Shelby Stromerson
Sustainability Problems
Go Fix It
Word Count: 514
Sustainable Company Certification
Currently there is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification that is
dedicated to recognize homes and business buildings as environmentally friendly. LEED buildings are
becoming more prevalent as green design becomes more mainstream, but why is environmental
certification restricted to just buildings? I believe the same could be done with companies. If qualifying
companies are given environmental certification, I believe it would induce a trend to become more
sustainable to improve a company’s image.
Most people have heard not only of LEED but of the Fortune 500, an annual list compiled by
Forbes magazine of the top 500 US companies ranked by their adjusted gross revenue. Fortune 500
companies are well regarded; companies that consistently appear on the list are adaptable, have a longterm focus, put a priority on leadership, continue to generate strong ideas, and continue to grow as the
revenue threshold continues to increase. If companies could receive environmental certification like
LEED with the regard of the Fortune 500, it could shift economic focus to becoming a more sustainable
company. An approach similar to the Fortune 500 has actually been taken with sustainable
companies—the Global 100 Index, centering on twelve key performance indicators that rank the world’s
most sustainable companies. But few people have heard of the Global 100 Index, therefore a
combination of the Global Index with LEED would provide a physical validation that could shift attitudes
towards sustainability.
Much like LEED, the Global 100 Index ranks companies based on a checklist of twelve
performance indicators—energy productivity, carbon productivity, water productivity, waste
productivity, innovation capacity, percentage tax paid, CEO to average worker pay, pension fund status,
safety performance, employee turnover, leadership diversity, and clean capitalism pay link (mechanisms
that link executive management compensation to corporate sustainability performance). Using these
indicators, a company could be awarded points, from anything to using recycled copy paper in over 50%
Shelby Stromerson
Sustainability Problems
Go Fix It
Word Count: 514
of their printing to using as little air shipping as possible. Companies would have to be divided into
categories dependent on the number of facilities—a domestic or strictly local company should not be
held to the same standard as one that is international because they cannot be directly compared, so
separate checklists must be taken into account. The size of the company must also be considered—
companies that employ 100 people may find it easier or harder than a company that employs 1000
people to be sustainable. Companies that have multiple facilities can have individual facilities rated, and
if more than half of the total facilities receive certification than the company receives certification.
There would be various degrees of certification mirroring that of LEED: certified (minimum), silver, gold
and platinum that a company could display as a plaque in all of their facilities.
Sustainability certification is a possible solution for the lack of companies taking initiative and
improving their environmental sustainability, which would only help to enhance their social and
economic sustainability. By making it a physical certification, it would appear in the public eye more
often, influencing public attitudes to invest more in sustainable companies.
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Colvin, Geoff. "So You Want to Be a Fortune 500 company…." Fortune So You Want to Be a
Fortune 500company Comments. The Fortune Daily, 6 May 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
http://fortune.com/2013/05/06/so-you-want-to-be-a-fortune-500-company/
Global 100 Index; www.global100.org
"What Is LEED Certification?" What Is LEED Certification? 360Chestnut Home Energy and Clean
Living Blow, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Miller, Norm, Jay Spivey, and Andy Florance. Does Green Pay Off? N.p.: American Real Estate
Society n.p., 8 July 2008. PDF.
Heslin, Peter, and Jenna Ochoa. "Understanding and Developing Strategic Corporate Social
Responsibility."ScienceDirect 37.2 (2008): 125-44. Web.
http://www.instituteforhealthyaging.com/uploads/9/3/3/6/9336893/corporate_social_responsi
bility.pdf
Citation Annotation #1
1. Miller, Norm, Jay Spivey, and Andy Florance. Does Green Pay Off? N.p.: American Real Estate
Society n.p., 8 July 2008. PDF.
