Business and social responsibility are frequently regarded as opposite poles in a decision spectrum. Sometimes, knowing the right questions to ask or how to look at the decision can frame the decision in a way that makes sense to everyone.
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Several years ago, a Baldrige Award winner recalled the day when his lawyer advised him that the state had issued a warrant for his arrest because of the environmental pollution from his factory. His first thought was to close the factory. Then, he thought of the employees who would be out of work if he closed, so he decided to stay open. In looking at the sources of pollution, he realized that the material going into the local streams was waste from his processes, and that he had paid for that waste. Perhaps, if the processes were more efficient, he would be putting less money into the local water. A few years later, he received an award from the state for environmental stewardship—along with a Baldrige Award. Socially responsible decisions made ultimate business sense.
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Comments
Green Six Sigma
When corporate will supports the goal of social responsibility, the results can be a double-gainer. A great example is DuPont Building Innovations' "Drive to Zero" project, in which they sought to cut landfill from their global operations to nothing in a three-year period. An incredible effort, led by a Six Sigma practitioner, that had tremendous payoffs. Savings on landfill costs, savings on the expense of transporting the landfill, turning previously scrapped materials into marketable products...and the fact that they've done the right thing for the environment makes for a powerful marketing message to consumers who want to feel like their choices can make a difference. It makes me wonder what other win-win scenarios could play out in other businesses and industries, if they are audacious and courageous enough to take on such challenges.
Payback is Payback....
The thing that always strikes me about these discussions ia opposition always tends to focus on the "time to payback". In your case fo the solar panels, your critics saw that is was a payback, just not in a very short period. The example of the healthcare system, the CEO demonstrated the payback. The only issues is that the payback might be a generational payback not a quarterly payback.
I feel compelled to continue to ask the question of "how long do we [people] expect to be here [on Earth]?" if the answer is a quarter or so, then perhaps we should be making quarterly time-frame decisions. If the answer is generations, then perhaps we should be making generational decisions.
To a simple person like myself, any improvement is good improvement, all savings are good savings, all reduction in wase is good to reduce. it will all eventually "payback".
Just my random 2cents
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