Breaking down the “Green Wall” (part one): Early efforts at integrating business and environment at SC Johnson

Abstract

Abstract Integrating environmental management initiatives with business functions, such as manufacturing and purchasing, is now a major goal in many firms. Most environmental professionals agree that success in this pursuit is a product of their greater involvement with traditional business management areas as well as their ability to avoid the “green wall”—the separation between environmental and business functions that companies often experience. In this article, the first of a two-part series, Mark Haveman and Mark Dorfman examine how some firms deliberately break down these barriers. The case study of SC Johnson specifically illustrates how elements such as gaining senior management commitment, explicitly aligning environmental issues with key business goals, and designing consistency into the overriding management system can all lead to breaking down that integration. In the next issue, authors from SC Johnson and the Alliance for Environmental Innovation will discuss a recent project to further the efforts of business-environment integration.