To ensure that the conference met its outcomes of building community and engaging audience participation, we used the World Cafe Methodology, gathering small groups of people into 15-20 minute conversations to discuss how the learnings gained from the presentations could be applied to the challenges of climate change for the Laguna Watershed.  They will be producing a “proceedings” document which will detail the list of likely impacts we generated, as well as possible management strategies; but most exciting was the formation of three working groups who will be “sustaining the momentum” on into the future.

I had some amazing volunteer facilitators from The Halle Group and Global Genesis, alumnae and master’s students from the  Sonoma State Organizational Development Department, Reos Partners, and the Green MBA at Dominican University.  While a lot of work was done prior to design the three days, the real magic came as we collaborated to refine and “adapt” the process to meet the needs of the conference participants.  It was such a pleasure working with all of these folks!

Finally, this is an article about the Laguna de Santa Rosa, with a mention of the conference.

What resources do you refer to about sustainability?

What Stephen Gale (Stephen Gale & Associates) said about Getting Started:

Stephen Gale says: I like this site: The Global Footprint Network which began in 2003, and made popular the idea of the “Footprint”, or what they call “Resource Accounting.” The idea is that we all have an impact on the planet based on our own behaviours and choices, as well as on where we live. They help us see that by giving you an individualized “acreage” measurement. While not the endall of measurement tools, it is a great way to find out what your personal footprint is.

Find out YOUR footprint – Take the Footprint Quiz.

Stephen Gale also recommends an article by Business Week on the Sustainable Business Awards. He notes that the Awards slideshow segments nicely the issues that a business has to address in their sustainability process.

What Paul Hepperla(Energy & Emissions Expert) said about Getting Started:

There are a few important papers I provide when thinking about Sustainability, especially emissions:

The Business of Climate Change I & II - Lehman Brothers
Emissions: At What Cost – McKinsey

Both studies are a great reflection of the impact of climate change and emissions on business. What they show is that common sense when applied to a business creates sustainability, cost savings and a positive impact on the environment.

Sustainability and conservation are all about applied common sense. In the business world, many fail to make the connection between common sense and sustainability. Being too theoretical will cause folks to look at sustainability as a political issue rather than a critical business issue.

Movies To Watch:

David Hodgson says: I often suggest videos for people to watch, it can often be a quicker way to understand the roots.

Bill McDonaugh, leading designer, author of Cradle to Cradle, vanguard of the Eco-Industrial Movement, talks at Bioneers (an annual Conference in San Rafael, CA) in 2000 about how to design for sustainability. His presentation is hilarious and a great introduction to what we can all do to think about our business differently. (45 minutes)

The movie Baraka – photographs of the world set to music. Stunning. Gives a great sense of the beauty of the world, and what Bill Mcdonaugh calls the “Strategic Tragedy” that we are now in. (1 hour 36 min)

Manufactured Landscapes, a 2006 film by Edward Burtynsky that depicts the impact of industry on the environment. He says, “It is not a simple right or wrong. It requires a new way of thinking.” See the trailer at the website above.

Links that Don Carli Recommended for Getting Started :
World Business Council on Sustainable Development – A great site based out Europe and DC for information on Sustainable Development around the world.
Global Environment Management Initiative – They just produced a webtool to help businesses measure their climate impact.
UN Global Compact - The UN’s Foundation for helping businesses make committments to reduce their environmental impact. Has information on many different businesses around the world who are working on sustainability initiatives.

Books to Read:

Must Reads (Most Recommended by LinkedIn Community)

• Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken and Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins
• The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken
• Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Bill McDonaugh and Michael Braungart
• Green to Gold by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston
• The Sustainability Advantage by Bob Willard

Books by Business Leaders:

• Mid-Course Correction by Ray Anderson, CEO, Interface
• Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World with Coupons by Gary Hishberg, “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield Farm Yogurt
• True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution by Paul Dolan, former CEO of Fetzer, Current CEO of Parducci Winery, the first carbon-neutral winery in the United States.

Books about Sustainability, Leadership & Business:

• Leadership and the New Science, by Meg Wheatley (inter-disciplinary scientist)
• Worldchanging by Alex Steffen

Books about Making the Case for Sustainable Business:

• World Inc. : When it Comes to Solutions – Both Local and Global – Businesses are More Powerful than Government by Brice Piasecki
• Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
• Biomimicry – Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine M. Benyus
• Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumaker

Books about “How-To” Go Sustainable:

• Business Guide to Sustainability by Darcy Hitchcock & Marsha Willard
• The Sustainability Handbook – The Complete Management Guide to Achieving Social, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability by William R. Blackburn
• Plan B. 3.0 – Mobilizing to Save Civilization by Lester Brown
• Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing & Measuring Corporate Social & Environmental Impacts by Marc Epstein
• The Triple Bottom Line: How Today’s Best-run companies are Achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success by Andrew Savitz
• The Sustainable Company by Chris Laszlo
• Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity by Start Har
• The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth by Mark Anielski

(Thank you to Pablo Päster, VP, GHG Management Innovations at ClimateCHECK , Gil Friend Founder of Natural Logic , Paul Hepperla Energy & Emissions Expert, Joseph McIntyre, Executive Director at Ag Innovations Network, Executive Director at Don Carli Senior Research Fellow at Institute for Sustainable Communication, Terry Taylor, President of Global Genesis, John Stayton, Director of The Green MBA at Dominican University, and David Hodgson VP of Engineering + Sustainability at OmDirect for contributing to this list).

Thanks, LinkedIn community, for your contributions to a robust resource list; they will be posted as part of a continuously updated page of resources on this blog.

For the rest of you –

What are your resources? What resources do you wish you had more of?

One useful term to discuss is the idea of the Triple Top Line.

Particularly over the last ten years, as practitioners and companies have started to put sustainability into practice, additions to the definition have also been added. A couple of years ago, a colleague Ed Quevedo (professor over at the Green MBA, and long-time consultant in this work) first introduced me to the term “Triple Top Line”. The idea of the triple top line is that there are opportunities as well as savings to be had in sustainability; that instead of only looking for efficiencies, we can actually find new products, we can redesign processes that actually increase value, not just efficiency. Very intriguing from a strategic point of view – CEOs can begin to set business direction by looking for “Triple Top Line” ideas.

For example: At the recent (May 2008) Sustainable Enterprise Conference, Autodesk talked about their process of sustainability. Three years ago, they actually started with marketing and sales, sponsoring a green event in New York. That led to looking at their own operations, seeking new efficiencies along the lines of energy and water.

And then their Product Development department joined in the fun. You see, they have a product called AutoCad that the vast majority of designers in the building industry AND the landscape industry use to design our physical landscape. And now those smart, creative software creators are innovating to make it easier for the incredible number of designers that use their product to design in congruence with the natural landscape, to incorporate passive solar and green elements.

An excellent example of a Triple Top Line Opportunity

Not only is this little story an incredible example of finding the unique leverage point that that organization is positioned to use, but it is also an interesting example of how a company looked for the top line opportunities first. On their website, their marketing department has done an excellent job of highlighting all of the exciting designers who are using AutoCad to “Innovate in Green.”

Triple Top Line is very exciting – it moves beyond the idea of sustainable development, beyond Triple Bottom Line, it finds more than the operations folks in an organization listening; you start to find marketing & sales, CEOs, and product development paying attention. Plus, it is a very positive term – lets look for opportunities for growth, not just cost-savings.

However, Top Line advocates have the same challenge that Bottom Line advocates have – they still get fuzzy when they think about the “People Part.”