[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 4.5min]

John Viera who leads Ford Motor Company’s sustainable business strategies, speaks with me at Sustainable Brands 10 about their near, medium, and long term sustainability plans for vehicle engineering & design. Topics include eco-boost technology which use fewer cylinders in the internal combustion engine to achieve similar horsepower while using less gas; alternative fuel engines that accept ethanol, propane, and natural gas; hybrid & electric drivetrains; recycled and biobased soy materials procurement; and lightweighting.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 7min]

Introduction to the history and function of B Corporations, a kind of business entity with corporate responsibility and values built into its charter. Founder Jay Coen Gilbert describes their purpose, ideals, and how their certification and rating system works so that participating companies of the future won’t just point to a standard document, but also be able to be graded according to their sustainability performance.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 26min]

In a world where more and more people are coming to understand the interconnectedness between their choices and the health and sustainability of the future, the business/brand community has a unique opportunity to move beyond selling “whiter whites” to create brand promises around solutions to the very real challenges facing individuals and our global society. We approach this opportunity, however, in the face of increasingly tight operating constraints. Andrew Winston provides a 360 degree look at some of the new building blocks and creative business solutions being crafted in response to some of today’s real world problems. The business opportunities lie in both saving money through lean and efficiency programs to improve bottom lines during hard economic times, and building a path for current and future growth (operations and profits) through product/service innovation.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 21min]

Mike Barry, Head of Sustainable Retail at Marks & Spencer discusses their corporate responsibility initiative, Plan A, and addresses common challenges and wins for retailers who are on a path toward better business. From food, clothing, energy efficiency, carbon miles, fair trade, and more…the number of areas to address as part of a holistic sustainable retail operation and customer engagement plan is large.

While unfortunately there’s no slides to this video, Mike is very sharp and to the point. Worth listening to as a podcast & Spencer" />

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 37min]

Jennifer Rice of Fruitful Strategy reviews key considerations in building credibility, from mitigating risk to driving revenue. She’ll present a range of credibility-building ideas such as how to leverage brand strategy options, customer experience design, certifications, and more. This session will help you answer the following questions: * What is credibility, and why is it important? * How can you zero in on the customer segments and other stakeholders who’s influence matters most? * How to tease out which dimensions of sustainability matter to them, and whether they will give you “permission to play” in sustainability-related offerings? * Top ten strategies to building credibility, including new offerings, certifications, ingredient or initiative-based brand plays, enriching your customer’s experience, and more.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 17.5min]

Duke Stump of the Northstar Manifesto, formerly of Nike and Seventh Generation, speaks in an interview on sustainable business, marketing, branding, and the role that a business conscience can play in propelling brands further on the road to growth and sustainability.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 29.5min]

Sustainability and CSR need to be redefined within a financial perspective from being a cost center, to a larger opportunity area for cost savings, product development, and more. Chris Laszlo of Sustainable Value Partners tackles this subject first, then dives into various pragmatic approaches for building the business case for sustainability initiatives, and implementing them within an organization as part of a ongoing process that isn’t a  one-off investigatory, departmental project.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 26min]

Recent history has seen the rise of innovation as a key mandate for driving top-line growth in business across multiple sectors. But as organizations have devoted increasing resources and attention to innovation, a critical issue has been ignored in the process. How can you create new value if your company doesn’t have a gut sense for what people outside its walls actually value? The challenge facing business today isn’t a lack of innovation, it’s lack of empathy. Listen to Dev Patnaik, CEO of Jump Associates and author of “Wired to Care”, for a look inside leading companies like IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Harley Davidson, Nike, and Delta Airlines to see how empathy can drive change and growth. He dives deep into the human brain to find the biological sources of empathy and their critical role in decision-making, learning, and judgment.

[Video Link for Email/Other Subscribers - 7min]

Jeff Mendelsohn of New Leaf Paper discusses the historical purpose and rights of the first American corporations, how businesses were intended to serve the public good, and thus builds the foundation for why corporations can be a force for good.

Great presentation by Toby Webb of Ethical Corporation. Highlights some history and multiple perspectives on corporate responsibility and his preference for tying it to Evidence Based Management. Worth reading through.

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