In through the outfield

Sustainable Supply Chains workshop

Today I attended an excellent workshop on Sustainable Supply Chains. It was presented by Stephen Taiwo, who was the sustainable policy adviser and architect of the Government Office for London and Defra’s Sustainable Food Procurement project. He now works for Supply London – an LDA and European funded initiative, provides advice and support. http://www.supplylondon.com/

Here are my notes from the workshop:

Definition of sustainability – Bruntland 1987 – “Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundtland_Commission 

1. Resources consumed in line with nature’s patterns
2. Consider long term impact
3. Minimise risk and cost
4. Not just about environmental impacts, includes social and economic.

Current practice

Figures from One World – currently consume the equivalent of 1.3 planets to provide the resource we use and absorb our waste. 

At current trends UN predicts 2030 will require equivalent of 2 earths.

Supply Chain

A linked set of resources and processes that begins with the sourcing of raw materials and extends through to delivery of end items to the consumer. 

Cradle to grave for products.

Development – identification & buying – manufacturing – sale & dist – consumption – end of life & disposal

Sustainability Issues

• impact on air quality
• water consumption & pollution
• loss of biodiversity e.g. land clearance – mono-crops
• impact on limited resources – is it resource intensive
• impact on greenhouse gases – climate
• waste production
• health & safety
• quality of life – wages for producers

 Examples of cotton production in India with negative impact on the soil and water supply. Intensive tomato production in southern Portugal.

 Why a sustainable Supply Chain

• reduce costs and improve productivity
• reduce risk – includes brand damage resulting from negative press
• reduce absenteeism through better staff welfare
• creates healthier environments
• to be a market leader – public sector suppliers now ask questions related to sustainability

Drawbacks to Sustainable Supply Chains (less true than in the past)

• no motivation other than complying with the law.
• Consumers often go for cheapest option rather than sustainable products.
• Short term focus of government, business and consumers – relates to 12 month business budgeting – government departments have individual targets which weren’t linked up.

Help from:

Soil association – http://www.soilassociation.org/

Sustain – http://www.sustain.co.uk/

Ten Ten Campaign – http://www.1010uk.org/

Greenworks – http://www.green-works.co.uk/

How to implement a sustainable supply chain

1. Analyse your internal process & impacts
2. Identify your supply chain and at which point you sit. Also the suppliers of your suppliers.
3. Make sustainability part of your organisational strategy – must have top level buy-in – need to develop KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) – develop an action plan for delivery.
4. Implement practical measures suited to your organisation – SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely).
   1. Written policies
   2. Communication materials
   3. Evaluate suppliers.
   4. Purchasing guidelines
   5. Supplier partnerships
5. Get all internal and external stakeholders involved
   1. Driven from the top, but must involve everyone.
   2. Supplier engagement
   3. Use relationships with customer.

Support from Supply London

-          ISO 9001 help and support which can save consultants fees.

The workshop ended first with the quote below from Mahatma Gandhi, and then a screening of the Story of Stuff (a 20-minute animation of the consumerist society, narrated by Anne Leonard).

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed” Mahatma Gandhi

Follow the risers and fallers on the FairTrade 100

Having spent much of my working life working in the investment world of the City of London, the various share indices were bread and butter to me. My key one was actually the FTSE All Share, but the FTSE 100 was a regular feature in my working day.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see that the good people at World Fair Trade Day have developed their own take on the indices by introducing the FT100 for organisations that are “100% committed to Fair Trade”.

You may recognize some familiar names on the list such as Oxfam, Traidcraft, and one of our recent Inspiring Entrepreneurs speakers – People Tree.

However, the nicest surprise, was to see the only company I have ever directly bought shares in sitting in the list. I bought 1,000 shares in Cafédirect over five years ago, and since then the company has gone from strength to strength.

Cafédirect is the UK’s largest Fairtrade hot drinks company. Our brands, Cafédirect, Teadirect and Cocodirect are sold through most of the major supermarkets. We buy from 39 producer organisations in 13 countries, ensuring that over a quarter of a million growers receive a decent income from trade. We are proud to be working with farmers who have the expertise to provide the exceptional quality we require. This ensures that you enjoy the finest selection of coffees, teas and chocolate drinks. As part of our Gold Standard Fairtrade policy, over the past three years we have invested on average 60% of our profits in the businesses and communities of our grower partners.

