In the meantime, I am going to have this generic template up … not just because everyone needs a change of scenery, but also because the code is most likely embedded into the template somewhere.

So, excuse the mess.  We hope to be back shortly!

R

I have included the full teaser below for you to look over, but in general what we are looking for is a project where the students can work with you on a tangible / strategic project that will result in a strategic output (business plan, operations plan, marketing plan, etc) for you.  Something that would address sustainability or responsibility issues related to product, operations, organization, etc.

Download the list of 2009 projects here to see examples of what the first 192 MBA students (in 36 teams accomplished)

My goal is to have the application (Download the application here) back by the 21^st of September so that I can put them in front of the students early, and then you could begin working with the students as they are finalizing their research and then have a project kickoff in early December.  So, please take a look at the briefing and application when you have time, and then let me know if you have any questions.

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In the fall semester of 2009, The China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) began a project based class called Sustainability and Responsible Leadership. At the most fundamental basis, the goal of this class was, and continues to be to develop the capacity of future leaders in the area of CSR and sustainability, and do so through a process where the students are able to work with off campus organizations in live project scenarios that solidify the lessons they are learning in the classroom while assisting organizations who are expanding their own initiatives.

Broken into three modules (research, engagement, and business plan), the first generation of 35 student teams developed issued based research reports and project partnerships across over 25 of China’s most important issues.  It is a course that we have found creates a win-win for students and their partners as students gain a greater tangibility of issues, and their role as leaders to act, and win for partners who are able to work with a student team to develop a strategic plan for the firm.

Entering into our second year, we are now looking for our second round of 35 project ideas for our student partnerships. Executed over the December 2010 to February 2011 timeframe, project teams will work with firms to develop a responsible business plan that either (1) develops a new product /process (2) improves an existing product/process through research, stakeholder analysis, regulatory analysis, and issue/ product specific analysis.

The goal does not need to be solely focused on the environment (our working definition of sustainability includes environment, economy, society, and community), and does not have to be limited to a “green” product.   Some sample projects from 2009 include (full list :

• Interconnection of Bicycles with Public Transport in Shanghai (Good2Shanghai)
• Green Buildings and Real Estate Develop Awareness  (ARUP)
• BIPV Solar Energy Market Sizing (Trina Solar)
• Shanghai Food Bank: Food delivery to poor (Shanghai Charity Foundation)
• NGO Capacity and Program Development  (Xintu)
• Smart Grid Equipment Market Opportunity (Infineon)
• Green Building Materials Exchange (GIGA Foundation)

In developing your project idea, we have a few basic requirements:

1. Project durations would need to fit into the timeline of the class (December  – February)
2. A clear scope, tangible impact, and manageable deliverables
3. Project should lead to developing an executable strategy, not be 100% research
4. Projects should have a dedicated manager to oversee the project
5. Project managers should avail themselves to biweekly meetings (at CEIBS campus preferred)
6. Project bases would need to be Shanghai based – limited travel is possible
7. A budget of 2500RMB should be set aside to support local travel and materials

It is a project that will enable you to begin engaging with students in October and November as they are completing their research phase, but will actively begin in during the first 2 weeks when the students will be given 2 full weeks to this project.  At that time, we would expect that partners would avail resources to meet with the team on campus, with the goal of scoping project goals, developing project strategies, and building the framework that the project will need to succeed.  Following that 2 week period, from December 17 until February 17, regular updates should be schedule on campus to ensure that deadlines are being met and project managers have the ability to gauge the overall process of the project.

If interested, please fill out the attached document (Corporate – RLP Project Proposal.doc) and send back by September 21, 2010 so that we can begin the process of offering this project to student teams.

Should you have any questions about this opportunity, do not hesitate to call at +86 1391 660 5625 or email me (brichard( @) CEIBS.edu or rich (@) collectiveresponsibility.org).

For my first post back (and I do have more posted planned), I wanted to load up some notes I wrote down while preparing for a presentation recently on why it was important for firms, investors, policy makers, and anyone else paying attention to this space to keep things in perspective.

That, beyond the investments in cleantech, it was going to take a focus to retool many of the systems we have built to support our economies before we could grade success… or declare anyone a winner. In fact, at this point, we would probably be best to stop giving awards away altogether..

That it was a problem that went beyond the definition of “carbon”, and would involve product design, resource management, building operations, packaging, waste management, labor safety, consumer education, single-use products, and reverse mortgaged economic models… and before we could do that, we would need to begin valuing our resources accurately (i.e. without externalities).

