Full Document Text
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
The 4
th
Economic Revolution:
Unavoidable, Opportunity
White Paper Series | Paper 1 | June 2011
Authors Simon Brown
Martin Chilcott
Ben Carmichael
White
Paper
Series
2 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Executive Summary
This paper defines sustainability as the major growth opportunity for organizations in the 21
st
century. The
first in a series, this paper seeks to engage leaders of organizations around an emerging view of sustainability
as a driver of growth and competitiveness. Subsequent papers will provide more in-depth research and
investigation to strengthen the key themes identified in this paper.
This paper argues that a confluence of environmental, economic and social trends will result in a 4
th
economic
revolution that forces organizations to adapt to new business conditions. The best method of adaptation, we
argue, is by building a Sustainable Competitive Advantage founded on five new, distinctive competencies. These
new competencies — collaborative growth and efficiency, zero waste, renewable resource, climate resilience
and eco-performance measurement — enable a business to grow sustainably through the 21
st
century. We have
partnered with Oxford University’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, to test and strengthen the
initial definition for collaborative growth and efficiency outlined in this paper.
Drawing upon evidence from case studies of global companies that are already converting resource constraints
into drivers of long-term growth, this series seeks to provide a clear definition of the pillars of a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage. Future papers in the series will detail our vision of the characteristics which underpin
Sustainable Competitive Advantage, show how organizations can achieve this by adapting around these five new
competencies.
2degrees is the world’s largest online community for sustainable business, designed to help corporations & public
sector organizations accelerate the development and implementation of their sustainable business strategies; to
make them more profitable and sustainable. This community consists of over 13,000 professionals from 7,000+
organizations in 100+ countries and provides the source of practical insight that underpins the views expressed
by the authors in this paper.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction 3
Why the 4
th
Economic Revolution Impacts All Organizations 5
Five New, Distinctive Competencies 8
Collaborative Growth and Efficiency Pathfinder #1: Tesco 8
Zero Waste Pathfinder #2: Interface-FLOR 9
Renewable Resource Pathfinder #3: Procter and Gamble 10
Climate Resilience Pathfinder #4: Starbucks 11
Eco-Performance Measurement Pathfinder #5: Sony 12
Adapting Your Organization 14
Pathfinder: M&S, Becoming the World’s Most Sustainable Major Retailer 15
Take Action Inside your Organization 16
Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage from the 4
th
Economic Revolution 17
Examples of Other Pathfinders 18
References 20
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 3
Introduction
Conventional business wisdom framed sustainability in terms of ever-stricter compliance, escalating cost of
operations, declining profitability, resource constraints and, new and increasingly uncertain risks. As a
consequence, business leaders saw the driving forces behind sustainability – rapid environmental change,
resource depletion, climate change and population growth, to name a few – as proportionately negative.
This paper aims to reposition sustainability, from resource constraints and compliance, to a series of
concrete opportunities. It also demonstrates how some industry-leading companies are already converting
the forces of constraint into drivers of Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
This paper starts with a review of the driving forces behind the sustainability revolution that we have
referred to as the 4
th
economic revolution.
4
th
Economic Revolution: Whilst the first three – the
agrarian, industrial and digital revolutions – were
made possible by unconstrained innovation in
resource use, this latest revolution is defined by
resource scarcity. This driving force is shaping the
world economy and defining the environment
in which organizations operate. The response
to the opportunities and challenges created will
draw parallels with how the digital revolution
highlighted a new set of competencies which
businesses had to adopt to succeed. The winning
companies include Amazon, eBay, Apple iTunes and
Wikipedia. The organizations that failed to adopt
the new competencies were left uncompetitive
in the face of new market opportunities. Similarly,
new sustainability competencies will determine the
winners and losers in the 4
th
economic revolution.
For example, China stands to leapfrog the western
world to become a market leader in the sustainable
economy, by delivering its 12
th
5 year plan, which
plans to reduce the energy/carbon intensity of its
economy by 40% – 45% before 2020
(1)
. Significant
action is needed from western economies to keep
pace. President Obama described these challenges
as “This generation’s Sputnik moment.” The challenge
is immense – but so too is the opportunity.
Next, we explore the new, distinctive competencies
that will enable organizations to succeed during
the 4
th
economic revolution.
New, distinctive competencies: Fundamentally,
Sustainable Competitive Advantage is a means
of transforming the restrictive effects of resource
scarcity into sustainable growth opportunities. To
capitalize on these opportunities, organizations
will have to develop new, distinctive competencies.
These competencies are essential to survival and
growth in the 4
th
economic revolution, but were
considerably less relevant to competitiveness in
the recent past. Organizations that fail to develop
them now are at serious risk
of failure in the coming
decades. The five
new, distinctive
competencies
are identified
in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The five key competencies for developing a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage.
Managing the impacts of your
organization today
Reinvent the way things
are done
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Realize the advantages for
your organization
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Lead the solution for your
sector/market
Make sustainability the way
you do things today
Manage
Compliance
Scope for Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Progress on the
Sustainable Journey
Adapting your organization
++++=
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Zero Waste
Reinvent the way
things are done
Drive growth in
your sector/market
Managing the impacts
of your organization today
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Make sustainability the
way you do things today
Realize the competitive
advantages for your
organization
Phase
1
Commercialize
Sustainability
Phase
2
Re-invent
Phase
3
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Zero Waste
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Population Growth
Atmospheric CO
2
concentration
(ppm)
Availability of
crude oil
20501950
Collaborative
Growth
Zero Waste
Inf_inite
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Climate
Resilience
Renewable
Resource
Zero Waste
Collaborative
Growth
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Adapting your organization
Adapting your organization
uni00A0
The world economy is heading towards
a period that will be defined as the 4
th
economic revolution – defined by resource
scarcity.
4 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
2degrees has identified the following five new, distinctive competencies, which are beginning to
differentiate the organizations that are responding to these challenges.
