Environmental Leader

When looking for ways to ‘green their business’, leaders search for approaches that work. Unfortunately, cookie cutter solutions aren’t out there. Valvoline, a brand of Ashland Inc. based in Lexington, Kentucky, mobilized organizational commitment to its “green” strategy by:

1.    Focusing on the company’s core competencies

2.    Defining and communicating the boundaries of the strategy

3.    Specifying clear, short-term goals

Valvoline’s Approach

Valvoline recently introduced NextGen Motor Oil, a consumer-facing green product. The NextGen motor oil product line uses 50% recycled oil.   It will perform to the same high standards as Valvoline’s original products.

Says Blair Boggs,VP of Global Brands, “We went into our launch of Valvoline NextGen with two non-negotiables. First, the product had to perform at the exact same high levels set by our base Valvoline products. And second, we couldn’t ask our consumers to pay more for our environmentally-friendly option. In other words, we wanted zero barriers to trial. It had to provide the same exact protection for the same price. This idea of ’50% Recycled, 100% Valvoline protection’ is the focus of our consumer education and advertising efforts.”

Company leaders believe that the development and release of NextGen will have a profound impact on the marketplace as well as on its own employees. According to Boggs, “We believe NextGen will be transformational. It will transform the business by growing our share as it creates another chapter in our history of innovation. At the same time, it accelerates our efforts to build a culture of sustainability among our employees.”

Valvoline’s approach to entering the ‘green’ marketplace demonstrates the power of a strategy based on an explicit vision supported by specific goals and focused actions. They followed a clear and precise line of attack in developing and introducing NextGen. This approach enabled the company to direct the energy, intention, and excitement of the employees as a first step in transforming their culture.

Methods for Mobilizing Commitment

1.    Focus  on a Core Competency

As a company that has been in the oil business for 140 years, Valvoline is unquestionably expert in developing and manufacturing high quality oil lubricants. By framing their sustainability efforts within the context of this core capability, Valvoline’s senior leadership was able to quickly mobilize people resources and talent. Employees were able to use their existing knowledge and skill to innovate and create.

Sam Mitchell, Valvoline’s President said, “NextGen is not the first or only step we have taken towards sustainability strategy. However, it is a public-facing step that the company can take with confidence knowing that we have been building towards this for years through our intensive R&D work.”

In today’s marketplace of slim margins, soft consumer spending, and limited hiring, many employees struggle to keep up with their workload.  Therefore the potential resistance to a new initiative that adds tasks to their ‘to do’ list, could limit the success of an undertaking. However, when the project is connected to the company’s core competency and thus to employees’ current base of knowledge, they are more likely to feel inspired and engaged in the work.

In Mitchell’s words, “Our long-term commitment to innovation has led to an internal swell of enthusiasm that has built towards the product launch.”

2. Define the Boundaries

Valvoline’s senior leadership clearly acknowledges that the introduction of NextGen will not solve all of their ‘green’ challenges. Instead they see it as a way to take that important first step towards contributing to protecting the planet.  They are clear in communicating that this is a journey for the company.  Leaders are supporting and encouraging the organization in focusing on “green” innovation in the oil lubrication category.  This transparency in their approach builds credibility – a core ingredient in creating and maintaining trust and reputation.

According to the UN Global Compact CEO survey 2010, 96% believe that sustainability issues should be fully integrated into the strategy of a company.  Certainly a long-term, integrated plan for sustainability is desirable. However, a plan that is overly ambitious in the beginning, or claims that are too far-reaching, can limit the success as well as the credibility of an organization. On the other hand, a realistic plan will serve to focus the efforts of employees and, at the same time, communicate the message to stakeholders that the organization intends to be accountable.

3. Specify Short-term Goals While Working Towards the Long-term Vision

Valvoline is continuing to build its long-term vision for innovation and sustainability. At the same time, they are mobilizing employees’ energy and commitment by focusing on short-term, tangible goals.  Over the next year they will concentrate on launching NextGen and educating consumers and the marketplace about its benefits to them and to their world.

In the words of Blair Boggs, “We’ve tried to be practical in our approach, setting aggressive but realistic goals for our efforts over the next year.  By achieving tangible, material wins in the shorter term, the momentum builds and sustainability is driven through a bottoms-up passion versus top-down goals or mandates.”

Long-term ‘green’ initiatives are carried out within a constantly evolving landscape.  However, armed with specific short-term goals, key milestones and concrete tactics, employees can direct their efforts more effectively.  At the same time, the plans must be flexible enough to adapt to the marketplace, the state of technology and to the regulatory environment.

Leaders at Valvoline are quick to point out that their sustainability strategies will continue to advance.  Sam Mitchell claims,  “If the whole Do It Yourself (DIY) market switched to NextGen, we’d save enough barrels to stretch from New York to Los Angeles and back.  Clearly we are determined to grow market share over time.”

While Valvoline builds towards this future vision, they are continuing to mobilize the energy and commitment of their employees.  They will accomplish this objective by sticking to three simple strategies:  focusing on their core competency, establishing their boundaries, and specifying clear short-term goals.

Dr. Kathleen Miller Perkins is a psychologist and is the CEO and owner of Miller Consultants , a firm specializing in organizational development, executive coaching and change management  founded in 1980.  In addition to managing the company, she continues to remain active in assisting client organizations in assessing and addressing the organizational culture and leadership requirements for executing sustainability strategy.  She has delivered services to over 100 public and private sector companies. Dr. Miller’s client list includes organizations such as IBM, Toyota, BC Hydro, Brown -Forman, General Electric, Ashland Chemical, Ernst and Young, Bristol Myers Squibb and Kindred Health Care.

In addition to leading her own business, Kendra M. Coleman is a Senior Consultant at Miller Consultants, a firm that provides sustainability-focused leadership and change readiness assessments and consulting. Professionally active in a variety of industries over the past 15 years, Kendra’s talents include leadership development, organization effectiveness, change management, business process reengineering, and strategic planning.  She has worked with clients such as BC Hydro, Battelle Memorial Institute, ConAgra Foods, Caterpillar, U.S. Gypsum, The Jazz Institute of Chicago, and Kawasaki Rail Car to tackle leadership and organizational performance challenges that come with navigating a dynamic and global marketplace.

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