Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to the first edition of the Beyond Profit blog!

Our blog is designed to help you in 3 ways.

1)  Give you detailed feedback and follow up materials from each event we run e.g. podcasts, powerpoint presentations etc

2)  Provide further information on speakers and topics that we are involved with

3)  Highlight the opportunities that you can get involved in

Over the next few weeks we’ll aim to recap all our events this term and then continue to provide you with more info and resources over the holiday period and moving into next term’s program.

Anyway, it was back in October when Nick Pennell (Head of the Sustainability Practice at the consultancy Booz&Company) came to chat to us about climate change and the role it is playing in business today.

What became immediately clear was that today’s businesses are not beginning to take notice of sustainability out of good will alone.

The business case for going ‘greener’ is becoming increasingly compelling.  Not only are operational costs rising but customer demand for transparency is increasing.

What companies need now are overall sustainability strategies covering entire supply chains and new brand images to communicate these changes to customers. 

Consequently, those who are able to combine a deep analytical understanding of how to improve sustainability along with an ability to communicate the changes alongside the remaining problems have the potential to lead this movement.

For those interested in consultancy the future in this field looks bright.  Nick highlighted four key areas where consultants look to deliver results for their clients.  Firstly, cost and footprint management which focuses on the nuts and bolts of lowering emissions and reducing impact.  Secondly, business model enhancement where clients seek greener strategies for sourcing, for customer segmentation and for market positioning.  Closely linked to this companies are also looking for ways to develop new green technologies and take a lead in this expanding market.  Finally, clients want advice on how to react to current and potential regulatory developments ranging from the launch of ‘green investment banks’ to the imposition of a new carbon taxes.

All these opportunities and issues were fleshed out in the case study which explored the exotic real life example of the development of a Middle Eastern eco-tourism destination.

For a full overview of Nick’s presentation check out the powerpoint.


If you want to get more involved in applying sustainability to business or just have a few tips to pass on, Beyond Profit is in the process of developing our own strategy to make sure we practice the values we promote.

Drop megan@beyondprofit.org.uk if you have any ideas or are interested in helping out.

Let us know your thoughts on this issue and what you’d like to see us doing in the future.

Look out for further round ups next week.

CU Beyond Profit