Strategic Positive Impact Consulting
If you need support and advice in how your organization can transition towards creating a positive impact for society and the planet, look no further. This is what we do.
We help you see the big picture and then develop concrete strategies using leading-edge innovation processes and involving the best creating insights of your team and the many invaluable stakeholders around. There is the "what" and the "how" issue.
There are two kinds of "what" challenges we see and can help you address:
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How to reduce the negative impact many production organizations have (achieving "net zero now" would sum it up best)
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How to envision new business models and revenue streams that connects the potential of your organizations with the societal and environmental issues out there, while securing your business future (we call it "creating positive impact")
And then, there is the "how" challenge:
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Once the strategy for new product innovations and for reducing negative impacts are clear, how does the organization get there?
Our consulting is based on our research and features both our conceptual work as well as our insights from our applied research.
We work with a pool of confirmed business sustainability consultants that have graduated from our Diploma in Advanced Sustainability program and hence are fully equiped to embrace the strategic challenges your organization may have.
The Positive Impact of True Business Sustainability
While more and more businesses focus on sustainability management the impact of their activities does not reflect in studies monitoring the state of the planet. We call that the big disconnect. True Business Sustainability offers a framework to bridge that gap. It provides companies with a method to evaluate their sustainability maturity and proposes a road-map to move forward to a place where business can becomes a true force for good.
A number of companies are using the True Business Sustainability framework to upgrade their sustainability efforts and make a truly positive contribution to society and the planet, becoming Positive Impact Organizations.
Business Sustainability Typology
The Business Sustainability Typology (Dyllick & Muff 2016) offers a practical approach to evaluate different levels of integration of sustainability in business. As such, it provides an answer to the difficult question of what business sustainability actually means and how to differentiate between beginning, intermediate and advanced levels in business practice.
The framework classifies companies to different types based on their efforts to move from “business-as-usual” to “true business sustainability”, and thus provides a framework to engage in the transformation of business. The typology for business sustainability is further explained in the following picture.
New mindset - new opportunities
More and more companies report their commitment to sustainability is strong and increasing but this good news is not reflected in studies monitoring the state of our planet.
Shift perspective from an inside-out perspective minimizing the negative impacts of business to an outside-in perspective understanding how to become a Positive Impact Organization.
Positive Impact Organizations
From Business as usual to True Business Sustainability
Time to stop focusing on reducing negative effects and start creating a positive impact for society and the world.
BUSINESS AS USUAL
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Purely economic view of the firm and the business processes.
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Typical economic concerns are pursued to produce economic value
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Inside-out
Business
Sustainability 0.0
EARLY SUSTAINABILITY
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Shift from purely economic concerns to include social and environmental concerns
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Refined shareholder value
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Inside-out
Business
Sustainability 1.0
ADVANCED SUSTAINABILITY
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Shifts from shareholder value to a broadened value proposition including people, planet, and profit.
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Management of the triple bottom line
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Inside-out
Business
Sustainability 2.0
TRUE BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY
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Shifts from an inside‐out perspective, with a focus on the business, to an outside‐in perspective, with a focus on society and the sustainability challenges it is facing
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Reframing the business concerns and business models
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Outside-in
Business Sustainability 3.0
Upgrade to True Business Sustainability
Evaluate your Business Sustainability
Find out how your organization classifies in the Positive Impact organizations Business Sustainability Typology (BST) outlined below, with this free
on-line survey
True Product Sustainability
From product perspective to societal value
Time to put societal value at the core of your product design.
Product Sustainability 1.0
From selective improvements to holistic improvements
Product Sustainability 2.0
From better products to good products
Product Sustainability 3.0
From product value to societal value
While many companies include sustainability aspects in their product design, this is usually addressed from a business perspective with the goal to reduce product related risks or to leverage the marketing value of sustainability efforts. In light of the planets sustainability challenges True Product Sustainability (TPS) puts forward a framework to help business evaluate their product sustainability and evolve to a level of sustainability where products make a specific contribution to societal problems.
The True Product Sustainability Typology presents three different phases and levels of development: from selective to holistic improvements (Product Sustainability 1.0 or early sustainability), from better products to good products (Product Sustainability 2.0 or advanced sustianability), and from private value to public value generation (Product Sustainability 3.0 or true sustainability). This evolution develops towards a model of “true product sustainability”, where the product makes a specific contribution to solving societal problems.
Unleash new opportunities with products to solve the worlds problem
Quick Resources
What do you need to get done?
A selection of free tools to help companies and product leaders get serious about upgrading their business sustainability effort is available here.
Need some help getting started?
Feel free to reach out and tell us how we can help you.