Before we can start with business, we need to do research and study on companies at various stages that dealing with environmental issues. For example,  Sony have to learned it from the  hard lesson with its main product, PlayStation game systems. Sony spending over $100 million building a supplier audit system to solve problems before they emerge with other company. In terms of Sony entertainment products, all Blu-ray Disc Player parts and all other products that are lead and cadmium-free, based on EU ROHS directive being limited, and major plastic parts of the Blu-ray Disc Player that are free of predominated flame retardants.

In late 2008, Sony reduced Blu-ray Disc Player packaging volume about 55% on select models. This resulted 43% reduction of CO2 emissions as a result of more efficient shipping the environment and creating better environment for us. Read more

In Michael Porter’s highly regarded strategy model, companies gain competitive advantage by lowering costs or differentiating products. But today the traditional points of competitive differentiation had being squeezed on all sides. Third part contribution and the reasonable labor costs are available in almost any business, big or small. Other that, unassailable sources of advantage, such as access to capital or reasonable raw materials, are disappearing as markets go global. Companies that compete in advantages of environment are becoming ever more and more hard to establish and maintain.

This renovation of landscape requires refined business strategy. The capacity for innovation bringing imagination to bear to solve problems and respond to human needs. It all lies at the heart of success and Companies must find new and better ways to break out of the pack. Those that don’t will struggle to keep up in the marketplace. Read more

We wish we could say that finding Eco-Advantage will be easy. But like excellence in any form, you have to work for it. We know this runs contrary to the message in many of the books and articles about “green business.” Ever since a few leaders like 3M demonstrated the .Payoffs of eco-efficiency, going green has been portrayed as a sure thing. Unfortunately, not every environmental effort produces win-win results.

Developing innovative products, bringing them to market successfully, keeping customers happy, and other elements of business success are difficult enough. Adding an environmental dimension opens  up new opportunities but adds another layer of complexity to the management challenge. Gaining an edge means learning new skills, operating in new ways, and working through some hard trade-offs. In truth, the story is even more subtle. Some initiatives “fail” by traditional measures but create intangible value for a company. It’s often hard to tell when hard-to-measure returns are worth pursuing. Read more

Companies find many ways to talk about how they handle environmental and social issues. Some focus on “triple bottom line” performance or sustainability. Others frame their work in terms of corporate social responsibility, stewardship, citizenship, or environment, health, and safety. Any of these approaches can serve to galvanize action and create Eco-Advantage. The key lies in execution—including environment and social issues in business operations. But each company needs to find the language and organizational structures that work within its own culture.

At the operational level, managing sustainability issues, no matter what the company calls them, works best with a defined focus. Thinking about environmental challenges alongside social issues such as health care, poverty alleviation, or how to serve the “bottom of the pyramid”—the untapped market of the world’s poorest people—quickly becomes daunting. Our research suggests that the skills needed to manage environmental issues and social concerns are quite distinct. For example, what’s required to ensure that a company complies with air-pollution permits, say, will have little similarity to what’s needed to develop a strong employee wellness program. Read more

When Katsuaki Watanabe took over as President of Toyota in zoo he made it clear that developing environmentally friendly technologies would be his top priority—even ahead of safety, quality, and cost. If this weren’t shocking enough, he also promised that his engineers would someday develop a car that could “cross the U.S. continent on one full tank of gas.” Talk about a stretch goal!

Goals for an organization can be splashy like Toyota’s or more concrete. Unilever, for example, set a fairly unsexy goal of zero liquid effluent from its 76 facilities in India. Watanabe himself set more realistic targets alongside his big 2oo-miles-per-gallon vision, including a sales goal of one million hybrid cars per year. Either way, fanciful or functional, stretch goals are a vital tool for provoking fresh thinking, promoting innovation, and building an Eco-Advantage. Read more