Interview on Sustainability in the Retail Sector

I was recently interviewed by Steve Rowen, Senior Analyst at Retail Systems Research (RSR), regarding sustainability drivers, trends, strategies, & technologies in retail. RSR is a market research firm who focus solely on business challenges and technology strategies for the retail sector.

Key topics covered: market drivers in the sector today, such as customer demand, private label growth, and green branding; strategies for this sector, including gaining visibility on an enterprise’s carbon footprint, developing & leveraging new data sources and integrating for reporting & optimization; and future trends (such as leveraging life cycle assessments for green product design).The link for the article is here. Read more!

Article published on TriplePundit.com

"Do Global Clients need a Sustainability Strategy Today?" was published on TriplePundit.com; link is here. Read more!

Is there $$ to be made in Sustainability today?

For the past few months, I have been developing a market strategy for both technology and professional services firms to understand, validate, and implement growth initiatives that reflect current (and future) market conditions. (The origins of this strategy are provided in an online presentation I gave to the American Council of Engineering Companies - ACEC, link is here).

Significant input was received from executives at global energy development corporations and in the federal government who are considering implementation of these solutions, as well as from executives in technology firms and global engineering & design firms who may provide a range of technology - based solutions, from sustainability strategy through implementation of process improvements and emerging technologies (or cleantech).

Given the depth and range of content developed, I will be publishing a series of blog posts (and articles on leading online periodicals) covering key concepts and strategies. An overview of upcoming topics is provided below:

• What do global clients want now (and what will they pay for)?
• Benchmarking: What are other Tech & Services firms doing?
• The Critical Market Drivers of Concern
• Sustainability Technology Solutions: Focus on Specific Market Needs
• Developing & Selling a Sustainability Solution for both short term ROI and long term strategy

I may combine topics as articles / blog posts are published; would welcome comments or articulated interests in specific concepts.

Read more!

Column on TriplePundit: 'Why the Sustainability Community needs Social Networking'

This column is a re-post of a column I wrote last week; click here to get to the article. Read more!

Exit Strategies for Sustainability Reporting companies?

Over the past few months I have had discussions with a number of sustainability technology firm execs, as well as with other tech execs that follow this field.

One particular question keeps coming up: what is the growth and exit strategy for these companies? Many have started with compliance (such EMS or EHS) as the building blocks, while others are new and have built the applications for customizable reporting for the myriad of NGO protocols out there.

While sustainability reporting is just taking hold here in the states, in Europe it has been adopted at a higher rate. Those companies providing such reporting technologies are now faced with the issue of building off this installed base, or seeking additional customers. Up - selling to the base may include providing additional functionality (i.e. I talked to one firm that is building a 'fraud control' set of features, for managing social impacts associated with fund disbursements in sustainability programs). Obtaining additonal customers can be acheived by acquisitions; which also allows for building a broader solution. One trend seen: EMS and sustainability reporting firms acquiring emerging GHG inventory application companies. Perhaps here in the US we will follow this trend of market evolution and consolidation in the next 12- 24 months.

But at the end of the day, it would seem that these firms should be part of a broader set of solutions, or embedded in a enterprise level platform, in order to meet the demands of clients. While reporting is important, I think the real value is in developing and implementing the workflow necessary to manage and improve sustainability processes, which means the reporting tool must be integrated into supply chain, product management, CRM, financials, and other ERP modules.

So, shall we see M&A activity in this sector in the next year? Consolidation of sustainability application companies (such as that of IHS's strategy)? Larger compliance / GRC platform companies such as BWave, Agentis, and SAP make key acquisitions in the GHG management space?

There are questions as to the viability of these growth strategies; a peer of mine on Sand Hill Rd. thought that 'we could develop a Linux platform and open it to developers, which could drive a lot of the sustainability tech firms out of business' (or general words to that effect).

That is certainly possible, although I think a more likely outcome will be that the lagging economy will reduce the overall urgency for sustainability reporting, with tech firms struggling to find paying customers and gaining leadership or market share. The near term result will be a lot fewer of these firms in the next 12 months, with a potential follow - on phase of acquisitions by larger platform companies.

Just a thought.... Read more!

Upcoming presentation with ACEC: "Developing a Cleantech Strategy"

I will be conducting an on-line presentation for the ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) this fall; link is here.

This presentation will provide global AEC executives with a better understanding of the specific market segments in sustainability; the emerging trends in technology development and investment, and strategies to consider to drive new revenue growth.

Strategy development examples from other industries such as system integration will be discussed for their applicability into AEC space. Case studies of cleantech strategy development at other global AEC firms will be discussed to facilitate benchmarking. Read more!