Triple

Bottom Line
Sustainability Initiative
Proposal:
Marcus and Millichap

Richard Daly



November 2, 2017
Daly Consulting
702 Varsi Place, Santa Clara CA 95050



Table of Contents

Executive Summary....( 1 )


Background and Necessity.....( 2 )


Project Description.....( 3 )


Cost Analysis...( 4 )


Assessment......( 5 )


Conclusion.( 6 )


Appendix....( 7 )

Executive Summary
Through my experience interning for Marcus and Millichap1 in their Palo Alto office
during the summer of 2016, I noticed the company upheld a strong cultural value of
sustainability in the office. The company provides strong contributions to the local
community. Our Palo Alto branch has and continues to support various charities and
non-profits including Habitat for Humanity, Project Concern and local soup kitchens. In
addition, every desk at the office is equipped with a recycling bin for paper disposal.

Although Marcus and Millichap has demonstrated a firm devotion to sustainability, I
believe there is still plenty of room to improve our triple bottom line by becoming an
eco-friendly office. In this branch alone, tens of thousands of pieces of paper are
printed, used, and disposed of each day. On average each investment-marketing
package is 50 pages and is printed out for 20 prospective clients. At our branch there
are 20 brokers, each of which produces approximately 20 investment marketing
packages for different properties per quarter. Altogether, this branch prints out roughly
1,600,000 pieces of paper for investment marketing packages per year alone.

As seen in the image on the right, I believe Marcus and
Millichap should incorporate iPads into their client
meetings to reduce their paper usage. In addition to
reducing paper usage, the implementation of iPads in
client meetings will increase the efficacy of presentations.
The interactive capabilities of iPads will provide clients
more knowledge with regards to the investment
properties.

This project carries a small fixed cost of purchasing 10 new iPads. Although the cost is
small, it will result in significant cost savings, decreased environmental impact and a
strengthened positive corporate reputation.

1
Marcus and Millichap is the largest commercial real estate brokerage firm in the U.S. The firms
mission is to help clients create and preserve wealth by providing the best real estate investment
sales, financing, research and advisory services available.
1


Background and Necessity
In the United States alone, offices use 12.1 trillion sheets of paper per year. Businesses
are major contributors to this problem, as the average office worker uses 10,000 sheets
of paper every year and 45% of all office paper is not recycled. As a result, over 25% of
our total landfill capacity is currently occupied by paper

The life cycle of paper is shown to the left,
while total greenhouse gas emissions by
sector is below.

According to the United States

Environmental Protection Agency,
in 2016 the pulp and paper sector
was responsible for producing 37.7
million metric tons of carbon
dioxide emissions. These
greenhouse gases are directly
responsible for increased air and
ocean temperatures and rising sea
levels.

In Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath
highlight six critical characteristics of good, effective ideas: simplicity,
unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotional appeal, and personal stories.
The implementation of iPads is a simple and concrete initiative. By minimizing paper
usage, employees are saving time that would be spent on printing and clients are able
2
to easily access more information. iPads are designed to be user-friendly, which
means employees and clients will require minimal time for usage training. They also
provide clear, concrete information through interactive software.


Project Description
iPad Implementation

I propose the Marcus and Millichap office in Palo Alto invests in a one-time purchase
of ten iPads for their wealth management teams to use for their client meetings. This
implementation would positively impact all advisors, analysts, managers, interns, and
even clients on their process of communicating and receiving information.

Every quarter, each Marcus and Millichap investment broker produces 20 investment
marketing packages for clients, equating to 20,00 pages of paper. Together, the 20 Palo
Alto branch brokers use 400,000 pieces of paper per quarter. Providing iPads to clients
during meetings will allow them to take advantage of user-friendly apps that are
designed to provide data through interactive graphics and visuals. As mentioned in
David McCandless Ted Talk The beauty of data visualization, data is most effectively
presented through visuals such as charts, graphs and tables.

Additionally, using iPads for client presentations will reduce time spent printing and
assembling packages, as well as the associated printing costs.

This project positively affects the companys triple bottom line through reducing
environmental impact, strengthening corporate reputation as a sustainable firm and
decreasing printing costs. If adopted, the iPads would save the Marcus and Millichap
Palo Alto branch 1,600,000 sheets of paper, including the associated costs.

Additionally, clients and brokers will be able to readily access much more information
with the iPads. Switching from paper to electronic copies will reflect well on Marcus and
Millichap as many clients and businesses in the Silicon Valley are increasingly eco-
conscious. Overall, the usage of such devices will improve broker-client meeting
efficiency, resulting in increased client relations and improved business.

Cost Analysis
Through this initiative, Marcus and Millichap will have one fixed cost for the purchasing
of the iPads. As seen below, the total cost will be $4,000 for the 10 iPads (pre-sales tax).

With a total cost of $4,000.00, the implementation of this project is relatively small in
comparison to the monthly office revenue stream.

