1. Sustainability
in Practice
A FAST GUIDE FOR
BUSINESS LEADERS
Jan Peter Bergkvist
Copyright © by Jan Peter Bergkvist 2009, SleepWell AB 2009

2. Sustainability in Practice
A fast guide for business leaders
Dear Reader,
As a leader today you are expected to integrate sustainable practices into the everyday
operation of your organization.
Your team, your customers, the politicians, the share holders, your board, your kids, the media,
and the blogosphere in short, any stake holder - they all want you, and, in many cases, expect
you to be part of the solution instead of contributing to the increasing problems of our world.
Sustainability is fun and creates pride from within your business and through that strengthens
the internal culture in your organization. At the same time as it adds value to your brand. The
debate during the last decade has been partly unclear with many myths and bad information.
Today we can see a shift of paradigm and my ambition with this booklet is not to add any more
theories and buzz words but to give you a few clear and practical ideas of what you can actually
DO TODAY in YOUR organization - examples of practical measures and initiatives that move
your organization towards a sustainable future and at the same time create immediate value,
increased profit, a stronger brand and esprit de corps.
It matters not if you are CEO of a company, head of a department or manager in an
organization or secretary general in an association. As a leader at any level you are the key to
success in creating a more sustainable organization.
Below you find an excerpt from my recently published book with ready-to-implement tips and
ideas to activate a holistic sustainability plan for your business? The book is meant to be a fast
track resource to build competent, responsible corporate leadership and is designed as a
handbook for leaders at all levels in your organization to help solve your sustainability puzzle!
Jan Peter Bergkvist
Copyright © by Jan Peter Bergkvist 2009, SleepWell AB 2009

3. 1. The challenge
It s ten minutes past 9 a.m. in Nice, France and I ve just had an excellent French breakfast.
Spring has arrived and a clear sky shines over an azure blue Mediterranean sea at the horizon. A
few lonely fishing boats are already out there and the first tourist has gone for a cold swim in
the waters below.
Three years ago France and southern Europe were hit by a heat wave and well over 10,000
people died. This was one of several examples of an unnatural change of our weather that can
be referred to as man-made climate change, a phenomena now acknowledged as reality for
people in general, as well as for media and decision makers of all types. This change has
suddenly raised the awareness of and fear for the non sustainable use of fossil fuels in almost
every activity in our society. More importantly it has also clarified for us that the current level of
fossil CO2 and other green house gases, is not the main challenge. The fact is that we have built
a society that, over time, systematically increases the fossil emissions day by day. This green
house effect with its disastrous results is a main challenge but again it is not the only one!
Global warming has been on everybody s lips and all serious scientists today agree that we need
to halt the increase of today s global average temperature to a level no higher than around 2,4
degrees Celsius in order to survive. This is an objective that our politicians will struggle hard to
achieve.
The frightening fact that shows that Mother Nature is fragile and complex, is the recent
research documenting that global dimming (man-made pollution helping to keep temperature
down) actually may have hidden 1 degree Celsius of the global warming already caused. This
would mean that we are already 20 years behind all the current political objectives being
negotiated!
NOW! The bad news is that man is a one topic creature . Global efforts to understand, agree
and act to address climate change has been on top of the agenda. Meanwhile, the spread of
non-bio degradable chemicals, the destruction of our ecosystems (our lungsand larder) and the
compromised ability for all people on earth to fulfill their needs has not abated.
AND not only that, all those issues are exponentially increasing in the system we call the
developed world . This system, in which we all as human beings, executives, politicians,
employees, academics and media are a part, requires that we must be prepared to care for it
together.
BUT the good news is that we want to survive and we want our kids to survive. The main reason
that the majority of us on this planet make thousands of non sustainable decisions every day in
Copyright © by Jan Peter Bergkvist 2009, SleepWell AB 2009

4. our lives is not that we are mean or stupid or want our children to get cancer or see the
Maldives disappear. The reason is purely a lack of knowledge and understanding of what a
sustainable world, society, company, family or individual looks like. This is why it is so
encouraging to work with sustainability. Sustainable practices provide executives in companies
every where the opportunity to realize that they can contribute to a better world and by that
guarantee the delivery a higher value not only to mankind in the long term but also to the share
holders and customers today
If you would like to read more and share the ready-to-implement tips and ideas in the chapters
listed below please order a copy via mail to : janpeter.bergkvist@sleepwell.nu
Table of contents
Part 1 To Plan
1. The challenge
2. The need of a clear framework
3. Solving your sustainability puzzle
4. Leadership is key
5. Training and education
6. Sustainability: a new definition of luxury
7. So what is sustainability in practice really?
8. The systematic view
Part 2 To Act
1. The Energy Challenge - to Save and Change
2. Chemicals - a natural part of nature or a toxic threat
3. Waste and recycling - an upstream approach
4. Traveling and transportation - in a carbon stressed world
5. Usability - a great way to target more customers
6. Procurement - from suppliers to partners
7. Water - a scarce resource
8. Diversity to broaden the scope
9. Safety and Security social sustainability in practice
10. Sustainable Construction - long term effects
11. Food - for thoughts
12. Human Rights a base for democracy
13. Health and Lifestyle - not just the absence of illness
14. Sustainable design of products & the living environment
15. Social and ethical sustainability beyond charity
Part 3 To Speak
1. Communication: externally and internally
2. Measuring the effects
3. Dialogue with the surrounding world
4. Third party labeling
5. Sustainable Meetings
6. Governance and Ethics
7. Short glossary and useful links
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Copyright © by Jan Peter Bergkvist 2009, SleepWell AB 2009