Sustainability with Passion

The Novus International 2012 Sustainability Report, the fifth annual report of this billion $ privately-owned company was published recently online. 

 

Novus International, Inc. is a provider of health and nutrition solutions for livestock, poultry, pets and people, headquartered in St. Charles, Missouri, U.S.A., employing more than 800 people in over 50 countries and serving more than 3,000 customers worldwide in over 100 countries. Novus operates facilities including corporate offices, research and development laboratories and manufacturing operations, as well as smaller offices with field staff in most local markets. Working from a strong base of scientific understanding and technological innovation, Novus has brought more than 100 new products to market over the past decade, contributing consistently to sustainable animal agriculture production and global food security while growing revenues and global presence. The Novus pledge is a Triple S Bottom Line – Solutions, Service and Sustainability.

 

I am particularly happy to blog about Novus, because (here it comes... disclosure >>>) Novus has been my client for some years now and I have been involved in developing and writing the 2012 report, as well as prior reports for 2011 and 2010. In preparation for the report, I interviewed around 50 Novus executives (including the CEO who is directly involved and passionate about Novus's sustainability journey) and many staff all over the world, and some external stakeholders, and collected data from over 10 manufacturing, offices and research sites. The thing that always impresses me each year about working with Novus is the absolute clarity that all the people in the organization have about their company's mission and purpose, and the passion with which they talk about their role in advancing the mission. When I asked Thad Simons, the President and CEO of Novus, about his major achievements as CEO over the past few years, without hesitation, he talked about creating an organizational culture that supports the sustainability mission - "building Novus with a sense of purpose and passion and a service culture". A CEO who leads a sustainable culture is a CEO who creates a sustainable business. Novus has grown year on year and makes a significant contribution to advancing sustainable food and improving food security in many ways. This approach is paying off!

 

The highlights of the Novus 2012 Sustainability report are to be found in the approach to reporting as well as in the data and information presented. For the first time, Novus includes a description of the organization's value chain, which shows where and how Novus generates triple bottom line impacts. Also for the first time, each section of this report is presented personally by the managers and staff who lead the organization. In each section, a Novus person tells her or his story, in her or his own words. For example, the Human Resources VP and Director talk about how they are advancing this prized organizational culture, and different managers talk about their experience in nurturing partnerships to advance sustainable solutions, while EHS Managers talk about sustainable design of offices and working spaces (Novus has a LEED Platinum certified HQ which has won several awards). The insights shared by Novus people  - the narrative is what they actually said,  not professionally copy-written texts  - are what makes up the Novus story: information and data combined with the personal contribution, leadership and drive of all the individuals. Supplementing the written narrative are several short videos, prepared specially for the report, which give you, report-users and stakeholders, a chance to see the faces behind the names and experience the passion beyond the written word. 

 

At GRI B level, GRI-checked Sustainability Report, Novus is not short on transparency either, and this report includes evidence of good performance. For example, energy consumption in production operations reduced by 5.7% in 2012, and safety performance continues to be well above industry averages with an injury rate of 0.48 per 100 employees (compared to a rate of 3.8 in all sectors in the U.S.).

One of the highlights in helping prepare the report for me is the Novus employee wellness program - see insights from Judith Thelwell who manages the program. For years, Novus has been demonstrating leading practice with one of the most comprehensive and highly engaging employee wellness programs around, that offers practical benefits for employees, and financial benefits for both employees and the company. This is a vibrant program which enables employees to engage in health and fitness related activities and earn benefits for doing so, beyond the personal benefit to their own health. In my discussions, I chatted with Andy Critchell, who works in IT Systems at Novus, (read his insights, too, in the same section), and his story was very moving. Diagnosed with diabetes, Andy had to make some serious life changes. The accessibility of Novus wellness benefits helped Andy take control and actually terminate medication for his condition. Without me even having to ask, he confirmed that this actually makes him a more productive employee. This conversation brought home to me, once again, the massive impact companies have on the lives of individuals, and the force for good that companies can become.

