a sustainability swot - WRI

1 User's guide sswot a sustainability swot Eliot Metzger, Samantha Putt del Pino, Sally Prowitt, Jenna Goodward, Alexander Perera Introduction The sustainability SWOT (sSWOT) is designed to help drive action and collaboration on environmental challenges creating real business risks and opportunities. It helps individuals engage and motivate colleagues . particularly those with limited knowledge of environmental issues or corporate sustainability . Use this guide to work across internal departments, as well as suppliers, customers, or other stakeholders on strategies to create and sustain long-term value. sustainability SWOT. (sSWOT). What can we do in the near-term, mid-term, and long-term? 8 ACT. Which insights will influence or keep him/her up at night? 7 PRIORITIZE. Who else has similar weaknesses or faces similar risks from environmental challenges? 6. WEAK- What are unexpected ways we can apply STRENGTHS NESSES. our strengths to environmental challenges?

2 5. Where is there a growing gap where we and others can create new solutions for environmental challenges? 4. Where are environmental challenges OPPORTUNITIES THREATS. creating broad threats to future business value? 3. What do you and others see changing? 2. ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AND BIG TRENDS. What (or who) do you want to inform? 1. 2 |. sSWOT: A sustainability SWOT. A Message from the Road Test Companies We accepted an invitation from the World Resources Institute (WRI) to review and test an early version of the sustain- ability SWOT (or sSWOT). We found the sSWOT to be a powerful means of showing how environmental challenges can shape strategic risks and opportunities. We applied the sSWOT at our organizations in different ways and some of our stories are included in this guide. We urge others to use it to collaborate with internal colleagues and external partners (suppliers, customers, and even competitors). The sSWOT can help you assess options for action together with colleagues and partners on the environmental challenges creating new business risks and opportunities.

3 Jorge Soto, Director, Sustainable Development Kyle Crider, Manager of Environmental Mark Buckley, Vice President, Brazilian multinational chemicals company Operations Environmental Affairs and largest producer of thermoplastic resins Owner and operator of 30+ private institutions World's largest office products company and in the Americas of higher education located throughout the second largest internet retailer United States the logo is intended to bleed off the top left hand corner of the page. the dots should line up with the page edge, allow 3mm bleed and pull in the picture box to hide the dots. Stephen Bickell, sustainability Tutor UK-based provider of supported distance Drummond Lawson, green giant learning for real estate and construction (director of sustainability ) Katie Dillon, Manager, Corporate sustainability professionals San Francisco-based producer of home cleaning, North American-based upscale discount retailer laundry and hand care products Rick Love, Manager, Environmental sustainability Provider of innovative, high-technology products Lucas Urbano, sustainability Manager and services to the aerospace and building The Brazilian Dairy division of the dairy and Gabriela Burian, Director, Sustainable systems industries worldwide nutritional products company, Group Danone Agriculture Ecosystems Global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products to improve farm productivity and food quality Kimberly Bowden, EH&S sustainability Manager Global supplier of electronics and technologies Robyn Luhning, Environmental for automotive, commercial vehicle and and Social Risk Manager other sectors Diversified financial services company head P ricles S.

4 Weber, Environment Director Water and sanitation services provider for the quartered in the with offices in more than state of Paran in Brazil 35 countries Amanda Kardosh, sustainability Manager Brazil-based fleet management company with a customer portfolio of approximately half a million vehicles user's guide | December 2012 | 3. ABOUT THE sSWOT Evaluate your company's strate- TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 gies and translate insights about The World Resources Institute environmental challenges (for 1. WHERE TO 8 (WRI) created the sustainability example, climate change and SWOT (sSWOT) to help companies resource scarcity) into risks or 2. ENVIRONMENTAL take action on environmental 10. opportunities that your company challenges.* It pushes companies to can act on. 3. 13 explore collaboration with internal departments, as well as suppliers, Get others motivated about 4. 14 customers, or other stakeholders on opportunities to invest, innovate, strategies to create and sustain long- and collaborate on environmental 5.

5 16 challenges in ways that increase term value. 6. 17 business value. The sSWOT can help engage and Convince colleagues and decision 7. WHAT TO 18 motivate colleagues particularly makers (for example, senior man- those with limited knowledge 8. WHERE TO 19 agers, CEOs, CFOs, or Boards of environmental issues or of Directors) that environmental 21 corporate sustainability . Most challenges are not as far removed importantly, it can help identify 22 from your company's core inter- and communicate new insights to ests as may be assumed. senior decision makers. In partnership with companies in FOOTNOTES. WRI's Next Practice Collaborative, * sustainability , as a concept, is much broader and through workshops, road tests,** than environmental issues. This guide provides and interviews with dozens of a flexible framework to help business translate companies and sustainability environmental challenges into core business experts, we put a new twist on the interests and strategies.

