Posted in Business Sustainability

Liberated Leaders: Leading Through Growth, Change and Disruption

Are you an ‘already’ successful business leader with a strong vision for the future, experiencing challenges in the current business environment, spurred on by growth, change and disruption?

If you want to build a future-ready workforce, Liberated Leaders would love to help. liberated leaders logo

Liberated Leaders is an applied Leadership Program with a special focus on skills, practices and capabilities to navigate change and disruption.

We offer leaders greater confidence and skills to lead through change and disruption, to foster an aligned and engaged team, ensure business relevance to secure customers (now and in the future), build capacity to engage in any conversation (in the right mood) and to experience a greater sense of wellbeing and resilience.

The Program is now open and offering just 30 places for the class of 2017-2018.

  • If you’re looking to confidently lead your organisation or business unit through change and profound disruption;
  • If you understand the imperative of continuing to develop new offers for customers to stay relevant;
  • If you have a strong vision for the future but are hampered by delayed deliverables, poor quality work and budget blowouts;
  • If you show up to work with the best of intentions, but recurrently find yourself frustrated, fatigued or disappointed with the motivation and productivity of your people;
  • If you face high stakes, stressful situations but find it difficult to engage in or facilitate the right conversations at the right time with the right people; and
  • If you’re hungry for the skills, tools and behaviours to influence results…

This is the perfect opportunity for you!  

Contact 1300 068 202 or email [email protected] to arrange a Leadership Review with one of the Program Leaders.

This blog was kindly provided by Liberated Leaders.

 

The SME’s Guide To Benefitting From Sustainability

Recognising that sustainability is a key business driver, a growing number of SMEs are keen to get certified sustainable, but are confronted with complex processes and high costs. Sustainability experts advise on what SMEs can do.

As big corporations move forward with sustainability initiatives to save energy, improve efficiency and build sustainable supply chains, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are following suit. They no longer dismiss sustainability as merely good intentions, but as a key business driver and strategic differentiator for brands.

SMEs and sustainability

Photo: article supplied

Increasingly SMEs are trying to establish stronger standards surrounding their sustainability practices with many being keen to work with established sustainability certifications and accreditation bodies.

The challenge for SMEs, however, is that sustainability certifications for big corporations, such as those conducted by the Global Resources Initiative (GRI) and the CDP, are expensive and complex relative to the scale of their business operations.

How can SMEs link sustainability to profit and leverage sustainability to better market their company?

Experts Steve Malkin from international sustainability certification programme, The Planet Mark™, and Tony Wines, Founder and CEO and Ian Catley, Director and Head of Business Development of Turnkey Group – A sustainability platform and services company — share their practical advices in this area.

What does it really mean for a company to be sustainable?

Steve Malkin (SM): In simple terms, sustainability defines the ability of systems to remain diverse and productive and self-sustain indefinitely. For a business, this means the capability to continue for an indefinite period, sustain itself in a rapidly changing world and market by balancing economic, social and environmental impact.

Sounds straight-forward but how can SMEs achieve it?

SM: For sustained, strong economic performance you have to consider the social and environmental impacts of your business. They are inter-dependent. Let’s consider the environmental aspect as a primary impact. Our aim here will be to reduce carbon, energy, water, waste.

You can achieve it by engaging your employees to start looking at resource efficiency and being better for the planet. By reducing your carbon footprint, you reduce costs.

By measuring results, you are getting evidence of your environmental and social performance that could be used to diferrentiate and attract customers. It is a virtuous circle – good for business, planet your employees and customers.

Ian Catley (IC): From an ethical perspective, by embedding sustainability initiatives into your business, you are are engaging your employees towards a common goal. This strenghtens your team, helps to retain and attract good employees and makes you more attractive to customers and investors.

This article was originally published by Eco Business.

Click here to read the entire article.

Adaptive Sustainability – Business Management in an Age of Disruption and Transformation

There can be no doubt that organisations today operate in a dynamically changing business environment. Companies are getting disrupted at an unprecedented rate with managers and their staff struggling to keep up with new technologies, new business models, new economic and regulatory challenges, and the consequences of the hyper connected digital world. At the same time social responsibility and environmental sustainability are fast becoming a critical part of doing business.  Effective engagement using sustainable business frameworks not only enables an organisation to deliver on its social and environmental obligations, it can also maximise productivity and performance by having positive impacts on core elements of the profit making process, and building resilience for the future.

Jane Stewart

To tackle these issues many companies have implemented a range of future-oriented initiatives.  To handle the changing business environment, business leaders are implementing continuous improvement programs to upgrade organisational processes and change management programs to meaningfully engage staff in new activity. To handle the increasingly demanding expectations of stakeholders, and the organisational risk associated with non-compliance, business leaders are also putting in place a range of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development programs.

