Wednesday, June 3, 2009

A song for your thoughts

Sometimes a picture or, in this case, a song really is worth a thousand words.

I recently came upon a truly inspirational TV ad for Optus that was technologically amazing as well as effective in terms of business branding. Optus, in case you've never heard of it, is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Australia.

According to its website, "Optus believes that its responsibility as a leading corporate is more than just solid financial performance.... We consider that community, environment and workplace are important pillars of our corporate social responsibility."

In its 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report, Optus addressed how, using the Global Reporting Initiatives "G3" sustainability reporting guidelines and guided by the principles of the AA1000 Assurance Standard, the company self-declared its performance in terms of economic, environment, community, people and marketplace.

Such reporting goes way beyond vague and generic discussions of what is the triple bottom line (profits, planet, and people) and takes the talk straight to the heart of the issue: What does it really mean to be sustainable in a global market? And what are the quantifiable standards for being "green" in an era when greenwashing is running rampant?

Right now, most industries are searching for answers to those questions. Doubtless, they will develop commonly accepted standards for sustainability, which can then be verified by independent third parties. For now, though, many businesses are navigating through uncharted waters as they "progress along [their] reporting journey..."


Enjoy the Optus "Whalesong"


5 comments:

Unknown said...

What can I say...this is so fantastic!! Thank you.

SAM said...

You are right. This ad is absolutely amazing. Perhaps this is a trend for future businesses. Thanks for sharing.

Gutsy Living said...

You are right. This ad is absolutely amazing. Perhaps this is a trend for future businesses. Thanks for sharing. Me again, signed in under the wrong account.

Unknown said...

Also there are new companies starting as triple bottom line such as e3bank, http://www.e3bank.com where you can invest in green.

Hamlet said...

Thanks, Spala, I'll check it out! Anybody else got a good tip? I love hearing about successful and sustainable businesses.