EXHAUSTED DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS Issue 4
Can we Embrace a
Cycling
The Waterbed Company for Cows
Gamification – Behaviour Change
A Lean Start-up Model
?
Culture
NEW
Social media
features to consider using Events for the Winter
EDITOR’S NOTE
I
you over the next year, check out three new features you may consider using to boost your presence (page 4). This is just a taste of what you’ll find inside, so have a flick.
t has been a busy year in the sustainability world. The sharing economy has grown significantly; collaborative consumption is beginning to make waves and the future is looking bright. As the New Year begins, it’s a good time for businesses to re-group, re-examine and re-visit strategies and tactics – from a business, sustainability and operational perspective. So this issue of Exhausted is packed full of useful and inspirational articles to help you get off to a cracking start. Find out what you can learn from a waterbed company for cows (page 10-11) – you’d be surprised! And discover how your organisation can use gamification to create behaviour change for the better (8-9). Or if social media is a core focus for
As per usual, we’ve tried to avoid the waffle and stuffiness you may find in other business and sustainability-related magazines, let me know if you think we’ve managed it! And if there are certain topics and issues that you’d like more info on or to see in the next issue, get in touch, it’s always great to hear from you.
Happy reading... and we wish you a prosperous New Year! Jemma Editor
jemma@liftshare.com
CONTENTS
Will collaborative consumption go mainstream?
3 new social media features you may consider using
3
How difficult is it to build a city for the future?
6
9
... a crazy “ idea - a rubber
bladder filled with water for diary cow bedding.
4
The role of the Local Enterprise Partnerships
5
The big freeze – events for Jan / Feb / March
Gamification – change behaviour for the better
”
7
8
2
Cars of the future – driverless cars?
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
A waterbed company for cows – yes that’s right!
10
3 lessons from a lean start-up model
Can the UK embrace a cycling culture?
11
12
Web: www.liftshare.com/business Linked-in www.linkedin.com/ company/liftshare
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n o i t p m u oc ns
e v i t a r o b a ? l l m o a c Willmainstre go
The answer, which we are beginning to see emerge, is the involvement of big brands.
Collaborative consumption isn’t new. Liftshare, one of today’s largest national collaborative networks, actually arrived online 2 weeks before Google, over 15 years ago.
T
he sudden burst of enthusiasm in collaborative business over the past few years is thanks to technology and our social network-orientated lives, providing easy access to a shared economy. But even the relative success of trending businesses such as AirBnB and the activity of car-sharing does not mean collaborative consumption is certain for success… Companies such as Whipcar have disappeared, closing due to ‘barriers to widespread adoption’. The ability of collaborative consumption to go mainstream is dependent on reaching a critical mass, but how will we achieve it across the board?
While it may not be realistic for big brands to change their business models completely, the trends the new sharing economy is creating, such as community, trust, fun, flexibility, authenticity, a personal touch and great value are traits most brands want to be associated with. We are already seeing some bigger brands dip their toes into the collaborative waters. Clothing has proved ripe for some - Marks & Spencer introduced its “shwopping” service for example.
with others who have time on their hands and are willing to perform simple tasks for extra income. Some big brands may shy away from this collaborative idea, but it’s got to be only a matter of time before their hand is forced. The value of the collaborative market has been put at £310 billion and shows no signs of slowing. However, whilst the numbers look good, the success stories are limited when it comes to sharing.
...community, “ trust, fun, flexibility,
Convenience, culture and cost all play their part. But if a number of major brand names with the trust, customer base, capital, infrastructure and distribution channels decide to shift their focus to extending lifecycles of their products or maximising rental value, then the sharing economy could hit mainstream. And that’s what’s needed.
authenticity, a personal touch and great value are traits most brands want to be associated with.
But brands don’t need to do their own thing to make it work, rather they could look to support existing and emerging collaborative businesses and help them go mainstream.
A company like Unilever for instance could be a great match for a service such as Task Panda, which matches busy consumers
”
If nine billion people are going to consume at the rate we consume at six billion, there aren’t too many options on the table.
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
3
new
you may
consider using
[ 1 ] Google Google+ restricted communities – most organisations will, at some stage, want to have private conversations across social platforms that remain private. Google+ has added an extra layer of security by rolling out restricted communities that only users in your organisation can join. You can decide who your restricted community is open to and it is joinable by invitation only. Once a community is created, you’ll be able to share files from Google Drive as well as videos, events and photos. As a community owner you are able to change settings, manage membership or invite others to join the conversation.
media
3features
[ 2 ] LinkedIn LinkedIn showcase pages – if you have different aspects/products in your business showcase pages are for you. Create individual pages to highlight different aspects of your business and build relationships with the right community. On a showcase page you can share content specific to that audience and aspect/product, you can also monitor the performance of each showcase page you have. Individuals can follow specific showcase pages and add them to their timeline so they only see the content of your business they are interested in.
