Corporate Shared Value: Trends in the Corporate World

What if businesses could both make money and do good through the same actions? Businesses leaders who subscribe to the idea of corporate shared value believe they can. Many proponents even say it redefines and revitalizes capitalism. Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Mark Kramer, managing director of the global social impact consulting firm FSG, kicked off the corporate shared value trend in 2011 with an article in Harvard Business Review. Corporate Shared Value (or Shared Value) is a new generation business thinking which enhances the competitive position of the company while at the same time advances … Continue reading

6 Ways Natural Disasters Can Affect Businesses

Natural disasters are catastrophic events that result from processes that occur without human intervention. These adverse events include avalanches, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Floods, tsunamis, blizzards, and wildfires belong to this category as well. It is worth noting that the occurrence and intensity of natural disasters vary from country to country. Natural disasters have a significant impact on the economy and the businesses in more ways than one. Read on to know more about the impact of natural disasters on businesses: 1. Supply Chain Disruptions Efficient and reliable supply chains are critical to the success of a company. For … Continue reading

Top Sustainability Trends in Europe

Sustainability is a global issue, but ecosystems, economies and other factors vary from place to place. While trends that prove successful in one area will likely eventually spread to others, different regions may be at different places at different times. In this post, we’ll focus on Europe. What trends are taking hold there? And which will spread to the Middle East? Sustainability Driving Revenue Growth While sustainability was at first often seen as a corporate responsibility and PR move, today it’s an integral part of business plans. It serves as a major competitive advantage and drives increases in revenue. In … Continue reading

3 Financial Benefits of Running a Green Operation

While it’s true that the first goal of going green with a business should be to make a positive impact on the environment, we would be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that there’s a major financial component to it. Many people will simply refuse to buy from a company that’s environmentally irresponsible. On the other hand, being eco-friendly can never be a bad thing. This is why all businesses should consider going green if they want to increase their bottom line. Here are some of the main financial benefits of running a green operation. 1. Lower Utility Costs … Continue reading

The Pandemic is Shifting Public Attention Towards Sustainable Living

Since the COVID-19 disease outbreak, it hasn’t been particularly easy to track down good news, especially on a global level. Due to huge decreases in travel, however, emissions dropped drastically and gave Mother Nature a long overdue chance to catch her breath. For the most part, globally speaking, the pandemic has also been a catalyst for people and communities working together in the fight against COVID-19. Parts of this increase in working together involve more sustainable practices in a world full of factory shutdowns and increased difficulties in getting food. This sustainability silver lining is widespread, and here are some … Continue reading

Greening Your Business – Why and How

With growing awareness among consumers for eco-friendly products, it is becoming highly important for businesses in the Middle East to adopt and implement green strategies. It is not only the requirement of customers but also compliance to regulations and reduction in operating costs that drive the implementation of environment-friendly methods in business. Corporate social responsibility (or CSR) is now driven by pollution prevention, energy efficiency, eco-friendly design, and industrial ecology across all industrial sectors. Components of a Green Business A green business appears to be an expensive and cumbersome process. On the contrary it is quite easy to have a green … Continue reading

Effective Energy Management for Businesses

Middle East has been witnessing a rapid increase in energy consumption due to high degree of industrialization, high standards of living and exponential increase in population. Infact, the level of primary energy consumption in the Middle East is among the highest worldwide.  These factors have made businesses in Middle East to realize that effective energy management is not only good for the businesses but also an essential requirement. In recent years, many businesses in the Middle East have come up with dynamic strategies to achieve immediate reduction in energy consumption. This trend towards effective energy management is expected to continue … Continue reading

All You Need to Know About Sustainability in the Supply Chain

The sustainability industry, in recent years, has evolved to include almost all areas of business processes. Due to the dramatic strides sustainability has made and its holistic nature, it is understandable that the two most apparent areas, the environment and society, would receive much of our attention.  There has been a lack of concern for the area of the economy and alignment with business needs.  Moreover, it has not been used enough as a mechanism to enhance the supply chain or product value. Lately, business leaders are learning to see substantial benefits and profitability beyond “green initiatives” by giving back time … Continue reading

The Need for Sustainability Communication in the Middle East

Environmental and sustainability awareness has been around in the society for quite some time now; and buzzwords like ‘ecofriendly’, ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ seem to be omnipresent. In spite of the proliferation of these eco-buzzwords, the state of sustainability communications remains poor and lacking in authenticity. This poor state of sustainable communication, aided by insufficient focus on authenticity, further allows unscrupulous organizations to ‘green wash’ their business or products. The ‘greenwashing’, coupled with a lack of environmental knowledge on the consumer side engenders confused consumers who either despise any of the green eco-buzzwords or blindly accept green-washing as true sustainability. Currently, sustainability … Continue reading