A few days ago I made a post containing a pretty brash statement:

In the off chance that you are not paying attention to what is happening in the US right now, and increasingly around the world, the party is over folks. For those of you who have little adjustment to make when living standards and life styles see a reversion to the mean similar to what is likely to happen in the US housing market, I commend you. For those of you who face a much larger delta, I’d get started on making some adjustments right now.

I do not feel any differently now, but I do think some additional thoughts are called for.

First, I think it is important that people do their best to take a look at the various inputs in their lives and determine what biases those inputs may hold. For instance, if you get all of your news from a handful of television stations and/or cable channels, you might want to consider how those entities make their money.

Second, I think it is nearly impossible to find an individual, myself certainly included, that is not in some way perpetuating the problem.

While I’d like to think that the world is entirely made up unflinchingly aware and selfless people, I think most would agree that the opposite is true. We all, to varying degrees, have our “hooks.” For some, a fat salary, expense account, and prestigious job title are motivation enough to get them to do pretty much anything. For others, the very real need to simply put food on the table in front of their children each evening is essentially unavoidable. Moreover, and with a deep nod to my good friend Alan, I mention, yet again, Mr. Stanley Milgram. And then there is invariably another group comprised of individuals completely unaware of what is going on and the distinct role they play. In short, we’re all culprits, and we’re all victims.

So what is a society to do? How about its citizens? What’s the value in pointing out faults if you fail to offer any solutions?

In a post for another time, I’ll explain the irony of how I stumbled across the following excellent, though hardly complete, list of things we can all do on a daily basis. But for now, I simply provide reference (John Perkins, The Secret History of the American Empire, Plume Printing 2008, pp.323-325) and strongly encourage everyone to check out the other ~350+ pages of the book. Here’s the list:

• When tempted to engage in “retail therapy” instead jog, meditate, read, or find some other solution.
• Shop consciously if there is something you must have; purchase items whose packaging, ingredients, and methods of production are sustainable and support life.
• Make everything you own last as long as possible.
• Purchase at consignment and thrift stores where everything is recycled.
• Protest against “free” trade agreements and sweatshops.
• Write letters telling Monsanto, De Beers, ExxonMobil, Adidas, Ford, GE, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, and other labor exploiters and environment destroyers why you refuse to purchase from them.
• Write letters praising Home Depot, Kinko’s, Citicorp, Starbucks, Whole Foods, and other companies that cooperate with RAN [Rainforest Action Network], Amnesty International, and other NGOs. [My note: I'm not sure I would include most of the organizations listed here in my list of companies to praise, but perhaps more recent research into their intentions and actions is warranted.]
• Cut back on oil and gas consumption.
• Downsize your car, home, wardrobe, everything in your life.
• Send money to nonprofits, radio stations, and other organizations that promote just causes.
• Volunteer your time and energy to such organizations.
• Support local merchants.
• Encourage stores to buy from local growers, producers, and suppliers.
• Shop at your local farmers’ market.
• Drink tap water (get the water company to do a better job if necessary, but avoid buying bottled water).
• Vote for enlightened school boards, commissions, ordinances, and politicians.
• Run for office.
• Insist that those who use your money–banks, pensions, mutual funds, companies–make socially and environmentally responsible investments.
• Speak out whenever forums present themselves.
• Volunteer to talk at your local school about your favorite subject (beekeeping, weaving, tennis, anything) and use it to challenge students, to wake them up.
• Discuss externalities, the costs of pollution, poor working conditions, public subsidies, corporate exemptions, and other environmental, social, and political factors that should be included in the prices we pay for goods and services but are not (discussed in Chapter 54); let people know that when we do not pay for these very real expenses we rob future generations.
• Encourage “taxes” on externalities–higher prices for gas, clothes, electricity, etc., as long as the difference pays to right social and environmental wrongs.
• Offer study groups at local libraries, bookstores, churches, and clubs.
• Expand this list and share it with everyone you know.

