Environmental Outlook

The environment is one of those issues that has been around since earliest memory. Recently it has been given elevated status in the view of the world. It is now important to be environmentally conscious no matter who you are, what business you are in or what you sell. Utility companies have increased demand for green energy because individuals have begun to take it upon themselves to lead more environmentally focused lives. Businesses promote their environmental policies and progress on the front pages of newspapers and magazines. In every product category there is now an environmentally friendly option.

This has elevated beyond the realm of simple social trend. Being environmentally friendly is now an issue that every person and company has an obligation to face together. That's not to say that everyone has the same opinion of how to go about that or why it is the case, but it is to the point that everyone is taking notice. Car companies advertise efficient cars more often than SUVs now. Grocery stores provide better positioning for green products. Schools devote special lesson plans for how to be more friendly to the earth.

My company is driving towards an internal goal of having an environmental aspect to every project that we work on. That's not to say that we are an environmentally focused company, it is to say that we believe it is important enough for a mention in every project that comes through our door. Most of what we do is project management and strategy consulting business. Our clients are typically financially focused and have large issues occupying their attention from the little steps they could be taking at the same time.

We don't sell a tangible product that anyone can touch and feel. What we do is advise companies on how to do better with the people they have, the real estate they occupy and the money they spend. One of the ways that we do that is by recommending environmentally friendly solutions. It is surprising how many buildings don't even use or plan for high efficiency lighting. On the consulting side we are able to provide the environmental impact of transportation options. Reducing transportation costs means that you are driving fewer miles and causing less pollution all while saving money.

Imagine the impact if every company considered the environmental impact of every project that they undertake. Simply by having it in mind when making a decision typically will produce a better solution with almost no extra cost and probably some long term savings involved. It's the little steps that are going to get us to a goal of environmental improvement. It's taking it into account for problems that don't seem related that will be part of the solution.

How We Became Integrated Strategies

8 years ago our company began as a Project Management firm that helped companies manage their construction, renovation and relocation projects. Since then project management work has still been the one constant in the company. Project Management firms are a great case study in the current economy and the life cycle of service industry companies.

The trick when you are striking out and starting your own business is to find an un- or under-served area of the market where you excel and can provide value. Our niche happened to be that we were great at running projects and could provide the resources to manage these one off jobs for clients that didn't have the time or skills in-house to handle it. We were very successful at this and project management was enough for awhile. As outsourcing these functions became more wide-spread and accepted within the business world more and more companies entered the project management field bringing down margins across the board and creating a very competitive environment. When something like this happens it's time to change the way the game is played.

Now in order to win business we were forced to provide differentiation between us and every other project management firm in the market. Our successful history, client recommendations and broad spectrum of experience wasn't enough to compete with the low cost providers. As a way to differentiate we began bringing other outsourced functions onboard that relate to project management. Workplace Strategies, Design and Construction Management were added as additional services. Suddenly we had a new set of competitors. No longer were we just competing with Project Management companies but we were offering similar services of Architectural firms and Consulting firms. This worked fine for awhile because we were new to that world and our focus was still different from them.

As our growth continued though we were bidding against traditional consulting firms more and more instead of simply the regular project management companies. They had a set of differentiators that we weren't able to compete with. We had entered the gray area in the service world between the smaller PM firms and the larger Consulting houses. It was an awkward position to be in to say the least. Too small to win big projects and too big to win small projects. In the same situation many other companies have struggled and finally failed. We decided that it was time to fight the stream and go toe to toe with our new competition.

To do this we brought in Financial consulting, Supply Chain and Logistics consulting, Real Estate consulting, many top professionals from partners we had worked with in the past for this type of work. If it wasn't going to work we would at least go down swinging and knowing that we gave it our best. We developed so many services that the name Integrated Strategies just came naturally. That was two years ago now and we are still growing successfully. We are working on several currently non-existent differentiators that will help us continue to grow our market and capabilities. It is a very exciting time now that we are playing with the big boys and playing very successfully at that. We have the tools to walk into any executive interview and offer superior services over the FTIs, Deloittes, and others of the world.