Another inspiring part of this report is the section on Valuing Partnerships. Novus works in partnership in almost every area the company is involved in. In fact, partnership development is a core competency of Novus, whether this means global partnerships to effect major transformation - such as the collaboration with the International Egg Commission (IEC) to advance the consumption of eggs as a low-cost, highly accessible source of nutrition (read Joanne Ivy's insights - she's President of the IEC), or specific local partnerships, such as a multi-stakeholder public-private partnership in Chad, to help build a $50 million industrial poultry production facility which will provide around 30 percent of the country's poultry needs and contribute substantially to food security in that country. This partnership includes the Chad government as well as a Novus customer, Globoaves, and a financing partner, working together to provide affordable, wholesome food for the Chad population and improve the quality of their lives. Read insights from Luis Azevedo about how all this came about. Partnerships are at the heart of sustainability. Companies who know how to collaborate in the true spirit of partnership are the ones that will be around for many years to come.

Please take a look at the Novus report and as always, give feedback.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, winning (CRRA'12) Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of Sustainability Reporting for SMEs: Competitive Advantage Through Transparency AND CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen   or via my business website www.b-yond.biz   (Beyond Business Ltd, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

The passion for sustainability at McBride

This week I published a review of the McBride plc Sustainability Report 2009-2010 in CorporateRegister.com.
You can download the PDF here. 
McBride is an interesting company, kind of a behind the scenes player, manufacturing private label produces for retail chains, enabling the retailers to compete witth the big-brand-names that are their own suppliers. An interesting dynamic of retailing which seems to be gaining ground in many parts of the world. 

Here are some insights from my review: 

  

" McBride plc is one of the leading behind-the-scenes players on our supermarket shelves, though you may not know it. They are responsible for manufacturing many of the private label household and personal care products for large retail groceries, supplying, amongst others, all of the top-ten retailers in Western Europe. The business generates revenues of GBP 812 million and employs over 5,000 people at 11 sites in over 20 countries in Europe, Eastern Europe and the Far East. Not a small concern by any means, it is traded on FTSE and has been included in the FTSE4Good index from 2009. McBride is no stranger to sustainability, publishing their 7th report in 2010, entitled "Passionate about Sustainability". There is apparently no shortage of passion at McBride's – their Annual Report is entitled "Passionate about Private Label."

This report packs a punch with a very nice design and clear presentation, especially relating to environmental targets. Overall though, it is rather basic in substance. Right on the very first page, McBride explains their "passion" saying, "We believe that Private Label has an important role to play in the economy". Private Label is indeed an interesting sector, though McBride provide little context about why this is so. Is this important role to do with the affordability of Home and Personal Care products to a wider range of consumers (as private label products are cheaper than branded products), thus enhancing access to hygiene, personal wellbeing and quality of life? Is it about McBride's ability to deliver formulations for a greener economy, supporting a more sustainable retail offering and changing consumer behaviour? Or is it about providing technologies to retailers that enable them to compete with the Unilevers, Procter and Gambles and other super-players of the home and personal care industry, and thereby changing the balance of power in the supply-demand game?

In many ways, the Private Label industry is regarded as an invisible underdog, producing what they are asked to produce with little clout or influence. An example is given in a case study where, in response to heightened consumer concerns about the spread of viruses in the home, J Sainsbury asked McBride to produce an antibacterial cleaner which kills the H1N1 virus. McBride was able to do this on a very short lead-time, thereby gaining Sainsbury's recognition and enabling the retailer to offer consumers an innovative product on a fast timescale. However, lacking any sort of stakeholder engagement review or materiality prioritisation, this report doesn’t really answer fundamental sustainability questions or get to below-the-surface issues. The opening remarks of the Chief Executive Chris Bull confirm that "we remain aligned to the evolving need of our customers and our markets", but the report doesn’t elaborate on how these needs are ascertained or what they actually mean. On a positive note, however, McBride has been active in the development of the AISE (sustainable cleaning) charter, an industry association of private label manufacturers with a certification scheme, which is an important sector initiative.  

.................. 

Let's hope that McBride passion for sustainability will translate over time into a broader view of their company's impacts, rather than a list of the things that they do. As it stands in this report, the focus seems to be on developing solutions that customers require, with focus a on greener products and improved eco-efficiency, staying close to sustainability aspects which immediately reduce costs (energy, packaging reduction etc) or are highly regulated (health and safety). The company is clearly getting to grips with the basics and this report demonstrates a positive direction but, as with my weekly household laundry, there is always so much more to do. "

You can read the full review here.

