black Friday, or reducing your winter energy costs with new products from LP Corp., this holiday season has many greener product and service options available to save you money and feel good about your purchase decisions.It’s the week of Thanksgiving and almost incredible to believe how fast time has seemed to be flying by toward this end of the year. In this pre-holiday blog I give thanks to just a sample of the global giants doing good by doing well as they have led the charge in social response capitalism. However, there are much more examples of social response corporate leaders on the horizon. In 2008 there will be new partnerships, new companies, new products and new disclosures on who is leading the social response capitalism revolution. What’s significant about some of the companies I’m going to present is that they represent the world’s largest automaker, retailer as well as giants in the aerospace, renewable energy, food and beverage and building products industry.
Let me begin by identifying a short list of firms to give thanks to:
1. Boeing
2. Toyota
3. Tyson Foods
4. Pepsi
5. Sterling Planet
6. Wal-Mart
7. LP Corp.
Because travel is on the minds of so many who are taking a plane or driving long distance this holiday season let me begin with two giants, Boeing and Toyota. Boeing has found success with its 787 Dreamliner aircraft. A plane that is 20 percent more fuel efficient than similar sized planes, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner also has 20
percent fewer emissions, an anticipated 30 percent savings in maintenance costs and 10 percent better cash flow per seat mile than its peers. Going green in the aviation industry is front and center in this new century as the carbon impact of flying people and packages is being scrutinized. With continued innovation like the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing stands to be a social response leader in this new century.If you’re traveling by car, SUV or truck perhaps you are doing so this year in a new Toyota. This past year Toyota has been battling GM for the distinction of world’s largest automaker. I’m not sure that distinction matters anymore to most people. What matters is delivering quality products at a good price and with superior social value. And in those categories Toyota continues to shine. Since the release of the Prius in 1999 Toyota has deployed its hybrid-electric (Hybrid-Synergy Drive®) drivetrain on five vehicles in their product family: the Prius, the Highlander SUV, the Camry, the Lexus RX 400h SUV and the Lexus GS 400h luxury sedan. In less than a decade Toyota has sold more than 1 million of its hybrid-electric vehicles worldwide. That is still a small number when compared to the total number of vehicles sold per year in the US alone (16.55 million automobiles were sold in the US in 2006). However, Toyota’s brand, reputation and marketplace value have been soaring as they have demonstrated to consumers that mor
e fuel-efficient, high quality and competitively priced vehicles can be manufactured. As the early adopters of Toyota products crash into early and great majority we believe you will continue to see strong sales and performance for Toyota in years to come.Being Thanksgiving we should talk about food, at least a little. And there are several companies that have made significant steps to green their transportation fleets, supply chain and how they procure energy in 2007. Some notable examples include Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Pepsi, and Tyson Foods. These retail food and beverage giants have each begun to transition their focus from traditional product and service companies that compete on price and quality to 21st century social response leaders that also compete on how they positively impact the product buying experience and brand loyalty of consumers.
Take for example Pepsi who recently received the 2007 EPA Green Power Leadership Award for taking a leadership role in procuring green energy and developing green energy markets. In 2007 Pepsi announced they would procure 1 billion kilowatt-hours annually of green electricity from Sterling Planet. Pepsi’s contract with Sterling Planet is the largest green energy procurement of its kind in the nation.
I also give thanks to Tyson Foods who in 2006 announced the formation of Tyson Renewable Energy a division formed to commercialize the company’s supply of animal fats into biofuels. In 2007 Tyson announced partnerships with ConocoPhillips and Syntroleum respectively. Seeking to produce more than 300 million gallons of biofuels from a waste byproduct of food processing is not only good business its smart and strategic business in a socially responsible world.
And if you’re thinking about introducing some fish into your holiday diet, think about Wal-Mart who in 2006 set a goal to purchase its fish from sustainably harvested sources. Wal-Mart has partnered with the Marine Stewardship Council, Conservation International and the WWF on sustainable fisheries and is seeking to: strengthen fisheries management practices, rebuild fish stocks, reduce the environmental impacts of fishing, and encourage support for broader marine ecosystem management and protection efforts. With more than $348 billion in global sales and $11.2 billion in net income in 2007, Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. Approximately 60% of its stores are in the US. Love them or hate them Wal-Mart is using its strength as a large retailer to builder greener supply chains. From fisheries to clothing, computers, and other products, Wal-Mart is influencing consumer perception of and access to, greener products.
This year has been marked in part by troubles in the financial credit/lending and housing markets. With new home builds at an all time low and the existing housing stock for sale rising, many continue to fear the worse for the housing market. One building products company out of Tennessee however is seeing promise where others see warning. LP Building Products has
developed, and is now offering, products for homeowners to reduce their energy burden. The LP® TechShield® radiant barrier can decrease the costs to consumers for heating and cooling their homes. Constructed using a thin, durable sheet of aluminum overlay laminated to LP Oriented Strand Board (OSB), an innovative, affordable and environmentally smart wood-based structural panel made from wood strands and resins, LP TechShield® radiant barrier minimizes radiant heat gain in summer and minimizes radiant heat loss in winter.In a market already crunched, LP Corp. is offering consumers a solution to save money, save energy and enhance the value of their homes. We view LP Corp’s suite of energy and environmentally superior products as a winning combination particularly in a market where every little detail may make the difference on whether a bank lends money or a consumer makes a decision to buy.
Finally let me give thanks to the philanthropists and high net value individuals who in 2007 continued to be generous and consummate leaders as they’ve unselfishly shared their wealth, their time and their vision for a better world: Warren Buffet, President Bill Clinton, Bill and Melinda Gates, Thomas Golisano, and the hundreds of foundations and corporations that continue to help improve the world. These folks demonstrate the care, courage, compassion and commitment it takes to see social response capitalism to an entirely new level.
There are so many more companies and individuals to give praise toward, but let me save them for another blog. Until then, Travel Safe, Eat Well, Be Merry and a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season to All!
Mark C. Coleman
Senior Associate & World Inc. Case Leader, AHC Group, Inc.
Mark@ahcgroup.com
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