ITEM COST PER NUMBER OF ITEMS COST FOR

ITEM PURCHASED PROJECT
iPad $400.00 10 $4,000.00

The price per ream (500 sheets) of paper for Marcus and Millichap is around four dollars
each. This means the average cost per piece of paper is $0.008, or 80% of one cent.
When multiplied by the 1,600,000 sheets of paper used in the office each year, the total
cost of paper each year is approximately $12,800. The iPad initiative would cost less than
a third of the annual cost of paper usage, without accounting for reduced ink costs,
printer electricity costs, and the cost of wasted time (and decreased productivity)
printing documents. If used effectively, the iPads would pay for the entirety of the
project within a few months. As seen below in the chart, the project would save Marcus
and Millichap roughly $9,000 in the first year and would continue to save the company
$12,800 per year for every year after the year of purchase.

ITEM COST PER ITEM NUMBER OF ITEMS TOTAL COST

PURCHASED
Paper page $.008 $1,600,000 $12,800.00

iPad $400.00 10 $4,000.00

TOTAL COST - - $8,800.00
SAVINGS FOR
YEAR 1
TOTAL COST - - $12,800
SAVINGS AFTER
YEAR 1

Assessment
Once the iPads have been purchased the implementation of the initiative will be
simple. Every Monday morning, the office mangers hold a branch meeting to discuss
business development and office matters. This meeting would be an ideal time to
present the sustainability initiative and provide employee iPad training. This time would
serve as an ideal opportunity for all of the employees to be trained on iPad and
software usage. By providing training all at once, productivity loss will be minimized.

An email memo will be sent out summarizing the meeting. This email will provide
guidance to the brokers for iPad usage.

The contents email would thoroughly include:
iPad usage and care instructions
Investment package presentation software instructions
Environmental impact statistics
Troubleshooting steps

In Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath highlight
simplicity and concreteness as two of the six ways to make ideas salient. Brokerage
teams will be motivated to use the iPads in their client meetings when they see how
user-friendly and beneficial they are in providing investment oriented graphics and
information. The iPads are simple to use and they will be able to provide concrete, data
through interactive graphics and visual.

At the closing of each quarter, all Marcus and Millichap Palo Alto branch employees
will be required to complete a survey on the efficacy and degree of difficulty of
usage with regards to the iPads. This will provide management valuable feedback
to further optimize the usage of the devices.

Conclusion
Marcus and Millichap individual offices have plenty of room for improvement in terms
of sustainable behavior. The execution of this project in the Palo Alto office will serve
as an example of sustainable behavior for all Marcus and Millichap offices across the
country. This initiative will directly benefit the office by decreasing eco-footprint,
decreasing printing costs and increasing client relations.

This program will provide long-term benefit for the company, well into the future. By
reducing our dependence on paper, we will be taking necessary steps into the future
of business.

In order to maintain Marcus and Millichaps positive corporate reputation, it is vital that
steps are actively taken by all employees to improve sustainability. This simple initiative
will provide the Palo Alto branch a competitive advantage while also putting the
company in an exemplary position of modern sustainable behavior.

Appendix
TO: All Marcus and Millichap Palo Alto Employees
FROM: Richard Daly, Senior Consultant
DATE: November 2, 2017
SUBJECT: Marcus And Millichap Sustainability Initiative

Dear Marcus and Millichap Palo Alto Employees,

We are pleased to announce the decision to implement ten new iPads in the office.
The iPads will be located at the reception desk. If you need to use one, Rachel will be
in charge of checking them out to you. This initiative will reduce our carbon footprint,
overall effect on the environment and improve client relations.

In the U.S. alone, offices are responsible for using 12.1 trillion sheets of paper. 45% of
this paper does not get recycled and ends up in the landfill. While our office has done a
remarkable job recycling, we have plenty of room for decreasing our eco-footprint.
Currently we are using 1,60,000 pieces of paper each year on investment marketing
packages alone.

In order to cutback on paper usage, we have purchased ten iPads for the office to be
used for all client investment meetings. Before client meetings, multiple iPads may be
checked out. The implementation of these devices in client meetings will significantly
increase the efficacy of client meetings. The iPads are loaded with user-friendly
softwares that will make the marketing packages easier to review with clients.

This initiative will bring our office to the forefront of the industry by taking advantage
of modern technology. I am confident that these additions will prove to be very
beneficial to our firm.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Richard Daly

Sources
"Facts About Paper: The Impact of Consumption - The Paperless Project - Join the

grassroots movement." The Paperless Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2017.

"Greenhouse gases pose threat to public health." News. N.p., 09 Jan. 2014. Web. 26 Oct.

2017.

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) EPA. N.p.,n.d. Web 28 Oct. 2017

Heath, Chip, and Dan Heath. Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die. New

York: Random House, 2010. Print.

Marcus & Millichap. Marcus & Millichap - Vision & History, Marcus and Millichap ,

Web Oct. 27. 2017

"Paper Waste Facts." The World Counts. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2017.