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Greetings!
What unusual times we live in. On one hand, the momentum for
sustainability, green business, regenerative design -- call it what you
will -- continues to grow. On the other hand, that momentum has to fight the fear, uncertainty and doubt that accompany both our current economic free-fall, and the unspoken concern that there could be bigger trouble ahead.
Four years ago, clients were asking us to
help them "understand the business case for sustainability." Two years
ago, the requests changed, and clients (perhaps remembering Bill Gates'
admonition that "If you can show me the business case -- you're too
late!") were asking "Please tell us what the @#%$ to do!" Over the
last year, the requests shifted again; now clients typically say,
"We're thinking we might need an enterprise-wide sustainability
strategy thats integrated with our business."
"Step right in," we say -- since that's exactly what we're here to help you do.
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Our Offer to You
Natural Logic helps businesses and governments prosper -- designing and delivering exceptional environmental, social and economic performance -- by embedding the laws of nature at the heart of enterprise. The ideal engagement takes clients through the complete cycle of Strategy (charting your course), Feedback (reading the signs), and Implementation (making it go).
Is your company just starting on its sustainability initiatives? Do you need to get your bearings? Or figure out where to start?
- Bring in our CEO and senior associates conduct a customized, confidential executive briefing for your executive team on the key trends and emerging issues facing your company.
- Engage us to provide a focused, rigorous Rapid Diagnosis of your current baseline performance -- from carbon to operations, from measurement systems to risk -- and recommend pragmatic, prioritized, profitable opportunities that will give you a roadmap for improvement.
- Book our Climate Neutral Learning™ programs to train your staff in what they need to know to deliver sustainable results, and coach your executives & managers to keep aspirations high and programs on track.
- Buy The Truth About Green Business for your team -- and your suppliers, customers and colleagues. (Order from your local bookseller, online or directly from Natural Logic.)
Are you well into your initiatives, and recognizing they need more power and traction?
- Sit us down with your CFO (or your full executive team) for a frank, provocative exploration of the risks and opportunities sustainability presents to your company -- and the actions your fiduciary duties demand.
- Retain our seasoned team to help you design and implement systemic change at your company and supply chain, with our Full Cycle Sustainability™ program, to ensure that you effectively and consistently harvest the value you identify.
For details on Natural Logic's offerings, see Harvesting Value -- or call CEO Gil Friend directly at 510-248-4940.
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Projects
Most of our current and recent projects are still client confidential,
so we can't say much about them this month, except that they include an
analysis of CO2 emissions savings resulting from energy efficient
server strategies, and two forthcoming white papers -- one on the print
vs pixel dilemma, and one humbly proposing a new recycling policy
framework for the US. We expect to be releasing both shortly, so watch
for our announcements. |
News
The Truth About Green Business is selling well, with a growing
number of companies buying dozens or hundreds of copies to give to
employees, customers and suppliers, and business schools adopting it
for courses. You can get individual copies from your local bookstores
or various online sellers -- or contact us for bulk, customer or
autographed copies. And check our new Electronic Press Kit at URL.
The online, distance learning version of The Truth About Green Business
-- the next offering in our Carbon Neutral Learning™ series -- will
launch with webinars this fall, and self-paced eLearning in Q1/2010.
(Please contact us now to discuss how your company can be a charter sponsor of this breakthrough learning opportunity.)
We're conducting a brief survey -- seeking
your guidance on this newsletter, and how you'd like us to communicate
with you. Would you give us three minutes of your time? (The first five
respondents will get a signed copy of The Truth About Green Business.)
We are building some new internship teams. Check out our careers page to find out about our current projects.
Our proposed National Carbon League -- linking sports teams with their
city's or university's Climate Action initiatives in a public
competition to bring down carbon emissions faster -- is featured in the
Climate Neutral Campus Report.
And Business Metabolics
-- our web-based sustainability scoreboard system (and the engine behind the
NCL) -- is poised for a significant upgrade. Contact CEO Gil Friend to
explore how your company can become an Advanced Development Partner and
help shape the next incarnation of this powerful sustainability platform.
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Feature: What's going up?
