What Is Process Black and Green All Over? Your MPS Message Better Be!
In America, many companies believed green to be a passing consumer-driven fad. Then it seemed many companies began to see how green could generate some green – much like organic foods demanded a premium; after all, you are helping to save the world so you shouldn’t mind paying a little extra for that, right?
If the enterprise generally leads the SMB market in business trends, get ready for your customers to begin requiring line items be included in proposals offering how your offerings will reduce their carbon footprint or impact their carbon footprint. In an article in Information Week’s January 18, 2010 issue, Wal-Mart, SAP Set Sights on Sustainability (Wal-Mart’s Green Nudge – in print), Matt Kistler of Wal-Mart Stores had this to say:
“What surprised us early on is that only 8 percent of our total [carbon] footprint was under our direct control — our stores and our fleet,” Kistler said. “The other 92 percent was in the supply chain.”
That realization led Wal-Mart to develop 15 questions that it now asks all suppliers, seeking basic data on their energy consumption, use of resources, material efficiency and labor policies. Multiplied by Wal-Mart’s 100,000-plus suppliers, this requirement has had a huge impact on the development of sustainability policies and adoption of supporting technologies.
My suggestion is get ahead of this curve. Just about every software company, hardware manufacturer, and large company is sensitive to this issue – the issue of sustainability or “going green”. Things like energy savings, carbon footprint, number of trees saved, and environmental stewardship initiatives are all things you not only need to come up fluffy descriptions for – but quantifiable and measurable ways in which your organization helps the environment and your customer’s sustainability initiatives.
Here are some ideas:
- Surface your software: Your software providers most likely have mountains of literature and software tools to aid your customer. From MPS to EDM your software saves trees.
- Recycle and Reuse: Do you recycle? Not just your office waste, but the gear you pick up on lease return? Think your wholesaler takes care of it? You might want to have that answer ready when your customer starts asking.
- Logistics leads: Even something simple like your delivery and logistics teams can impact your customer. From no-idle protocols to efficient routes, take the message to your customers that your operations even impacts them.
- Energy in mind: If you service a territory, find out what your local utility provider charges to run your equipment and what you could save in the upgrade to newer more energy efficient devices or comparable consolidation strategies. Sure the HP “never breaks” but how much is it costing you to leave it on for 5 years?
- Green saves you green: Most importantly, customers are sensitive to both ecologically sound messages but most importantly act upon economically sound advice. Try greening your green message with hard facts about monetary savings such as power consumption and consumable waste – not just paper.
You need to be proactive:
To busy, or just have too much to do to get the month closed out? Sustainability is a long term strategy comprised of many different initiatives. Be proactive and get in front of your customers with your message before your customers hit you between the eyes and in the wallet!
Want to learn more about how to green your MPS program? Order this coming months MPS Insights Journal, Green MPS: How to Do It. How to Sell it. (Pssst, Photizo Group makes an electronic version as well).
Additional resources:
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website
- Think Energy Management (I found this link very helpful)
Ken Stewart’s website, ChangeForge, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology in an information-centric world. Get the latest industry news, and follow ChangeForge on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. You might also be interested in reading more from Ken in his weekly column on MPS Insights every Tuesday.
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