1. How to Change the World –
Wind of Change at Major Corporations

2. “There are three ways to change the
world: change China, change
California, or change Walmart.”
William McDonough,
architect, designer,
and sustainability expert

3. Too good to be true

4.  Largest retailer in the
world
 Known for ruthless
exploitation of natural
resources, squeezing
suppliers, and
crushing communities
 Public Enemy No. 1 for
a generation of
activists and reformers

5. Wind of Change
Announced plans in 2006 to rebuild
the company with 3 major goals:
~ To use 100% renewable energy
~ To achieve zero waste
~ To sell only products that benefit
the environment
across the global supply chain

6. Only one phrase to describe this ambition:
匪 夷 所 思
(Unbelievable)

7. Goal No. 1
100% Renewable energy

8. In 2013,
renewable energy
already provides
21 % of Walmart’s
global electricity

9. Goal No. 2
Serious about waste….
“Our goal is to create zero waste.
We’re working toward a day when there
will be no landfills containing our
throwaways.
In 2011, our Walmart U.S. operations
prevented more than 80% of store
waste from going to landfills.”
Walmart Global Sustainability Report, 2012

10. Zero-waste-
to-landfill
Recycle,
Repurpose ,
Reuse

11. Goal No. 3
All products to be
sustainably produced –
by far the most
ambitious goal
Can it be ever achieved?

12. One example – fishery products
 Over the past half century, demand for
seafood has increased five-fold.
 An estimated 75% of the world’s fisheries
are at or beyond sustainable limits.

13. Sustainable Fishing
 Since 2007, Walmart requires all seafood
suppliers to become third-party certified
as sustainable using Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC),
Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) or
equivalent standards.
 As of Jan 2012, 76% of fishery products
sold at Walmart were sustainably
harvested.

14. Still a long way to go,
but it’s already impacting on
all its suppliers worldwide,
including those in China.

15. Nike
Made its fortune
through celebrity
marketing, supplier
exploitation, and
total disregard for
the environment
But things are changing,
and changing fast….

16. Nike wants to sell shoes, a lot of shoes…
But it also asks:
 What should go into the shoe?
 How to minimize its impact on the environment?
 What materials should be used?
 How to manufacture the shoe so that it can be
easily disassembled and recycled?
 What happens when the shoe’s useful life ends?
 How to regain the discarded shoes from the
customers?

17. Nike’s Considered Design
 A systematic effort to minimize environmental
impact by reducing waste throughout the
design and development process, using
environmentally preferred materials and
eliminating toxics.
 The long-term goal is to design products that
are fully closed loop: using the fewest possible
materials and designed for easy disassembly,
while allowing them to be recycled into new
product or safely returned to nature at the end
of their life.
Shoes
will
not be
the
same
again.

18. Nike’s vision
 Design for recycling
 Consumers bring their products back to
us to be recycled into new products
 Waste that cannot be eliminated is
recycled
 Product is less reliant on oil and water
 We all step lighter, faster into a future
low-carbon sustainable economy

19. Nike’s new design approach
Considered Design
 Pegasus – Nike’s best-selling running
shoe – is a product of Considered Design:
13% lighter with an 83% recyclable sole.
 Applied to all shoes 2011
 To all apparel 2015
 To everything 2020

20. Nike has become a master
of remarketing
It is always asking:
Can we reuse, recycle, repurpose,
or remanufacture
this input or output?
Classic example: Nike Grind

21. Now watch
where they go
These discarded shoes used
to end up in landfills

22. All from recycled
shoes

23. How many shoes does it take to
make a Nike Grind surface?
 Outdoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
 Outdoor tennis court: 2,500 pairs
 Playground: 3,500 – 10,000 pairs
 Indoor basketball court: 3,500 pairs
 Soccer pitch: 50,000 - 75,000 pairs
 Running track: 75,000 pairs

24. Walt Disney
 Apart from theme
parks, Disney is the
world’s largest
character franchiser –
Mickey Mouse,
Donald Duck, Winnie
the Pooh, etc.