2. Norm Miller is the primary author, is a professor at the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate.
Shelby Stromerson
Sustainability Problems
Go Fix It
Word Count: 514
3. The article compares data on Energy Star and LEED-certified buildings versus non-Energy Star
and non-LEED properties. The results show that there are promising benefits for investing in
sustainable real estate.
4. – It’s one of the first systematic studies of the benefits of green investment; parallel studies
produce similar results
--There are many more environmental certification boards than just LEED, which can extend the
process of obtaining green certification. But some cities, like Portland, OR, have streamlined the
process by adapting city codes to sustainable objectives
-- The incentives that are most effective at stimulating green building are tax
incentives/credits/rebates, density bonuses and faster building permits (survey by the American
Institute of Architects)
5. – “The green movement is not purely public sector-driven, although we do note a large number of
cities now mandating LEED certification for certain size buildings”
-- “Tenants like the EPA and others within the Federal government are important drivers but so is the
typical public corporation today”
--“The real barriers to go green are mostly a lack of planning and developer education, a lack of
knowledge about local vendors and resources or difficult local land use officials”
6. The data gathered in the study showed that there were no additional costs to obtaining the minimum
LEED certification, and silver costs only an additional 3%, so it’s a lot more feasible to go green than
many companies may believe. The research also concluded that there needs to be unified rating and
certification system so that all buildings can be held to the same standards, a similar system to my vision
of rating and certifying companies.
Citation Annotation #2
1.
Heslin, Peter, and Jenna Ochoa. "Understanding and Developing Strategic Corporate Social
Responsibility."ScienceDirect 37.2 (2008): 125-44. Web.
http://www.instituteforhealthyaging.com/uploads/9/3/3/6/9336893/corporate_social_responsi
bility.pdf
2. Heslin is assistant professor of management at the Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist
University, Dallas, TX and has authored over a dozen articles featured in journals focused on
organizational and occupational psychology. Ochoa is a corporate relief pharmacist for Tom
Thumb and is a subject matter expert for the Health and Sciences Television Network, she is
transitioning into a management and consulting role with a focus on addressing strategic
sustainability opportunities within the healthcare industry.
3. Many organizations have found ways to grow their business while sustaining the environment,
so this article outlines principles that aim to guide other organizations to do the same.
Shelby Stromerson
Sustainability Problems
Go Fix It
Word Count: 514
4. – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as the economically sustainable business
activities that go beyond legal requirements to protect the well-being of employees,
communities and the environment
--CSR is more than “corporate philanthropy”; CSR initiatives can be used as “learning
laboratories” to study the trajectory of effectiveness for different ideas without the time
pressure and other typical constraints of other products and services
--The 7 strategic CSR principles that serve as a springboard for organizational initiatives are:
cultivate needed talent, develop new markets, protect labor welfare, reduce environmental
footprint, profit from by-products, involve customers, green the supply chain.
5. –“[CSR and the responsibility to the environment are] underscored by the increasing realization that
both governments and individuals can also ’vote’ their social preferences through what they purchase,
where and how hard they choose to work, and where they invest.”
--“ By virtue of being self-sustainable, strategic CSR can become an integral and invaluable part of
business strategy and operations, rather than merely off-the-shelf or spontaneous ‘‘good deeds.’’
Developing prudent CSR is thus much less a matter of organizational imitation than real-time
customization.”
--“ While Starbuck’s chairman Howard Schultz clearly sees CSR as both a moral and business imperative,
Immelt’s comment illustrates how CSR can make good sense even to leaders who are not inherently
passionate about addressing environmental or social issues. As mentioned, engaging in strategic CSR can
yield growth in market share, increased organizational learning, retention of deeply engaged employees,
support from external stakeholders, and favorable relationships with investors.”
6. I believe that corporations that strive to be sustainable are inherently socially responsible. This
inherent CSR gives the company an advantage as they expand new market options for themselves,
increase their organizational understanding and learning, cultivate committed and engaged employees,
and recognize their external stakeholders and enhance those relationships.