Getting Inside the Eco Mindset

The other day in a discussion with my fellow management students, we realized that the average age of the top companies globally is only 5-10 years. These are the best brands of the world with the most intelligent minds spearheading their strategies, yet the concept of sustainability seemed to be an issue. Facing the vicissitudes of an extremely competitive environment and not just surviving it but also growing with it, requires going beyond conventional business strategies. Here enters a different set of strategies: eco-strategies. Apart from the mandated green guidelines, companies are chalking out hefty green goals, and these need thinking ahead of the times. Be it Toyotas Prius, a hybrid gas-electric car that showcases the companys innovation as well as its environmental sensitivity, or Intels efforts to track its environmental footprint by managing its water use, or IKEA, the low-cost furnishing giant, that tracks its entire supply chain on social and environmental performance, leading companies today are raising standards and exploring opportunities when it comes to eco-strategies. This is a wise decision not only from the social or ethical perspective, but also from a logical business outlook. The right mindset is just the beginning. Companies need tools to execute. Leading companies use information to their advantage, following their environmental footprint (emissions, water use, land use, and so on) to find their weaknesses and explore new opportunities. They design products with environmental concerns in mind, and find ways to help customers reduce their environmental footprints .Then, once they've got a handle on where they stand real work of building a long-term, executionoriented culture around environmental issues can begin. Eco-strategies help make an organization green-friendly that holds forte on two accounts: Being socially responsible, and cutting down costs. It is not a one-time decision; instead, it evolves over a long span of time. Investing in environmentally strategic projects may not generate instant payoffs, but it definitely is a smart move towards sustainability.