I agree with nearly all of the above. That said, I have a few quick additions to suggest:

• Turn off the television and pick up a book, go outside, talk to strangers, wonder at nature’s beauty, plant a tree, cook… anything you can, but don’t turn it on again! If you keep it up, you’ll probably go through TV withdrawal for a few weeks or months (depending on your prior dependency), but you’ll find that you have more energy, are less susceptible to manipulation (er…advertising), and are using your brain more.
• Learn a second language.
• Learn a third. A fourth. Keep going…
• Take up a creative pursuit–painting, photography, drawing–anything to get the creative juices flowing.
• If you are in a leadership position (dig deep and you’ll find that we are all leaders: parents, managers, teachers, peers, etc.) commit to teaching empathy, compassion, and the value of life-long learning to everyone who looks to you for guidance.
• Eat. Less. Meat. (Note that I did not say, “abandon meat.”) The energy you gain from eating one serving of meat (via calories) requires enormous inputs (energy) and with very real externalities (toxic waste in the form of festering feces in vast industrial farms, displaced land that could have been used to raise more efficient crops, etc.). The same equivalent in caloric content from vegetarian fare is far more energy efficient, and quite frankly, a heck of a lot healthier anyway (assumes that the meat option and the vegetarian option were both sourced locally).
• Look into what your employer is doing to positively benefit society, the environment, and the rights of all individuals. Find the negatives as well. Support what they are doing well, and create and suggest solutions to eliminate or mitigate the negatives.
• Have integrity. Do the right thing. Stand for something. Believe in yourself.

While perusing our site stats I discovered a site with an excellent collection of links (Credo is listed under Corporate Responsibility). Pablo Halkyard (I assume, based on the title of the page that he is the site owner) has amassed links of blogs and sites covering, “international development, social enterprise, Africa, cause marketing, technology for development, microfinance, philanthropy, healthcare, the environment and corporate responsibility.” Be sure to check the list out when you have a moment.

I am working on creating a visual overview of what comprises corporate social responsibility (CSR) and wanted to take a moment to mention the company that a few of my friends run called Greenland Enterprises. CSR encompasses many distinct areas of business activity or issue area, one of which is sustainability. Through Greenland Enterprises, Georges and Michelle help companies create sustainability solutions that are critical to addressing CSR. Take some time to visit their site and explore with them what role sustainability plays in an organization.

Here’s a snippet about their purpose:

“Greenland Enterprises’ core purpose is to role model the profitability of sustainable business practices, to spread the message of a strategic sustainable development, and to contribute to the creation of a sustainable global society”

[Update: 6/28/07] It looks like they just updated their website so the screenshot above is a bit out of date. Also, I didn’t mention that there were three members of their team — check out the “Team” page for bios on all three partners.

TAGS: CSR | corporate social responsibility | sustainability | environment | Greenland Enterprises

CSRwire today has a release from SustainableBusiness.com that presents the first positive news I have read regarding the real estate industry in some months: Real Estate Industry Quietly Embracing Green Development, Progressive Investor Reports. Following are a few interesting snippets:

“In an analysis of the industry, Progressive Investor reports that 41% of the 300 U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs) are actively pursuing energy efficiency and green building upgrades and another 27% plan to do so.”

Those figures are a bit too low to be firmly optimistic, but promising nonetheless. Several factors were cited for the increased interest in incorporating green design into real estate:

• Higher energy costs
• Lower cost of “building green” than in years prior
• Increasing client/tenant preference for green buildings
• Noted increase in high-profile clients establishing green corporate headquarters (Bank of America, Toyota, Goldman Sachs, and others mentioned)
• Increasing mandate for green building
• Preemptive attempt to flush non-green and/or older and more inefficient properties from portfolios by real estate firms

TAGS: CSR | green building | REIT | sustainability | sustainable design | green design

Via the Principled Profit, this news very interesting indeed: ISO Developing Social Responsibility Standard. Shel also posted a link to a PDF overview (image to the right) of how NGO’s can get involved in the process.

The text is indeed a bit dry as Shel points out, but the content, if you are interested in the topic, is quite interesting. In short, it is about the ISO 26000 standard which will “give guidance to organizations on social responsibility.” More specifically, the guidance will involve:

• principles and issues relating to social responsibility;
• integrating, implementing and promoting socially responsible practices;
• identifying and engaging with stakeholders;
• communicating commitments and performance relating to social responsibility; and,
• contributing to sustainable development through social responsibility.

I look forward to watching the standard come together.

TAGS: social responsibility | NGO | ISO 26000 | CSR

Not exactly the most jarring combination of words. The jump — from “green” to “money” when the former is paired with a reference to one of Manhattan’s most posh neighborhoods — is really more of a small hop. In fact, second to conjuring up images of Central Park, I would find it hard to connect “green” with little else, given the context. The New York Times has a different idea, though, and the result, Eco-Socialites Make Cleaning Green a Priority, is an interesting read.

