Deloitte’s Sustainable Business Blog

Thinking Outside the Box When it Comes to Packaging

Deloitte Blogs — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:18:27 -0400

Achieving breakthrough improvements in sustainable packaging is more difficult than simply substituting virgin materials for recycled content. Many companies are seeking to improve product stewardship, achieve waste-reduction goals, and save money by re-thinking the value chain and developing “disruptive” improvements to packaging. These improvements have the potential to not only reduce waste, energy, and raw materials, but also differentiate from other products and capture a new and growing market of consumers who prefer more “responsible” products. Collaboration and creativity required There is a range of packaging improvements that can be considered, from passive materials replacement to more radical supply chain...

Market Data Suggests Sustainability Efforts

Deloitte Blogs — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:57:28 -0500

Help Drive Important Finance Transformation Deloitte’s study last fall of CFOs strongly indicated that top finance officers see increased linkage between ROI and sustainability initiatives within their organizations—and across their supply chains. The 250 CFOs surveyed (representing companies with an average of $12 billion in revenue, across 15 industries in 14 countries) further suggested that their involvement with sustainability efforts is deepening—two-thirds say they are “always” or “frequently” involved in driving execution of sustainability programs in their organizations. In fact, Deloitte believes that ripples created by the growing need for sustainability metrics are now driving a tidal wave of opportunities...

Exploring the Strategic Market Value of ESG Information

Deloitte Blogs — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:09:05 -0500

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance is increasingly used to pinpoint winning stocks, and there is growing interest from mainstream investors in whether companies are managing ESG issues. This gives many companies compelling reason to believe that investors are paying more attention to ESG reporting, yet how companies approach ESG disclosure still varies widely. The question becomes—what kind of information are investors seeking? Our view is that the need goes far beyond merely enhancing communication about ESG branding and performance. It includes identifying issues that are material to investors, such as risk management strategies. ESG issues—particularly in a turbulent economic...

Collaboration with Suppliers to Reduce Risk and Help Drive Value

Deloitte Blogs — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:01:42 -0500

The following blog post is taken from David Linich's Deloitte Consulting LLP article from Supply Chain Digest, Labor Unrest in the Global Supply Chain – Major Risk or Untapped Opportunity? .......... Labor riots. Tragic fires in factories. Droughts drying up rivers and closing major transport routes. Hurricanes shutting down operations and causing billions in damages and lost business. Water becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Energy prices increasing and becoming more volatile. Bribery scandals. The risks facing supply chain executives are mounting. What can be done to get ahead of these issues? Leading companies have prepared themselves by understanding where they...

Sustainability Reporting

Deloitte Blogs — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:24:14 -0500

In the absence of any broad legislative or regulatory mandate for comprehensive sustainability reporting by U.S. companies, market forces continue to drive increased disclosure and transparency around how a company is identifying and managing risks related to environmental, social or governance (ESG) concerns. Companies are not only responding to an increasing number of ESG disclosure requests through initiatives like the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and other notable sustainability disclosure and performance initiatives, but they are recognizing the business value to proactively creating a positive ESG reputation through increased transparency. In their June 2012 publication,...