Page 137 - Solid Waste Analysis and Minimization a Systems Approach

CUSTOMER AND STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENTS 115

Solid waste minimization projects should be evaluated based on these three areas,
the initial investment, the payback period, and the internal rate of return. The initial
investment is important to determine and allocate the start up funds an organization
has available to begin the project. This is needed to determine a starting point for the
waste minimization efforts. The payback period and the internal rate of return measure
the success of the project in financial terms.

7.4 Customer and Stakeholder

Satisfaction Measurements

A recent study on employee and customer satisfaction indicated that being green bolsters
employees’ and customers’ opinions of the organization. In February 2008, Brockmann
& Company, the customer insight firm released its latest independent report on being
green and its relationship to business performance. The report, entitled “The Power of
Green” reviews buyer preferences for green brands and considers the state of green in
over 100 organizations from around the world. Business people confirm that higher
greenness is coincident with higher customer satisfaction, higher employee satisfaction,
and higher revenues per employee.
Peter Brockmann, president of Brockmann & Company said, “Business people have
worried about the cost of being green. We provide evidence that companies that focus on
recycling in the office, reducing energy consumption in the office and use video confer-
encing or tele-presence technologies intensively, also have higher customer satisfaction,
higher employee satisfaction and higher revenues per employee.”
This report also showed that top performers scoring high on the green quotient had
three times more customer satisfaction than poor performers (organizations scoring
low on the green quotient), 4.7 times more employee satisfaction, and 1.7 times more
revenue per employee. Other key report findings include

■ The reliability, accessibility and quality of video conferencing is the most signifi-
cant variable influencing the study’s result.
■ Counterintuitively, top performers don’t use disincentives for business travel leaving
it to the discretion of employees as to the most effective use of their time and com-
pany resources.
■ It’s not just about green technology adoption—but about green practices and man-
agement attitudes that influence corporate culture on questions like encouraging
public transit and tele-working.

There are numerous methods to investigate whether customers are satisfied with an
organization, products, and the service offered. Common methods are

■ Face-to-face interviews; as customers enter or leave your facility or store or office,
ask them their opinions.
■ Call customers on the phone.