1. Collaborative growth and efficiency. The ability to collaborate in new ways to deliver efficiency, growth
and/or innovation to address challenges of sustainability.
2. Zero waste. The ability to divert all waste streams from landfill, and deliver more output from less
resource.
3. Renewable resource. The ability to grow through the development of products and services which use
100% renewable sources of energy and materials through their complete life cycle; with little, or no,
environmental impact.
4. Climate resilience. The ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change across operations and supply
chains.
5. Eco-performance measurement. The ability to measure, monitor, report and manage environmental
impacts and resources (energy, greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), waste, water, and other factors).
Adapting your organization: 2degrees has
developed a simple model of organizational
change, which describes the steps organizations
need to take to gain a Sustainable Competitive
Advantage. This can be described as the
“Sustainability Journey” model, which typically
involves 3 distinct phases: Managing Compliance;
Commercializing Sustainability; and Reinventing
Supply Chains. The model was derived from
pioneering commitments, initiatives and
changes delivered by Marks & Spencer in what
they called “Plan A”, in which they set out to
become the world’s most sustainable major
retailer. This approach is proving to be highly
relevant across a range of industries. 2degrees
can assist organizations to identify where they
are on this Journey, and what the implications
are for leadership, management and stakeholder
communications.
Overall, we aim to show how sustainability can –
and, in some key instances, already has – become
an opportunity for driving growth. Through the
course of the following pages, this paper:
• Defines the driving forces of the 4
th
economic
revolution;
• Sets out the new competencies required for a
Sustainable Competitive Advantage;
• Examines case studies from businesses that
have integrated some of these distinctive
competencies into their organizations;
• Describes a model for other organizations to
follow.
Finally, we examine how best to
adapt your organization to build a
Sustainable Competitive Advantage,
by applying the best practices from
other leading organizations.
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 5
Why the 4
th
Economic Revolution Impacts All Organizations
The 4
th
economic revolution is defined by energy
and resource scarcity, and will demand that
organizations re-evaluate their operational, growth
and competitiveness strategies. The social and
ecological challenges that lead us into the 4
th
economic revolution have significant implications
for the growth prospects of all organizations. The
complex and global driving forces behind these
challenges are discussed below, and illustrated in
Figure 2.
Population growth: 9.3 billion people are
projected to populate the earth by 2050, compared
to 6.7bn in 2000, representing a staggering 50%
growth
(2)
. This is on top of a doubling of the world
population during the 20
th
century. They will need
proportionately more energy, food and water.
Consumption in growth economies: Increased
wealth in the fast growth economies such as China,
India, Brazil, Russia and others, is enabling people
to adopt consumer lifestyles in line with developed
economies. This per capita growth in consumption
places further unsustainable stress on resources
(1, 4)
.
Figure 2: Projections of global population to 2050,
atmospheric CO
2
and availability of crude oil.
Managing the impacts of your
organization today
Reinvent the way things
are done
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Realize the advantages for
your organization
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Lead the solution for your
sector/market
Make sustainability the way
you do things today
Manage
Compliance
Scope for Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Progress on the
Sustainable Journey
Adapting your organization
++++=
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Zero Waste
Reinvent the way
things are done
Drive growth in
your sector/market
Managing the impacts
of your organization today
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Make sustainability the
way you do things today
Realize the competitive
advantages for your
organization
Phase
1
Commercialize
Sustainability
Phase
2
Re-invent
Phase
3
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Zero Waste
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Population Growth
Atmospheric CO
2
concentration
(ppm)
Availability of
crude oil
20501950
Collaborative
Growth
Zero Waste
Inf_inite
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Climate
Resilience
Renewable
Resource
Zero Waste
Collaborative
Growth
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Adapting your organization
Adapting your organization
uni00A0
Firstly, an unprecedented increase
in the demand for our planet’s finite
natural resources is driving up energy
and commodity prices.
6 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Accelerating urbanization: The speed and scale
of mass urbanization, especially in the mega-cities
of the growth economies, places huge demands
on energy, resources and infrastructure, while
threatening to expand the wealth disparity in
already impoverished regions. In 1900 less than
10% of the world’s population lived in cities. Today
more than 50% do, and every year there are over
65 million new people living in cities, mainly in
developing countries
(5)
. These cities consume 66%
of the world’s energy and produce around 70% of its
GHGs
(6, 7, 14)
.
Security of Supply: The increasingly technology-
dependent lifestyles in many of the mature
economies of the western world demand the use
of resources, including precious metals, which are
mainly found in unstable regions, in high growth
economy nations with their own increasing
domestic requirements. As demand grows, the key
resources expected to be constrained in the near
future include oil, water, minerals and the rare earth
metals used in high tech equipment and batteries
(7, 8, 9)
.
Economics of Scarcity: Costs of food, feed and fiber
are rising, population growth is driving increased
demand, and commodity prices (e.g. copper)
have also risen despite the global recession
(10,
11)
. Scarcity of clean water has the potential to
provoke regional conflicts, while fisheries depletion
threatens coastal economies and cultures.
Furthermore, the pollution sinks (atmosphere,
oceans, landfill) are filling up, increasing the costs
of emissions and waste disposal.
Peak Oil: As consumption continues to outpace new
discoveries, the cost of exploration and discovery
Secondly, the supply of resources to
meet the increased global demand is
threatened by social, environmental and
geo-political instabilities.
Thirdly, the demands of more people
needing more energy, fuel, food and
water will be further exacerbated by the
advent of peak oil and the impacts of
climate change.
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 7
of crude oil resources is also increasing, resulting
in severe impacts on the costs of global food
production, power generation and logistics
(9)
. The
de-coupling of economic growth from crude oil
consumption is a major challenge for oil-dependent
economies, and has contributed to large scale
environmental damage caused by more complicated
crude oil production practices, such as deep water
drilling and tar sands (e.g. Deepwater Horizon)
(4)
.
