Profit As A Function Of Operation By: Mark Kozak Sustainable Using sound environmental principals and business strategies to bridge the gap between sustainability and profitability. Mark Kozak is the president of BEAM Strategic Solutions, a consulting firm focused on help-ing companies with sustainabil-ity issues, product and process development, regulatory affairs and other technical support functions. Kozak is a Cleaning Industry Management Standard (CIMS) ISSA Certification Expert (ICE) and an adjunct pro-fessor for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Benedictine University’s College of Business where he teaches courses on sustainabil-ity. Kozak can be contacted at [email protected], and more information about the consulting and support services he offers can be found by visiting www.BEAMStrategic.com. Without profit, no company or organiza-tion can sustain — regardless of how envi-ronmentally preferable your practices are. T for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Sustainability . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select SUPPLIER SEARCH from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Environmentally-friendly . The idea of business sustainability focuses on the triple bottom line concept. Many refer to this interconnected idea as the three Ps of sustainability: 1. People 2. Planet 3. Profit. Human nature often compels us to look at the first two Ps — those with whom we work and our environment; but, we cannot ignore the third part of this idea: Profit. In fact, profitability could be seen as the most critical component of sustainability; without it, businesses will abandon efforts to improve human or environmental conditions — lest risk becoming unviable themselves. The truly successful business model is one which views sustainability as the bridge to profit, functioning to safeguard people and the planet in order to maximize earnings. In the cleaning industry, we have focused initially on the planet-oriented aspect of sustainability, and there has been a large and successful movement in all aspects of the JanSan industry to be more environmentally conscious. We have done this by using products and meth-ods that are better for the environment and safer to the people who work with and are exposed to those products. Unfortunately, these environmentally-focused actions have not always led to a healthier bottom line. 26 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • March 2013
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