So, why should firms change?
1) Regulation: As you may have noticed lately, China has been working hard on a number of new regulations, shutting down non-compliant factories, and are studying other ways to remove the space between current practices and environmental sustainability…

2) Cost: With the prices of resources (materials, energy, labor, etc) all experiencing price “inflation” and shortages, firms have a strong bottom line catalyst for efficiency in operations and developing new products and processes that have a reduced footprint environmentally.. as well as on the bottom line.

3) Awareness: Regardless of whether or not Twitter is blocked, the fact is that civic awareness of issues is growing, and depending on the area, there is a direct tie being made between a challenge faced and the factory behind it.

4) Enforcement: As consumers become citizens, and as government agencies are catalyzed to act, the “firm” is finding itself more and more in the middle of a difficult position. A position of paying fines, investing in new equipment, or even closing their gates.

So, what are firms doing?
1) Standing still trying to work it out and hope it all goes away
2) Going after low hanging fruit first to remove waste without having to invest in changing real processes or equipment
3) Investing and reinventing

So, what should firms be doing?
1) Looking to understand the issues they face:
- Apple: Labor and waste
- Coke: Water, packaging, and transportation (oil)
- Marriott: water, electricity, and shampoo bottles!

2) Developing new systems to address the CORE issues:
- Getting past the donation for brand stories
- working past a single “green” product and developing systems that have a radically different environmental footprint
- develop and execute models that pay the full costs of labor, environmental impact, and reduces waste before it is created

3) Engage Stakeholders
- The equation is not only dependent upon sales, and customers & suppliers are not the only stakeholders one must consider
- governments do have power
- Citizens drinking lead tainted water will find the source
- Media outlets won’t always be a friend, or be easily influenced

Coming up next month is the 3rd JUCCCE China Energy Forum, and anyone who is interested in learning about (or cracking) the China market should really consider joining this event.

Why do I say that? Simple, the 2008 event that Peggy (and her team) put together was the best conference I have been to in the sector. Bar none.

Getting beyond the typical topics on investment in wind energy, Peggy is known for taking a very active interest in making sure attendees get the most from the content, and meet the people that will have the highest chance of impact. And, it does not matter if you are on stage or not.

So, take the time to review the agenda, and then register for the event.

In China, this definition tends to provide a level of tangibility that many are seeking as they look for a “reason” to be more “sustainable”, however I have recently begun to think that there is a fours pillar that must be included.

Community.

Different from the size, breath, and depth of “societies”, the role of communities, and more importantly the sense of community, is something that I have come to appreciate through my experiences living in a wide range of cities.  That, at a fundamental level, a city whose residents have a higher sense of community, will not just have a higher sense or awareness of sustainability, but will at their core act (without the expense of education and enforcement) in a manner that is more sustainable.

On one level, this is someething that is achieved by urban planners, and the decisions the make to plan for the building of parks, walkable streets, and other common spaces that bring people together.  Spaces where a sense of security and community exist.  An example of this being Central Park in NYC where the space itself is a draw for a wide range of people (joggers, artists, sports teams, couples, families, and so) who see the space as a common spot for recreation and relaxation.  Something that rarely works in the suburbs, where ball parks and malls serve as the most likely community meeting point, but neither effectively engages on the same level or creates a tighter sense of community as these facilities are rarely part of the immediate community

At another level, the sense of community is developed on a personal level through the interactions that residents have with one another.  In the suburbs, like the ones where I grew up, residents of a subdivision (group of houses) are far less likely to know their neighbors than were they living in an dense urban environment, and while the occasional block party or lemonade stand may bring a larger group of residents together, t

It is not often that I receive an article that sets me off quite like the one I received yesterday announcing the new program partnership between Marriott and Conservation International.  The article, Marriott International takes up water issues in China, highlights a recent donation of 500,000 USD to Conservation International “in hopes of finding a solution to the country’s ongoing water crisis.”

….in hopes of finding a solution to the country’s ongoing water crisis

To the average reader, this would seem to be a great program.  Water is a HUGE issue in China, and Conservation International’s Southwest water program is a needed one.  For me, it is a HUGE greenwash, and here is why.

Last year, I stayed two nights at the recently opened Marriot Northeast hotel while attending the 2009 Smartgrid forum in Beijing. One of Beijing’s newest hotels, one of the first things I noticed was the fact that its none of its water fixtures were water saving.  The toilet was a 4.5L (maybe 6L) tank, the shower head was like a fire hose, and the bathtub… well, I could have done laps in it.

In short, this facility was doing little to do its part to conserve water, and was only contributing to the well known and well DOCUMENTed water shortages that have forced Beijing to draw water from other provinces.

Which leads me to my point.  If Marriott were truly concerned about water, it would stop using NGOs as springboard (note: Marriott also announced its China expansion plans on the same day) and practice what it preaches, stop being a part of the problem, and install water saving equipment in all of its hotels.

