Posted by: genevievetaylor | July 24, 2008

Ask a LinkedIn Question – Get Great Answers! (Resources on Sustainability)

I recently asked the question on LinkedIn, what do you recommend to people who are new to sustainability in business? I quickly got some great answers from organizational change agents and professionals working in sustainable business. Following are links, books, videos, and movies.

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)

Books by Business Leaders:

Books about Sustainability, Leadership & Business:

Books about Making the Case for Sustainable Business:

Books about “How-To” Go Sustainable:

(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?

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Posted by: genevievetaylor | July 17, 2008

Creating A Sustainability Vision

We have talked about how to move a vision through an organization – but how do we create it?

Vision… a tricky subject. Why? Because of its proximity to the mystic. After all, a vision is created in the mind’s eye. And what is the mind? Millions and millions of processes about millions of processes that coalesce into strands of thought. But I digress.

What is a vision? Put simply – it is an articulation of a direction. More complexly, it is the full description of a place and actions in time and space that is not yet created. The seeds of a vision may be in one person; it may be in the conversation between several.

A friend of mine, another facilitator, said that he was posed with an interesting challenge when he had to help a group with a blind person “Create a Vision.” Even the word “vision” was out of access to this person. He worked through it by asking questions about how it would feel, taste, smell; what action would stand out; how people would treat each other. This actually turned into an advantage – they had to become much more descriptive with how they described their direction.

The most successful visions are ones that are visceral – we can feel them in our bones. As facilitators, we help groups create visions by placing them as much as possible in the shoes of the future organization or person they want to be, with questions like, What are you seeing, hearing, doing, thinking, feeling, in the year 2018? The seeds of vision are typically deeply personal; they come from the hopes and belief systems of the individuals. Typically, circling to the vision is the best way to begin; understanding personal values and motivations creates common ground upon which building a vision can become much easier.

As Charles M. Schwab once said, “A man to carry on a successful business must have imagination. He must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing.”

The job of a good facilitator is to draw out personal visions, to help the group see the common ground between those visions, and then to build that vision on that ground. To help them see – and build – “the whole thing.”

A great sustainability vision…

…Uses vivid, active language Bill Gates’ famous vision of the 80s sustained their company for many years – A PC on Every Desk.

…Includes triple bottom line elements – its vision for the company’s impact on the planet, on the people (both internal and external) and on the company’s long-term sustainability.

…Is attainable – but is a stretch. What makes a vision worthwhile? It is an appropriate stretch for that group. Its worthy of the time and effort put into it.

…Is compelling. To be compelling, the vision must be based on the values of that person, group, or organization. It must be something “worth sacrificing for.”

…Paints a bright future. Long-time practitioners in Appreciative Inqury have said that people are like plants – they turn to the light. Painting a bright future turns our minds to the light of what’s possible.

…Stems from personal visions. Visions carry their most power when they ignite the power of the imagination. How do you ignite imagination? Very often, by taking a moment, and letting your mind create possibility. Back to that mind’s eye – the best way to ignite your imagination is to give it enough breathing room, enough oxygen, enough space to let your vision of the future unfold. We have to let go of “doing” for just a moment, let our active minds sit, and let the deeper layers unfold. I like to take groups to the beach and give them a bit of reflection time.

Do you have a sustainability vision for your organization? Let me know!


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