I gave a presentation to a CPA Australia SME discussion group this week and found the discussion very interesting.

I am a presenter for The Climate Project http://www.acfonline.org.au/default.asp?section_id=193.

The first half of the presentation provides an overview of  what climate change is and why it is important to start to do something about addressing the causes now.

The second part of the presentation is a discussion about innovative businesses that are taking positive and profitable steps to reduce their impact on the environment.

While we discussed reducing waste and making conscious decisions about how we do business now, we also discussed how successful those businesses who have changed their business models are becoming.

While my expertise and focus is in the SME space, I am aware of a number of significant projects that major corporations are doing to change their business model.

 A great and informative read is “The Necessary Revolution” by Peter Senge – a summary is here: http://edgarwille.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/peter-senges-book-the-necessary-revolution-full-review/

I know a number of businesses who have started to harvest water, who are generating sufficient renewable power to run their business, who are thinking outside their current framework to reshape their future.

The traditional valuation model centres on current investment models using some form of assessment of maintainable earnings as a basis for determining value. The future model will include a calculation to assess a business’ environmental cost or contribution as part of the process.

Reshaping the future means value will be determined by the customer, the community and the impact we leave on our environment.