6 Social concerns (for familiar SWOT (Strengths, Weak- example, human rights and labor standards) can be included in the analysis by supplementing nesses, Opportunities, Threats) to the questions and considerations highlighted in help you: this guide. ** See the Insights from Road Tests boxes for examples and experiences of individuals who pilot tested the sSWOT at their companies. 4 |. sSWOT: A sustainability SWOT. introduction Big changes The concept of sustainability sustainability directors want meeting today's needs without jeopardizing the ability of future to demonstrate to colleagues, generations to meet their needs1 . is penetrating board rooms across customers, and suppliers multiple It is now discussed in leading business that environmental challenges journals, like the Harvard Business Review and the MIT Sloan Manage- are not removed from core ment Review, as a major driver of business innovation and competitive business interests. It is increasingly influencing business value and business sustainability directors from are growing and flocking to cities.

7 Practical and compelling framework companies across multiple sectors By 2030, urban areas will be home to translate environmental chal- have told WRI they are looking for a to more than a billion additional lenges into risks or opportunities way to communicate and collaborate people. In that time, there are pro- that their company can act on. with others on environmental chal- jected to be two billion new middle lenges. They want to demonstrate class consumers, along with billions Adding an s to SWOT. to colleagues, customers, and more low-income consumers, in A sustainability SWOT (or sSWOT). suppliers that environmental growing markets around the world. provides a new twist on the familiar challenges are not removed from Meanwhile, today's technologies strategic analysis framework. It is core business interests. They need are creating new opportunities. Take a comfortable format for starting a a means of drawing connections the rapid growth in information, conversation, but it is designed to to the other trends (for example, computing and mobile communica- help push colleagues into unexplored economic or demographic changes) tion technologies.

8 These and other territory. It encourages teams to that business unit managers, senior innovations create new possibilities consider broader connections and executives, or boards of directors are for disruptive business models, opportunities for collaboration inside more familiar with. strategies, and partnerships. and outside the company. It chal- Corporate sustainability champions lenges teams and decision makers sustainability connects long-term are looking for ways to act on these to think about the long-term envi- environmental and social challenges changes. They are finding ways ronmental challenges (like climate with economic priorities (for the to change internal operations and change or natural resource scarcity). purposes of this guide, the emphasis processes to address environmen- that will be creating significant is on environmental challenges). tal challenges, minimize costs, and business risks or opportunities in Companies can look at these improve productivity.

9 They are the years ahead. connections for important business risks as well as opportunities to seeking opportunities to generate Such changes could arguably fit provide new solutions (see Box 1). new revenue with products and into a traditional SWOT analysis: an services that create or use cleaner assessment of a company's internal Consider the big trends energy and safer materials, and strengths and weaknesses, in rela- megatrends or metatrends conserve natural resources. They are tion to the external opportunities that are transforming markets collaborating with others to preserve and threats. However, a study on and creating new ways to meet and create business value (see Box conducting SWOT analyses with a customers' future needs. Populations 2). They have helped WRI create a special emphasis on sustainability user's guide | December 2012 | 5. and life-cycle analysis showed that customers and communities. box 1. companies can identify new risks and These can represent risks, as well opportunities, as well as new ways as opportunities to create new business thought of communicating complex issues solutions for the business and leaders: think to WRI's sSWOT adapts the environment.

10 Bigger and and strengthens the traditional Find a collaborative edge by broader to SWOT by prompting teams to: leveraging core competencies find risks and . Start with the big picture, then and addressing vulnerabili- opportunities focus on the firm: The sSWOT ties with partners: The sSWOT. begins with threats and oppor- emphasizes strengths that a The late Prahalad who company already has and those championed the concept of core tunities and pushes teams to a company can build by collabo- competency pointed out that think beyond the company's four rating with others (companies, big social and environmental walls. It emphasizes connections customers, suppliers, communi- challenges present immense between environmental chal- ties). Likewise, it emphasizes untapped market opportunities lenges and other trends creating weaknesses that a company can for new products, services, and big changes in future markets. business models. He urged com- After starting big, the sSWOT address with other stakeholders panies to create next practices analysis narrows to the company (and in some cases, competitors).