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By Shelly F. Fust & Lisa L. Walker s standards surrounding corporate sustainability initiatives evolve, companies are beginning to weave sustainability capabilities more deeply into their organizational processes and culture. These early tainability on more than one front — in a similar way Given the ambiguity surrounding corporate sustain- ability, the parallel to the total quality management (TQM) movement is instructive. Companies that such as Toyota and Motorola, treated quality as an In the same vein, companies are beginning to embrace sustainability as an opportunity to gain Key Takeaways O Ambiguity surrounds the term sustainability sustainability initiatives; understanding the O Nestlé Waters, the maker of Deer Park, Arrowhead and Poland Spring water brands, which has pruned the mass of its plastic bottles by 15 percent, reducing the amount of waste the product ultimately contributes to landfills while also reducing O Page 2 Finally, those TQM leaders expanded quality management beyond products into behaviors. The companies asked how their people could collaborate more effectively to ensure higher quality processes. This deeper, more integrated approach to TQM Page 3 TOTAL QUALITY MANA GEMENT Treated solely as a cost, and an additional Some process-improvement and other cost- STAGE Intermediate Advanced Page 4 EMERGING ORGANIZATI ONAL PRACTICES To gain such an advantage, companies design their sustainability initiatives to address Successful sustainability programs share several common structural characteristics, The CEO's Embrace: Successful programs are championed by a CEO who takes responsibility for maintaining sustainability as an ongoing discussion throughout the organization. These CEOs embrace sustainability efforts in a highly visible manner. Inside the company, that visibility serves to promote the importance of sustainability Multi-Disciplinary Teams: Regardless of which function the sustainability initiative leaders come from, the teams they lead consist of talented individuals from a wide Page 5 EXPERTISE Perspectives on how current and future products (and product components) relate to sustainability CORPORATE FUNCTION Board of Directors Research and Development A Dual Focus on Risk and Opportunities: on environmental compliance, energy availability and costs, and other risks, sustain- ability leaders focus simultaneously on managing risks and leveraging opportunities. "Sustainability savvy" companies identify business benefits that might be obtained while addressing associated risks. For example, Dial's development of a more envi- Page 6 A Precious Skills Incubator: future leaders, sustainability initiatives hone the creative problem-solving skills of Page 7 March/April 2007, "Wal-Mart Goes Green" Associated Press, May 29, 2007, "Green Packaging Movement Gains Momentum" Henkel Sustainability Report 2006 The Coca-Cola Company 2006 Annual Review http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/index.html Owens Corning 2006 Sustainability Report © Copyright 2007 Korn/Ferry International Page 8 Shelly F. Fust is a Senior Client Partner in the Los Angeles office of Korn/Ferry About Korn/Ferry International Korn/Ferry International, with more than 70 offices in 40 countries, is a premier global provider of talent manage- solutions. Based in Los Angeles, the firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to identify, deploy, develop, This whitepaper was printed on recycled paper. When you are