Sustainable Value Opportunities
The ‘Big Picture’ View of Sustainable Value Opportunities
Use the following scale to rate each of the following facets of sustainable value for your organization, both in
the near term and for the long term. Use this exercise to engage discussion within your organization about
where your opportunities lie. Remember, this exercise is focused on identifying potential. So think outside
the normal routine and usual practical constraints. In later exercises, you’ll have opportunities to incorporate
considerations about the readiness, costs, impacts, challenges, and so forth associated with each. Definitions
of each sustainable value opportunity are provided on the next page.
3 = High value
Sustainable Value
Rating Scale
2 = Moderate
1 = Some
2 Years
10 Years
0 = None or N/A
Notes
1. Place
2. People (staff)
3. Process
4. Product
5. Market
6. Brand
7. Finance
8. Social (external stakeholders)
9. Nature
10. Risk
11. Innovation
12. System Integration
© 2014 True Market Solutions
1. Place
The buildings and natural environment at your place of work. For example, this includes
opportunities for energy efficiency, renewable energy, natural day lighting, landscaping and
habitats, water management, and so forth.
2. People (staff)
The employees of your organization. This includes opportunities to increase employee
engagement in sustainability, capturing employee innovations, improving employee health and
wellness, training and empowering employees around sustainability and sustainable behavior,
flexible work time and work at home policies to reduce employee transportation, and so forth.
3. Process
Organizational policies, processes, procedures, practices, and programs. For example,
implementing a six sigma for green program, ‘green and lean’ program, systematic carbon
reduction program, reducing packaging for products, reducing or eliminating waste, and so forth.
4. Product
Adapting or creating a new product that meets the needs of the green market.
5. Market
Adapting your products or services to a new market, based on sustainability as a key driver or
provider of sustainable competitive advantage.
6. Brand
Incorporating sustainability into your brand.
7. Finance
Making use of any special financing incentives or programs for adopting green products and
services. These include utility incentives, rebates, and programs; financing by banks or private
investors; grants, loans, and tax incentives from government or foundations; special financing
programs by financial services companies, and so forth.
8. Social
Creating sustainable value by engaging external stakeholders, such as the community in which
you operate, professional associations, government and regulatory agencies, nonprofits, and so
forth. You can gain sustainable value, and competitive advantage, in this area by, for example,
influencing industry standards, certifications, or regulations; gaining a social ‘license to operate’,
extend the organization’s reputation through corporate social responsibility, and so forth.
9. Nature
Provide ecological services, for example, through restoration projects, through services to other
organizations to improve the environment, including clean air and water, improved habitats and
biodiversity, or even by improving employee health by providing walking paths or gardens.
10. Risk
Manage, prevent, or reduce risks related to sustainability. For example, you can create
organizational value by managing risks related to price volatility of energy supplies or other
natural resources and commodities; manage reputational risks by addressing organizational and
supply chain issues; avoid opportunity costs by proactively seeking sustainable advantages;
reduce turnover and absenteeism by engaging employees; reducing health care and safety
costs by implementing risk reduction strategies, and so forth.
11. Innovation
Create sustainable value by capturing employee innovation.
12. System Integ. Create sustainable value by aligning strategies throughout the organization. Once sustainability
is embedded in the mission, vision, and business model of the organization, then it can be
further implemented by aligning human resource policies and practices, by incorporating it into
recruitment, training, and compensation practices of the organization.
© 2014 True Market Solutions