John Davies

John Davies is vice president of GreenBiz Intelligence.

View Full Bio

What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

By John Davies, November 19, 2008

Early in the movie Cool Hand Luke, the guard played by Strother Martin utters the oft quoted line as he assesses the differences in understanding between himself and Paul Newman. While the context is different, a "failure to communicate" represents one of the biggest challenges facing sustainability leaders today.

As part of the GreenBiz Intelligence unit's ongoing research, I recently talked with more than 100 senior sustainability and environmental executives about a wide range of topics. Many of these conversations pointed to the existence of a "language barrier" when it comes to discussing sustainability initiatives both inside a company as well as with the outside world of...

(0)
A Five-Step Program for Sustainability

By John Davies, January 7, 2008

Over the past few weeks, we've participated in a number of external stakeholder reviews and listened to presentations on several green corporate strategies. The general media tend to publish stories about how the abstract entity of "business" is working to become more sustainable. But after our recent travels we're reminded that these changes aren't achieved on a wholesale basis, but rather one company at a time.

For firms that have not yet started on their journey toward a more sustainable business, the steps may feel more like they should come from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. The five-step program for businesses embracing a sustainability strategy (which almost always...

(0)
In Memoriam: Important Leadership Lessons From Anita Roddick

By John Davies, September 25, 2007

The recent passing of Body Shop founder Anita Roddick lacked the kind of coverage in the U.S. press that one would expect her legacy to receive. Perhaps this is always how we feel when someone we've met and who's influenced us passes away. But Anita had important lessons for business leaders and especially those who are positioning their companies at the forefront of sustainability. Below are four lessons we can all learn from Dame Anita Roddick.

Lesson One: Create the Culture

Close to twenty years ago, when I first traveled to Body Shop’s pagoda-like offices in Littlehampton to consult with the company, I thought they had discovered a great...

(0)