PepsiCo articulates it this way: "PepsiCo's responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate - environment, social, economic - creating a better tomorrow than today." It put its vision into action through programs and a focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company.
An example of putting this into practice is its wildly successful Pepsi Refresh campaign. By garnering votes online, organizations can win grants. Since it started in 2009, more than $19 million in grants have been given to more than 1,000 local community projects, nonprofits and other groups, impacting more than 1.4 million people. And as often happens, a great additional benefit to Pepsi has been the massive wave of PR that has come with doing good. As of mid-2011, Pepsi had more than 76 million votes on their RefreshEverything.com site, and had chalked up over 3 billion online mentions.
Another example of putting this concept into action is at Layne, where its vision includes sustainability at its core: “To be the leading sustainable solutions provider to the world of essential natural resources -- water, minerals and energy. (Full disclosure: Layne is a BrownFlynn client.) As part of its overall business plan, Layne has a specific sustainability business plan that focuses sustainable efforts in detailed ways that support the business goals while also supporting environmental, social, and economic goals. Additionally, it highlights the importance of both tracking and continually improving. By establishing an organization structure, building measurement tools, engaging its workforce, and developing overarching strategies to help them measure progress, Layne’s employees are inspired to make progress towards their vision.
DuPont also focused squarely on sustainability as critical to all aspects of their business. Its vision statement is, “Our vision is to be the world’s most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere.” How does it put that vision into action? DuPont lists safety, concern and care for people, protection of the environment and personal and corporate integrity as the company’s highest core values. Having this in place as a guide for making decisions has allowed DuPont to be named a Fortune Top 50 Most Admired Company, and number 19 on the Top 100 Best Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility magazine.
At L’Oreal, sustainability is a source of inspiration: L’Oreal provides “access to products that enhance well-being, mobilising innovative strength to preserve the beauty of the planet and supporting local communities. These are exacting challenges, which are a source of inspiration and creativity for L’Oreal.” With this philosophy guiding them, they have designed some impressive programs like their Digital for All and Green Academies. Additionally, the company appreciates the value diversity brings to innovation, and has developed creative hiring programs to find the best talent available in multiple new markets where growth is accelerating.
An inspiring vision is a critical step in moving an organization to positive change and achieving long-term, responsible and sustainable growth. What’s your company’s vision? Does it lead the organization to an inspired sustainable future? If it does, we believe “shift happens!” Let us know in the comment below.
