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In This Issue
Editor's Note
The Opportunity in Product Obsolescence
Today, products with titles like “2.0” follow closely on the heels of their 1.0 predecessors. Often, these products are retired before they have reached the end of their functional life, which can promote environmental degradation through resource consumption, pollution, and waste. Whether the driver for such obsolescence is technological progress, consumer taste, or company strategies to increase sales, these effects are the same.
This week, BSR Advisory Services Manager Marshall Chase examines when product obsolescence makes sense (when, for instance, it can promote energy efficiency) and how companies can support “appropriate obsolescence” by focusing on design-oriented solutions and systems that engage users and effectively support and dispose of products.
We also offer an overview of our first two briefs in a new BSR series of short papers on stakeholder engagement. And we have a graphic highlighting the recent BSR/GlobeScan “State of Sustainable Business” survey, which revealed the need to further integrate sustainability into core business functions, particularly finance, investor relations, human resources, and R&D/product development.
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In Depth
The Sustainability Opportunity in Product Obsolescence
By Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services, BSR
The challenge with rapid obsolescence—the growing trend of retiring consumer products before the end of their useful life—is not what you think. Here, we look at how the high-tech sector can address this challenge with solutions focused on design and engaging consumers.
Read more →
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Quick Hit
BSR/GlobeScan Survey Reveals Need to Integrate Sustainability Into Core Business
Results from the “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2011,” released at the BSR Conference 2011, show that the most important leadership challenge facing business today is the integration of sustainability into core business functions. Nearly two thirds of the 500 business leaders from BSR member companies surveyed identified this challenge as their most significant.
More than two thirds of respondents also identified communications functions as the most engaged with the CSR/sustainability department within their company or organization. Respondents identified several functions that are significantly less engaged, including finance, investor relations, human resources, and R&D/product development departments.
 View a larger image.
Toolbox
BSR’s Five-Step Approach to Stakeholder Engagement
In a series BSR is launching today, we outline our approach for companies to initiate and sustain constructive, cost-effective stakeholder relationships over time. By engaging early and often, companies can create value for stakeholders and use the engagement process to inform business strategy and operations. Each brief provides practical guidance and tools on implementing the five steps:
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Develop a strategy: Review past engagements, determine the company’s motivation for the engagement, and define objectives.
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Map stakeholders: Define criteria for identifying and prioritizing stakeholders and reflect on the best engagement mechanism such as a single meeting, open forum, social media, or an ongoing stakeholder panel.
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Prepare for the engagement: Define short- and long-term goals, and set tactics and rules for the engagement.
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Engage stakeholders: Conduct the engagement itself by focusing the conversations, getting the most value out of stakeholders, and mitigating tension when it arises.
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Establish action plans: Use stakeholder feedback to improve business strategy and operations, build trust with stakeholders, and identify opportunities and plan for future engagements.
Briefs on steps one and two are now available, and we be releasing the rest of the series over the next few months. For more information, contact Farid Baddache or Eric Olson.
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