the results in small groups.
CHAPTER QUESTION 5: DESCRIBE HOW TO MANAGE THE ENVIRONMENTAL
CHANGE PROCESS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION?
BACKGROUND
Becoming an eco-friendly organization requires leadership from the CEO or President
Assign one manager primary responsibility for implementing environmental change
initiatives.
Greening the organization is a concept that is well-regarded by employees and relatively
Create a cross-functional Green Committee composed of go-getters to address common
concerns, share knowledge, and ensure successful implementation of action plans.
Review EXHIBIT 11.7 “Managing Environmental Change,” which summarizes ten
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students examine the environmental management process for the college campus, Business
School, or employer. Have students assess each of the 10 aspects in Exhibit 11.7 “Managing
Environmental Change” for the college, Business School, or employer. How many of the
managing environmental change aspects are in place? Which aspects are current strengths and
weaknesses? How can the organization transform a weakness into a strength? Discuss the
assessment in small groups.
ADDITIONAL QUESTION 1: HOW CAN ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNICATE
ECO-FRIENDLINESS TO EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS?
GREEN MISSION STATEMENT
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students independently create an “Environmental Mission Statement” for the college,
Business School, or employer. Share in small groups and reach consensus on a model
environmental mission statement. Share with entire class and reach consensus on a model
environmental mission statement. If such a statement already exists, have students compare their
created statement to the existing statement. Then share with the Dean of the Business School,
College president, or manager for their feedback.
GREEN SUPPLIERS
oGoing green entails making sure that the inputs being received are themselves
environmentally friendly. Hold suppliers accountable for providing green products and
operating in an eco-friendly manner.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students interview a purchasing manager for the college, Business School, or employer.
Evaluate two or three products recently purchased using the “Sustainable Products Checklist” in
Exhibit 11.9. Are their alternative products that score higher? Would the purchasing manager like
to adopt the “Sustainable Products Checklist”? Why?
oWalmart goes deeper into the supply chain by making sure that their supplier operations
meet high environmental standards.
oIn Walmart’s initial attempt to create a Supplier Sustainability Index – a universal rating
system for assessing a supplier’s environmental and social sustainability record – the
company developed measures for four performance categories: (1) energy and climate,
(2) material efficiency, (3) natural resources, and (4) people and community.
oReview the assessment questions for each category appear in the “BEST PRACTICES IN
USE” exhibit.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students interview a purchasing manager for the college, Business School, or employer
using Walmart’s “Supplier Sustainable Index Questions” in “Best Practices in Use.” How did
they score? What are the strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization transform a
weakness into a strength?
CHAPTER QUESTION 6: WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF AN
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a nongovernmental
An EMS is the basic component of ISO 14001 certification, a competitive advantage in a
marketplace where more organizations are using a green screen to choose suppliers. This
The EMS plan is a document that describes how the organization conducts environmental
policy development, environmental planning, environmental implementation,
Review EXHIBIT 11.10 “Environmental Management System (EMS) Plan,” which
highlights procedures to document for each of the five sections of an EMS plan. An
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students assess the college or employer’s Environmental Management System (EMS) plan
according to the five categories in Exhibit 11.10 “Environmental Management System (EMS)
Plan.” Is it clear exactly what students need to do if they want to (1) develop a new
environmental policy, (2) establish a new short-term environmental target, (3) communicate an
environmental accomplishment to the campus community, (4) create a new database for an
environmental performance item, and (5) obtain administrative approval for these activities?
If the college or employer does not have an EMS plan, then have students draft one by
responding to the issues in Exhibit 11.10 and share the draft with the appropriate manager.
CHAPTER QUESTION 7: HOW CAN AN ORGANIZATION ASSESS
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND APPLY THE NATURAL STEP FRAMEWORK?
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK
A key aspect of an EMS is managing environmental risk. Each organization has a unique
set of environmental input, throughput, and output risks.
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students conduct an environment risk assessment for the college, Business School, or
employer using the information in Exhibit 11.11 “Identifying Environmental Risks.” What are
the organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How can the organization transform a weakness
into a strength? Discuss in small groups.
THE NATURAL STEP (TNS) FRAMEWORK
An increasing number of communities and businesses are using The Natural Step (TNS)
framework as a conceptual tool for environmental analysis and action plan development.
The TNS framework attributes the root causes of environmental problems to four issues:
oremoving too many substances from the Earth’s crust
oproducing too many synthetic compounds that are difficult for nature to break
down
omanipulating the ecosystem, and
oinefficiently and unfairly meeting human needs worldwide.
TNS is a very good beginning point for determining what changes in organizational
operations could improve environmental performance.
Have work units, total quality management teams, or gainsharing teams explore the
following three TNS objectives to reduce the use of resources that damage environmental
well-being.
Objective #1—Reduce Wasteful Dependence on Fossil Fuels and Underground
Metals and Minerals
What scarce minerals and materials does the organization use?
How can the scarce minerals and materials be substituted with minerals and
materials that are more abundant in nature?
How can the organization use its mined materials more efficiently?
Objective #2—Reduce Wasteful Dependence on Chemicals and Synthetic
Compounds
What chemicals and synthetic compounds does the organization use?
How can the chemicals and synthetic compounds be substituted with natural
compounds or those that break down more easily in nature?
How can the organization use its synthetic compounds more efficiently?
Objective #3—Reduce Encroachment on Nature
What land, water, and wildlife resources does the organization use?
Are any of the organization’s uses of land, water, and wildlife resources
unnecessary?
How can the organization use its land, water, and wildlife resources more
efficiently?
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students summarize the college’s or employer’s environmental performance using the three
Natural Step objectives: 1) reduce wasteful dependence on fossil fuels and underground metals
and minerals, 2) reduce wasteful dependence on chemicals and synthetic compounds, and 3)
reduce encroachment on nature. What are the organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How can
the organization transform one weakness into a strength? Discuss in small groups.
ADDITIONAL QUESTION 2: DESCRIBE GREEN PACKAGING AND BUILDING
INITIATIVES
PRODUCT PACKAGING AND DESIGN
The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, passed in 1994,
All businesses operating within the European Union (EU) are now responsible for
Packaging refers to both the package immediately surrounding the product and the
Environmentalists anticipate legislating “cradle to cradle” laws that would regulate the
Every aspect of production waste is reused again in either operations or by another
Organizations can obtain Cradle to Cradle certification for products from an independent
In 2006, Wal-Mart developed a sustainable packaging scorecard in association with its
goal to be packaging neutral by 2025. Wal-Mart defines packaging neutral as “all
DISCUSSION ACTIVITY
Have students assess their employer’s product packaging materials, or some package they
recently purchased. Is the packing efficient and use the least amount of material necessary?
Discuss in small groups.
GREEN BUILDING
One of the most visible signs of caring for the environment and employees is operating in
Green buildings improve employee health, reduce energy costs, and limit detrimental
In the United States, buildings account for 38 percent of all CO2 emissions, 72 percent of
The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) rating system provides eco-friendly measurement standards for
Some organizations use LEED’s building guidelines but do not apply for certification
Three common complaints have been that LEED requirements add to building costs, the
In 2009, version 3.0 became the new LEED guidelines. The four levels of LEED
Review Exhibit 11.12 “The LEED Version 3.0 Rating System,” which provides examples
ADDITIONAL QUESTION 3: DESCRIBE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS AND HOW TO OFFET AN ORGANIZATION’S CARBON FOOTPRINT