Climate change: As the influential Stern Review on the
Economics of Climate Change (2006) argued, climate
change is not simply an environmental challenge, but
a cost to our economy roughly equal to the first and
second world wars
(12)
. Furthermore, the devastating
impacts of climate change have the potential to
exacerbate all of the above factors further.
This all adds up to a series of economic, social and
environmental stresses to the traditional growth
prospects for major western corporations. These
factors clearly impact on political stability, social
unrest and environmental sustainability
(3, 4)
.
Organizations are therefore exposed to significant
risks, such as the costs of raw materials, security of
supply chains and global growth prospects. In short,
local GDP growth in developed economies is slow,
supply chains in developing countries are threatened,
and investment in growth economies is challenged.
Few organizations will escape the impacts
of these enviro-economic trends unless they
have been designed to do so, or can adapt and
evolve. In-depth research from The Co-operative
Asset Management
(13)
into how the UK’s leading
companies might be affected suggests that 56%,
or more than half of the FTSE 350 by market
capitalization, will suffer negative financial effects
from depleting resources, climate change and
pollution. This report further estimates that
under a business as usual scenario only 10% of
businesses stand to gain by providing solutions.
Traditionally, businesses have tried to limit their
exposure to such risks. It is our view that simply
limiting one’s exposure is a missed opportunity.
Instead, leaders of organizations must face up to the
reality of the 4
th
economic revolution and identify
and optimize the characteristics of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage within their organizations.
They must plan to build these competencies into a
pioneering strategy for developing growth through
a Sustainable Competitive Advantage, and adapt
their organizations so as to make progress on its
Sustainability Journey (see Figure 3).
Managing the impacts of your
organization today
Reinvent the way things
are done
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Realize the advantages for
your organization
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Lead the solution for your
sector/market
Make sustainability the way
you do things today
Manage
Compliance
Scope for Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Progress on the
Sustainable Journey
Adapting your organization
++++=
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Zero Waste
Reinvent the way
things are done
Drive growth in
your sector/market
Managing the impacts
of your organization today
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Make sustainability the
way you do things today
Realize the competitive
advantages for your
organization
Phase
1
Commercialize
Sustainability
Phase
2
Re-invent
Phase
3
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Zero Waste
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Population Growth
Atmospheric CO
2
concentration
(ppm)
Availability of
crude oil
20501950
Collaborative
Growth
Zero Waste
Inf_inite
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Climate
Resilience
Renewable
Resource
Zero Waste
Collaborative
Growth
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Adapting your organization
Adapting your organization
uni00A0
Figure 3: The 2degrees Sustainability Journey Model.
8 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Five New, Distinctive Competencies
‘Pathfinders’ are industry-leading organizations
who are facing the reality of the 4
th
economic
revolution and gaining an advantage as a result.
They face the same constraints as their competitors,
but are responding to them in ways that build
Sustainable Competitive Advantages. The 2degrees
global community brings together thought-
leaders, industry experts, corporate managers,
policy makers and academics, all with a professional
interest in sustainability. By studying the Pathfinder
organizations, 2degrees can offer a range of great
examples and potential strategic responses, which
might also be possible in your own organization to
accelerate your Sustainability Journey.
2degrees has analyzed a selection of case studies
from our work with several Pathfinder organizations
to illustrate what is possible and plausible for many
others. This analysis points to five core competencies
which, we believe, in combination will enable
organizations to reap the benefits of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage. In order to test these
initial findings, 2degrees has an on-going research
program with Oxford University’s Smith School of
Enterprise and the Environment, which will analyze
empirical evidence to test and strengthen the
definitions of the distinctive competencies in more
depth (see Figure 5), feeding into the subsequent
white papers in this series.
Collaborative Growth and Efficiency Pathfinder #1: Tesco
In the past 5 years, Tesco, second only to Walmart as the world’s largest retailer (on profits), has successfully reduced
the energy and carbon intensity of its UK operations by approximately 50%. This has not only saved the retailer a lot
of money, it has also vastly reduced its exposure to rising energy costs. However, Tesco recognizes that the amount
of energy/carbon in its supply chain is far greater than that used in its own operations. There is a major business
opportunity to reduce the carbon and energy intensity of the Tesco supply chain. The company has set a target to
reduce CO
2
emissions from its supply chain by 30% by 2020. Achieving this target will knock hundreds of millions of
dollars off the costs in its supply chain, act as a catalyst for product and service innovation, and significantly grow the
value of its customer franchise.
Click here to read more about how 2degrees is helping Tesco to collaborate with its supply chain to reduce their
emissions by 30% by 2020.
To find out more about Tesco, visit the company’s website at www.tesco.com.
1) Collaborative Growth and Efficiency
When organizations collaborate in new ways to
deliver efficiency, growth and/or innovation to
address challenges of sustainability, they are able to:
1. Achieve cost efficiencies from between the silos
of their organization;
2. Optimize their use of energy and resources along
the entire supply chain;
3. Source new ideas for products, services,
solutions and supply chains.
Cost reduction and improved resource efficiency are
not new achievements for most organizations; in
fact, the traditional growth of industrial economies
has been driven by these gains. However, Pathfinder
organizations, such as Tesco, are using collaboration
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th
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to go beyond the achievements of traditional best
practices. Collaboration can become an engine of
growth for organizations that are able to collaborate
in new ways with stakeholders. For instance, they can
collaborate:
• With their customers, to identify growth
opportunities for new products and services and
to eliminate the need for costs in areas such as
packaging, transport, returns or post-consumer
waste;
• With their employees, to accelerate the pace
of change in line with sustainable business
goals. E.g. through uptake and retention of
training courses, new technology, processes and
equipment;
• With their suppliers, to increase resource efficiency
and reduce waste in packaging, energy, transport
and water,and to support closed-loop recycling
that diverts post-consumer waste from landfill.
