Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) makes bottled water. The company has been in the news recently for a unique campaign, “I Want to be Recycled”, promoting plastic bottle recycling. As of now, in the US, only 30 per cent of such bottles are recycled, while in Finland it is 98 per cent. NWNA has lobbied with state governments to bring in a bottle bill. It has worked with several stakeholders to raise the level of recycled plastics to 60 per cent by 2018. The company worked in collaboration with legislators, NGOs, commodity associations, retailers and even rivals to make this happen. It has built a recycling plant that also takes in plastics of its rivals companies.
According to Eric Lowitt, author of The Collaboration Economy, Nestlé’s efforts reflect an idea that is germinating progressively in the world of business. That is, the way forward for is through collaboration; while competition is desirable, it is not by itself sustainable. The book discusses Lowitt’s pet concept of collaboration between the trinity of business, government and the civil society. The goal is, hence, not just profit maximisation but also sustainability in the long run, as we work towards meeting the requirements of society in the form of food, water and energy while keeping an eye on the environment — a challenge for everyone.
According to Eric Lowitt, author of The Collaboration Economy, Nestlé’s efforts reflect an idea that is germinating progressively in the world of business. That is, the way forward for is through collaboration; while competition is desirable, it is not by itself sustainable. The book discusses Lowitt’s pet concept of collaboration between the trinity of business, government and the civil society. The goal is, hence, not just profit maximisation but also sustainability in the long run, as we work towards meeting the requirements of society in the form of food, water and energy while keeping an eye on the environment — a challenge for everyone.
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| Madan Sabnavis |
Like NWNA, Unilever, too, has taken a collaborative approach in better food management. By linking procurement of its raw materials to sustainability, it ensures that the products it buys from vendors follow specifications such as nutrients, pesticides, water, etc. This way, the value chains are also brought into the picture. Unilever has a set of 11 such indicators. It trains suppliers in growing food in an environment-neutral way.
Lowitt talks about an interesting concept called lease society that enhances sustainability. Here, the product belongs to the producer who is responsible for it until it becomes unusable. The consumer only collaborates with the producer by agreeing to use the service and not own the product. This way, the responsibility of disposal of the product lies with the producer. This is a novel way of conducting business in our society where consumers constantly want to move to the latest products (mobile handsets, for example), making existing models obsolete.
When this cycle sets in, Lowitt says, the economy is typified by higher recycling rates, more efficient transport systems and preservation of natural resources, growth in infrastructure, improvement in health and better human productivity. For this collaborative model to work, we need to have a different mindset. We have to focus on what works, develop relationships across the troika, organise the coalition, have a commitment to our goals and execute through our coalitions. Lowitt knows it’s not an easy job, but he feels it is the right job — and the inevitable one.
Lowitt talks about an interesting concept called lease society that enhances sustainability. Here, the product belongs to the producer who is responsible for it until it becomes unusable. The consumer only collaborates with the producer by agreeing to use the service and not own the product. This way, the responsibility of disposal of the product lies with the producer. This is a novel way of conducting business in our society where consumers constantly want to move to the latest products (mobile handsets, for example), making existing models obsolete.
When this cycle sets in, Lowitt says, the economy is typified by higher recycling rates, more efficient transport systems and preservation of natural resources, growth in infrastructure, improvement in health and better human productivity. For this collaborative model to work, we need to have a different mindset. We have to focus on what works, develop relationships across the troika, organise the coalition, have a commitment to our goals and execute through our coalitions. Lowitt knows it’s not an easy job, but he feels it is the right job — and the inevitable one.
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