The McBride's sustainability website is a nice one, with flashing pics of employees saying how much they love to work at McBride. No matter how corny this seems, I think it's nice, and adds credibility to the corporate voice. Most people like to see their name in lights. 

Anyway, now I have a dillemma. If McBride's start to make Chunky Monkey as private label, what would I buy ? Oh dear... decisions, decisions ......

 

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

Can you sell sustainability to customers ?

Sustainable Life Media have done it again, with a great new SLM Insights research report called The SHIFT Report : Definng Sustainability and Selling it to Customers. With a title like that, how could your interest not be piqued ? The report promises to answer some of the most difficult questions facing brands today, including :

**  what is the alignment between my brand's positioning and our sustainability story?

**  what's my audience's relationship with sustainability?

**  what are the characteristics of a socially responsible brand for consumers today?

These questions cut to the chase and the report offers very keen insights and answers.

The SHIFT report was produced as a collaboration between Sustainable Life Media and Ci, a sustainability research and brand consultancy and is the result of a survey of 5,000 North American adults. The big thing that the report conclusively confirms is that consumers regard sustainability as more than just "green". for them, it's a collection of issues which are much broader than protecting the environment. In fact, the report identifies four colours of consumer perception about sustainability:

Orange - Personal (balanced life, feeling connected, personal well-being)

Yellow - Spiritual (higher purpose and meaning to life beyond material possessions)

Green - Environmental (eco-fashion, global warming, pollution, recycling etc)

Blue - Social (fair trade, treatment of employees, community involvement etc)

(Wonder why they didn't pick shocking pink?)(OK, I know, it's too shocking).

In fact, the top 5 sustainability issues that consumers associated with sustainability were orange, yellow and blue. Not even a tiny splatter of green until  you get to the ninth sustainabillty issue on the list.

The overriding conclusion from this research is that sustainability is a cultural shift and not just a passing trend. with 64% of respondents confirming they have a general concern for society and planet and want to be part of a better world. Funnily enough, 64 % (maybe the same 64%, maybe not) picked honest communication and transparency as the most significant characteristic they look for in determining whether a product is sustainable or not, 61% mention that reusable packaging is a very big plus and 57% look for a "Made Locally" label. TV advertising is still a key place for consumers to learn about new brands, whilst 67% of North Americans want to know about the socially responsible behaviour of brands before they buy them.

The report goes on to define the four keys to sustainable brand communications and the four barriers to conscious consumption which are time, knowledge, price and pressure . This is important because at least part of the complex explanation for consumers not buying sustainably is lack of knowledge, or, I assume, inability to compute the information that is available. Finally,  the SHIFT report talks about the Sustainability Passion Index (SPI) which categorizes consumers into 5 types according to their positioning on the commitment-to sustainability consumption spectrum, providing clues as to how to market to them.

All of this is important for those engaged in selling brands and the positioning of brands to meet consumer expectations and aspirations. There is no doubt in my mind that we are experiencing a cultural shift, though I suspect it is still in the early stages. Perhaps part of this shift will see us moving in the direction of much more accessible, legible, comprehensible, and focused sustainability communications with consumers. It still amazes me that we do not see many sustainability messages on actual consumer products. United Airlines realized that they have a captive audience for their sustainability message  on their flights and ensure that every seat pocket is equipped with a CSR report alongside the vomit-bag. Ahem. I am sure that's not intentional and that there is no causal relationship between these two. Haha. Sorry, United. But the point is, sustainability is a message which has to be taken to where the consumer is. With so many brands on the supermarket and big-box shelves, and consumers wanting to know more, surely some form of communication in the brand package could be worthwhile. Perhaps is is only a matter of time until we see Sustainability Reports by brand rather than by Company, or at least, in addition to  overall company reports. The new Barcoo system which offers  consumers a price comparison, test reports, health, green and sustainability information about the manufacturing company at the click of an app may well serve to meet consumers' information needs about the company behind the brand, though not necessarily about the sustainability of the brand itself. If I were a manufacturing company, I would make completely sure that I control what gets into that barcode app through proactive and transparent communications. 

Anyway, for the time being, I haven't tested Chunky Monkey with the new barcode system. I wonder where that places me on the Sustainability Passion Index.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, - CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)