2) Zero Waste
Organizations are able to divert all waste streams
from landfill and deliver more from less resource,
by:
1. Converting waste into resource - generating new
revenue and avoiding the increasing costs of
waste disposal from their operations (a process of
industrial symbiosis);
2. Developing differentiated products and services
for their customers and consumers;
3. Retaining value in the lifecycle of their assets,
buildings and facilities by identifying and planning
opportunities for re-use and recycling of materials.
By adopting processes that combine these zero waste
principles, organizations can reduce their exposure to
increasing costs, increase their revenue streams, and
optimize their resource use. Global pollution sinks
in land, sea or air are filling up and organizations will
inevitably pay more for waste. The Chartered Institute
of Wastes Management (2008) defines ’Industrial
Symbiosis’ as, “sharing of services, utility, and by-product
resources among industrial actors in order to add value,
reduce costs and improve the environment”
(15)
. This
converting of waste into resource is one of the ways
that industrial processes can contribute to sustainable
economic growth. An example is Interface-FLOR’s re-
usable carpet materials that can be endlessly recycled
back into new carpet.
Zero Waste Pathfinder #2: Interface-FLOR
Interface-FLOR is a true pathfinder of zero waste solutions. The company has developed plans to eliminate all forms
of waste from its facilities. The company defines waste as any cost that doesn’t produce value for its customers.
This can include traditional forms of waste, like scrap or material sent to landfills, as well as the resources, time and
energy wasted through errors or re-work. Since 1994, their zero waste strategy has delivered savings of more than
$107 million, and the company’s waste cost, per unit of production, has been reduced by 48%.
Interface-FLOR is the world’s largest manufacturer of environmentally-responsible modular flooring for
residential and commercial markets. To find out more about the company’s waste initiatives click here, or visit
their website at www.interfaceflor.com
To participate in discussions about zero waste solutions with other industry-leading organizations, join the
Zero Waste Working Group on 2degrees.
10 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
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When organizations design and develop products
or services which use 100% renewable sources
of energy and materials, they are able to grow
revenues faster than physical and finite resource-
dependent businesses athrough;
1. Digitizing products and developing scalable,
high growth services with zero environmental
impacts;
2. Eliminating all unnecessary physical resources
from processes;
3. Securing physical resources within a renewable
supply chain.
If you extend the concept of zero waste fully into
the design and development of your products
and services you end up at the point of “renewable
resource” — when all the energy used is from
renewable sources, and all of the materials used
are from renewable sources, recycleable, and
re-usable. P&G has made a clear commitment to
becoming a business based on renewable resource
through innovative and renewable supply chains,
including replacing petro-chemicals used in some
of their products with bio-chemicals derived from
microalgae. The concept of renewable resource can
also be applied to entire business systems, such
as SC Johnson’s Greenlist, which is systematically
reformulating its products to eliminate
environmental impacts.
The Renewable Resource concept also underpins
growth through services and the dematerialization
or digitization, of physical products. Such
strategies are unconstrained by physical supply
chains and, provided they are powered by
renewable energy, make no negative contribution
to climate change. Companies such as Apple,
Google, and new businesses such as M&S Energy
are great examples of the concept in practice.
Renewable Resource Pathfinder #3: Procter and Gamble
P&G has made a set of bold, aspirational and forward-looking commitments to develop more sustainably,
addressing issues of climate change and resource scarcity. The company’s commitments include:
• Using 100% renewable or recycled materials for all P&G products and packaging (throughout their lifecycle)
• Powering all P&G plants with 100% renewable energy
• Designing products to delight consumers while maximizing the conservation of resources.
This means that P&G will only use materials that are renewably sourced, and come from organic sources
such as biomass, agricultural products and biological processes such as fermentation. In addition to being
renewably sourced, these materials will also be sustainable, and so their production will not result in the
destruction of critical ecosystems, loss of habitat for endangered species or other detrimental impacts on the
environment or human communities. P&G has the scale and the means to achieve these goals based on its
ability to innovate new products and design efficient end-to-end processes and supply chains, and is taking
steps to meet these challenging commitments.
P&G is a leading consumer product company in segments such as beauty and grooming, health and wellbeing,
household care, snacks and more. To find out more, visit the company’s website at www.pg.com.
Click here to find out more about P&G’s Sustainability strategy.
3) Renewable Resource
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th
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When organizations adapt their operations and
supply chains to the impacts of climate change,
they are able to:
1. Build resilience to extreme weather events into
their operations;
2. Avoid the high costs of recovery from climate
related impacts (flood, drought, etc);
3. Secure supplies of environmentally sensitive
commodities (food, feed, fiber, fuel).
These adaptation strategies are a response to the
current and future impacts of climate change on
supply chains and operations. For organizations
dependant on agriculture, these strategies include:
• adjustment of planting dates to adapt to the
changing seasonality;
• adapting crop variety to deal with changing
weather conditions (e.g. flooding or drought);
• relocating crops to adapt to the shift in
productivity associated with climate changes;
• improved land management to mitigate the
destructive effects of climate change, such as soil
erosion control;
• soil protection through tree planting.
However, climate resilience is likely to be a significant
issue for all industry sectors, and is not limited to
agricultural supply chains. The World Bank Institute
is working with 2degrees to bring together leaders
in major developing world cities with the aim of
capturing and sharing best practices to address the
key resilience issues facing these cities. So far these
issues have included water and waste management,
energy from waste, flood defences, a range of health
concerns and other challenges of “Liveable Cities”
(14)
.
4) Climate Resilience
Climate Resilience Pathfinder #4: Starbucks
Starbucks’ coffee supply is at risk from shifts in rainfall and harvest patterns, and as a result
the company’s coffee growing communities are suffering. The impacts of climate change are
also shrinking the area of usable land available in coffee regions around the world. Consequently, addressing
climate change is a significant priority for Starbucks. The company is investing in alternative methods to secure
coffee production through the use of renewable energy, and strategies for energy and water conservation. To
date, Starbucks has successfully engaged 29 coffee-growing communities in Sumatra, Indonesia, and Mexico in
pilot sustainable agriculture programs. The company is also collaborating with Conservation International in a
ground breaking pilot of incentive programs, which link coffee farmers to carbon markets.
