Thursday, May 9, 2013

Preliminary Survey Results Released on CXO Sustainability Engagement

COO’s Found to Be Unsung Leaders, More Engagement from CFO’s Desired A new study by the University of Oregon Sustainability Leadership Program and Newport Consulting Group looks at sustainability engagement across the C-Suite.

Portland, OR/Clarkston, MI, May 10, 2013 – Today, The University of Oregon Sustainability Leadership Program and Newport Consulting Group announced the initial findings of their survey looking to correlate CXO behavior with perceived sustainability performance. Initial results show that the Chief Operation Officer (COO) may be the unsung hero of sustainability efforts.


The impetus of this survey was to look at the engagement levels across the entire C-Suite at one time—the first study of its kind as far as the two organizations are aware. Interestingly, the COO is rarely studied individually, but was recognized in the study as second only to the CEO in terms of leadership and implementation of sustainability initiatives. CFO’s were the most sought after for increased engagement (32%) followed closely by the CEO (31%).

Additional preliminary findings include:

1. Sustainability is still a “Lead from the Top” Initiative in Most Organizations. An overwhelming number of organizations responded that the CEO was the main sponsor for the sustainability initiative company-wide (49%) followed by ‘green teams’ (25%).

2. Environmental Activities Top Social/Financial Efforts. Sustainability teams are spending more time on the environmental side of the equation (58% over the past 5-10 years) versus social (43% over the past 5-10 years) or financial including integrated reporting (24% over the past 5-10 years).

3. For Most Companies, the CFO and CIO Have Yet to Engage. Only 18% of CFOs and 11% of the CIOs were identified as “fully engaged” in an organization’s sustainability efforts.

4. The Importance of the COO’s Role Gets Recognized. While the CEO by far was identified as the C-suite executive who historically initiated sustainability efforts (58%), the COO was identified as the next most active executive (19%).

5. Market positioning is a Leading Driver. An overwhelming majority (61%) of participants indicated that “telling our story as an industry leader” was a primary benefit and effective method for engaging both inside and outside stakeholders.

A webinar scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd at 10am PT/1pm ET will provide more detail and go into deeper insights about the survey’s findings. Newport Consulting Group representatives will be attending the International Society of Sustainability Professionals Conference in Chicago May 9-10, 2013 and are available for meetings and discussions about the survey.

About Newport Consulting Group
Newport Consulting Group is an independent management consulting firm specializing in strategy, operations, risk management, and technology for commercial, public sector, not for profit, and high growth organizations. The firm maintains focused service offerings in strategy management, market growth and entry, program design & oversight, sustainability management, digital content strategy, and cloud operations management. For more information, please visit the Sustainability Management page at the firm's website (www.newportconsgroup.com). Inquiries should reference PR-2013-05-06.

About University of Oregon Sustainability Leadership Program
The University of Oregon Sustainability Leadership Program (SLP) provides practitioners with a theoretical foundation and practical tools for leading organizations, communities, and individuals to develop sustainable living and working environments. The Sustainability Leadership Program was launched in 2003 and has served over 1,500 individuals from more than 450 organizations. Participants come from a variety of professional backgrounds and represent a broad range of industries, including government agencies, private businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and other sectors. For more information, visit sustain.uoregon.edu.

Contact:
Cindy Jennings
Newport Consulting Group
4400 W 46th Ave #105
Denver, CO 80212 USA
248-978-2000
cjennings@newportconsgroup.com
http://www.NewportConsGroup.com

Multicultural Publisher Donates Language and Activity Books to Libraries Across the West

Nationally-lauded Spanish/bilingual books, activity mysteries and ebooks featuring black, white, Hispanic and Asian children are now available at multiple libraries and web sites.

Midvale, UT, May 09, 2013 - What: Bilingual and activity books for families and educators seeking ethnically-diverse children’s literature

Who: Premio Publishing & Gozo Books—publishers of nationally-lauded children’s language and activity books with diverse ethnic characters

Where / When: Multicultural books and ebooks now available at libraries across the West and on several sites including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, MulticulturalKidsBooks.com, Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Smashwords and Etsy.

