A Look Ahead to “EcoQuality” for Environmental Sustainability

The link between quality and environmental sustainability

J. R. De Feo and Brian Stockhoff | 03/15/2010

Managing for quality is breaking new ground. Increasingly, organizations are being encouraged to look at the entire landscape unfolding before them from the perspective of a balanced array of outcomes characterized by what authors Andrew Savitz and Karl Weber call The Triple Bottom Line (Jossey-Bass, 2006) of people, planet, and profits.

Quality management has always taken people and profits into consideration; now, a third dimension has been added that encompasses environmental sustainability and stewardship. Once-separate societies have begun to band together ideologically on environmental issues, taking fitful, yet visible and increasingly concerted action to shore up the “quality dikes” that Joseph Juran posited years ago. These efforts appear certain to result in widespread change in legislation controlling aspects of quality we long have taken for granted.

How are organizations being affected by changes in perceived social responsibility? Three major forces must be reckoned with.

First, future legislation likely will mandate action by companies; minimally this will involve monitoring of environmental impact (e.g., greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide emissions), and may extend to active management (e.g., CO₂ “cap and trade”).

Second, shareholders increasingly view environmental stewardship as a factor in deciding to invest, and therefore, demand transparency of internal technologies and business practices that most organizations cannot yet provide. For example, with the belief that corporate sustainability (including environmental dimensions) creates long-term shareholder value, Dow Jones established the Sustainability Indices in 1999, providing the first tracking of the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven organizations worldwide. Another initiative is the Carbon Disclosure Project, an organization that collects and distributes information on behalf of investors and businesses, in the effort to motivate environmental sustainability.

Third, customers progressively show interest in the life cycle of the products and services they purchase, perceiving that overall quality is based on the environmental impact of product and process design, manufacturing process, production operations, supply chain, and final disposal (end-of-life). This cradle-to-grave life cycle plays into consumer purchase decisions, and an organization’s bottom line.

How should organizations best respond? Several methods and tools are available today. These include:

ISO 14000 environmental management system. ISO 14000 is a standard requiring organizations to establish an environmental management system. It is applicable to any business, regardless of size, location, or industry. The purpose of the standard is to reduce the environmental footprint of a business and to decrease the pollution and waste a business produces.

Life-cycle assessments. This is a cradle-to-grave analysis of the environmental effects of a product or service caused or necessitated by its existence, from birth to death. Not limited to greenhouse gases (see carbon footprint below), it encompasses many forms of damage such as ozone depletion, desertification, and resource depletion. The objective of a life-cycle analysis is to encourage informed and appropriate choices by providing fair comparison of products and services in terms of negative environmental impact.

Carbon footprinting. As defined by the Carbon Trust, a carbon footprint (or profile) is the combined total of all greenhouse gas emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, event, organization, or product. Frequently this is reported as “CO₂ equivalent” with carbon dioxide used as a convenient, common currency. A carbon footprint, therefore, need not be strictly confined to CO₂ alone. This is an expansive definition, and includes many sources over which an individual or organization has varying degrees of control.

Energy audits. An energy audit is an inspection and analysis of the energy flow through a building, process or system, carried out to improve energy efficiency and reduce overall consumption. While energy audits are not new (efficiency long has been an issue in corporate accounting offices), the “pollution” factor is gaining in prominence as a driver.

Juran intuitively made the connection between quality and environmental sustainability, but didn’t give it a name. In recognition of his contribution, the Juran Institute refers to this as “EcoQuality.” EcoQuality is not a replacement for designing a product and service that must be “fit for purpose,” rather, it is an extension on what “fit for purpose” will mean in the future.

The Juran Institute believes that customers, of their own volition and through social pressure, will create a new landscape for quality and performance excellence, a new zone of quality that incorporates the dimension of environmental sustainability in partnership with the management of quality. In alignment with the Juran Trilogy, EcoQuality is intended to enable clients from all industries to respond to demands from customers, regulatory agencies, and shareholders on the issue of accountability in producing products and services fit for ecological use.

100 percent of first senior class at all male, all African-American Englewood academy is accepted to universities

The entire senior class at Chicago’s only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to four-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation.

Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at an all-school assembly at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Englewood this morning to congratulate them. It’s the first graduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006.

At last count, the 107 seniors gained acceptance to a total of 72 different colleges, including Northwestern University, Morehouse College, Howard University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and DePaul University.

Huberman applauded the seniors for making CPS shine.

“All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream,” Huberman said.

The school enforces a strict uniform of black blazers, khaki pants and red ties — with one exception. After a student receives the news he was accepted into college, he swaps his red tie for a red and gold one at an assembly.

The last 13 students received their college ties today, to thunderous applause.

Ask Rayvaughn Hines what college he was accepted to and he’ll answer with a question.

“Do you want me to name them all?”

