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Thursday, May 07, 2009

Follow the Money: Getting Buy-in for your Sustainability Plan

At a recent League of Cities Green Cities conference, city officials from across the country were abuzz with plans to make their cities more sustainable. (Yes, even in this economy.) There were even friendly arguments about whose city was “greener.” My vote is on Portland. They have some very innovative things going on and they even have a sustainability office. Check them out: http://www.portlandonline.com/osd/.

During the course of the conference (coincidentally also in Portland), these same officials eagerly shared the plans they were writing (some with 37 action items through 2050!), the committees they are forming, but most importantly, talked about how they were able to “sell” the idea to decision makers and residents.
The biggest take-away, not surprisingly: show how sustainability improves the bottom line. If you can quantify how a recycling program or a renewable energy plan will save money, or better yet, make money, you have a ready and willing audience. If not, get in line with every other community program who wants a hand out. For example, in Portland (do you see a theme here?) they were able to show city council how the city saved $3.5 million from the energy measures they made in all government offices and buildings. Now, they have their attention.
The same can be said for corporate America. When Wal-Mart began planning their commitment to sustainability, for example, they began by crunching the numbers to see how these efforts could save them money. They took a look at supply-chain and store operations and determined what they could save by using more fuel-efficient transportation, and how much their energy bills would be reduced by using more energy efficient lighting in food cases, among many other changes. Small savings multiplied over hundreds of stores and trucks were shown to make a HUGE impact. Now, we’re talking!
We all know that not every sustainability effort will be a money saver, and there are certainly many other reasons why a community or corporation should take these steps (such as climate change of course) but it does help to try to connect the dots between doing what is right and doing what will save money.
Lena Davie is a Vice President with the Tampa office of Hill & Knowlton.
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