Green Plus and GRI: A Comparison

Green Plus (The Institute for Sustainable Development) has published the second installment in a series it’s doing on its place in the sustainability arena. This installment is a comparison between Green Plus and GRI.

Green Plus is a certification that indicates a significant level of commitment to practicing sustainability. GRI is the most widely used sustainability reporting framework, that also works as a management process tool. Green Plus has defined standards pertaining to sustainability practices (though there is room for flexibility depending on organization type), while GRI encourages organizations to start the reporting process by consulting key stakeholders to determine what are the most material issues to the organization.

Green Plus goes on to highlight other key similarities/differences between itself and GRI. To read the entire post please click here. Please check back for the rest of the installments in the series.

The Taylor Companies: old school values with new school thinking

Yesterday Triple Pundit featured our valued client, The Taylor Companies (Taylor), in an article that highlighted the introduction of their new Sustainability Facts label. Taylor is the oldest company of its kind not only in Ohio but in the United States. Established in 1816, Taylor combines traditional furniture-making processes with new technology and an emphasis on sustainable business practices.

Taylor has received local, regional and national recognition for these practices by Business Week, NPR and Crain’s Cleveland Business. Taylor was the first Ohio business to be Certified Green Plus by the Institute for Sustainable Development, and the only furniture manufacturing business in the nation.

The Sustainability Facts label is the only attribute of its kind in the industry. The company has been using Bioflex hybrid foam in its chair seating since 2007, and locally sources its lumber, mechanisms, chair bases, springs, foam and webbing from within a 500 mile radius of its headquarters in Bedford, Ohio.

Other highlights of the company:

• HQs are built on a remediated brownfield
• 90% of waste is diverted from landfill
• 59% improvement in energy efficiency
• First furniture manufacturer to join The Climate Registry in April 2010
• Scraps of leather are upcycled to make purses and wallets
• About 38 tons of sawdust a year is sucked out of the factory and goes to a horse farm for bedding
• Heat is also recycled back into the factory

To read the full story please click here.

Stakeholder Engagement & Sustainability Survey

It’s all about your stakeholders.  Do you know who they are?  Do you know their value to your sustainability strategy?

This summer BrownFlynn is partnering with the Institute for Sustainable Development to conduct a survey on the importance of stakeholder engagement in developing an organization’s sustainability strategy.  The results of the survey will be compiled into a first-of-its-kind report on the role of stakeholder engagement in this important process.

The purpose of the survey is to gain insight on how various organizations value and practice stakeholder engagement—which is defined as the process through which companies engage employees, shareholders, customers, neighboring communities, government officials, etc., to align mutual interests, reduce risk and advance the company’s social, environmental and economic performance.

Green Plus

BrownFlynn recently partnered with the Institute for Sustainable Development to offer our sustainability consulting expertise to the companies and nonprofits that seek the Institute’s Green Plus certification.

To learn more about the Green Plus certification, take a look at their video:

Or visit the Institute for Sustainable Development’s website.

Green Plus Partnership

BrownFlynn has recently partnered with the Institute for Sustainable Development in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.  The Institute for Sustainable Development offers the Green Plus sustainable business and nonprofit certification and education program that support small organizations in enhancing their social, environmental and economic bottom lines.

Through this partnership, BrownFlynn will be able to provide its expertise in sustainability strategy and impact planning, goal setting, brand enhancement, stakeholder engagement, sustainability reporting and other internal and external communications to the companies and nonprofits that seek the Institute’s Green Plus certification.