For Immediate Release
Article 13, the consultancy and think tank focused on achieving real behaviour change in the CSR and sustainability agendas, has recognised a shift in corporate behaviour emerging out of the current economic crisis. Dubbed the ‘new normal’, Article 13’s sustainability consultants are observing a pattern of increased profitability from those organisations who have maintained their focus on social and environmental issues, despite the financial doom and gloom.
Just surviving the economic downturn has become a priority for many organisations, with many businesses cutting costs in areas which are not perceived to be absolutely crucial to the bottom line. Traditionally the priorities in times of hardship have been operating costs, skilled labour and a reliance on technical skills and productivity. However, as we come out the other side of the crisis, it is becoming more apparent that those organisations which are not only surviving, but actually thriving, are led by individuals and teams whose focus has shifted towards seizing opportunity from social and environmental pressures; rather than shedding them as an unaffordable ‘nice to have’.
Given the success of these leading organisations, we can no longer ignore the links between sustainable business practice and economic benefits. The current global inter-connectedness and reliance on natural resources of a vulnerable and finite environment is far from constraining businesses, but rather opening up a vast range of new opportunities for innovation in processes, services and products.
So how can we support the leaders of today’s businesses to lead their organisations through the current crisis and out the other end; not having just survived it, but actually having innovatively transformed into leaders in their field?
Article 13 has been working with an array of businesses, governments and not-for-profit organisations for over a decade, empowering them to truly understand and apply strategy to corporate ethics and sustainable governance. What we are seeing today is not only a result of the recent credit crisis, but also because of the ever increasing pressures human activity has been putting on the world’s resources. In the next ten years issues of population growth, emerging economies, consumption levels, pollution levels, migration, and income gaps will become fundamental business issues. No longer are we seeing CSR and sustainability as a tick box, nor nice to have; rather it is now essential to the very survival of businesses entering the ‘new normal’.
So what is required to succeed in the new normal? So far we can see that the businesses who are achieving innovation by responding to social and environmental pressures no longer separate their desire to become sustainable from that to become competitive. In fact, they are using the former to achieve the latter; the special ingredient seems to be a balance of the two.
For more information on this subject, please contact Neela Bettridge or phone +44 (0)20 8840 4450.
Neela Bettridge is an executive coach and mentor, as well as a highly skilled practitioner in the field of organisational sustainability and governance. Learn more at www.article13.com.
Contact Details:
Article 13
Street: 71a The Grove
City: London
Post Code (Zip): W5 5LL
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8840 4450
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.article13.com/csr/theissues.asp
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