Month: December 2022

Customers and shareholders increasingly expect manufacturers to be proactive on sustainability and social responsibility—and to be transparent about those results. PwC reports in their “ESG Reporting: Getting Started” report, published in January 2022, that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is trending toward increasing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.^[1] In fact, in 2021, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated, “When it comes to climate risk disclosures, investors are raising their hands and asking regulators for more…Companies and investors alike would benefit from clear rules of the road.”^[2] To that end, the SEC is currently developing a climate impact disclosure rule.

Even without these external pressures, sustainability in manufacturing is a worthy goal in itself, especially considering that manufacturing accounts for 76.6 percent of total U.S. emissions.^[3] However, only 17 percent of those emissions are

According to United Nations projections, sixty-eight percent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. The migration to urban centers is accelerating the need for digital transformation as government and city leaders face increasing pressure to make cities safer, accessible, sustainable, and prosperous. Creating smart cities is not just about technology. It is about how technology improves residents’ lives, how it helps businesses thrive, and how it enables governments to provide vital services to employees and citizens. 

What is a smart city?

Smart cities are urban areas that use a range of technology to improve living conditions, modernize services, increase accessibility, drive sustainability and increase economic development. Updating infrastructure, providing healthcare, and securing adequate food supplies are a few areas that could benefit from investing in sustainable practices. To make sure these investments drive actual progress, organizations and individuals must share their collective learnings. Let’s look at

Unlocking data is critical for organizations striving to achieve sustainability goals. Many businesses see challenges in how to effectively record, report, and analyze the data they need to reduce their environmental impact. 

As leaders and companies realize sustainability is smart business and invest in new solutions, sharing our collective learnings is important for long-term success. Reflecting on examples of sustainable business transformations, we asked key opinion leaders inside and outside of Microsoft to share their perspectives.

Building sustainable supply chains 

Returned items present a waste problem for retailers, as 30 to 40 percent of purchased clothing ends up in landfills. Retailers like H&M worked with Microsoft and partner Ombori to start addressing this problem. Retail industry expert Cathy Hotka says analyzing the supply chain can help. “AI and machine learning can help determine which products will sell well, resulting in higher efficiency and less waste.” 

Retailers used to guess about

Marketing Podcast with Liz Lathan

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Liz Lathan. Liz is a community design strategist, a community enablement architect, and the Creator of Return on Emotion™.

Questions I ask Liz Lathan:

• [1:11] I read one of your recent LinkedIn posts and you said that community-first companies are growing 30% faster than product-first companies – what is a community-first company in your definition?
• [6:53] What are a couple of examples of companies doing this really well?
• [8:44] What’s a more relatable example or way somebody who is seen as much more of a conservative business can approach this?
• [13:56] How do you get somebody oriented to what their strategy ought to be when it comes to building a community?
• [15:20] What elements ignite a community when you’re trying to get started?
• [16:06] What are some ways that you’re seeing people take

Marketing Podcast with Mindy Weinstein

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Mindy Weinstein. Dr. Weinstein is a leading expert in digital marketing and has been named one of the top women in the industry globally. She is the founder of the digital marketing firm Market MindShift.

Questions I ask Dr. Mindy Weinstein:

• [1:11] You start the book with scarcity as an influence – could you unpack that idea?
• [3:18] How do you deal with the idea that influence sometimes is used in a negative way?
• [4:59] We are often more afraid of what we might lose than what we might gain — how does that drive the idea of scarcity?
• [8:05] What are some examples of good and bad tactics of scarcity?
• [13:03] As a consumer, is there a way to avoid making the impulses that come from experiencing FOMO?
• [15:17] Is there a