(Time to read this Blog section is about 60 seconds)
- Women-led companies outperformed the average by more than double. An eight-year study of 11,000 publicly traded companies around the world by Stockholm-based Nordea Bank found that companies led by women had an annualized return of 25% vs. the average of all companies of just 11%. So, clearly we need many more smart women in top management positions.
- UPS drivers will almost never turn left. Here’s why. UPS’s vehicle routing software has determined that turning left is most often a waste of time and fuel because of the time spent waiting for traffic or signals to make the turn. Left turns also have a higher accident risk. (Note: For our readers in UK, Australia, NZ, Hong Kong and Singapore, we’re talking about right turns here).
It is estimated that since 2004 the ‘no left turn’ rule has saved 10 million gallons of fuel, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 20,000 tonnes and facilitated delivery of 350,000 more packages.
So, what study, analysis and decisions are being made in your business to be more efficient and more environmentally responsible? Small improvements can make a big difference.
- Is your workplace safe? Somewhere in the world, one worker dies every 15 seconds due to occupational injury or illness. That’s over 2 million workers per year.
What are you doing to make your workplace more safe? Look at your facilities & equipment, toxic substances, unsafe methods, a push for productivity that puts people at risk, lack of proper training and supervision.
- The world’s top selling liquor that you’ve never heard of. The world’s top-selling liquor is Baijiu (pronounced bye-jo) is a Chinese liquor made from sorghum grain. It’s generally 52% alcohol by volume. Vodka is the #2 top selling liquor in the world.
- What is your business doing to reduce, reuse and recycle? James Cropper Paper, a UK producer of luxury papers for upmarket brands, has developed a way to turn used coffee cups into new paper and plastic products.
In the past, take-away cups proved complicated to recycle due to their combination of paper and plastic. At the company’s new recycling plant, the paper fiber is separated from the polyethylene. The paper fibers become new luxury papers and the polyethylene is sold to a processor of plastic tubing and cable wraps.
With an estimated 2.5 billion take-away cups thrown away each year in Britain alone, the ability to recycle even a proportion of this is a huge leap forward in sustainability. What about holding a ‘Sustainability Idea Fest’ in your business where employees can come up with ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle in your business. The winner might get and education fund donation for their child…or a child of their choice. That could be a huge ‘win-win’!
