Although I work for a technology company, my background is in Environmental Sciences. Even in university, I tried to balance the need for sustainable environmental practices with the reality of a market(ing)-driven, consumer-based economy. My thesis looked at the performance and potential for environmental/ethical mutual funds – combining finance and the environment.
To be honest, I got into technology because that is where the opportunities were. A really nice side benefit is seeing that our technology is actually supporting the environmental cause. Software can help companies strike a win-win balance by:
Take, for example, the elimination of paper from your monthly bill review at home. Not only is it convenient for you, but it significantly reduces costs for your creditors.
Replace Printing, Mailing with PDF Rendering of Client Correspondence
Customers use our software to automatically render client correspondence to PDF instead of printing and mailing paper. It reduces costs and accelerates the flow of information to the client. Win-win.
Imagine you’re a manufacturing company with dozens of suppliers sending thousands of electronic documents in multiple formats. Create a web-based portal that allows them all to upload content in whatever format they choose, and use technology to render it all to accessible PDF before routing it to the next workflow step. This eliminates the need to go back to the suppliers and ask for a different file type which adds cycles, delays productivity and increases costs. The examples are endless.
My point is that technology and profitability are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, if sustainable or environmentally-friendly practices are to be anything more than a passing trend, they MUST provide tangible benefits to the organization. There’s even a new term that has been coined for it “Triple Bottom Line” which measures success in terms of: People, Planet and Profit.
One final comment: I’m a nut for sports cars, which is a challenge when trying to be environmentally aware. Even so, we’re seeing how a love of driving can co-exist with the green movement – hello Tesla!
Scott Mackey 
Director - Product Management
Adlib Software
Posted by Heather Angus-Lee at 03/12/2010 09:27:40 AM |