[ 3 ] TWITTER Twitter custom timelines – this new feature is all about giving you more control over how Tweets are organised and delivered. You can create your own timelines, name them and choose the Tweets you want to add to them – either by hand or automatically. This new tool means that when the conversations around an event or topic take off on Twitter, you have the opportunity to create a timeline that surfaces what you believe to be the most noteworthy, relevant Tweets. Timelines are public and have their own page on Twitter, making it easy to share so others can follow along in real time as you add more Tweets. And you can embed these timelines on your website.
role of the Local
Enterprise Partnerships As we enter the stage of economic recovery, following one of the worst recession periods of our time, we need to focus more on local activity. The order of the day is to be able to develop an economy in tune with local place-based advantages – whilst at the same time creating a new frame work which supports local activity.
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The
A
nd we’re hoping Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) offer the solution. So far the presence of LEPs for the past two and a half years has been less than game changing, but now LEPs are shaping up to get interesting… Could the LEPs be the economic development vehicles we need, with a singular focus on growth, competiveness and investment? The approach to make LEPs intrinsically aware of social life, public services, democracy and places may see them actively improving the economic climate through strengthening local infrastructure and building strong social institutions for individuals and businesses alike.
...create jobs and “ increase economic output. Do you think they’ll succeed?
”
It is believed that LEPs will have a better chance of success operating as a strategic body, working for business, but with powers, responsibilities and the everyday engine of activity placed with local government. The LEPs main role is clear – create jobs and increase economic output. Do you think they’ll succeed? I guess time will tell. DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
5
future? How difficult is it to build a city for the
By 2050 the number of people living in cities will have nearly doubled, from 3.6 billion in 2011 to more than 6 billion
T
his kind of extensive urbanisation creates some of the biggest challenges of our time. It also creates some of the greatest opportunities. We have the chance to shape the cities of the future. It’s easily assumed that fixing cities is the government’s responsibility and they will act. But let’s be realistic, think about the world’s governments – are you really expecting them to accurately address the problems of urbanisation single handed? … Didn’t think so!
Implementing the kind of cities we need requires large amounts of capital, management and alignment of interests – none of which the government can be relied upon to deliver long term, but the private sector can. In the past rapid urbanisation has been met with strategies that centre on expending supply, businesses today are discovering how to create and claim value by improving resource efficiency and helping to stretch resources.
‘Smart from the start’ city projects, such as Masdar City, unveiled in 2006 in Abu Dhabi, backed by business and government have already helped to deliver lessons on how to make do with less. And these projects have provided green technology that can be used to help our existing cities adapt. It won’t be easy. But if business and governments can work together, we may have a shot at building a city that can cope with the burgeoning population.
This model rests on
“
...businesses today are discovering how to create and claim value by improving resource efficiency...
”
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DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
[ 1 ] Financial Investment in efficiency Whatever the industry, strategic investments in resource efficiency as cities are being built or rebuilt can generate value for companies over the long term while enhancing the cities’ competitiveness, livability, and environmental performance.
[ 2 ] Information and communication technology Tools such as smart meters, data visualizations and even mobile technology to promote urban sustainability helps encourage individuals to develop more environmentally friendly consumer habits. Making cities ‘smarter’ is critical.
EXHAUSTED
you
big freeze Seeing
through the
– a couple of events you may consider
arn o le ke t i l the ou om ld y s fr n isco o Wou less nt, C e n c e o to gre Inn ard s of Pack t t like e l Hew ? and few a e nam ad n he The on… ond to L
n Do yo u host gree es or nc events, confere ps yo u rha pe meetings – or want to?
Jan ‘14
ark… Then head to Denm
26th- 29th FRESH and the European Sustainable Events Conference (ESEC), Copenhagen, Denmark
The theme of FRESH14 is Present People, and will discuss the power of meetings and maximising human interaction in meetings.
The European Green Capital 2014 Copenhagen is hosting the FRESH and ESEC 2014 conference at the beginning of 2014. For the first time, both events will be running in parallel at the sustainable venue Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers Hotel.
The ESEC conference will gather professionals from all sectors related to the meetings and events industry to discuss how to integrate sustainability into the entire life-cycle of event organisation.
FRESH is an annual conference that gives coverage to the latest techniques, tools and knowledge in conferences, meetings and events planning. It seeks to provide event designers, planners, producers and owners a refreshing and applicable improvement.
The 2014 theme is Building Bridges and will link to the FRESH theme by showing how people create ideas through collaboration that enables new sustainability strategies that inspire powerful brand experiences, which create business value.
