Green Grows Green: Harvesting the Hidden Returns of Sustainability

• Are you a green enthusiast, but unsure where to focus first and how to make the business case?
• Are you a pragmatist wondering if green is just more hype by consultants or a lucrative opportunity that your business is missing?
• Are you a supporter already doing some green activities but wanting to select better investments, engage stakeholders, and accelerate benefits?

Then join me on Thursday evenings in April at Stanford University for the course that I am teaching. Sign-up now at Stanford Continuing Studies or read more about the course below. Please share with others who may have interest in this topic. 

Class Details

Course Title: Green Grows Green
Course Code: Business 203
Quarter: Spring 2010
Course Schedule: Thursday evenings, April 1 – April 29 (5 sessions) 7PM to 8:50 PM


Themes during this five-week course will include how to

• Uncover environmental efficiencies to enhance profits, 
• Develop a green mindset to enable new business models and refresh existing brands to grow sales, 
• Establish a green framework to consistently innovate (top-line) and improve (bottomline) all while replenishing the environment.

 Learn how the most innovative and profitable companies are embracing sustainability to move ahead. Best practices and case studies will be explored with the instructor and guest speakers.

Weekly Outline

Week 1 – Thursday, April 1 2010

Introduction: Review green frameworks.  Examine specific benefits of green including enhanced operational efficiency, branding building and reduced risks. Share examples of how some companies and organizations are leading the way.

•    Guest Speaker:  Dr. Peter Graf, Chief Sustainability Officer and EVP of Sustainability Solutions at SAP.
   

Week 2 – Thursday, April 8 2010

Operational Efficiency: Focus on best practices in facilities, including data centers, transportation, manufacturing, waste management and consumables. Focus on the many low risk and fast pay-back activities that will provide benefits immediately.

•    Guest Speaker: Laura Billings, Principal, Sage Green Development, LLC.
  

Week 3 – Thursday, April 15 2010

Brand Building:  Review brand building approaches using a green lens. Explore how new sales methods, pricing models and financing options can accelerate adoption. Explore how nature provides designs that have yet to be eclipsed by humans and how products are being developed leveraging nature’s design catalog (biomimicry).

• Guest Speaker:Jeremy Faludi, LEED AP

  Green Design Strategy & Research, Project Frog
  Lecturer, Design Program, Stanford University
  Contributing Editor, Worldchanging

Week 4 – Thursday, April 22 2010

Risk Management: Learn how leading organizations are dealing with current and projected shortages of critical natural resources used in production. Explore framework to leverage activist passion to develop new markets.

Guest Speakers:

• Dr. Peter Williams, CTO IBM Big Green Incubator
• John Hailey, Environmental Consultant, Former Sr, Manager Sustainability at Cisco
• Both are members of California Environmental Dialog

   

Week 5 – Thursday, April 29 2010

Implementation: Review creative funding options. Explore communication methods to inspire change. Discuss classic business change frameworks and how to utilize for green. 

Guest Speakers:

• Mark Bramfitt - Utility Consultant, Former Principal Program Manager, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Dennis Tsu - PACE Program Director

Next Steps
Review syllabus with reading and class assignments

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  • SYLLABUS Business 203 v4.pdf - on Mar 27, 2010
    400k Download

Sign-up at Stanford Continuing Studies 


Please share with others who may have interest  in this topic.