Bob Willard is a leading expert on business sustainability strategies with special focus on how sustainability connects to company finances. He sees a strong business case for sustainability and advises companies to do the right thing — for ethical reasons, but also to make more profit.
“My research proves that it’s beneficial for organizations to focus on sustainability. We know that you can get better results and make a lot more profit simply by adopting best practices of other organizations that already have been working on environmental and social issues.
“However, to make the business community pay attention, we need to be able to show that it is an advantage, not a sacrifice. Companies are not inclined to do things that don’t have something in it for them,” Bob Willard says.
This is where sustainable procurement comes in. According to Bob Willard, strategic purchasing is a market force that provides the proof points we need to make businesses find time and resources for sustainability.
“When purchasing organizations give significant weight to sustainability factors in the bid appraisal process they make it matter. If it matters to the buyer it matters to the supplier and the supplier is going to want to improve that score to have more preferential treatment from the buyer.
“What we’re talking about here is sending a strong message to the business community that sustainability matters — their own sustainability as an enterprise and the sustainability of their products and services. That’s the magic of it,” Bob Willard concludes.
For more insights from Bob Willard, see his full keynote speech here. It was originally broadcasted in connection with the launch of TCO Certified, generation 9.
