Burgess COMMENTARY

My experience suggests that there are many different conversations going on about the relationship between improved sustainability and improved financial performance, but rather limited data to validate the various positions.

I argue that as long as the traditional money profit metrics for business, capital market prices for investors and GDP growth for politicians, pundits and policy makers remain in place, we will never know the answer and there will be little significant change. On the other hand, if we were to get serious about measuring impact on people and planet as we are about measuring profit, I believe we would be seeing really rapid change.

What is now possible with technology makes radical reform of metrics now more likely than at any time in decades. Done right, such reform could accelerate a move to triple bottom line performance optimization, which would be better for everyone. Something of what I am doing in this space can be found through this URL
http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBadmin/DBtxt001.php?vv1=txt20080001

Peter Burgess - TrueValueMetrics
Multi Dimension Impact Accounting

Webinar: Small Business | Big Impacts

Of interest to all sustainability professionals. How small and mid-sized companies can benefit financially from taking action as stewards of the world’s resources with presenters, Graham Russell and Martha Young.

October Webinar Tuesday 10/22/13 at 11:00 AM Pacific Time-USA

Unable to attend live? Just register and receive the link to view the recording later.

Most large corporations have recognized that they can drive innovation, competitive advantage and improved financial performance by adopting sustainable business practices. Small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) typically have not yet embraced sustainability as a key element of their business strategy. This represents a major lost opportunity, both for the SME business community and for the entire economy.

The webinar will describe a groundbreaking research project that is examining the successes of SMEs that have embraced sustainability, the barriers many SMEs have encountered in implementing sustainability-based initiatives and how they were overcome. More importantly the webinar will address the research results that illustrate what can be done to encourage and support small and mid-sized companies in their efforts to build a truly sustainable business model.

Graham Russell and Martha Young, the researchers and presenters will share some of the initial findings of the research, which show that leading-edge SMEs with determined leaders are finding ways to overcome barriers, and that there are multiple education and information resources available to help them do so. They will demonstrate that one size does not fit all SMEs: the opportunities to benefit from sustainable business practices vary significantly by industry vertical.

If you are a business leader, you will learn where to get help in determining the right starting point for your sustainability journey and the tools you need to plan, implement and measure the outcome of your sustainability efforts.

If you belong to an organization that works with SME business leaders (e.g. trade/industry association, economic development or other local government agency, chamber of commerce, SBDC, accounting firm etc.), you should emerge from the webinar with a recognition that it is important to make sustainable business a key element of the education and support services you provide to your members/constituents.

Graham Russell brings 25 years of CEO experience in the environmental services industry to his current role as a sustainability professional. He currently teaches sustainable business in the University of Colorado, Denver MBA program and chair’s the School’s Managing for Sustainability Advisory Council. He provides sustainability and cleantech consulting services to SMEs through TrupointAdvisors and is on the board of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

Martha Young has been an industry analyst and writer for 20 years. Her expertise is in small and mid-sized businesses, information technology and energy. Young co-authored four books on virtual business processes (cloud computing), and project management for IT. She is on the board of two small Texas-based businesses, and acts in a technical advisory and business strategy capacity for an east coast venture capitalist.

Times below are US - Pacific (Portland). Not in Pacific Timezone, find your webinar time here. (USD $) When October 22nd, 2013 11:00 AM through 12:00 PM Location ISSP Webinar Platform United States Contact Phone: 206 851 4234 Email: cnordstrom@sustainabilityprofessionals.org Event Fee(s) Admission $ 10.00