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

In 1997, a Conoco oil tanker and a tugboat collided near Lake Charles, Louisiana, opening up a hundred-foot gash in the tanker. Few remember this accident today for one simple reason: Not a drop of oil was spilled. Conoco, then owned by DuPont, had invested in “double- hull” tankers years ahead of regulations. One hull was ripped open, but the second held. “That spill would have been larger than the Exxon Valdez without the double hulls,” DuPont’s VP for Environment Paul Tebo told us. “Conoco would have been gone.”

What does this have to do with creating a corporate culture of environmental engagement ? Quite a bit. In 1989, when green issues were still off the radar screen of most of corporate America, DuPont’s visionary CEO Ed Woolard launched a board-level Environmental Policy Committee and established an Environmental Leadership Council made up of senior executives who met every month. Woolard’s green logic inspired fresh thinking across DuPont’s diverse business portfolio.’ Read more

WaveRiders consider short-term financial impacts, but they look past quarterly financial results before making important decisions. They know that maximizing shareholder value is not the same thing as maximizing quarterly profits. And they recognize that proper analysis of some issues, including many environmental challenges, requires longer timelines.

Companies make long-term business decisions all the time. They spend millions on R&D when the potential payoffs down the road are, at best, uncertain. They enter tenuous new markets like China and India in the hope that business will boom. And they invest in leadership training to build up “bench strength” and prepare inn executives. The Eco-Advantage Mindset requires that companies bring the same long-term perspective to environmental strategy. Read more

In the corporate world, a handful of companies are developing new ways of approaching a thorny problem: How do we grow and prosper while decreasing pollution and conserving natural resources?

WaveRiders build a foundation for Eco-Advantage by reframing how everyone in the company looks at environmental issues. For these companies, environmental thinking is not always the final word on strategy, but it is always a consideration.

In our research, we’ve found that this new mindset is absolutely critical to managing eco-risks, driving innovation, and turning environmental pressures into competitive advantage.Above point is highlight how WaveRiders use an environmental lens to change the way they think and sharpen their business strategies. After a while, these companies don’t have to focus consciously on finding an alternative perspective. Environmental thinking becomes intrinsic to how they do business. Deeply embedded, the Eco-Advantage Mindset arises naturally at every opportunity.

Read more