Other aspects of Starbucks’ supply are also increasingly impacted by climate change, including paper for
its cartons, and ingredients for its other beverages. Starbucks led the industry in the development of the
recycled cardboard sleeves for its hot drinks to avoid the use of two paper cups to make hot drinks easier to
carry. Starbucks has also collaborated with the FDA to increase the recycled content in the materials used to
produce their mugs.
Click here to hear what Starbucks’ Director of Ethical Sourcing has to say about the company’s sustainable
sourcing strategy. You can also find out more about Starbucks at www.starbucks.com.
12 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
When organizations measure and monitor their
environmental impacts in real-time and use the
insight gained to manage, reduce and monetize
assets, they are able to:
1. Reduce their energy, GHG and water risks,
impacts and costs;
2. Use systems to optimize logistics, and balance
demand and supply with environmental
performance targets;
3. Use data intelligence and controls to improve
the performance of assets and facilities (e.g.
in ‘smarter’ buildings, motors, power grids,
transport networks and logistics).
Until recently, organizations have not used
environmental data to manage performance
beyond compliance. Increasingly, businesses
are using these data to effectively improve their
performance across their operations and supply
chains. Quality management, business process re-
engineering and similar data-enabled performance
initiatives have enabled organizations to stay
competitive during the digital revolution of the
last few decades. A new wave of environmental
performance systems and so-called “Smart”
solutions are being rolled out into the market,
including a partnership between CA Technologies
and Siemens, which seeks to provide intelligent
ICT solutions to assist organizations with their
sustainability challenges.
The report ‘Smart 2020; Enabling the low carbon
economy in the information age’ (2008) outlined
how these information communication and
technology (ICT) solutions might make a defining
Eco-Performance Measurement Pathfinder #5: Sony
Sony has made a commitment to completely eliminate its environmental impact by 2050. Known as the
‘Road to Zero’, the plan involves setting a host of interim targets to assess the potential to reduce Sony’s
environmental impact. It includes steps to address the whole product life cycle of their products, and
measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, promote biodiversity, conserve resources and more.
Sony realized that their CO
2
emissions were directly linked to their costs, and that the insights from
understanding GHG emissions would enable them to drive up efficiency. One area of emissions is in
transport logistics from their retail customers. Having measured these emissions, Sony realized they could
identify the opportunities to reduce them. For instance, they optimized journeys, aggregated deliveries
across categories to reduce journeys and increased fill rate on trucks, consolidated distribution hubs,
reduced energy use at their distribution centers, optimized packaging, identified opportunities for return
freight and explored collaborative logistics and co-location with other suppliers to the same retailers.
To find out more, visit the website at www.sony.net.
5) Eco-Performance Measurement
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 13
contribution to growth in a low carbon economy.
The report identified an estimated $950bn in
ICT enabled energy efficiency cost savings for
organizations world-wide.
Standards are now available for measuring,
monitoring and accounting for environmental
impacts. ICT systems can provide management
teams with the tools and evidence to support
decisions that improve environmental and business
performance. “Smart” has become attached to a
wide range of applications for ICT enabled energy
efficiency and cost savings, such as;
• Smart Grids, or the ‘energy internet’, offer the
greatest opportunity for energy efficiency aimed
at eliminating the energy lost in transmission
and distribution (approximately 40%);
• Smart motor systems, or industrial automation
and optimized power consumption, used by all
the motors in manufacturing world-wide;
• Smart logistics, or a host of efficiencies in
transport and storage that could deliver fuel,
electricity and heating savings;
• Smart buildings, or how better building design,
management and automation could deliver
significant emissions savings from buildings.
The various Pathfinders and other examples
shared in this section provide indications of the
new, distinctive competencies that can become
the source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage
for other organizations. From observations,
discussions and experience of working with many
of them, 2degrees is able to show a common
pattern of how they have changed the way
they operate to develop this advantage. This is
reviewed next.
14 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Adapting Your Organization
2degrees has identified a clear pattern in the
process of gaining a Sustainable Competitive
Advantage through insight gained from working
closely with many of the companies referenced in
this paper. Figure 4 explains the path organizations
must follow to adapt their organizations to
integrate the five key competencies (described in
Figure 5) and achieve a Sustainable Competitive
Advantage.
As well as understanding the transformational
nature of this journey, it is also important to grasp
what is needed to effectively transition from one
stage to the next. 2degrees believes that there are
three things which make a big difference to this
transition process:
Leadership:
The uncertainty raised by the 4
th
economic
revolution, coupled with the opportunities for
Sustainable Competitive Advantage, provide a
platform for business leadership. Leadership is
needed to set an organization on its journey, set
aspirations, goals and clarity of purpose at each
stage and be prepared to tackle the inevitable
trade-offs.
Management:
Management teams must adopt the changes
necessary to develop a Sustainable Competitive
Advantage and adapt their organizations to meet
the new challenges. The management should also
build the five new, distinctive competencies into
the organization, and develop a clear business case
for “making sustainability the way we do business”.
Communications:
Stakeholders must be engaged in the purpose and
outcomes of Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
Communications can deliver a significant return
on engagement in sustainable business, from staff,
customers, suppliers, shareholders and others.
