Quote of the day

“We will not be measured by our aspirations; we will be measured by our actions!”

-Lee Scout, Wal-Mart CEO

Most of you are probably thinking, “Wal-Mart?!” But I've got to give credit where credit is due! This is an important idea that directly applies to sustainability. The first application is easy and somewhat obvious. Are large corporations undertaking CSR (corporate social responsibility) simply as a PR campaign, or do we see actions that backup their claims and prove them to be good citizens?

I would venture that there is another important application here for non-profits, development organizations, and charities. Are your actions measurable and sustainable, creating benefits for your shareholders that are as tangible as that of large corporations? Wanting to help and actually helping are two very different states of being. Business often gets a lot of bad press, but what if we applied the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness, and profit maximization to our social and environmental organizations? What if we expected quantifiable results as well as good intentions from our better minded brethren? What if we demanded ethical actions from our corporations but also profits from our beneficent organizations?

Interested in learning more?

Some cool organizations I have been exposed to recently...
International Development Enterprises http://www.ideorg.org/
Acumen Fund http://www.acumenfund.org/
Ashoka http://www.ashoka.org/
Unitus http://www.unitus.com/

And two important bloggers I’ve come in contact with:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
http://andrewhargadon.com/index.html

Potential Customers

The term Base of the Pyramid (BOP) refers to the majority of the world’s population that is living in poverty but aspiring to so much more. It is roughly 4 billion people who want to improve their lives, buy things they need, and make their own choices. As global telecommunications and digital media improve, a rapidly growing number of people are learning that their standard of living is well below that of rich, developed countries. These people are hungry for the benefits that many of us consider common place.

Creating products for people that meet their needs, improve their ability to make income, protect them from disease, and in general make their lives easier is not only a way to improve living standards, but by treating them as potential customers, we are forced to listen better to their needs, understand the specifics of their situations, and most importantly see them as equally invested in our success as we are in theirs. Businesses focused on selling to poorer people create vital services, while at the same time empowering these people simply by treating them as customers and not charity cases.

It may not be easy to create business models that make selling in developing countries a profitable venture but with some 4 billion potential customers it sounds like an interesting market opportunity to me!