For the 18-year-old from Back of the Yards, college was merely a concept–never a goal–growing up. Even within the last three years, he questioned if school, let alone college, was for him. Now, the senior is headed to the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. next fall.

Hines remembers the moment he put on his red and gold tie.

“I wanted to take my time because I was just so proud of myself,” he said. “I wanted everyone to see me put it on.”

The achievement might not merit a mayoral visit at one of the city’s elite, selective enrollment high schools. But Urban Prep, a charter school that enrolls using a lottery in one of the city’s more troubled neighborhoods, faced difficult odds. Only 4 percent of this year’s senior class read at grade level as freshmen, according to Tim King, the school’s CEO.

“I never had a doubt that we would achieve this goal,” King said. “Every single person we hired knew from the day one that this is what we do: We get our kids into college.”

College is omnipresent at the school. Before the students begin their freshman year, they take a field trip to Northwestern University. Every student is assigned a college counselor the day he steps foot in the school.

The school offers an extended day–170,000 more minutes over four years compared to its counterparts across the city–and more than double the number of English credits usually needed to graduate.

Even the school’s voicemail has a student declaring “I am college bound” before it asks callers to dial an extension.

Normally, it takes senior Jerry Hinds two buses and 45 minutes to get home from school. On Dec. 11, the day University of Illinois at Champaign- Urbana was to post his admission decisions online at 5 p.m., he asked a friend to drive him home.

He went into his bedroom, told his well-wishing mother this was something he had to do alone, closed the door and logged in.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” he remembers screaming. His mother, who didn’t dare stray far, burst in and began crying.

That night he made more than 30 phone calls, at times shouting “I got in” on his cell phone and home phone at the same time.

“We’re breaking barriers,” he said. “And that feels great.”

deldeib@tribune.com
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune

By Deirdre Mercedes – Opal, Quality Systems Management

Big company executives are finding out, too late, that the large consulting firm that they hired is wasting money, time, and resources as they cause a lot of confusion and tension within the organizations that they are supposed to be helping.  They complete the job but it’s usually past the due date and at a cost above the original agreement.  Here is one example of “Surprise Me” budgeting:

I spoke to an executive who found that his company was paying for his consulting firm’s “most experienced people” to commute to his facility from multiple states and abroad?   During a very expensive SAP implementation, he was paying for airfare, hotels and car rentals.  He never got the real number but his staff reported no less than 25 people commuting from out of state.  He had his administrative assistant analyze the cost and he came up with the following weekly figures:  Airfare/round trip (from shortest reported distance) = approximately $250; Hotel = approximately $150; Car rental, parking fees, gas = approximately $150.  These estimates were conservative.  If just 15 people are commuting from out of state for 50 weeks, these costs add up to $412,500.  The cost rises to almost $700,000 if 25 people are afforded this privilege.

Why did this executive start to question the travel quandary in the first place?  About 8 months into the project, his staff members started complaining about the level of service that the consultants were providing:

• Key individuals were not available in person, by phone or email on Monday mornings because they were traveling
• Key individuals were not available in person, by phone or email on Thursday afternoons because they were traveling
• Key individuals were not available in person all day on Fridays because they were working from home.

To make matters worse, the consultants bragged about their travel exploits while interacting with staff members.   The staff members heard rumors that there wouldn’t be profit sharing checks next year and the consultants were telling stories about traveling to multiple states and abroad.

In Part II of  “Companies Selling Confusion & Waste”, we will explore ways to ensure that you choose the right management consulting partner.  Please stay tuned…

By Laura Denktash

I like anniversaries….On March 2, 2010 it will be exactly one year since I was laid-off from my corporate job. And what a year it has been. Let’s face it…getting laid-off is not easy.

But… I decided to take the “high road.” First off, I had to be honest with myself. I knew in my heart I wouldn’t be getting another job. I had way too much going on to do that.

There was too much at stake. I believe getting laid-off at the time I did was God’s way of freeing me to do my best work.

And I accepted the challenge, along with the responsibility. What was to come was truly amazing…

All I had to do was BELIEVE. Not always an easy thing to do when money suddenly becomes very tight. Not always easy, when you’re doing all the work yourself. Not always easy, when you sometimes wonder….What am I doing?

But…I now had all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted…Everyday…at exactly the time I wanted to do it. How liberating!

Being an entrepreneur is very challenging. It’s a HUGE responsibility, and not for the faint of heart. But when you truly embrace the freedom it offers, and allow yourself to create…

You can even “shock and awe” yourself. Yes…I exploded onto the scene. I’ve even exceeded my own expectations. I’ve gone from being LAID-OFF to LAUNCHING AN EMPIRE!!!!

I’m mentioning this because I’m hoping I can encourage and inspire you to believe in your dreams to a fault. To believe with so much commitment and conviction, that you begin doing things almost without thinking.