Globally.

Another case being hybrid and electric cars, which have been all the hype lately, but as the recent Business Week article China Drivers Shun Hybrids, Electric Cars on Lack of Subsidy highlights, economic gravity is clearly still puling in the wrong direction.

Never mind the fact that China is now importing more than 50% of its oil, or that combustion engines are driving air pollution readings further up, the incentives to purchase these cars simply are not there yet.

“Some of the hybrids and electric cars look pretty cool, but they are too expensive,” said Huang, 51, who opted for a General Motors Co. Cruze. “I’d rather spend less money on a reliable gasoline car.”

That while there are promises of subsidies and incentives for hybrid/ EV cars, the fact is that the subsidies for traditional cars are still larger. A situation that is likely going to only make the automakers case that green isn’t green enough for them to continue investing more.

… and that isn’t good for anyone long term.

6 months ago when it became clear that China was going to act in a manner that defended its reserves or rare metals, it provided an opportunity perhaps the first public discussion on the fact that our reliance on these metals stretched beyond the traditional need. That, while we were planning a transition to the green economy, it turned out that many or the “renewable” energy technologies we were banking on to hit emission and energy intensity reductions were supported by the need for rare earth metals.

renewable. rare earth. renewable. rare earth. .. renewable rare earth?

Note: According to the article, rare earth metals are not actually all that rare.  That they are:

In fact, they aren’t even rare and are as common as copper or nickel. There are two main issues: Rare-earth minerals are costly and complicated to extract. And processing them is even more complex.

However, given the fact that 97% of production capacity for these metals is found in China, and it would take 15 years to bring capacity back to the US… I would say that makes them pretty rare. Especially if the tap were to be closed off.

Anyway, it was a time where some naturally scratched their heads and wondered how they had painted themselves into a corner, and an opportunity for others to sound the alarm that China was looking to stymie the US/ EU cleantech movement through the restriction of these metals.

That, while the RARE earth metals were .. rare… to reduce the amount available to export was seen as a nationalistic move meant to keep China on top of the cleantech war. Or is it a race?

At any rate, it appears that a firm in the US has decided to work to bring balance back in to the market and has gained rights to the Mountain Pass Mine from Chevron, and will be raising the 500 million USD necessary to start the mine back up and become the only rare metal mine in the Western hemisphere.  A move that could perhaps provide a semblance of relief to those who are currently in the market for these metals, but at the same time, it still has to make you wonder why anyone would design products that are mean to save (or destroy) the world when 97% of the capacity is held within a contained geographic and political boundary.

With a rising level of awareness about the role of consumers in the overall environmental picture rising, it would make sense that we would not only begin seeing studies about how consumers felt about green, and whether or not they are willing to buy “green”, but begin to see companies take steps to understand what that means for themselves as well.

In a recent report, Redesigning Business Value: A Roadmap for Sustainable Consumption, the World Economic Forum lays out a document that is in part supposed to report out and motivate leaders who were not in the room, and as always, part to show that there is a historic opportunity upon us. An opportunity that really is ours to waste.

So, with that, the report opens up with a set of constraints that they feel is needed to build a future of sustainable consumerism:

• Innovation: Sustainability is an enabler of innovation and should be at the core of the design of products and services and the development of new business models and platforms.
• Collaboration: New forms of collaboration between business partners, along entire value chains, and with key stakeholder groups will be needed.
• Investment: To catalyse a prosperous future, business needs to look beyond short-term pressures and focus on investment for the long term, working to build understanding among investors of the value at stake in long-term planning.
• Values: To become relevant in shaping a better future for society, new values-based frameworks are needed to align behavior in more productive and innovative ways.
• Leadership: As business leaders, we choose to lead from the front, because we see that the cost of inaction to our businesses far outweighs the cost of action.

All of which are good, but of course, I would also add Commitment and Sacrifice to that as well. commitment because while everyone keeps saying that this is a long term problem, strategies are still being constructed in a very short term manner… and have visibly fallen apart since COP15 wrapped up.  Sacrifice because (as I you will see later), this entire exercise is being sold a as a huge win for EVERYONE.  business wins, policy makers win, civil society wins, and the earth wins, and without any sacrifice on any level.  Sure there is a change in mindset, but costs of production will not have to go up, margins will hold, and consumers can choose all the sustainable products they want at the same cost (if not lower) than those stinky brown ones.