Light green is the new black

I can’t claim to have been in the forefront of the environmental movement, although I have just installed a hyper-efficient condensing boiler at great expense (the old one was done for).

So it has come as something of a surprise to discover that various tones of ‘greenness’ have been catagorised and documented.

This knowledge was triggered by a reference to Light Green  - The Eco-chic Emporium.

According to Wikipedia, light greens are just one of three shades of green.

Dark greens, light greens and bright greens

Alex Steffen describes contemporary environmentalists as being split into three groups, “dark”, “light”, and “bright” greens.^[7]

“Light greens” see protecting the environment first and foremost as a personal responsibility. They fall in on the transformational activist end of the spectrum, but light greens do not emphasize environmentalism as a distinct political ideology, or even seek fundamental political reform. Instead they often focus on environmentalism as a lifestyle choice. The motto “Green is the new black” sums up this way of thinking, for many.^[8] Though many environmentalists of all stripes use “lite green” to describe products or practices they believe are greenwashing.

In contrast, “dark greens” believe that environmental problems are an inherent part of industrialized capitalism, and seek radical political change. Dark greens tend to believe that dominant political ideologies (sometimes referred to as industrialism) are corrupt and inevitably lead to consumerism, alienation from nature and resource depletion. Dark greens claim that this is caused by the emphasis on economic growth that exists within all existing ideologies, a tendency referred to as “growth mania”. The dark green brand of environmentalism is associated with ideas of deep ecology, post-materialism, holism, the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock and the work of Fritjof Capra as well as support for a reduction in human numbers and/or a relinquishment of technology to reduce humanity’s impact on the biosphere.

More recently, “bright greens” emerged as a group of environmentalists who believe that radical changes are needed in the economic and political operation of society in order to make it sustainable, but that better designs, new technologies and more widely distributed social innovations are the means to make those changes - and that society can neither shop nor protest its way to sustainability.^[9] As Ross Robertson writes, “[B]right green environmentalism is less about the problems and limitations we need to overcome than the “tools, models, and ideas” that already exist for overcoming them. It forgoes the bleakness of protest and dissent for the energizing confidence of constructive solutions.”^[10]

 

As well as being light green, you can also be light black, by adopting an Ecofont.  As reported on SpringWise, Dutch creative agency Spranq has developed a font called the Ecofont that’s designed to extend the life of ink cartridges and toner. This new font has lots of tiny blank circles resulting in a saving of up to 20 percent less ink than standard fonts.

ARK clothing for Acts of Random Kindness

Thanks once again to Springwise for finding a business with a difference.

In this case it is fashion brand ARK from Northern Ireland, founded by 18 year old Cameron, who insists that the wearer of his clothes must undertake an Act of  Random Kindness each time they are taken out of the closet.

I think Cameron explains it better than I can:

So I have this idea. I’d love you to join me in it.

I’ve started a clothing line with a purpose other than profit. The name, the movement, is ARK - Acts of Random Kindness.

The idea - one ARK every time the clothing is worn. That’s it.

Buy someone a coffee, give up your seat on the bus, help a drunk home. Any expensive ideas - send them my way, our profits could help. Just love - love everyone except yourself. You’ll see lives changed, including your own. Just love.

Change your world

Make a Wave Awards - closing date 12 December

The second round of the Make a Wave Awards 2008-2009 from Ogunte and UnLtd

(The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs) closes on 12 December Open to Women!

So if you are a woman with  “bold, fresh and ground-breaking ideas to help solve issues emerging in the communities of their choice, in the UK”, why not apply for an award of up to £1,000?

They are made to women in the UK who can show that a very small amount of money, paired up with a resourceful brain, can be used to make a difference.

“We are looking for ideas that fit with the values of UnLtd’s mission to reach out and unleash the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live. UnLtd call these people social entrepreneurs.

Your ideas need to be aligned with Oguntê’s Women in Social Leadership vision: inspiration, entrepreneurship, networking, confidence, and sustainability.”

DOWNLOAD SPECS Make A Wave Award - (Word Doc

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM 2008-2009 (Word Doc)

SuperJam Tea Parties helping to tackle loneliness

Great to see that one of our most memorable Inspiring Entrepreneurs speakers Fraser Doherty (the teenager behind the Super Jam brand) has been doing his bit to help with the growing issue of loneliness for elderly people.

This problem has had quite a bit of media coverage in recent weeks such as this item from BBC reporter Tim Muffett.