Figure 4: Adapting your organization to develop a Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
Managing the impacts of your
organization today
Reinvent the way things
are done
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Realize the advantages for
your organization
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Lead the solution for your
sector/market
Make sustainability the way
you do things today
Manage
Compliance
Scope for Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Progress on the
Sustainable Journey
Adapting your organization
++++=
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Zero Waste
Reinvent the way
things are done
Drive growth in
your sector/market
Managing the impacts
of your organization today
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Make sustainability the
way you do things today
Realize the competitive
advantages for your
organization
Phase
1
Commercialize
Sustainability
Phase
2
Re-invent
Phase
3
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Zero Waste
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Population Growth
Atmospheric CO
2
concentration
(ppm)
Availability of
crude oil
20501950
Collaborative
Growth
Zero Waste
Inf_inite
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Climate
Resilience
Renewable
Resource
Zero Waste
Collaborative
Growth
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Adapting your organization
Adapting your organization
uni00A0
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 15
Pathfinder: Marks & Spencer (M&S)
– Becoming the World’s Most Sustainable Major Retailer
About M&S: M&S is the UK’s largest clothing retailer and one of the largest food and home retailers. The
company oversees approximately 35,000 product lines, from over 2,000 factories, 20,000 farms and 250,000
workers world-wide, while employing 70,000 employees in the UK and serving 16 million customers every
week.
Phase 1: M&S was a pioneer of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in UK retail in the 1980s and had put in
place a comprehensive program of compliance, winning awards consistently for its CSR performance. It’s “look
behind the label” initiative pioneered a new standard in transparency and customer engagement in issues of
fair trade, food safety and sustainable sourcing. They came to realize that CSR and compliance could never
keep up with stakeholder expectations, and in 2006 developed “Plan A: because there is no plan B”.
Phase 2: Launched in January 2007, Plan A started as a £200m sustainability investment over 5 years,
committing M&S to deliver change across five key pillars (climate change; waste; raw materials; fair partner and
health) with 100 clearly defined commitments across each pillar. This strategy set M&S on course to becoming
the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015, embedding sustainability into how they do business
and engaging the entire workforce and supply chain in the pursuit of the Plan A commitments. A significant
milestone was achieved when Plan A broke even on its investment inside an 18 month period, and contributed
to 8% of the company profits in its third year.
Phase 3: Celebrating its 125
th
anniversary in 2009, M&S extended its commitments through to 2015. New
and bolder commitments were set to engage customers and suppliers in sustainable innovation. M&S
launched new products and services, such as M&S Energy, to link their retail skills to their ability to source
renewable energy and take waste from consumer clothing and turn it into insulation for homes. Additionally,
new factories provide living wages in developing countries and set new standards for productivity, working
conditions, energy efficiency and zero waste.
To find out more about Marks and Spencer’s Plan A, please visit http://plana.marksandspencer.com.
Click here to hear from Marks & Spencer’s Head of Packaging a on how Plan A is helping them to reduce
packaging waste from their products.
16 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Take Action Inside Your Organization
The first step to taking action inside your own
organizations to develop a Sustainable Competitive
Advantage and accelerate your Sustainability Journey
requires answers to the following three questions:
1. Where is your organization on the Sustainability
Journey towards gaining a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage?
2. What is the scope for driving growth through
a Sustainable Competitive Advantage in your
organization?
3. How capable is your organization of delivering
the changes needed to gain a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage?
2degrees Business Services have been developed
with the principal aim of helping clients to gain a
Sustainable Competitive Advantage. To help you to
get started we have developed:
• a survey to further define the five competencies
of Sustainable Competitive Advantage – click
here to take part and find out how your
organization fares on the Sustainability Journey;
• a diagnostic tool to identify where your
organization is on its Sustainability Journey;
• a set of frameworks to help businesses adapt
their organization to gain a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage.
Members of the 2degrees community will have access
to the practical solutions needed to progress their
sustainable business goals. Click here to join the
discussion on Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
Figure 5: Five key competencies to adapt your organization to achieve a Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
Managing the impacts of your
organization today
Reinvent the way things
are done
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Realize the advantages for
your organization
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Gateway
Leadership, Management
Communications
Lead the solution for your
sector/market
Make sustainability the way
you do things today
Manage
Compliance
Scope for Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Progress on the
Sustainable Journey
Adapting your organization
++++=
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Zero Waste
Reinvent the way
things are done
Drive growth in
your sector/market
Managing the impacts
of your organization today
Be on top of issues, risks
and opportunities
Make sustainability the
way you do things today
Realize the competitive
advantages for your
organization
Phase
1
Commercialize
Sustainability
Phase
2
Re-invent
Phase
3
Eco-
Performance
Measurement
Collaborative
Growth and
Ef_f_iciency
Zero Waste
Renewable
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Population Growth
Atmospheric CO
2
concentration
(ppm)
Availability of
crude oil
20501950
Collaborative
Growth
Zero Waste
Inf_inite
Resource
Climate
Resilience
Eco-
Performance
Management
Climate
Resilience
Renewable
Resource
Zero Waste
Collaborative
Growth
Sustainable
Competitive
Advantage
Adapting your organization
Adapting your organization
uni00A0
Adapt Your Organization Today!
If you are interested in finding out more about how to position your organization to develop a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage, we want to hear from you. Please contact Simon Brown or Ben Carmichael:
Simon Brown, Managing Director – Business Services E: simonbrown@2degreesnetwork.com T: +44 (0) 7980 241816
Ben Carmichael, Director, Creative & Editorial (USA) E: bencarmichael@2degreesnetwork.com T: +1 646 480 4814
or visit 2degrees at www.2degreesbusiness.com.
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 17
This Series: “Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage
From the 4
Th
Economic Revolution”
In this white paper series we attempt to set the
leadership agenda regarding Sustainable Competitive
Advantage for the next decade. These white papers
will be produced by 2degrees, with support from
Oxford University’s Smith School of Enterprise and the
Environment. We propose that a series of four white
papers will be produced, one each quarter, each of
which will then be collected into a final product that
combines rigorous analysis, quantitative data and
compelling anecdotal evidence.
With the combined resources of the primary partners
working in collaboration, it is our conviction that
we can produce, publish and disseminate a body of
research on Sustainable Competitive Advantage that
will define the field for a decade — if not more. We
have developed a detailed survey that will provide
compelling data from survey participants to challenge/
underpin our perspectives in the white papers. The
remaining papers in this series will focus on:
White Paper 2:
Five New, Distinctive Competencies of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage.