Feb ‘14
18th the Sustainable Events Summit (SES) Sessions are set to examine who is doing what, how and why? As well as exploring the relationship between building brand, customer relations and the practical impact of sustainability And there will be practical sessions to empower you with take away tools to facilitate your sustainability journey – including measurement tools, creating a working culture and identifying issues to break down the barriers to success. Sounds good to us!
...showing how “ people create ideas
through collaboration that enables new sustainability strategies...
”
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
7
USING
gamification It’s reported that the average young person racks up a whopping 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21 – roughly equivalent to the amount of time spent in secondary school.
W
ith half a billion people around the world playing games today, this presents an extraordinary opportunity for sustainability advocates.
gaming to motivate people. But since the internet has gone global, gamification has increased and is now producing some awesome results.
So why are games so popular?
Have you heard of Foldit? It’s a system that allows players to create new shapes of proteins by folding digital molecules on their computer screens. It’s a great example of drawing on the spare time of the masses to increase capacity, in this context research capacity.
Games provide regular feedback on your progress. You can earn points, gain powers, compare your progress with other players and move up a level - cue celebratory jingle. All of these ‘game mechanics’ keep players engaged. Over the past few years an industry has popped up around the idea that game mechanics can be used to make dayto-day tasks more fun and engaging – ’gamification’ is the buzzword! And whilst the term is relatively new, the concept isn’t, organisations have been employing these techniques for a while… Retailers that offer loyalty cards, fitness programmes that provide badges for achievement and companies that award bonuses for hitting targets all use elements of
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
ways and creatively using technology, gamification could provide an important tool in the quest for a more sustainable world.
In 2011, Foldit offered players points for producing a model of an AIDS-causing monkey virus. The more accurate the model, the more points they won. This challenge had puzzled scientists for over 10 years, but it took the online community just ten days to crack. The lessons learnt from this system is by using the principles of gaming in new
Games take some “of the intagible or delayed benefits... and translate them into into instant rewards
”
8
to create behaviour change for the better
Games take some of the intangible or delayed benefits of more sustainable lifestyle choices, and translate them into instant rewards; whether that’s material, social or personal rewards. In the book ‘reality is broken’ it’s suggested that instant rewards and g
So the practical implication of a game which gets you to share your daily commute in a car for example, will actually improve your wellbeing, in addition to the financial benefits of halving your costs. The educational power of ‘fun and games’ has been tried and tested over generations, but it is only now being looked at as a tool to educate and create behaviour change.
Cars
EXHAUSTED
the challenge of an epic win actually makes us happier, more creative, more resilient and better leaders in world changing efforts. Essential qualities for changing the world we live in don’t you think?!
OF THE
future
However, the question of how games can strike the right balance between social progress and play is still open for debate. One company already using game mechanics to drive sustainable behaviour is Recyclebank. The company awards points to individuals when they make greener choices, like recycling or walking to work. Crucially, users can then check their scores online to see where they rank on a score board (implementing the social aspect we all crave). When they have collected enough points, they are rewarded with discounts and deals from local and national retailers and service providers. Those in the gamification field believe the combination of social media and gaming is a winner and these two things together amplify results and are the answer to creating real change in behavioural patterns. ‘Green’ gamification is growing. Businesses are beginning to use game mechanics to engage staff – driving changes in the workplace and taking internal management to a whole new level. Gartner predicts that, by 2015, as much as half of all business processes will be gamified. The opportunities are endless, from using gamification to help turn employees into carbon-cutting warriors, to creating shared visions and games across whole cities – who knows what’s next, but with the rise of 3D printing, augmented reality and ever more powerful social media platforms it’s safe to say things are going to advance quickly.
Back in November 2013 the government announced £1.5 million funding for the first driverless cars project to be tested in a UK city centre in a pedestrianised area.
T
he driverless vehicles, to be known as ‘pods’ will be able to carry two people and will be run on designated pathways in Milton Keynes city centre. It is planned that in 2015, an initial batch of 20 pods will be driver-operated and will run on lanes separated from pedestrians. By mid-2017, 100 fully autonomous pods will be running on pathways alongside people and will use sensors to avoid obstacles.
“
The aim is to have few - if any - new cars powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engine in 2050
”
The aim is to have very few – if any – new cars powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engines in 2050.
Driverless cars are one invention that has the potential to generate the kind of high-skilled jobs Britain wants to be famous for, as well as cutting congestion and pollution and improving road safety. The project has the potential to deliver a truly self-sufficient, low carbon transport option, which would help local authorities and cities to tackle future levels of mobility.
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
9
What you can learn from a
for cows
– yes that’s what it says! It’s highly unlikely that prior to reading this article you would have considered cow comfort, let alone discussed cow waterbeds – unless you’re a dairy farmer, but believe it or not there are business lessons to be learnt with this topic of conversation.