Fraser has introduced tea parties as a way of bring lonely elderly people together:

“after months of preparation, we today hosted our first of many tea parties for the elderly. About thirty guests came along to Sighthill community center and we all enjoyed a great laugh for a couple of hours and the delicious cakes and scones that were kindly donated by Waitrose. Alan from  Contact the Elderly  also came along and entertained us all with games, a couple of quizzes and a hilarious poem.”

Blind tours of London?

The ever wonderful source of ideas Springwise has come up with Blind Tours. In this instance Lisboa Sensorial organizes blindfolded walking tours of Lisbon.

After being securely blindfolded, participants are steered through Alfama’s narrow streets by blind guides from the ACAPO (Portuguese Association for the Visually Impaired). The guide share their experience of the surroundings, and encourages participants to fully explore their altered perception of “the narrow streets, the smell of grilled sardines, the sound of a Fado that can be heard from afar.” A guide with historical knowledge of the area also accompanies each group.

The project has two main goals: to provide participants with a new sensory experience of their surroundings through the stimuli of smell, touch, taste and hearing, and the absence of vision.

Secondly, they aim to make sighted people more aware of how the visually impaired experience the world.

As Springwise point out - this seems like a concept that’s worth copying to other cities such as London.

I am trying to imagine the sounds and smells of my various routes to work in London, in particular through Covent Garden and past Monmouth Street Coffee Shop (the best coffee in London IMHO).

A friendly version of Dragon’s Den?

BusinessZone.co.uk has joined forces with the Bristol Design Festival 2008 to organise The Pitch, an opportunity for up and coming entrepreneurs to sell their idea or existing company to a panel of specialists who have their finger on the pulse of business.The UK’s next generation of successful entrepreneurs are being invited to pitch their lightbulb moment to a panel of leading business experts and win a prize package worth over £1,000.

Having watched Douglas Campbell present his Project Hold Me (a unique and innovative egg-shaped incubator aimed at nurturing the bond between mothers and their newborn babies during their stay in hospital), I a would say that the ‘Dragons’ in this instance are a much more friendly and constructive bunch than seen on BBC television.

Have a look at the others and see what you need to do to develop your perfect pitch.

Facebook comes to life at the Business & IP Centre

Since first joining Facebook a few months ago I have had mixed feelings about this latest (and greatest?) form of web social media. I am sure this is also true for many of you too  based on conversations I have had.

The downside are the high level of childish applications which can appear to dominate Facebook, such as Hot or Not, and variations on that theme. This is particularly annoying as Facebook is marketed as a more professional and mature version of Bebo and MySpace which are specifically aimed at children and teenagers respectively.

However, there are significant upsides to using Facebook, particularly communicating to far flung relatives and friends. It also enables me to keep a weather eye on my two teenage kids (but don’t tell them…)

Another real benefit was shown last night when we had a networking meeting at the Business & IP Centre to celebrate reaching 1,000 members on our Facebook group. It was wonderful to meet the real people behind their Facebook profiles and to engage in conversation in the way that is only possible face to face. We have posted photos up on our page to prove it was ‘real’.

Alex Bellinger the founder of SmallBizPod was there with his microphone and plans to put up a podcast on his site shortly.

Social Enterprise - Inspiring Entrepeneurs

The evening after the Teenpreneur event we held one focussing on Social Enterprise.

The speakers were Tim Campbell, founder of the Bright Ideas Trust, Sophi Tranchell, managing director of Divine Chocolate, Zarine Kharas, founder and CEO of Just Giving, Kresse Wesling, director of EAKO, Babaloo and Bio-Supplies.

All four speakers were truly inspiring, starting with Tim Campbell racing through his talk and questions before rushing of to speak at another event. He was very complimentary towards Sir Alan Sugar, and explained how supportive he had been during their two years working together after winning the first Apprentice series.

Sophi Tranchell explained the story behind Divine Chocolate, a brand I can personally vouch for as I buy it regularly from our British Library shop. From it’s foundation nearly ten years ago it experimented with a new business model in which the co-operative of cocoa farmers in Ghana owned shares in the company making the chocolate bar. These farmers now own an incredible 45 per cent of the company since The Body Shop made the decision to donate its shares to them.

They are now ambitiously taking on the American market in primarily to generate more sales which will bring more benefits to the farmers who grow the cocoa pods.