We would love to work with your company and we believe we can provide value to any company that we work with in at least one of the service lines we offer. If you are interested in us please feel free to subscribe to our email updates or send us an email. We know that not everyone needs something now and that not everyone wants to outsource. Please bookmarks us and keep us as a reference even. This blog is free for everyone to read, comment and enjoy. We hope this is useful and think that every company can benefit in some way from us.

If you see a topic and want to ask us a specific question feel free to contact us and we'll give you the answers you need.

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to do so!


Technorati Tags: consulting, integrated strategies, history

Environmental Marketing Gone Crazy

This is a follow up to our LEED posting with an article from Environmental Leader. Apparently Sun Microsystems is of the opinion that "Double Carbon Neutral" companies are on the horizon. Companies so "dedicated" to helping the environment that not only do they completely offset their footprint, but they offset it a second time as well are not adding real value along the way. This just goes to show that many environmental programs are no longer about the environment, they are simply marketing strategies.

I'm a fan of helping the environment. I believe that every company should be working to reduce their carbon footprint and impact on the environment within the framework of their business. Sun is doing it precisely the way I believe is most appropriate: looking at their areas where they are most deficient, putting together a business case and budget for improvement and then putting the improvement into place. Humans will never be carbon neutral creatures, especially with the way technology operates today.

Being carbon neutral is a noble goal if approached for the appropriate reasons. Marketing can be a good reason for it, but we have to be careful that a distinction is made between companies in it for the marketing and companies in it for the environment. Any company that wants to could scrounge up funds to purchase enough carbon offsets to make them carbon neutral as many times over as they care to. Is that company really any better than a Sun Mircosystems that isn't carbon neutral but is working towards it organically?


Technorati Tags: LEED, environment, sun, carbon neutral

Green Design and LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) seems to be the coming trend for quite a few businesses. Some companies seem to just be jumping on the bandwagon so they don't get left behind, some are using it as a marketing play and then some see it as their part toward being environmentally friendly. The LEED Certification process is a valuable tool to gaining recognition of your achievement. Fundamentally it is a marketing tool though. Why worry about meeting a LEED standard if the marketing bonus has no value to your business. The important question you must ask yourself as a company is why you are looking for a LEED build-out.

It is easy to find reports and research saying that the cost of building LEED is no more expensive than traditional construction. This is true for ground up buildings. For Interior fit-outs or renovations (the vast majority of projects) this is far from the truth. Due to the overall scale and budget of these projects it is near impossible for the added certification and validation costs to blend into the budget background or be factored out by other design changes. Putting the extra cost down as a marketing expense is the easiest way to justify a LEED project. Almost all other methods lead to the extra expense being non-justified.

The popular environmental news magazines and stories have companies believing that cannot be green without being LEED. This is the farthest thing from the truth. Utility companies and large manufacturers are the clearest example of this. These companies are constantly striving to do their part for the environment through small and big initiatives. Whether it is capturing vent stack CO2 for oil recovery or offering green electricity generation or discounts for cutting your power consumption they are making an impact without the LEED program.

If you decide like most companies to not go LEED, now you must ask yourself: what can I do to help the environment while helping my business? The answers to that question are much easier than most people think. Some solutions are as simple as changing out all the light fixtures in your building to be more energy efficient (the payback is quicker than you would think at 1 1/2 to 4 years). Some solutions are more complicated involving grey water capture for irrigation systems and low flush toilets. It all depends on the payback period that your company requires for investments of this type and taking the time to look at all the costs.

One of the easiest ways to evaluate green systems for your building is to work with a consulting company. Our company is currently applying green systems to every project that we're involved in including environmentally friendly carpet, low VOC paints, energy efficient lighting, and wall systems instead of drywall. Every project and geographic area will have different variations on what is allowed by code, but there is a lot of room to be environmentally sensitive without blowing the budget and actually securing on going cost savings.

Being environmentally aware as a business is a critical challenge for every company large and small. Over both short and long term it can have significant impact on your business. Companies that are not environmentally friendly are going to have a hard time growing in many markets and will be spending more on their infrastructure and operating costs than competitors. LEED is a good way to go about achieving the green goal, but it is definitely not the only way and usually not the best way.


Technorati Tags: green, LEED, design