Business tools more effective at reducing environmental impact

Traditional business efficiency management tools will achieve far more to reduce environmental impacts than just striving to be green for its own sake, the grocery sector has been advised.

Colum Joyce, chief executive of business strategy firm KBOR Research, said economic pressures would achieve the same green aims “probably faster”. He was speaking at a breakfast briefing organised by Sterling Commerce in London last week. Businesses had the management tools to gain efficiency improvements which lowered their carbon footprints, he argued.

“Economic pressures not related to the environment will force you to arrive at exactly the same result as footprint reductions,” said Joyce. “The problem with the environment is it is becoming an emotional issue.”

Joyce presented two views of the environment. The first - the global environment - assumes that things are much worse than people realise and looks at the potential to damage brands. From this viewpoint businesses will take strategic decisions with the environment to the fore. Then there was the business environment viewpoint, said Joyce. Here the pressures were coming from rising input costs, pressure to raise efficiency levels and margin and market pressures. “These two will achieve the same result,” he claimed.

“You need to focus on your jobs since consumers don’t trust you on the environment anyway,” he warned. “Do it consistently and do it efficiently over time. Manage the environment as a cost.”

He added: “There is nothing new about environmental issues that you can’t handle using tools you have available today.”