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Environmental Pressures Mount |
Is it time someone was put in charge of your company's energy usage and conservation? Yes, according to a recently released poll.
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Tackling E-Waste
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E-waste is a growing concern as toxin-laden electronics increasingly clog landfills, as well as pollute air and groundwater from coast to coast.
These pollutants include cell phones, computers and monitors, with phones making up the fastest growing type of electronic garbage. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans discard 125 million phones annually, creating 65,000 tons of waste. Many discarded phones contain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame-retardants and arsenic.
The answers to the e-waste problem can be summed up in three ways:
1. Reduce e-waste through smart procurement and good maintenance.
2. Reuse equipment by donating or selling it.
3. Recycle components that cannot be repaired. To find an organization that reuses or recycles electronics, search the Electronic Product Management Directory.
For information on making sound purchases of electronic equipment, review A Guide to Environmentally Preferable Computer Purchasing.
The U.S. generally doesn't require electronics recycling at the federal level, but many states and localities are starting to take action. California, for example, recently passed a cell phone recycling law that requires electronics retailers in the state to have a recycling system in place. Without one, retailers cannot legally sell their products online or in stores.
Fortunately, there are some not-for-profit recyclers. Call2Recycle, for example, offers consumers drop boxes. Visit the group's Web site to be directed to a drop box in your area. Call2Recycle recovers the phones and sells them back to manufacturers that either refurbish and resell them or recycle the parts in new products.
Another not-for-profit group, CollectiveGood, refurbishes cell phones and re-sells them primarily in developing countries. Donors direct the profits from the sales to the charities of their choice. |
Has popular culture directly raised awareness of climate change among business decision makers?
Only 32 percent of survey respondents saw Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth. |
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents in a major global survey said it is time to expand the C-Suite to include a Chief Energy Officer (CNO). That executive would set up an energy strategy and manage and measure a company's return on investment in environmental technology (ROE). Sixty-six percent of the U.S. respondents saw a need for this C-Suite expansion. In the other responding countries, 87 percent in China, 84 percent in Canada, and 80 percent in the U.K. agreed that there is a need for CNOs.
The poll was released by global communications firm Hill & Knowlton. It covered interviews with 420 business decision makers this year from March 19 through April 20. The executives were involved in IT purchases in the United States, Britain, Canada and China.
Sixty-five percent of the respondents said their companies had no defined energy strategy. Broken out by country, the percentage whose company had no energy policy were:
- China, with 77 per cent,
- The U.S., with 67 per cent,
- Canada, at 62 per cent, and
- The U.K., with 51 per cent.
The survey showed that more than half of respondents believe greenhouse gases are partly to blame for global warming (59 percent in the U.S.). However, only 25 percent in the U.S. said they believe those emissions are the leading cause.
In most countries, companies are under growing pressure to come up with a feasible energy strategy. The continuing surge in energy costs and stringent governmental regulations are forcing corporate executives to put a high priority on cutting emissions, curbing energy usage and finding ways to reduce electronic garbage.
When it comes to keeping an eye on the environment, U.S. corporate executives fared reasonably well in the survey. Seventy-seven percent of U.S. respondents said they closely or somewhat closely monitor global warming news. Canada and China topped the list at 88 percent and 86 percent, respectively, while the U.K. polled in at 72 percent.
Observers say that they expect corporate reputation, risk and return to suffer until companies take control of environmental issues and come up with a viable standard for measuring return on investment in environmental technology.
But how can a company measure it? The respondents ranked the following factors in descending order as methods for tracking it:
1. Improved corporate reputation (52 per cent);
2. Carbon emission reduction (38 per cent);
3. Return on equity (38 per cent);
4. Total cost of ownership (32 per cent), and
5. Internal rate of return (29 per cent). |
When gauging the potential winners of clean technology innovation, the respondents replied they are:
1. Policy-makers (37 per cent);
2. Transportation companies (35 per cent);
3. Venture capitalists (35 per cent);
4. Consumers (34 per cent);
5. Energy companies (31 per cent);
6. Technology firms (30 per cent);
7. New market entrants (26 per cent), and
8. Corporations such as Wal-Mart (25 per cent). |
So, let's say your company decides it needs one individual to be in charge of energy strategy. How would the Chief Energy Officer win senior management support? Here are four tips on how to demonstrate that investment in energy enhancement projects is a long-term source of revenue:
1. Focus on Money - Avoid getting bogged down in discussions about items such as BTUs. Give managers specific savings, measured in dollars, so they understand how clean technology can lower costs and boost profits.
2. Use Financial Metrics - Provide senior managers with financial measurements such as net present value, simple payback, and internal rate of return. Often, financing is based on first cost rather than lifecycle cost, and many manufacturers put investments in process improvements ahead of energy spending. Internal rates of return can help demonstrate how energy might be the wiser investment in the long run.
3. Benchmark - Collect benchmarking data that compares your company's energy performance with that of other businesses in your industry. This helps focus attention on achieving a competitive edge.
4. Offer Proof - Cite the results of a pilot energy management program at one of your company's facilities or at another company. Pilot projects can highlight relatively short payback periods and savings.
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