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Lean and Green: Environmental Initiatives in a Difficult Economy

Why are companies that are battling a worldwide economic crisis continuing to invest in environmentally friendly initiatives?

Lean and Green: Environmental
Initiatives in a Difficult Economy

Why are companies that are battling a worldwide economic
crisis continuing to invest in environmentally friendly
initiatives?

“One of the interesting byproducts of today’s economic crisis is the way it’s teaching us that we really are all connected. The downturn is clearly demonstrating that what happens in one country can significantly affect what happens in another. As the global economy continues to struggle, we can hardly avoid the fact that we are all in this together,” says Don Bartell. In an exclusive interview, Motorola’s recently appointed senior director of environmental initiatives discusses some of the new ways the world is currently thinking about so-called “green initiatives.”

“I think there are interesting parallels between today’s economic travails and environmental concerns,” continues Bartell. “People are getting the point that just like the economy, environmental issues affect all of us, and that’s having a real effect on how we view environmental challenges. Each one of us can and does have an impact on global environmental change. That realization is fueling a change in the way people — and corporations — are thinking about environmental concerns and issues.”

New Environmental Thinking

Of course, simply being aware of environmental problems is no longer good enough. Substantive action is now essential to reduce the global environmental impact. But this need for swift action is facing the realities of a troubled economy. “In some ways, the economic and environmental crises may seem to be butting heads,” says Bartell. “When a corporation is trying to improve financial performance, it may seem counter-intuitive to target spending on environmental initiatives.” And yet that’s what appears to be happening. Why is that?

The fact is there’s a huge opportunity for companies that develop products and services to reduce environmental impact. With governments’ increased interest in green technology along with tighter environmental regulations, growing consumer awareness, heightened customer interest, and the high cost of energy, companies can do well by doing good.

Responsibility and ROI

“We have seen a fundamental shift in how the corporate world is viewing environmental initiatives,” Bartell believes. “Corporations are beginning to think about environmental programs not so much in terms of responsibility or in terms of breaking even, but as market opportunity and profitability.”

Win-Win Scenarios

“One simple example of the new perspective,” says Bartell, “is a very practical issue faced by a well-known company that provides armored car services for collecting and transporting currency from banks and other businesses.” As they make their rounds each day, the company’s armored trucks are often forced to remain idling curbside for 30 to 90 minutes waiting for the transfer of funds. That’s not good for the bottom line or the environment. The solution to this problem, however, is an excellent example of why “environmentally friendly” and “profitable” can now be part of the same sentence.

What is the solution? “In this particular case, a wireless communications system from Motorola is able to enhance real-time communication between banks and the armored car company,” Bartell explains. “Idling time has been reduced to about 5 or 10 minutes, which not only significantly reduces CO₂ emissions but also significantly reduces fuel costs.” It’s a classic win-win scenario, and a good example of how a growing number of companies are discovering new opportunities to take advantage of synergies between environmental programs and improved ROI.

Motorola’s Environmental Commitment

“There’s no doubt that the ‘green’ factor is playing a larger role in people’s product and vendor choices,” says Bartell. “At Motorola, we understand and realize the importance of environmental issues. Creating a role dedicated to Motorola’s environmental initiatives demonstrates Motorola’s environmental commitment.” Additional evidence is found in the recently published 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report.

“What we show in our report,” Bartell says, “is that Motorola has moved well beyond awareness to substantive action… and that we’ve been doing so for years.”

As the report notes, Motorola’s environmental initiatives generally fall into three main categories:

Operations: We are continually working to improve energy efficiency in all of our operations, and we’ve been quite successful. Since 2005, Motorola has reduced our carbon footprint by 20 percent through a combination of implementing energy-saving measures, purchasing renewable energy and consolidating facilities.

Products: We are committed to improving the environmental profile of our entire product portfolio. We use environmentally preferred materials. We are increasing our use of recycled materials. We are improving our energy efficiency. We are reducing the impact of our packaging. We are increasing the recyclability of our products. And we are dedicated to going well beyond minimum standards for regulatory compliance.

Helping Customers Improve their Footprint: We are focused on providing products and services that can enable our customers to reduce their own environmental footprints and become “greener.” Our initiatives take a wide variety of forms, ranging from scalable equipment design to remotely reconfigured networks to alternative power sources to assistance in the development of the Smart Energy Grid.

Our Environmental Journey

“At Motorola, we understand that the effort to address global environmental challenges is a journey, not a race.” Bartell says. Motorola has been on this journey for quite some time now and has achieved some significant successes.”

“One example is the continuing reduction of our own carbon footprint,” says Bartell. “Another is Renew – the world’s first Carbon Free® mobile phone. We have also earned a great deal of industry recognition for our environmental programs.” Over the last few years, Motorola’s environmental efforts have been recognized as best-in-class by a number of respected industry monitoring groups. We have also received environment, health and safety awards and recognition from numerous countries around the world, including the United States, Mexico, Germany, Japan, China, Israel and Brazil.

The “Greening” of a company

“I’m often asked if I have any recommendations for companies beginning an environmental program,” concludes Bartell. “First and foremost, I say to measure where you’re starting from. Then, have a strategic plan and set specific goals. Take your first step – it’s not so important how big the step is, what’s important is that you take it. Stop thinking of green programs as expenses and start thinking about them as profit opportunities. Maybe most important of all, don’t overlook anything. The opportunities for environmentally conscious programs are everywhere – in your data center, with power settings on your PCs, with recycled content packaging, by choosing more environmentally friendly materials, by establishing recycling programs for your products, by giving your customers power savings options – you’ll soon find your company both helping the environment and benefiting financially.”

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