It’s as if you are on “automatic pilot.”What it’s really called is…Being GUIDED. GUIDED by the true source; the very source of creative energy. The ESSENCE.

I never would have been able to accomplish what I have over this past year had I still been employed at a JOB. And let’s not forget how much I have learned and grown. WOW!

Why? Because… never once did I say “no.” Never once did I doubt that if I had an idea…then it must be so.

I truly believed and continue to believe that if I get an idea, that I am capable of achieving it simply because I’ve been given the idea.

Because the ideas…Come from the SOURCE. It’s that simple. When you embrace this type of possibility thinking…You become unstoppable.

I have yielded to the SOURCE, and I eagerly await my next instructions.

Would you like to learn more about Laura Denktash and her endeavors?  Go to www.lauradenktash.com

What if HR held the appropriate meetings at the appropriate times?

What if managers didn’t ‘spill the beans’ before “D” day?

What if security didn’t let anyone know that they purchased 2000 boxes over the last 2 weeks?

If everyone did what they were supposed to do then you didn’t know that your supervisor and a security guard were on their way to your office with 3 boxes and a separation package at 3:30 p.m. on the day that you were laid off.  And when he knocked on your office door and asked “Hey, Uh…you got a minute?” you thought he wanted to talk about that great proposal you submitted 5 weeks ago.

Even if you were expecting this precious event, it still feels like a sticky, pointy object is lodged in your back.  And the humiliation of being walked out of the building, waving goodbye to the people that you’ve been working with for 5, 12, 20 years, can take a toll on a human being.  Unfortunately, some of them may be getting the “Got a minute?” speech sometime in the near future.

Here’s a list of things that you might want to start thinking about if you suddenly find that you have a minute or two.

• Update your resume.  This suggestion is really for those who believe that they are safe.  Don’t be so smug that you find yourself unprepared when you get the knock on your door or cubicle wall.
• This is not the time to put on airs.  Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a new opportunity.  You never know who can help you if you don’t let anyone know that you need help.
• Take a look at your budget right away.  You do have a budget, don’t you?  Well – if you don’t, create one – - fast.  Organize your finances so that you know, at a glance, what you have to pay vs. what you have to spend over the next 6 months. This will alleviate some of the stress because you will see where you need to reduce or stop spending.
• Join Facebook and/or LinkedIn.  These are two of the top internet networking tools.

Do you remember when you woke up in the morning, got ready for work, greeted your family in the kitchen and you laughed and talked and teased each other until it was time to go your separate ways?  It didn’t matter if the morning event lasted 10 minutes or 45 minutes, it was a special time and there was always the feeling that you didn’t want it to end.

Today – the picture is a little different.   People wake up, get ready for work and leave so fast that their neighbors aren’t sure if anyone even lives in the house at all.   When they get to work – rather, “on campus” they go the café for breakfast fresh from the grill, fresh fruit and dairy, fresh squeezed juice and a plethora of other delights.  Of course, they have to eat in a hurry because there’s a 7:30 daily meeting that they don’t contribute anything to, but being in attendance is politically correct.  For lunch they get to go right back to the café (…remember when it was just a cafeteria?) and decide between the sandwich board, the soup area, the salad arena and let’s not forget the entrée section with no less than 3 dishes to choose from.

At any time of the day employees can go to the gym which is fully equipped with yoga mats, swimming pool, sauna, and basketball, volleyball and racquetball courts.   After work there are working dinners where people play and plan, Pilates and kickboxing classes, diet clubs, dancing lessons, Toastmasters, softball and basketball teams.  There are weekend retreats and holiday festivities, gift exchanges and book clubs…everything that people used to do outside of their job can and is now done within the parameters of one’s workplace.   With all of these perks, benefits and fun-fare, is it surprising that a person might start to feel more comfortable at work than they do at home?

I believe that it all started when Boards of Directors decided to created an environment where people found it more convenient to stay within the boundaries of the work site so that they would not take long lunches.  Over the years this concept spread to breakfast, dinner, exercise and holidays.   Employees started to spend more time at work than at home.  In some cases, employees started to build relationships with co-workers that were more meaningful than those with their family members.   Or do they nurture these workplace relationships because they aren’t happy at home in the first place.   Please stay tuned and we’ll explore this more in Part II of this series.

OPAL, QSM Is Helping Small Businesses Grow and Develop
OPAL, Quality Systems Management is a small business with great, big ideas about changing the way the small business person thinks.   Based in Oakland, CA, OPAL has been working with Bay Area companies for over 10 years building business systems, enhancing control processes and implementing ISO 9000 compliant quality systems.   Recently, OPAL has worked feverishly to infiltrate the construction industry with the explicit intent of showing small, minority, and underutilized contractors that they, too, can turn their “underdog” companies into noticeable, respected organizations that look and feel like “The Big Boys”.