+ Strategy-Business: How Green Is My Value Chain?

At this rate, we'll end up linking to every single article in the Strategy+Business archives, but I came across another excellent piece on creating green value chains. Or more accurately, as the article describes, a green value loop:

One possible solution is what I call a “value loop.” Under this approach, the beginning and end of the value chain are linked together so that materials, products, and waste can flow among suppliers, manufacturers, and customers in a sustained cycle. The goal: to promote technologies and business models that have minimum impact on nature throughout the loop — or that incorporate it in a beneficial way.

The forward half of the loop — from raw materials to manufactured product to trash — is already in place. The challenge now is to create the return half of the loop, collecting waste material and reprocessing it into new “raw” material. This requires a sequence of steps, including “product take-back,” product demanufacture (breaking down an item into its basic elements), and materials reprocessing. The business challenge of the return path is to create value with each of these steps — just as value is created during the forward half. This could be accomplished through regulation-based or through innovation-based business models.

It's pretty powerful stuff. We know that, for the most part, public companies will embrace sustainability only when it's in their best financial interest to do so. With that in mind, solutions like the value loop are crucial to reducing energy demand. Another way to think of it is, what if your energy costs were 30% lower than your competitors'? Wouldn't that be a pretty compelling competitive advantage?
Check out the full article here- free registration required, but worth it