1 / 29

Strategy, Sustainability & the Design Profession

Strategy, Sustainability & the Design Profession. Rob Abbott www.abbottstrategies.com. Global View: Climate Change Farming Reducing Toxics International Tourism Population Resources Vs. Repression Global Governance. Closer to Home: Traffic congestion & pollution

lena
Download Presentation

Strategy, Sustainability & the Design Profession

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Strategy, Sustainability & the Design Profession Rob Abbott www.abbottstrategies.com

  2. Global View: Climate Change Farming Reducing Toxics International Tourism Population Resources Vs. Repression Global Governance Closer to Home: Traffic congestion & pollution Loss of agricultural land Paving over of streams & habitat Impersonal, car-dependent cities Concerns about provincial economy A Little Diagnosis

  3. Business is trying to… Produce offerings that customers value highly Outperform the competition Create value for shareholders Planners and designers are trying to… Foster a sense of community Lead environmental stewardship efforts Protect economic opportunity and security Promote equity Within this Context…

  4. The Built Environment… • Building operations account for: • 30-40% of total energy use • 35-40% of municipal solid waste • 25-30% of wood and raw materials use • 25% of water use U.S. Green Building Council

  5. …And 3D Opportunities

  6. Sorting Out the Business Case Step 1: Ask your customers, shareholders, employees, and the communities in which you operate what matters to them – the results must inform your strategy. Step 2: Think of value in terms of stakeholder satisfaction – this drives future financial performance.

  7. Thinking Clearly about Strategy… The essence of strategy is in the activities – choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals. Michael Porter

  8. …And Sustainability • Choices about activities that: • Meet the needs of business. • Meet the needs of stakeholders. • Protect, sustain and enhance human and natural resources. Creative destruction, anyone?

  9. A Caveat about Sustainability • Ultimately, sustainability may be seen to be an emergent characteristic of a properly constructed global economic structure – a property of the whole, not the parts. • This shouldn’t stop us from making the incremental improvements today that are possible – we need progress on both the whole and its parts.

  10. Linking Strategy & Sustainability • Competitive landscape of tomorrow likely quite different from today. • To succeed tomorrow, organizations must change – sometimes radically. Sustainability may be the strategic discontinuity that forces radical change - across all aspects of your business.

  11. Taking it One Step Further

  12. BUSINESS: Top Line: Market share Stakeholder perception Bottom Line: Reduced costs per unit of output Reduced compliance costs Due diligence SOCIETY: Cleaner air, land & water Fewer species at risk More renewable energy More “green jobs” Safer communities Greater citizen engagement The Pay-Off

  13. B.C.’s Most Respected Companies • 3 Key Points of Differentiation: • Customer service • Treatment of employees • Environmental performance

  14. Obvious Benefits: Integration of natural daylight High indoor air quality Reduced utility bills Less Obvious: Low VOC finishes & materials Healthier workplaces  gains in productivity Reduced construction impact Use of local materials Enhanced social interaction Design Pay-Off

  15. Design & the Eco-Economy • Architects are learning the principles of ecology so they can incorporate them into the buildings where we live and work. Lester Brown

  16. What Do You Need To Do? • Define a vision of your organization as sustainable – what would be different? • Same business? Focus on products or results (means versus ends)? • How would you hire people? What skills would you look for? What kinds of opportunities would you create for them? • How would you engage your customers? Your supply chain partners? • How would you measure “success”? This vision should be nothing less than a manifesto for change.

  17. Writing the Manifesto for Change • You need to be excited about doing something different with your business. • You need to integrate “top down” and “bottom-up” ideas. • You need to look for advantage in every aspect of your business. • You need to think about different ways of creating value.

  18. Getting Excited About Design

  19. In Defence of the Wow I unashamedly create dialogues between the new and the old as a means of reinvigorating buildings with a historical legacy…Every architect has a language, a palette of light, colour and proportion: a recognizable hand.” Daniel Libeskind, Globe and Mail, March 14, 2002

  20. Common Business Objectives: Time to market Innovation Cost Customer Service What Sustainability Can Offer: Faster permitting Product takeback P2 & footprint reduction New combinations of products & services Continuing sources of differentiation Seeing the “Whole Board”

  21. Where Might This Lead? “Stakeholder Capitalism” Business behaviour that “sets a high standard, recognizes the common-sense practical world of global business today, and asks managers to get on with the task of creating value for all stakeholders”. Ed Freeman (2000) “Business Ethics at the Millennium”, Business Ethics Quarterly.

  22. “Exhibit A” • C, a contemporary fish restaurant in Vancouver. • Marketing focuses on two things: (i) being 21st century responsible; and (ii) being committed to sustainable harvesting practices. • Vancouver’s first environmentally responsible menu – focus on local stocks that DFO considers to be at safe levels. • Partnership with Suzuki Foundation.

  23. Exhibits B, C & D • West Coast Sustainability Centre proposal (Domtar Salt Building in SE False Creek). • Thoreau Center for Sustainability (San Francisco). • Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center (Portland).

  24. Green building materials Maximize use of natural light & ventilation Ergonomic workspaces Natural fiber insulation Electric car parking & recharging High efficiency boilers Occupancy sensors Bicycle storage, lockers, & showers High efficiency fluorescent bulbs Separation, reuse, recycling of materials removed during construction Thoreau Center

  25. Shape of Things to Come? • From the pages of Interior Design, February 2002: • Earth friendly wallcovering – Innovations in Wallcovering, Inc. • Alternative wallcovering – Blumenthal • Profile on Dublin Office of SAP (BMA) • Profile of Fingal County civic hall (BMA)

  26. Management: Ability to cope with complexity Planning & budgeting Organizing & staffing Controlling & problem solving Leadership: Ability to cope with change Setting a direction Aligning people Motivating & inspiring What it Takes to Make it Happen

  27. The Way Forward? “I believe we can accomplish great and profitable things within a new conceptual framework – one that values our legacy, honors diversity, and feeds ecosystems and societies. Will McDonough

  28. Last Word Today we have to ask ourselves if it is ethical to design a non-sustainable project. Neil Frankel, Past-President, IIDA

  29. Contact Us • ABBOTT STRATEGIES • www.abbottstrategies.com • 604-222-8852 • ideaguy@shaw.ca

More Related