Best known for its award-winning "World's Best Cheddar," Cabot launched its sustainability program in 2007 with the intention to achieve "farm-to-fork" sustainability in its operations as a way to bolster its brand. Cabot is now one of the leading practitioners of context-based sustainability, an approach that measures and manages sustainability performance in terms of impacts on essential social and environmental resources in the world. Drawing from Cabot as a case study, this session will explain context-based sustainability and provide practical advice on both its benefits to your brand and how best to get started in your organization.

1. Strengthening Your
Brand
With Context-Based
Sustainability
Mark McElroy
Jed Davis

2. Strengthening Your Brand
With Context-Based Sustainability
Mark W. McElroy, Ph.D., Center for Sustainability Performance, Deloitte Consulting, LLP
Jed Davis, Director of Sustainability, Cabot Creamery Cooperative

3. Presenter: Deloitte Consulting
Mark W. McElroy, Ph.D.
Director of Research, Center
for Sustainability Performance
Deloitte Consulting LLP
Waltham, MA
mamcelroy@deloitte.com
www.deloitte.com

4. Our Agenda
• Quick introduction to context-based
sustainability (McElroy)
• Case study from Cabot Creamery
Cooperative in Vermont where context-
based sustainability is being applied
(Davis)

5. Context-Based Sustainability
• Two broad forms of sustainability
management, measurement and reporting
– Context-free
– Context-based
• Context consists of background social,
economic and environmental conditions in
the world (e.g., water resources)

6. Terminology
• Sustainability
• Vital Capitals
• Triple Bottom Line
• Organization- not product-centric

7. Our School of Thought
• Basic principles
– Sustainability
– Vital Capitals
– Triple Bottom Line
– Organization- not product-centric
• Underlies our entire approach

8. Context Also Key
• Imagine financial reports without costs!
• Passes for best practice in non-fin’l
reporting
• Reports must have context to be meaningful
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) actually
mandates inclusion of context
• Rarely if even followed

9. Measurement Implications
• Metrics are unspecified
– Not defined by GRI
– Experimentation is the standard
• “Sustainability quotients” as a solution
– Denominators
– Numerators
– Scores expressed relative to 1.0

10. Conclusions
• Context-based approach most compelling
– Internal use
– External use
• Strengthens brand
– By appealing to customers
– By appealing to consumers
– By appealing to shareholders

11. Cabot Creamery Cooperative
Context-based Sustainability in Action

12. Presenter: Cabot Creamery
Jed Davis
Director of Sustainability
Cabot Creamery Cooperative
Montpelier, VT 05602 USA
Jdavis@cabotcheese.coop
www.cabotcheese.coop

16. Approach
• Stakeholders
• Well-being
• Duties & Obligations
• TBL Impacts
• Metrics

17. Sustainability Statement
Living within our means and
ensuring the means to live.

18. Examples
Stakeholder Bottom Line Duty/Obligation
Consumers Social Safe Food
Customers Economic Performance
Community Environmental Water
Use

19. Example: Safe Food
• Stakeholders = Consumers
• Bottom Line = Social

20. Example: Performance
• Stakeholders = Customers
• Bottom Line = Economic

21. Example: Water Use
• Stakeholders = Community
• Bottom Line = Environmental

22. Water Use Compared to Water Availability
Calculating Cabot’s “fair share” using
economic, per capita & intensity data
Water
Available for
Nature’s Use
Available
Renewable
Water Water
Resources Available for
Human Use
Water
Available for
Business Use