President, E2 Management Corporation (E2M)

If we compress the life of the planet into a twenty-four hour period, the existence of humans occupy less than 2 seconds. In a fraction of that time, less time then it takes to snap your fingers, decisions we have made and actions we have taken are causing changes to the ultra thin space around the planet in which we live, work and play. We have already experienced economic impacts from climate change, which have affected our social order and our economic wellbeing. So far we've only felt a tickle of what is to come. The scientific community, economists like Sir Nicholas Stern and the 'poli-moral' argument put forth by former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore predict unprecedented change within the next 40 years. That's much less than a millisecond on our 24-hour scale. Without a crystal ball no one can predict exactly how or where it will occur. That changes are occurring are no longer in dispute. Two key options have been outlined - mitigation and adaptation -- it is up to you to.

1. understand the role, responsibility and accountability your organization (big or small) has in addressing climate change
2. determine what your current impact is by measuring your Carbon Footprint
3. change your process, product and service to optimize your productivity.

The potential is not just to be carbon neutral, in the case of Interface Carpets, their 2020 Zero Mission goal is to be carbon positive. And they are doing better financially as the lower their impact on the environment. Essentially we all need to rethink our current approach to productivity. We need to do better with less, not more with less. Starting is not easy for some but there are simple things that any organization can do that cuts costs and reduces your Footprint.

The Incentive
While some are still struggling to understand their position in the problem or its priority, others have already started up the learning curve. Others have or are now trying to determine what activities they do, what products or services they buy, which add to their Carbon Footprint. Some are caught in trying to figure out which measuring tool they should use.

There are new calculators emerging daily it seems, so many that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been asked to develop a standard for ensuring commonality in these branded approaches.

For those who have not taken management control of this issue, it may seem overwhelming. Some have a hard time visualizing success. They do not see a clear connection between the math and the management opportunity of working with Mother Nature. There is a growing cache of evidence that shows real bottom line savings by managing the things you have or do, which also reduces your impact on the environment. A genuine reduction in your impact on the environment is not limited to one issue; for anything you do has an impact on everything. A reduction in your Carbon Footprint can also mean a reduction in your Water Footprint. It affects your productivity.

Let's address the potential for cost savings, as that is a common measure of success. As human activity is accelerating climate change, changing our behaviours is essential. Evidence now shows that simple behaviour changes can reduce up to 16% of your material costs. And the small stuff does matter, a lot. In a small business with revenues of US$500,000, where material costs are around $125,000, a 1% reduction means $1,250. 16% means $20,000. To a small business that's a lot of money. Multiply that by the number of small businesses in your country -- just take those with fewer than 100 employees. The numbers will astound you. Now focus on your supply 'chain'; how would you benefit from the cost and environmental savings from such a change?

Here are two big company examples. IBM saved $17 million dollars in one year. How? They turned off the lights when they did not need them. One simple action. United Parcel Service (UPS) saved $300,000. They stopped making left turns on their delivery routes. Yes, both these actions were more involved, but these were the cost benefits to the bottom line.

Behaviour changes are just the tip of the iceberg. The serious savings will come from radical innovation, not in just what we innovate but how we innovate. For example, the current approach to production as "heat, beat and treat" is understood by systems thinkers to be over 90% inefficient. Those making serious inroads are aligning their designs to mimic the efficiency of Mother Nature. Can you image using mushrooms to clean up oil spills in less than 6 weeks by essentially dropping spores over the spill and coming back to find plant growth in its stead? Hard to believe? Watch www.ted.com/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html
While innovation used to be the privy of scientific wizards coveted in a lab, the web has enabled information exchange at an unprecedented rate where your customer, your suppliers and consumers are part of the innovation team. This is changing innovation from a sequential, horizontal process to a skyscraper vertical activity vastly reducing the time needed to solve design flaws, aided by your customers.

The Challenge
This shift is also changing the way supply chains are perceived and managed. Early adopters are morphing chains into networks with new thinking on how value is determined. Imagine the flexibility of a network that emulates the routing options and tensile strength of a spider web. Attributes once dismissed as intangibles are now being assigned values. Whether the driver for better management of your Carbon Footprint is conservative or more avant garde, there is a growing list of business imperatives that your Footprint can impact, such as: