The Sustainable Brands Boot Camp is an 18 part online seminar series designed as an orientation to the key aspects of building a sustainable brand. Each SB Boot Camp faculty member ia a leading sustainable business expert in his/her specialty.
We guarantee this is the best introductory course available for executives and managers seeking to understand how to step up to today's market demands and learn to build business value and brand equity by innovating for sustainability. Topics include: Market Drivers & the Opportunity for Sustainability, Business Model Innovation and Brand Strategies, Product & Package Design, Sustainable Supply Chain and Effective Communications Strategies & Tactics.
SB Boot Camp is part of our SLM Digital Learning program. Become a Member today to gain access to our growing library of learning sustainable business tactics and tools. Find sessions on branding, business strategy, hot impact issues like water & biodiversity, (LCA) life cycle analysis, sustainable packaging, marketing without greenwash, employee engagement, FTC regulations, eco-labeling, market research, supply chain management, performance metrics, sustainability/csr reporting, digital public relations, and more.
Introduction to Opportunities in Sustainable Innovation
Gil Friend - President/CEO, Natural Logic
"Sustainability" isn't just a nice thing to do. It's a powerful source of business value, an organizing principle for strategy, and a remarkable driver of innovation at every level of the enterprise. And it's all about design -- of products and services, value propositions and contracts, buildings and production lines, marketing campaigns and incentive systems, and the daily conversations that are the life of your business.
Gil Friend, CEO of Natural Logic and author of the acclaimed The Truth About Green Business (FT Press) explores how your company can harness 3.85 billion years of R&D -- and a commitment to a world that works -- to drive innovation, profit and meaning. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Innovation Opportunities in Response to Today's Environmental Hot Buttons: Climate Change, Water & Waste
Will Sarni - President/CEO, Domani Consulting
While sustainable innovation opportunities are numerous, none are more important in the coming years than those addressing carbon footprints, water, and waste. Join Will Sarni as he highlights examples of how companies and communities in a variety of sectors are tackling these three issues head on through initiatives and long term projects designed to measure & achieve real results. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
The Changing Consumer Marketplace
Moderated by:
Maria Surricchio
In Conversation With:
Amy Hebard PhD - Earthsense;
Gwynne Rogers - LOHAS Business Dir, Natural Marketing Institute
From moms to millenials to faith-based communities and more, a growing variety of addressable audiences are becoming increasingly open to new product and services that demonstrate respect for the environment and the society in which they operate. Shoppers don't always put their money where their mouth is, though. This session will provide insight in to the state of the changing green consumer and help you think about your own customers and what the implications might be of their growing understanding of the potential impact of their purchasing. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Organizational Models for Integrating CSR with Brands
Carol Holding - SLM Contributor and Principal, Holding Associates; Dr. Lucille Pilling - Pilling & Associates
Bringing in and establishing long-term CSR within your organization can be quite a challenge. A generalized list of social responsibility components can commonly be found in articles and online, but one size definitely does not fit all - especially when we consider the business history, culture, and structural make up. Carol and Lucille explore multiple organizational models, help you understand your business type, and lay out a detailed plan to build CSR as a lasting element of your culture and business strategy. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Building a Balanced Sustainable Brand Strategy
Peter Salmon, Principal - President, Moxie Design, LLC
Sustainable business by design requires systemic thinking. While much can be harnessed by analyzing the past, applying Design Thinking to the sustainable businesses of the future requires exploring future uncertainties, developing scenarios and models, and continuing to push knowledge through the funnel to prototype business models whose processes can be tested, refined, and improved. Peter brings you a platform called NextPlays that applies solid business strategy combined with Design Thinking, along with numerous case studies to help you develop a future-oriented (and successful) sustainable business. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Sustainable Product Design – An Overview of Prevailing Approaches
When it comes to designing sustainable products and services, there are a variety of models and strategies to choose from. Some place a focus on eco-effectiveness, while others may center more on eco-efficiency or social impact. To be a leader in sustainable product/service design, brand managers, innovators, and designers need to be well-versed in the various approaches and strategies available to them. Nathan brings you deep into 8 quantitative and qualitative frameworks and their strengths & weaknesses; 12 design strategies and case studies thereof; and the best practices for continuous improvement. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Building Better Supply Chains
Phil Berry - President, Sustainable Product Works
No business works truly alone. In order to progressively build sustainability into a company, one must develop collaborative partnerships with suppliers, customers, and service firms to identify areas to become more lean, green, and socially responsible. While incremental improvements can be realized through intermittent inquiry, the thorniest and highest value innovations require tightly integrated collaboration and a management position ready to tackle the challenges and abandon protectionist mindsets. All for multi-stakeholder success. Phil Berry of Sustainable Product Works takes you through best practices for building sustainable supply chains, lifecycle thinking, 13 areas to address, 11 ways sustainability creates value, case studies, addressing climate change, waste, lean manufacturing, and relationship tips. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Transforming Your Company Through Sustainability – and Engaging Your Customers and Employees in the Process
Bob Domenz, President/CEO, Avenue
Continuous improvement and social responsibility is not just for high-paid consultants and "bought-in" employees. Rather, an organizational culture that values bottom-up innovation and an employee ethic aligned with sustainability, will be equipped for better ideas, faster implementation, and increased employee happiness. Bob takes you through practical steps, hurdles to overcome, and strategies made and executed upon to build a culture of sustainability into your organization - Concrete examples provided. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Introduction to Life Cycle Impact Assessment
Jeremy Faludi - Associate Professor, Stanford Design School
In order to assess the environmental performance of a product or service, we have to measure the variable impacts that components (and their alternatives) will have. Life Cycle Assessment is the mother-of-all scientific means by which we can evaluate a product's environmental and social impact over its usable life and beyond. To say performing an LCA is highly challenging would be an understatement; however, viable approaches do exist. Jeremy in this session illuminates this popular yet complex subject, while providing you with the straight facts and tools you'll need to intelligently traverse life cycle measurements and apply the best solution for your needs. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Business Metrics: Dashboards, KPI's and other strategies for Goal Setting and Measurement
Paul Herman, Founder/CEO, HIP Investor
Playing on Jack Welch's words, "If it can be measured, it can be managed [and improved]". And that's what sustainable business success requires in a continuous interplay: Goal Setting and Measurement. To understand where we are, where we can be, and the costs/benefits realized is the foundation of moving business cases and continued investment - Forward. Paul provides you with a set of emerging tools, key performance indicators, metrics, and examples of leading-edge information dashboards for monitoring and improving organizations' environmental and social impact. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Session 11:
Green Marketing Done Right
Jacquelyn Ottman - Founder, J. Ottman Consulting; Author, "Green Marketing"
The greening of the marketplace brings with it unprecedented opportunity—and a fair share of risk. Join Jacquie Ottman, the nation's foremost expert on green marketing, as she answers marketers' burning questions about going green the right way. You'll get answers to the questions on every green marketer's mind, such as: When is the right time to tell our green story? What should we do if only some of our products are green? How can we avoid greenwashing? Does our product need an eco label?
Jacquie shares the stories and strategies from her soon to be released new book, and feel free to ask the questions you need answers to in your own quest to win over the hearts of green consumers—without a trace of greenwash. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
Designing Communications that Resonate
John Marshall Roberts - Author, "Igniting Inspiration, A Persuasion Manual for Visionaries"
How does one create communications that truly strike people head-on, inspiring them with hope, and make them think positively about your brand and the potential within themselves? This is a great question, however to answer it correctly and craft a solution, we have to look far beyond traditional advertising. Brands in a reset world have to look deep within themselves and tie their cultural values that seek to change the world, with communications which connect with customers' aspirations. Learn with John as he delves into socio-cultural changes afoot, higher-order psychological drivers driving the subconscious, a detailed project plan to establish both meaningful dialogue and outbound communications across multiple channels, and how to keep it all consistent AND sustainable for the long-term vitality of the company. (SLM Premium Members click here to view this video)
PR/Social Media and Alternate Community Building Strategies
Sandy Skees - Principal, Communications4Good; Mario Vellandi - SLM Social Media Manager, Digital PR professional; Lynn Anne Miller - Founder, 4GreenPs
With the advent of new digital communications bringing brands, activists, bloggers, journalists, partners, and customers together, there's no doubt the disruption in the public relations world has been high. Various forms of social media have exploded into our culture over the past 4 years, while many brands have been slowly catching up or getting lost among the sea of tactics and wondering: Does this pay off? What's our strategy? What levels of activity are appropriate? Sandy, Mario, and Lynn Anne Miller help you answer these questions; develop a strategic framework aligned with your goals; understand the various tools and tactics for listening and engaging with audiences through blogs, social networks, twitter; word-of-mouth best practices and legal considerations; the essentials of search engine optimization; and case studies of how companies are using social media to communicate and converse with stakeholders on CSR and sustainability. PLUS: Lynn presents on understanding and reaching out to green bloggers. (SLM Premium Members click here , here and here to view these videos)
