Sustainability

One of the signature themes of President Donald Trump’s candidacy was to support the domestic oil and gas industry.

Some companies would like nothing better than to have the federal environmental restrictions that are cutting into their bottom line loosened. Yet customers and employees want companies to be more sustainable or they will go elsewhere. So whom does a CEO listen to?

While an increasing number of companies are successfully implementing sustainability policies, some of their employees remain skeptical that management really cares.

While everyone ponders what a Trump administration will mean for U.S. energy policy, at least some business leaders are continuing to take matters into their own hands.

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden has caused a stir at a gathering in Paris by suggesting that renewable energy doesn't make any money, a claim rebutted by several other conference attendees with investments in green power.

For most CEOs, “climate change” has been one of those far-off risk factors that must show up in a company’s shareholder documents for the Securities and Exchange Commission, a vague and pro forma threat like “geopolitical risks” and “acts of God” that read more like fine print than actionable possibilities.

As new clean energy technologies are developed and refined, experts say problems in production are one of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption. With advances in additive manufacturing and a commitment to innovation, manufacturers may hold the key to the advancement of clean power technologies for everyone.

CEOs can only focus on the company’s purpose by effectively delegating management to their teams. Management is not the same thing as leadership.

Procter & Gamble and General Motors are leading a small but growing group of manufacturers beginning to embrace wind power, which so far has been among the least embraceable forms of alternative production of electricity.

Plastic waste floating in our oceans has become a significant problem, and it's important that manufacturers who use plastic in packaging and shipping materials should contribute to the solution.