This paper will explore each of the distinctive
competencies in further depth, examining key
case studies and models of best practice, and offer
insights into the business case that underpins each
characteristic. This will help organizations understand
the concept of Sustainable Competitive Advantage
and apply it in detail.
White Paper 3:
The Scope for Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
This paper will outline the drivers of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage at a sector and market
level. The paper will focus on detailed case studies
of organizations that are building Sustainable
Competitive Advantage in public and private sectors.
This will help organizations to focus their sustainable
development on the characteristics of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage that have most potential.
White Paper 4:
Leading the Organization on its Journey.
This paper will focus on delivering a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage inside organizations,
examining the phases in the Sustainability Journey
and what it takes to transition from one phase to
the other. We will examine the underlying business
case, role of leadership and best practices in terms of
stakeholder engagement and mobilization. This will
help organizations to build practical plans for gaining
a Sustainable Competitive Advantage.
18 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
Examples of Other Pathfinders
In addition to the Pathfinder organizations
identified throughout this paper, there are
several additional examples that demonstrate the
adoption of the key competencies of Sustainable
Competitive Advantage.
The second white paper will offer more in-depth
case studies of additional Pathfinder organizations,
but a brief outline is provided below.
Other examples of collaborative growth
and efficiency:
• GE, Skanska and Arup are collaborating to develop
“Deep Green” solutions for buildings that save
energy, enhance appeal and functionality for
tenants and increase rents and yields for owners.
• M&S has been collaborating with Oxfam to
recycle millions of garments each year in a way
that generates incremental sales for M&S, extra
value for its customers and millions of pounds to
finance Oxfam’s work around the world.
• IBM/Cisco are collaborating together, and with
leading client organizations to develop data
and networking solutions for a “smarter planet”
with applications in healthcare, buildings,
transport, security, education, power and other
utilities.
Other examples of zero waste:
• Nike Reuse-a-shoe has collected over 25 million
pairs of shoes, and Nike Grind is turning used
sports shoes into running tracks.
• The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) launched
NHS-reuse in April 2011. It is a service that will
enable the UK’s major hospital organizations to
see previously unwanted or excess stock held on
a central asset inventory that can be procured
through an eBay-style auction system.
• Meat and dairy farmers and food processors
supplying M&S in the UK are finding customers
for their organic waste who are able to produce
energy in anaerobic digestion systems. A cost
becomes a revenue and source of renewable
energy.
Other examples of renewable resource:
• Apple iTunes is dematerializing the entertainment
industry, achieving unprecedented revenue
and shareholder value growth through digital
products, sales and services.
• Cisco tele-presence managed services are
replacing air travel. Cisco saved over $250 million
in a single year by replacing travel for internal
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution 19
meetings with video, and is rapidly growing the
market for this service.
• Nokia Siemens Network (NSN) is developing
new revenues from providing renewable
microgeneration solutions to telecommunications
infrastructure customers in regions where grid
energy is unavailable or unreliable. This is proving
to be a better alternative to traditional, small-scale
diesel generators.
Other examples of climate resilience:
• In 2010 Unilever launched its Sustainable
Living Plan that commits to source 100% of
its agricultural raw materials sustainably. The
details of this plan show extensive commitments
to building climate resilience into their key
agricultural supply chains around the world.
• B&Q (world’s 3
rd
largest DIY retailer) has
transformed its supply chain by only buying
100% responsibly sourced timber products.
With full transparency, B&Q now knows where
the wood comes from for their products.
Other examples of eco-performance
measurement:
• Walkers Crisps, owned by PepsiCo, was the first
company in the UK to develop a carbon footprint
of their product. This enabled them to identify
and save 7% of their CO
2
emissions within 2
years, saving over $750,000 and over 700m liters
of water in a single factory.
• Puma, the French rival to Nike and Adidas, has
applied a new accounting system that allows it
to publish the world’s first environmental profit-
and-loss statement. The new system assigns
financial values to “ecosystem services,” such
as the planet’s water and air filtration cycles,
incorporates these values into the profit and
loss statement and underpins eco-performance
improvement targets for energy, waste, water
and raw materials.
• Fresh & Easy is a $302 million US retail firm that
committed itself to an ambitious climate change
plan, outlined by its parent firm, Tesco. They
deployed a sustainability resource planning
system from Verisae and are now saving over $3
million per year on energy spend alone.
20 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
References
1) KPMG (2011) China’s 12
th
Five-Year Plan: Overview
[Available at http://www.kpmg.com/ZA/en/
IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/China-
Business-Desk/Documents/12th%20Five%20
Year%20Plan%20Overview.pdf]
2) UNPD (2011) World Population Prospects: The
2010 Revision (online) [Available at http://esa.
un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm] Press Release:
http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Other-Information/
Press_Release_WPP2010.pdf
3) Kleanthous, A. et al. (2008) Sustainable
Consumption Facts and Trends, World Business
Council for SD [Available at: http://www.wbcsd.
org/DocRoot/I9Xwhv7X5V8cDIHbHC3G/
WBCSD_Sustainable_Consumption_web.pdf]
4) UNEP (2011) Decoupling natural resource use and
environmental impacts from economic growth
[Available at http://www.unep.org/Documents.
Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=2641&Art
icleID=8725&l=en&t=long]
5) UNPD (2010) 2009 Revision of world urbanisation
prospects (online) [Available at http://esa.un.org/
unpd/wup/index.htm]
Press Release: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/
Documents/WUP2009_Press-Release_Final_
Rev1.pdf
6) IEA (2008) World Energy Outlook: Global trends
to 2030, Chapter 8 - Energy Use in Cities [Available
at http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/
weo2008/WEO_2008_Chapter_8.pdf]
7) UN-Habitat (2011) Hot Cities: Battle ground
for climate change [Available at http://www.
unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/GRHS2011/
P1HotCities.pdf]
8) US Department of Agriculture (2011) Cotton:
Market Outlook [Available at: http://www.ers.
usda.gov/Briefing/Cotton/marketoutlook.htm]
9) IEA (2010) World Energy Outlook: Executive
Summary [Available at http://www.
worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2010/
WEO2010_es_english.pdf]
10) Munshi (2010) Copper Prices Increase on
Speculation Chinese Economy Will Buoy Demand,
Bloomberg [Available at http://www.bloomberg.
com/news/2010-08-18/copper-fluctuates-in-
new-york-trading-on-stockpile-drop-dollar-
movement.html ]
11) Blas (2011) Food prices rise to fresh record high,
Financial Times, London [Available at http://
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60af28b6-2f00-11e0-88ec-
00144feabdc0.html#axzz1M89I9c4x]
12) Stern, N (2006) Stern review on the Economics
of Climate Change, HM Treasury [Available
at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.
uk/20110202153702/http://webarchive.
nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-
treasury.gov.uk/sternreview_index.htm ]
13) Cooperative Asset Management (2011), Available
at [http://co-operativeassetmanagement.co.uk/
advisers/advisers_home.php]
14) UNEP (2008) Liveable Cities: The benefits of urban
environmental planning [Available at http://
www.unep.org/urban_environment/PDFs/
LiveableCities.pdf]
15 Agarwal, A. and Strachan, P. (2008) Is Industrial
Symbiosis only a Concept for Developed Countries?
The Journal for Waste & Resource Management
Professionals, The Chartered Institution of Wastes
Management; 42
16) The Climate Group (2008) Smart 2020: Enabling
the low carbon economy in the information age,
The Climate Group – Global e-Sustainability
Initiative [Available at http://www.smart2020.
org/_assets/files/01_Smart2020ReportSummary.
pdf ]
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
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Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 21
Simon Brown leads the design,
development and growth of the
Strategic Consultancy and client
facing business of 2degrees. Simon
is an experienced advisor helping
to accelerate sustainable business
innovation with clients who are
at the forefront of this challenge.
He has worked with a broad range
of large clients over many years –
including Marks & Spencer, Tesco,
Philips, Nokia Siemens Network,
Sony (Europe), The Carbon Trust,
H&M, Centrica, E.ON, NHS, Serco,
Syngenta and The Guardian –
on some of the world’s leading
sustainable business initiatives.
Simon speaks with experience
and authority on many aspects of
sustainable business growth and
innovation.
His previous roles include Partner
at strategic innovation firm The
Foundation, Director at Scient,
the eBusiness systems innovator,
Managing Consultant at PA
Consulting Group and Commercial
Management at ICI Plc.
Martin Chilcott is an experienced
entrepreneur and the Founder and
CEO of 2degrees.
His experience in launching and
running successful businesses
in the heyday of the internet
revolution, convinced him that the
global community was once more
at the brink of systemic change
– driven by the need to become
sustainable.
This time, the risks of not changing
fast enough are enormous. Having
witnessed the power of enterprise
to drive change once already,
Martin was convinced business
had to be at the heart of the 4
th
economic revolution, and that web
technologies would play a major
role in accelerating the process.
Unsurprisingly, 2degrees was born.
Martin’s previous corporate roles
have included Global Head of
Innovation at Proxicom Inc. and
Group Marketing Director of the
global IT integrator, Dimension
Data Plc.
Ben Carmichael is the Creative &
Editorial Director at 2degrees. He
is responsible for overseeing all
the editorial content development
for the company, including white
papers, executive summaries, blogs,
podcasts, infographics and other
items. His background is in helping
private companies and non-profits
tell environmental stories. His
clients have included BluSkye,
Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC) and others.
His previous roles have included
speechwriter for NRDC, publicist
for The New Yorker, and contributor
to The Huffington Post, On Earth,
and other publications. He holds
degrees from Brown University and
Oxford University, where he studied
on a Marshall Scholarship.
Authors
22 White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion.
2degrees is the world’s largest community of sustainability professionals who have come together to share
knowledge and experience, and collaborate to make their organizations, economies and societies better.
More than just a networking platform; it is a managed, professional business community, focused on
sustainability.
The community has over 13,000 public and private sector professional members, from 7,000+ organizations,
and over 100 countries from around the world.
2degrees brings together thought leaders, industry experts, corporate managers, policy makers and
academics, all with a professional interest in sustainability. It provides them with:
- Networking opportunities,
- The latest content – news and information,
- Business and collaboration tools and services,
- Opportunities to collaborate, and
- Customized services to help them make their organizations more sustainable and profitable.
2degrees is organized into two business areas: the 2degrees community; and business services. To find out
more, visit www.2degreesnetwork.com and www.2degreesbusiness.com.
White Paper Series Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The 4
th
Economic Revolution. Click here to join the discussion. 23
The Smith School is working with 2degrees to investigate and strengthen the definition of collaborative
growth and efficiency, and will work closely on the analysis provided in White Paper 2 in particular.
The Smith School is an interactive hub within Oxford University that engages with, educates and equips
public and private enterprise with the solutions, knowledge and networks needed to address the major
environmental challenges facing our planet. The School strongly believes that the only way to address the
environmental challenges we face is by convening and partnering with both public and private enterprise.
Media partner
The authors would also like to thank Nyla Sarwar, 2degrees, who is responsible for managing this
White Paper Series.
We’d like to thank our partners for their valuable contributions in the development of
this White Paper Series.
2degrees
UK Office:
228-240 Banbury Road
Oxford OX2 7BY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 597640
US Office:
30 Broad Street
14
th
Floor
New York
NY 10004 USA
Tel: +1 646 480 4815
Smith School of
Enterprise and the
Environment
Hayes House
75 George Street
Oxford OX1 2BQ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1865 614942
Visit www.2degreesbusiness.com/strategic-consulting
to download a copy of this document and access the links.
Published: June 2011. Printed on 100% FSC certified paper.
