Businesses Show Massive Improvements In Sustainability Are Feasible -- Right Now

The Herman Miller company has a global reputation as a sustainable business leader. Their recent presentation at the Chicago Sustainable Manufacturing Summit showed why. (I have to admit to a bit of prejudice here -- I got to know Herman Miller and many of their sustainability staff well through 15 years of work in the West Michigan region, which is their home base.) Some highlights of their strategy:

• They landfill a total of 77 pounds of waste materials each month from their West Michigan manufacturing facilities -- less than most of our average households produce in a week.
• Their targets for 2020 are aggressive:
  • Zero air pollution
  • Zero water pollution
  • Zero landfill
  • 100% green energy (they are at 63% today)
  • Zero hazardous waste
  • 100% of products using Design for environment
• They assess products in three categories -- chemistry, disassembly, recycling -- using a rigorous "Design for Environment" product develolpment process.
• They are disciples of the McDonough-Braungart "Cradle to Cradle" design philosophy.
• Their sustainability strategy is supported by a deep continous improvement and waste elimination culture and practice, rooted in Deming's seven step problem process and Toyota's lean production system.

What makes for their success where others have failed?  Gabe Wing, their Design for Environment Manager, attributes it to several factors:

• Clear and consistent leadership from the top -- sustainability has been set as a business imperative by corporate leadership
• Integration into their core values -- and their compensation system
• Clarity about the business case for sustainability
• A willingness to sacrifice in the short term for success in the long term
• A high level of "granularity" in their strategy. As they say, "the devil is in the details" -- in this case, the details of the molecular structure of materials; the precise interface of parts on a product; and the complex metabolism of their supply chain.

Of course, we need to remember that Herman Miller is still in the vast minority in the corporate business world. Most companies are nowhere near this level of performance. Nevertheless, it is intriguing to ask whether this kind of discipline is possible in the urban sustainability field.  Is it possible for municipalities to achieve these kinds of improvements in their climate change efforts? With persistence, we think the answer is yes -- but they face some very different kinds of challenges:

• Cities don't exercise the same level of direct control over the core systems that generate greenhouse gas emissions.
• Cities are often subject to perverse incentives and convoluted politics that reinforce the wrong kind of behavior.  There are not as many clear "business cases" for action.
• Most cities lack a history and culture of continuous improvement and waste elimination to build upon.
• And finally, many of the benefits of climate change improvement are externalized -- there is not a clear set of feedback loops to reinforce progress.

Nevertheless, we think cities have a lot to learn from the corporate leaders in sustainability.  Closer relationships between these two sectors would help both advance their game. Too many cities don't take advantage of this opportunity for learning and collaboration.