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John Andersons Sustainability Speech at Berkeley
Introduction
John Anderson, the Chief Executive Officer of Levi Strauss and Company on January 25th 2010 gave a speech about companies with the society in mind. In the speech he primarily talks about sustainability as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the challenges that continue to face this aspect of businesses and its approach. He gives a brief overview of actions undertaken both long ago and in the recent history that show Levi Strauss & Company places a very high priority on the link between itself as a company, its workers, consumers and its products.
Details of the speech
Anderson mentions the debate about CSR, whether it has a place in business and also on how companies are using it. He mentions a survey that showed that most chief financial officers know that CSR has a positive influence on their companies but they just do not know how to measure its true impact. He then shifts onto sustainability as an integral responsibility of businesses and as the focus of legislation due to its growing influence on the world.
He cautions against stagnation with respect on how to approach the aspect of CSR. Rather, he argues that tackling it presents an opportunity for creativity approach and provides an avenue for exploring innovative partnerships with other companies. He credits this mind state of a dynamic tackling of the issue as to what lead to the development of the life-cycle approach towards sustainability. The lifecycle approach was developed with a view to track a product from how the raw materials are generated, through the value addition of manufacturing, usage by the consumer and finally culminating in its disposal.
Levi Strauss & Company found out that the actions that had a profound influence on the environment according to the life-cycle happened pre and post manufacturing. Thus, the company saw that they would have to act on these stages of the product life cycle and started by acknowledging that they did not have the required direct control, particularly on the producers to effect these changes. This is where the highlighted partnerships with other industry players came into play where they formed an initiative that would ensure a clean supply chain and also work with the primary producers to ensure that they observed better practices and to also ensure they enjoyed steady income. With regard to consumers he highlights the trust that they have in them and their willingness to practice sustainability as having made it easier to launch programs that give advice on best usage and disposal.
He concludes with steps that can lead to better sustainability which should be based on measuring the impact of the products beyond the business and include feedback from employees and customers. This should be done with the aim of integrating sustainability into the business as part of the culture and in the business operations. He also tries to explain such measures are aimed at reducing the environmental impact of their products while engaging with society in a different way. They also look towards influencing other companies and future business people positively.
Examples of companies that he highlights as following akin to such a strategy towards sustainability are Wall-Mart, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Marks & Spencer, Adidas and Alliance to Save Energy
Conclusion
Anderson presents a very concise argument that shows that his company, despite a proven track record, is interested in exploring new ways of addressing sustainability for the sake of the environment and society. He places this issue as integral in any companys future growth and also calls for the integration of the values and profits of a company.
While businesses can only do so much in terms of affecting how their products affect society and the environment, individuals, governments and other related companies should ensure that healthy practices are encouraged and sustained. Thereby, instead of lambasting companies as profit driven, people should look at how they themselves can make a difference in setting of goals and more importantly, in achieving these goals.
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