Presented by Kwasi Owusu Gyeabour

“It ‘s not sufficient to do things better, we need to do

better things” – Mark Shayler, eco designer

1.Sustainability2. Why it matters to business

3.Dealing with emerging challenges in the world4.Characteristics of a truly sustainable company

5. Ideas for the company and other micro businesses

How do we live in a way that shows an understanding that we genuinely live in a shared world, not one that simply belongs to us- Dr. Rowan Williams

In my own words Sustainability is the maintenance of human wellbeing through the efficient and responsible management of environmental, social, and economic issues.

Sustainable business is one that has no negative impact on the community, in the society or the broader economy be it environmental social or economic

THE CASE FOR SUSTAINABILITY: WHY IT MATTERS

BUSSINESS SIDEBUSSINESS SIDE

• Reduction in Operational Risk• Efficient Use of Resources• Sustainability attracts New customers as more consumers have shifted their taste and preference to sustainable products• Brand promotion/ and staff enticement

SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL SIDESOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL SIDE

• Enough resources are left for posterity• Goodwill and improvement in wellbeing is of the local community•Reduction in environmental risk• Reduction in Crime & Social misbehavior •Better employee compensation means better performance & Profits

How Young People can deal with emerging Problems

• NextGen Anticipation Group: Young People should form this discussion group that will anticipate and brainstorm on social and environmental issues and solutions

• Information Revolution: I propose that we employ Social networking to inform young people about sustainability

• Adopt an MP pressure groups: Young people partner withtheir member of parliament to push legislation that will tackle social and environmental issues

•Seed Program: Simply by sowing the seeds of sustainabilityIn the minds of school children so we can invoke behavioralChange from the bottom up.

Important characteristics of a Important characteristics of a Sustainable BusinessSustainable Business Use of Sustainable Technology: This is important as it will

ensure efficiency and cut wastage. Sustainable Decision Making : A truly sustainable business will

require commitment at the strategic and decision making level. Corporate Social responsibility : Genuine Commitment to

giving back to community they operate in. This ensures the wellbeing of the local people and promotes harmony

Examples General Motors: IBM Wal-Mart

Ideas for the CompanyIdeas for the Company

No 1. Organizational Re-focus: We’ll Start from the Basics by Including sustainability in the company’s Mission StatementNo. 2 Integration: strategic changes, operational changes, technological changes, changes in the attitude and behavior of personnel. These Changes will be gradual and done in phases.No. 3 new Institutional partnerships: these partnerships will promote common goals, shared knowledge of best practices and good strategies.

How and from where I will startHow and from where I will start

INNOVATIVE IDEAS I WILL INTRODUCE

1.Green Balance Sheet : We will quantify gains from sustainability and add that to profits, on the other hand we will consider any risk area not tackled in the previous year that made the business less sustainable as a liability on the company’s balance sheet.

INNOVATIVE IDEAS I Plan to introduce

2.Decision Monitoring and Evaluation Template : This template will be a diagnostics questionnaire that management level executives will use to evaluate new decisions to see if it accounts for sustainability. The form will give a score for each requirement the decision meets. Low score will mean the decision needs to be re-evaluated.

3. Monetized Corporate Social Responsibility : Here, the company will embark on social projects that have the capacity to generate money for reinvestment in other social causes. For example the construction of a public toilet facility which will charge a low amount like say 50 pence per Use and the money raised overtime will be used to finance a biogas project for the community

4. Industrialization of Services : We will treat service provision as an industrial process and use industrial optimization methods. The business product will be tested easier this way for sustainability

INNOVATIVE IDEAS5. Idea of the month : We will reward staff who come up with

innovative ideas every month.

6. Green Budget line: This is where we will deliberately cut expenditure on office supplies such as paper, notepads and encourage what I call the paperless office.

7. Paperless Office: This is where the office will employ technology such as Google Docs to share Information, create and send memo’s, take minutes at meetings, plan design and implement projects. Back up Documents and reports will also be stored in encrypted clouds

8.Green Procurement Policy : We will review and integrate sustainability into all procurement processes; we will include it in our service level Agreements and work with suppliers who have gone green

Conclusion of Ideas Finally, We will develop new institutional Partnerships, We will draw the Business for sustainability charter which will promote good practices among the signatory businesses.

Thank You