When the economy is contracting, is your company following the herd or is it making its own path. Current financial conditions provide a prime opportunity to focus on your core competencies, build sustainability more deeply into your business, and build capacity for future growth.
Pie in the sky? Paul Krugman doesn't think so. Businesses that aren't spending on facilities or staff development are not only weakening their own prospects -- they're weakening the economy for years to come.
So whose fortunes are rising? The Business Times reports expansion of food industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. Demand for local and artisan food products has meant that food production jobs comprises 22 percent of the overall manufacturing jobs in the region. "Food manufacturers are pretty much the only manufacturing segment that's held up during the current economic downturn," says Brent Meyers, president and CEO of the Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence (Manex), a San Ramon-based consulting firm.
Natural Logic has been finding value for its food production clients, like Equal Exchange, Odwalla, and Dean Foods, for a decade. We've helped our clients reduce their carbon impacts, cut waste in their supply chain, and improve production efficiency--see our cover article in Organic Processing on lean manufacturing. In short, we build our clients' capacity to take advantage of all sorts of opportunities -- especially the hidden ones that are going up when all others are going down. |
Upcoming Events
It's been an unusually busy season on the speaking circuit -- generated by both rising interest in sustainability and the strong response to The Truth About Green Business with lots of travel last month and mostly local gigs this month.
This just in:
Natural Logic CEO Gil Friend will be kicking off the Sustainability Sustainable Brands Boot Camp from Sustainable Brands, with a telecourse on Innovation, November 13.
Upcoming keynotes include:
California CleanTech Open 2009 Awards Gala & Expo, San Francisco, November 17;
GreenAmerica's Green Business Conference, San Francisco, November 12;
Green Wine Summit, Santa Rosa, December 2
Other presentations scheduled this month include:
Jewish Responses to the Energy Challenge, San Francisco, November 8;
GreenFestival, San Francisco, November 15;
Eco Tuesday, San Francisco, November 17
Recent keynotes have included:
SRI in The Rockies, jointly with Hunter Lovins;
The Designers Accord Global Summit on Design Education & Sustainability;
Aquafil's USA 10th Anniversary celebration for the heart of the carpet industry
Other recent presentations have included:
a very busy schedule at West Coast Green -- including a video interview with Green Marketing 2.0;
Case Western Reserve University sustainabilty webinar;
moderating a panel at StopWaste Recognition event;
Western Sustainability & Pollution Prevention Network;
Industrial Designers Society of America's "Digging Deeper" conference
As always, you can find our complete speaking schedule at http://www.natlogic.com/news/workshops-and-events/; be sure to check back regularly, since we update the as events break. And of course contact us any time for speakers for your event. (Need some persuasion? Check out this video of CEO Gil Friend's recent speech to the Commonwealth Club.)
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Special Year-End Offer!
The lull at the end of the year provides a perfect opportunity to take stock, assess challenges and opportunities, and to put the steps into place to come charging out of the starting blocks in Q1.
We can help, with a:
- frank strategic briefing with your company leadership;
- rapid carbon footprint (that's four times faster than other carbon footprints, at 80% less investment);
- facility efficiency assessment (to help you flatten that footprint);
- review of your sustainability performance measurement systems.
We're offering one time, year-end discounts for anyone who books these services by November 16th, for performance during 2009. The first order we receive using the code "YEO" will get 33% off; the second will receive 25% off; the third through fifth will receive 15% off, and any others will get a discount of 10%.
After that, it's back to standard pricing -- which is always a good investment too!
For details, contact CEO Gil Friend today at 510-248-4940.
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If you've enjoyed this newsletter, your
colleagues might
find it valuable too.
Just use the link at the bottom of this email
to forward it to
them, and invite them to subscribe.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter
to others who might be interested. Keep us
posted about your organization's
sustainability initiatives (but please
conserve electrons and don't include this
entire newsletter in your reply).
Read -- and subscribe to -- my
blog. (And follow me on Twitter!)
And give us a shout if there is any way we
can
help you:
chart your
course, read
the signs and
make it go.
With best regards, on behalf of the entire Natural Logic team,
Gil Friend
Natural Logic
Phone:
510-248-4940
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