The Swiss Project Management Journal
The People Project
of various countries that is also rising
consistently and reaching record levels
every year.
The big question that the world faces now
is, can we sustain the sustainability initia-
tive? Or will Mother Nature run her
course and force mankind to reinvent
itself?
Place of Organizations in the
sustainability
Although the main responsibility of
climate or environment sustainability is
with states around the world, organi-
zations play a very important role when it
comes to sustainability. Usually, when we
say organizations, we always forget that
they are represented by the people
behind the organization. Most of the time
the decisions are taken not by one
individual but by a group of individuals. If
an employee takes a selfish decision
regarding simple things, such as buying a
luxury car that needs a lot of gas, this is
quite local and has reduced impact. In
contrast, a decision about factory prac-
tices or production practices may have a
larger impact on the world outside the
company and affect the long term sus-
tainability of our earth and the environ-
ment that we live in.
We can see that global organizations are
clearly aware of their impact and are ta-
king active steps to improve sustainability.
Below are some examples.
F. Hoffmann-La Roche - The pharma-
ceutical company has been ranked the
most sustainable company in the phar-
ma/biotech industry for the ninth year in
a row according to the Dow Jones Sustain-
ability Indices. In 2017 Roche was recog-
nized for the first time as a global leader in
water management and won an award for
the use of solar panels that generate elec-
tricity for serveral hundred households.
General Electric - GE is using its human re-
source department to integrate sustaina-
bility into the company's culture, ranging
from hiring practices and training to em-
ployee wellbeing programs.
Coca-Cola - The drinks company has im-
proved the efficiency of its water use by
20% and identified the need for a rigorous
third-party evaluation of its water mana-
gement approach.
General Mills - The foods company re-
cently released a set of sustainable sour-
cing commitments that begins with a
robust risk assessment process under-
taken in partnership with a third party.
This approach led the company to priori-
tise ten commodities, including oats,
wheat and corn, that they plan to source
sustainably.
Dell - The computer company's integrates
alternative, recycled and recyclable mate-
rials in its product and packaging design,
improvements in energy efficiency, and
design for end-of-life and recyclability.
One of the company's commitments is to
reduce the energy intensity of its product
portfolio by 80% by 2020.
Analysis of two companies operating in
Switzerland
We now analyze in depth the initiatives of
Nestlé SA and ATOS Consulting in Switzer-
land. Each of these companies have spe-
cific goals for improving sustainability and
they are discussed in the following
section.
1. Nestlé – a global giant in Food industry
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and
beverage company. This USD 90 Billion
company was founded in 1866 by Henry
Nestlé and has more than 2000 brands
ranging from global icons to local favou-
Graph 2
Project Management Institute
SWITZERLAND Chapter
17
2017 Edition