Why sustainable consumption matters to business
In 2009, The Business Case for Sustainability provided a cogent argument for sustainability as an issue that should be incorporated into the strategy and operations of business, not just as a matter of stakeholder responsibility but as a matter of business survival and value creation:

• Managing resource risks: Sustainability matters to business because it reduces exposure to volatile and rising resource prices, to the risk of increased scarcity of resources and to the risk that these (carbon, water, waste) are radically re-priced in the near future. Embracing models of sustainable consumption across the value chain will provide stronger resilience against external shocks.
• Shaping the regulatory environment: Principles of sustainability are increasingly being incorporated into the regulatory environment. If businesses wish to flourish in this environment, they must make themselves active participants in its construction.
• Engaging consumers as citizens: The biggest drivers of corporate sustainability investments are consumer concerns, employee interest and government legislation.8 For business, driving sustainable consumption can be an effective long-term strategy for deepening authentic engagement with consumers and employees.
• Engaging consumers as customers: Consumers increasingly want to be treated as customers, demanding not only more sustainable products and services, but also greater transparency over sourcing and content of existing ones. At the same time, the speed, spread and changing patterns of use of the media are forcing businesses to adopt pre-emptive strategies to manage their reputational risk on sustainability issues. Engaging proactively with the sustainable consumption is one way of managing these challenges in depth.
• Driving innovation: Businesses are the chief engines of value creation and innovation in society. The challenge of sustainable consumption presents an opportunity

A list of 100% gains for companies… that while good (and some very new), I think fails in some way to be completely transparent about the risks that business face should they continue to do little.  that, while some firms may have the opportunity to shape the regulatory environment, more than likely, they are going to be shaped BY IT.  That while they formulate a strategy on engaging citizens, heir once loyal consumers are going to turn into citizens and begin demanding change.

That being said though, where I do like the report (in attitude and guidance) is that while a bit over aspirational, it does offer a strong pragmatic approach for readers to follow, and is grounded in economic approach. That, while certainly selling the win to everyone, looking between the documents lines and you will see how it is promoting a radically different approach to how products are produced, sold, and disposed of through their closed loop analysis. The report also does a good job to highlight the importance of investment funds coming into the space to apply the appropriate pressure, as well as highlight the role that regulations will play as resources run dry and governments are forced to make a decision.

Issues that are highlighted through 6 sections of analysis, and at the end of the report, they developed a list of 6 steps for how this group intends to make it happen:

1. Catalyse opportunities for business towards creating a consumer movement for sustainable consumption
2. Connect corporate executives and university leaders, with a view to creating a pipeline of future talent for sustainable businesses
3. Index, compare and contrast the existing metrics and tools for measurement of sustainable consumption
4. Bridge perspectives between investors and companies on the role of sustainability in driving long-term value creation
5. Create an innovation platform for sustainability which connects open sourced intellectual property to developers and markets
6. Collaborating while competing: explore business models, tensions and solutions, and regulatory implications
7. Launch a pilot to measure and manage waste in the food value chain, and share key learnings
8. Launch a consumer industry pilot on reverse logistics, and identify key barriers and opportunities for scalable solutions
9. Develop a track to bring the business voice into the United Nations Process for Sustainable Consumption and Production
10. Look at the implications for business in moving beyond gross domestic product (GDP) as the main measure of social progress

To which I would add:

• Move economic calculations from current models to one that includes costs negative exernalities
• Move product sustainability initiatives beyond single products to entire portfolios
• Work with government agencies (and consumer groups) to move standards for industries forward (i.e. Hybrid technology rollout to EVERY car)
• Focus on making specific reductions in packaging waste, and improving product designs that improve reuse and recyclability
• Focus on real consumer awareness campaigns that provide unbiased sources of educational materials on products, where they come from, and the impacts they have on the economic, environmental, and societal sustainability.

All in all, where I really enjoyed this report – and others that WEF has put out – is the emphasis on multi-stakeholder engagement through an issue, and a respect for the role that the supply chain itself plays.  However, there is still a need for a bit more honestly when it comes to the fact that to achieve environmental balance and sustainability, there will be sacrifices.  sacrifices not only within industry, but also in the wider community.

Last week while attending Shanghai Green Drinks, the project manager of the ZEDFactory’s Shanghai EXPO facility gave a presentation on the building, and how they were able to achieve (by design) a carbon zero project.  The only carbon zero project on the EXPO site.

A well known group from London, their Shanghai project incorporated nearly every form of Green Building technology one could imagine:

• Energy from Solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal sources
• Water technology that used gray water, as well as using local river water as a coolant
• Green roof technologies and insulation to reduce energy loads

To support their F&B needs, all of the food for the pavilion will be provided by local organic farms.  Delivered by electric cars.

.. and if you would like to hold an event or exhibition there, you can do so by contacting Bill Dunster at (bill -@- zedfactory.com)