Success Stories

Success 1.  Sustainability Strategy for Consumer Products Company

In the Fall of 2006, Blu Skye was contracted by a multi-sector consumer products company to developed a sustainability strategy.   The project required gaining deep knowledge of the business strategy, assessing the sustainability impacts (footprint), and a thorough understanding of current practices from both a business and sustainability perspective.   From which, we developed a set of recommendations to drive business and sustainability performance.  We discussed findings and recommendations during a full-day ‘Choice Meeting’ of senior corporate and business unit executives.   The executive team decided to proceed with a three-part strategy that included:

Operational Sustainability – the company has moved forward with a set of activities that eliminate operational waste and improve efficiencies within the company’s facilities. This required tracking and reducing waste streams resulting from activities such as packaging, energy, and transportation use.

Sustainable Supply Chain – Blu Skye designed strategies to maximize profitability throughout the supply chain while dramatically reducing product waste.  Eliminating product waste required collaboration with other participants in the supply chain. It also included finding new ways to better forecast sales and match product to demand.

New Business Opportunities –new business opportunities and potential ancillary services associated with these opportunities (e.g., merchandising, sustainable operation solutions) were identified based on a broader perspective of trends and opportunities within the sustainable products market.   From which, we developed a clearly define set of priority opportunity/acquisition targets to pursue.

Success 2.  Radically Reducing Waste in a Publishing Supply Chain

This project focused on improving the profitability and environmental sustainability of the magazine supply chain through an innovative view of the system.  The innovation project was originally proposed by a Wal-Mart supplier and championed by Wal-Mart executives.  The investigation (footprint and analysis) of the magazine supply chain revealed that although the largest environmental impacts come from paper manufacture, the best way to profitably reduce these impacts is through reducing the amount of product waste (66% of magazines go unsold) in the supply chain.  

The topic of product waste had been on the agenda of supply chain participants for some time, however, significant progress had not been achieved because incentives were not aligned across the supply chain, supply chain members had differing perspectives on what the problems were and significant change would require simultaneous change across many companies.

To rapidly address these challenges, align around a common vision, develop a set of solutions, and gain the commitment for coordinated action we are conducting a “system in the room” design session based on an appreciative inquiry (AI) approach.  The session includes executives from all parts of the value chain and is designed to build from the collective strengths of all supply chain participants.  The session is used to develop a shared vision of the future, identify and prototype as set of initiatives to achieve the vision and mobilize actions teams to pilot each initiative.

Success 3. Sustainability Strategy for Environmental Services Company

In the summer of 2007, Blu Skye was contracted by an environmental services company to support the creation of a sustainability strategy for the company.  As the leader in the industry, they were well-positioned to continue on a steady growth path and dominate the traditional waste services.   However, due to stricter regulation and changing customer demands, they had begun to see more and more business development opportunities slip through their fingers to small and dynamic companies that could provide customized materials management services. The company engaged Blu Skye to help organize and support a strategy session to integrate sustainability into the future vision for the company. 

To assist the environmental services company with its strategy development, Blu Skye:

• Identified  and prioritized global and sustainability trends that will impact the waste/ environmental services industry
• Developed and facilitated a Sustainability 101 session for key stakeholders to ensure common platform for creating sustainability strategy
• Connected company with network of leading sustainability experts that infused strategy development with invaluable resources and prior success examples
• Produced an initial assessment of industry and recommendations for the company to help attract new customers in growing zero waste and materials management segments