A few choice clips:

“Her guests, familiar fixtures in the party pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, were improbable grime fighters. They included young society stalwarts like Renée Rockefeller, Valesca Guerrand-Hermès, Melania Trump and Jessica Seinfeld. Given their designer wardrobes, their houses flung about the country, and an aggregate income the size of a small duchy, they were odd candidates for a sales pitch that urged looking beneath the kitchen sink and tossing out your toxic powders and sprays…”

“Still, [Ms. Barnett] has no plans to reduce the family’s significant carbon footprint by, say, selling the Manhattan second home. ‘I’m not a perfect person,’ she said. ‘I’m not the greenest woman in America.’ And there was scant indication that other guests, most of whom, presumably, knew their way up the steps of a private jet, were contemplating major lifestyle cutbacks. Glancing about the room, Ms. Barnett said, ‘We aren’t all going to move to one-bedroom apartments.’”

And perhaps my favorite:

“[Ms. Rockerfeller] plans to practice conservation, to a point. Energy-saving light bulbs are fine — for the utility closet, perhaps. In other rooms, ‘they don’t give a very pretty light,’ she said.”

TAGS: Green | Environment | Manhattan | Upper East Side | Shaklee

I was not planning about posting about this, but if you have yet to notice the new issue of Vanity Fair, be sure to take a gander. If you are unfamiliar with the magazine (admittedly, I am not sure if I have ever read an issue before) grab the latest copy off of the newstand and see if you can figure out the glaring contradiction. In short, the magazine stands a fair chance of having a good time on a seesaw with a Mini Cooper on the other end (as would most magazines of the same genre I suppose).

My first exposure to the “Green Issue” came last night when I opened one of the grocery bags from a trip my wife and I took to Whole Foods. She, like many readers, purchased the issue because of her interest in the environment and related issues. While I gawked at the heft of the magazine (The Inspired Protagonist noticed the same contradiction of “green” being bundled with such massive paper usage) the second wave of irony (that the magazine was purchased at Whole Foods) made me feel a bit silly. Will readers really take a magazine seriously that uses for its cover image a photograph of Leonardo DiCaprio decked out in an arctic coat and crampons and nearly snuggling a baby polar bear? It almost diminishes Leonardo’s more serious side…

I think the concept is somewhat cheesy, but from a more “level” standpoint, it is promising to see Vanity Fair publicizing the issue. If I can force myself to crack the magazine open, I’ll post about anything I found interesting.

TAGS: Green | Vanity Fair | Environment

In short, the combination results in a “Whole Trade^TM Guarantee,” or a guarantee of high quality fair trade products (see a recent Whole Foods press release for more info). The guarantee seems like a bit of marketing hype, but should also help push fair trade issues to a broader market. In short, the guarantee should indicate that a product meets the following criteria:

• exceptional product quality,
• more money for producers,
• better wages and working conditions for workers,
• sound environmental production practices that promote biodiversity, and
• support of poverty eradication via donating one percent of product sales to the Whole Planet Foundation^TM.

TAGS: Fair Trade | Whole Trade | Whole Foods | Organic | Coffee | FTC

Continuing with the sustainability theme, here’s an interesting tidbit via ARS Technica about a Google embracing solar power: “It’s Easy Being Green: Google Goes Solar.” I particularly like the idea of using some of the panels as shades in the company’s parking lot. Here’s a clip from the post:

“9,212 Sharp photovoltaic modules now cover the rooftops of the Googleplex, each one capable of pumping out 208W of DC power in full sun. To gain even more solar surface area, Google installed solar panels as “shades” over several of its parking lots, keeping cars cool and generating power at the same time. The installation can generate 30 percent of Google’s peak demand power, or enough to light about 1,000 California homes.”

TAGS: Google | Solar | Sustainability | Sun | Alternative Power | Electricity | Energy | CSR

SustainAbility, Inc. released an interesting report today which, “[demonstrates the] potential for next-generation partnerships to positively impact socio-economic and environmental challenges.” The report, Growing Opportunity: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Insoluble Problems, is available for download on the firm’s website. Though the report is free, you have to register (painlessly fast) in order to complete the download.

I skimmed the report this morning and will give it a thorough run-through later today. So far, however, it looks like a great read. Here is a high-level snapshot of the main findings of the report:

1. Social entrepreneurship is on a roll
2. The potential for breakthrough solutions is considerable – and growing
3. The field is growing, but still relatively small
4. Money remains the main headache
5. Financial self-sufficiency is seen as a real prospect within five years
6. There is a real appetite to partner with business
7. Beware blind spots (risk of over-focus)
8. For real system change, we must focus on government and public policy

More thoughts on the report later…

TAGS: Sustainability | Entrepreneur | Business | CSR | Social Enterprise | Ethics