25.  In 2009 it acquired one
of its competitors,
Marvel Comics (owner
of Spiderman, etc), for
US$4 billion to
strengthen its position
in the character
franchise market.
 This figure shows
how big the business
and the stake are for
Disney.

26. Who is Disney No.1 customer?
Children, of course!
But what’s wrong children
nowadays?

27. A 2004 UNICEF report revealed that
30% of US children were overweight
and 14% were obese.
And the trends were most worrying.

28. 0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0
1966-70 1971-74 1976-80 1988-94 1999-2002 2003-2006
Obesity Rate of Children in U.S.
6-11 years of age 12-19 years of age
2006
1966

29. Although Disney did not feel that they
had contributed to this phenomenon,
some of their franchisees certainly did,
including of course McDonald’s.
This is the youngest
person ever to have
weight loss surgery

30. Disney was determined to transform the
eating habits of children to halt the
obesity trend.
 In 2006, Disney introduced nutritious
food guidelines
 Requiring all its franchisees to use kid-
focused products that meet specific limits
on calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar.

31. Imagination Farms was launched to
create an extensive food portfolio
which today offers nutritious options
in key meal categories including fresh
produce, bread, pasta, dairy and baked
goods.

32. Imagination Farms
Mission
Increase the consumption of fresh fruits &
vegetables among children
Goal
Become the number one trusted brand for
healthful food choices for kids

33. For Disney, all these are not part of CSR
as such.
They are trying to educate and nurture
a new generation of children with
healthy lifestyle and eating habits.

34. Thinking outside the bottle

35. Coco-Cola started operation
in India in 1950.
But in 1977, they exited after
a new law partially
nationalized the company.

36. They returned in 1993 and had been
struggling to find a foothold.
The Indians like their product but resent
their global corporate dominance.

37. Greatest challenge:
Developing the business in the
rural areas where there are
few job opportunities,
little or no electricity,
a huge population that has
embraced wireless technology
How do you sell soft drinks
when there are hardly any
refrigerators?

38. The breakthrough….
eKOCool and 5 by 20
eKOCool is a solar-powered
mobile cooler for use in the
villages where there is no
electricity.
5 by 20 is Coca-Cola’s global
commitment to nurture and
empower 5 million women
entrepreneurs by 2020.

39. Killing three birds
in one stone
 Creating employment
as operator of a
stand-alone business
 Selling Coke
 Recharging
mobile phones and
electric lanterns

40. The cooler can hold
48 300ml bottles.
Beverages kept in
the cooler overnight
or 4 to 5 hours are
chilled enough for
consumption.

41. Coca-cola solar refrigerator in Indian villages

42. Accenture is one of the world’s
largest consulting firm.
Rank among Fortune Global 500.
2012: revenue US$28.6 billion
275,000 employees worldwide
Greatest challenge:
finding and retaining talents

43. Young people
want more
than a career

44. Talented
employees
look for
meaning in
their work
and ways of
contributing
to society.

45. Accenture Development Partnerships
- A Corporate Social Enterprise
 The first of its kind
 Harness its best people to offer their
expertise to build, strengthen, or scale
up NGOs and social enterprises in
the developing countries

46. How it works
 Accenture employees could choose to
work in social projects in developing
countries for 3 to 6 months at half pay.
 On completion of the projects, they
return to their original posts, having
gained valuable exposure in fostering
development in challenging and
unfamiliar environment.

47. Making a Difference –
Accenture Development Partnerships

48. Win-win-win
 Half salary of
staff involved
 Half salary for
project duration
 Pay below-
market
consultancy fees
 More capable
and motivated
staff
 Exposure,
training and
opportunities to
contribute
 Access to top
talents and
expertise
Company
Contribution Gain
Staff
Clients
(NGOs, etc)

49.  Accenture has become a role
model in staff engagement and is
winning the talent war
 Many professional firms are
following their example and
devising similar programs

50. Interface Carpet –
the Power of One
 All of the previous
examples are household
names
 Here is one which is not
that well known as it is an
industrial company
 However, its impact and
influence is by far the
greatest

51. Interface Carpet -
used to be a ‘business as usual’
 Turned vinyl and other petroleum
products into carpets
 Total dependence on oil industry for
inputs
 Unsustainable from both business
and environmental points of view

52. In 1994, a customer asked
Chairman Ray Anderson a
simple question:
“How environmental
friendly is your
company?”

53. Ray hasn’t a clue…
In preparing the response,
he came across a book
The Ecology of Commerce
by Paul Hawken, which
shocked him and helped
him to realize that
Interface has been a great
polluter all along and was
utterly unfriendly to the
environment

54. Ray had two options…
Option 1
Tell the customer
that the company is
not very
environmental
friendly but will do
something about it
Option 2
Fundamentally
rethink and
redesign the whole
production method
to make it totally
environmental
friendly

55. What would you do if you were
Chairman Ray Anderson who
was the founder and chairman of
the Company but was already
60 years old?
He chose option 2

56. Interface’s
Mid-course Correction
 Committed to pioneer the ‘next industrial
revolution’ and ‘unhooked from the oil
well’
 Developed technologies to produce
carpets with recyclable yarns from bio-
based fibers made from corn starch
 Pioneered carpet reclamation program –
‘We want your carpets’ – recycling own
and rivals’ carpets

57. Towards a Sustainable
Enterprise –
The Interface Model
Mid-course Correction
by Ray Anderson
1998

58. The Power of One
 Interface has since become
the world’s most
environmental friendly
enterprise
 They were a lone pioneer
when they embarked on
their transformation
 It was the Interface
experience which helped
convert Walmart to
formulate their ambitious
goals in 2006

59. Ray Anderson was an
industrial engineer.

60. What do all these stories have
in common
 They are not conventional CSR efforts
 They are not charitable acts
 They are addressing burning social issues
 They leverage core business and core
competencies
 They turn social issues into business
opportunities

61. Why
this sweeping change?

62. The Necessary Revolution
Capitalism has reached the stage that is
threatening its own existence in terms of
exploitation of the globe’s renewable
resources
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads
/The%20Necessary
%20Revolution.pdf

63. Business is the solution
Growing realization that ONLY
businesses can, and have the resources,
to tackle the world’s burning social
issues….
not governments, or NGOs
or social enterprises
Michael Porter
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can
_be_good_at_solving_social_problems.html

64. Rethinking the purpose of
enterprise
From maximization of shareholder value
to B corporation
B corporations are for-profit businesses
which use the power of the market to
create social and environmental benefits.

65. Social entrepreneurship has
shown the way
Social entrepreneurs in different parts of the
world have demonstrated that business can
do good and well at the same time,
e.g. Grameen Bank (Nobel Prize winner 2006),
Dialogue in the Dark
Café Direct

66. Technology as a powerful
enabler
We could design and make almost any
products we need…. even for the
bottom of the pyramid
A world-famous course offered at
Stanford Design School:
Design for Extreme Affordability

67. Engineers as change agents
Strengths
 Technologically
literate
 System-thinking
capability
 Financially well-
off
Weaknesses
 Lack of
entrepreneurship
 Lack of social
sensitivity
 Lack of passion

68. An unexpected
role model….
Jenny Bowen
Founder,
Half the Sky
Foundation

69. Jenny’s insights for engineers
 Entrepreneurship – no track record to
speak of
 Social sensitivity – an orphan touched
her heart
 Passion – determined, committed,
unstoppable

70. What could you possibly do?
Engineers as
 Impact Volunteers ?
 Power of One ?
 Social Entrepreneurs ?
 Social Intrapreneurs ?
 Social Change Agents ?
 Policy Advocates ?
 Educators ?
 Social Investors ?

71. Even better…
 Think and act as a team
 Leverage professional platforms
 Leverage business and trade
organizations
 Become part of a global movement
(Engineers Without Borders,
Engineering for Change, etc)

72. Thank you.