More Info: Publisher Karl Beckstrand will be presenting on Creating & Publishing Children’s Books for Broadest Reach (including ebooks and Print-On-Demand) at the LDStorymakers Conference Friday, May 10, at 10:40 a.m. at the Provo, Utah Marriott Hotel. Premio Publishing’s books are available nationwide via Baker & Taylor, Brodart, Follett Library Resources/BWI Title Wave, Premiobooks.com, Amazon and Ingram.

Story Idea:
May 8, 2013, MIDVALE, UT, USA - Parents and teachers seeking more racially-diverse educational books for children have new options—and more places to find them. This month Premio Publishing & Gozo Books has made its multicultural activity and language books available at more than 75 libraries and bookmobiles in the West.

The books feature children of black, white, Asian, Hispanic and mixed races, and come with finding or counting activities, online secrets and even recipes. Surprise twists, vivid images and humor hold student attention and make them repeat readers. Hundreds of the nationally-lauded English and Spanish books (with pronunciation guide), activity mysteries, ebooks and non-fiction books on immigrants have also been donated around the world.

The publisher has also increased the number of web sites that offer its diverse books and ebooks internationally--including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Smashwords and Etsy. Premiobooks.com offers a free geography ebook: It Ain’t Flat: A Memorizable Book of Countries meant to be read aloud. They plan to release interactive book apps later this year.

Premio Publishing’s multicultural books have been praised by School Library Journal, the Horn Book blog, ForeWord Reviews and others. While their educational children’s books may be ordered via Baker & Taylor, Brodart, Follett Library Resources/BWI Title Wave, Ingram, Amazon and others, the publisher will continue to donate books to US libraries and charities. Libraries that did not receive a free bilingual book with pronunciation guide may contact the publisher while quantities last.

Premio's publisher, Karl Beckstrand, will be presenting on Creating & Publishing Children’s Books for Broadest Reach (including ebooks and Print-On-Demand) at the LDStorymakers Conference Friday, May 10 at 10:40 a.m. at the Provo, Utah Marriott Hotel.

Media Advisory:
CONTACT: Hysen Sisco
208-403-9634
info@premiobooks.com

Premio Publishing & Gozo Books has been delighting families and educators since 2004. Our multicultural activity books (including Spanish and bilingual books with pronunciation guide, picture-book mysteries, ebooks, and kid’s cookbook) have diverse characters in funny, engaging vivid color. Nationally-lauded (ForeWord Reviews, Horn Book blog, School Library Journal, Barnes & Noble) our educational stories capture attention and create repeat readers. They are not about ethnic or racial diversity; they simply feature Hispanic, black, Asian, white and mixed-race children and address fear, courage, sharing and giving. Find our children’s books via: Baker & Taylor, Bn.com, Brodart, Amazon, Follett Library Resources/BWI Title Wave, Ingram, Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Kobo and Premiobooks.com (free online books). Laughs, Learning & Family Fun for ages 2 and up (bedtime should never put parents to sleep)! Premiobooks.com.

She Doesn't Want the Worms - Ella no quiere los gusanos was named in the top 10 "Best Books" of 2011 – ForeWord Reviews Magazine and featured in School Library Journal. Crumbs on the Stairs - Migas en las escaleras: A Mystery consistently ranks in Amazon's top 10 bestselling books for ESL, large print, and also Spanish children’s titles. Bad Bananas: A Story Cookbook for Kids was praised in Horn Book's blog review.

Publisher/Speaker Karl Beckstrand is an eight-time published author with 16 titles online. His popular Mini-mysteries for Minors series educates as it entertains. Raised in San Jose, California, USA, Beckstrand received a BA in journalism from BYU and is pursuing an MA in international relations from APU. An engaging guest and consultant, Beckstrand has experience in high tech, marketing, public policy, broadcasting and film. He has lived abroad, been a Spanish/English interpreter, and he enjoys volleyball and kayaking (usually not at the same time). Beckstrand’s work has appeared in: Border's Books, Barnes & Noble, Costco, Deseret Book, Children's Miracle Network, The Congressional Record of the U.S. House of Representatives, Papercrafts Magazine and various broadcasts. (See: "Karl Beckstrand - Author" on FB, Twitter & Amazon)

Publisher Available For Interview, Speaking & Consultation. SE Habla Espanol.

Contact:
Hysen Sisco
Premio Publishing & Gozo Books, LLC
648 W. Wasatch St.
Midvale, UT 84047 USA
208-403-9634
info@premiobooks.com
http://KarlBeckstrand.com