These different approaches have helped some businesses address a multiplicity of challenges, and change the way they do business.  But with the rate of change likely to increase and the elements of change likely to become more unpredictable and even disruptive, the time has come to look beyond our current business practices and develop a new business management approach that takes a broader view of organisations, the context in which they operate, the stakeholders with whom they engage and the societal value they create.  The ultimate goal is to foster ongoing prosperity for an organisation, its staff, its community and the natural environment.

Adaptive Sustainability is a new and innovative approach to business management that aims to encourage new mindsets that can adapt to change, and develop new skillsets that can address today’s complex challenges.  Adaptive Sustainability is based on an innovative learning and action framework that addresses practical governance and operational issues, and combines these with principles of systems thinking to create an innovative approach to responsive and responsible business management.

For more information about Adaptive Sustainability go to www.greenbizinnovators.com to download a FREE copy of the eBook titled Introduction to Adaptive Sustainability. Or contact us to start a conversation about how we can help you implement Adaptive Sustainability within your organisation.

Jane Stewart [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumers are demanding sustainable business practices

Sustainability is top of the agenda for consumer goods companies as customer attitudes evolve.

Business has a key role to play in meeting global carbon agreements through sustainable practices throughout the entire value chain. Climate change is not just a risk for the energy industry or heavy polluters but consumer goods industries as well.

Despite this, research shows consumers do not have much faith in big business playing their role.

How can companies convince the public their intentions are genuine? There are three basic principles to consider.

Resource efficiency

Resource efficiency is a win-win scenario. Companies can cut costs and engage with consumers by improving their supply chain. Of all the options available for companies this should be the first priority.

A recent World Economic Forum report found the most energy-intensive part of the process of making crisps was in the drying of raw potatoes, which were soaked with water by farmers due to a price structure based on weight. Walkers Crisps changed their price structure to volume-based, removing the incentive to soak the potatoes.

Recycling

Recycling can help companies to cut costs and reduce risk – by securing supplies of inputs – and building reputation amongst end consumers. Recycling effectively turns waste into a resource.

Substitution

Substitution is another area in which companies can look to find cost savings and improve efficiency. Switching a material for an alternative which is more readily available or utilising technology can bring reductions in weight, price, and risk and improve a product’s functionality. Electrical goods are a good example.

A NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTION

The push for a sustainable future should also lead to a review of wider strategy. Embracing sustainability at the heart of business can lead to:

New avenues for growth

Introducing new products or services which are intrinsically greener can grow a customer base.

New business models

Engaging with the sharing economy is an obvious choice. Products ideally suited to sharing include those only used occasionally, those that might only be used once and those that are only needed for a specific time.

TO THE CORE

In today’s age, sustainability should be wrapped into everything a business does. With consumers demanding more transparency and trust an increasingly fragile yet valuable commodity, consumer goods companies cannot afford to transgress. The cost-saving and profit-enhancing results of running a sustainable business should speak for themselves.

Read more.

Seeking leaders in Business Sustainability

The Association for Sustainability in Business Inc is seeking leaders in sustainable business development to speak at our National Conference in March 2017. To be held at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane, the Conference Program will involve presentations by Keynote Speakers in addition to oral presentations, panels and interactive forums. The Association invites thought leaders and commentators to speak by registering at http://conference.sustainability.asn.au/submit-abstract/

Seeking speakers for 2017 National Sustainability in Business Conference

Seeking speakers 2017 National Sustainability in Business Conference

Topics for the 30 minute oral presentations include renewable energy systems and sources; think local first; innovative business opportunities; the energy market; and trends, policies and strategies. Discussion at the conference is broad, including not only innovation in wind power plus solar, wave and tidal energy but also the future challenges and opportunities in the wholesale and supply chain, consumer demand, emerging trends, technologies and research. In addition, the conference will focus on the development of the local economy and community, urban agriculture and buying local as well as incubators, start ups and entrepreneurs that promote and engage sustainable business practice.

Keynote Speakers

Keynote speakers include Professor Stuart White, Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures; Peter Castellas, CEO, Carbon Market Institute; Peta Ellis, CEO, River City Labs; Dr Jennifer Alden, Chair, Bendigo Regional Food Alliance; Dr Paul Bannister, Projects and Advisory Services Director, Energy Action; Parrys Raines, Board Member, Future Business Council and Anne-Marie Birkill, Executive Director, One Ventures.

Industry leaders will also hold a series of Forums focusing on Renewables; Innovation; and Opportunities, Markets and Capital. Specialists within these areas are also invited to speak within the 90 minute forums that conclude with a Q and A from the delegates. Key outcomes derived from the conference will be provided in a report presentation back to attendees.