L
et me tell you a quick story… A man named Dean Throndsen was an agricultural equipment salesman in the 90s focused predominantly on the dairy industry. Now many dairy cows are housed in barns year round, to protect them from the elements, and lie down 12 to 14 hours a day. These long lying bouts can cause sores on the cows’ legs and stiffness.
... a salesman Dean “was approached by a European company with a crazy idea - a rubber bladder filled with water for diary cow bedding.
”
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DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
As a salesman Dean was approached by a European company with a crazy idea – a rubber bladder filled with water for dairy cow bedding. Enter cow waterbeds. They’re durable, clean, long-lasting and float the cows above the floor, protecting their joints – absolutely brilliant! Dean was sold, but he noticed a flaw in the existing beds. The single chamber of
water didn’t provide a counterpoint to the weight of a cow, so if the cow dropped to their knees the water would move to the end and when the cow was lying down, their heavy end would push all the water to the front and their legs would rest on the ground – defeating the purpose! The supplier wasn’t interested. So, Dean secured a patent for a dual-chamber g
It wasn’t all plain sailing from there; Dean found it hard to get people used to the idea of a cow waterbed. Initially he was laughed at when he tried to explain it. But that did not stop him. He worked 80-hour weeks committed to make the idea of Dual Chamber Cow Waterbeds a success. Today the Dual Chamber Cow Waterbed is sold across Europe, the USA and Canada, because Dean was persistent. The Throndsens’ business stands on family values like honesty, trust, integrity and dependability and they have some of the hardest working and committed staff you could find.
TOP 3
lessons from a lean start-up model
‘The Lean Start Up’, a book by Eric Ries, challenges business founders to build and run their companies in a new way – maximising customer value and revenue while minimising wasted effort.
EXHAUSTED
waterbed, where a divider splits the bed, ensuring even support for the animal, found a factory to produce his new design and the dual-chamber cow waterbed was born.
L
ean start up principles have been widely adopted, but lean here does not follow the traditional definition, rather it means organisations developing services/products/campaigns by starting small, gaining feedback and continually developing something users want, running efficiently and pivoting if necessary. The system follows a loop of continuous learning and development. The overall goal is to reduce waste: wasted time, wasted effort, and wasted money, but there are plenty of lessons you can glean from the book and here are our top three that can help any business…
Any business can learn lessons from Dean… If you make a good idea better you will succeed – provide the best product you can. If you don’t someone else will and you’ll eventually lose! If you truly believe in your product and know it’s the best it can be, create believers and continue to spread your message – persistence can pay off. Find a team of lifetime learners with creativity and energy oozing out of every cell, who buy into your idea and brand, and hire them! You can teach people everything else they need to know, but these initial qualities can’t be learnt.
[1] Use a minimal viable product to test your ideas and new products/services – that is the most basic version of your product you can create without it being crap! Then test, get feedback, learn, adapt and go again. This is called the feedback loop.
“
If you make a good idea better you will succeed - provide the best product you can.
”
[2] The idea of the feedback loop is you should get faster every time you go around. Whilst this lean start-up method is ideal for creating the ultimate offering, it will only work if you are doing it faster than your competitors – if not, you may as well not bother!
[3] Make sure the metrics you are tracking are not vanity metrics, but actionable metrics. There is little point tracking and improving traffic to your site for instance, if visitors are simply landing and disappearing again. So even if you can say you have millions of visitors, which sounds good, in reality if they are not doing anything it’s pointless and a simple vanity metric.
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
11
UK Can the
embrace a
cycling culture?
Just 2% of all journeys in the UK are made by bike, according to government statistics. Yet there are ambitious plans to start a ‘cycling revolution’. Helped by a £94 million cash investment to promote cycling in several English cities and national parks, the money is designed to help get Briton’s on their bikes.
W
ith improvements to existing cycle routes and new ones planned, the investment is intended to make cycling easier and safer. Yet the jury is out as to whether it will work. With cycling related deaths being reported regularly and the animosity between cyclists and drivers rising as they battle against one another on the daily commute; are we really going to change? Whilst infrastructure is important and will play a large part in encouraging more people to take to two wheels, the other main factor is attitude. It’s easy to hate cyclists, there are hundreds breaking basic highway rules on a daily basis, so they’re definitely not all angels, but neither are motorists. Cycling on the whole is a good thing. If
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DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
cyclists play by the rules, they eliminate congestion and carbon emissions and of course jumping on a bike is good for your health. But how can we encourage more people to cycle and for motorists to be more considerate of those on the road? One answer that has been bandied about is ‘a fairer system’, why should a motorist be punished for jumping a red light, yet a cyclist gets away scot free?! The police are starting to act with ‘Operation Safeway’ - a program of ensuring road traffic laws are abided by all and issuing fixed penalty notices to anybody putting their own and others safety at risk.
What do you think the solution is? Tell us at www.blogliftshare.com/ cycling-culture