May 2012
4 posts
Conflicting reports on optimizing sustainability...
Two news clips with conflicting messages on the impact of sustainability on business caught my attention on Twitter this morning: Mark Fulton @DeutscheBank: “We need to get the message out that sustainability really does give superior risk-adjusted return” #sust24  - Carbon Disclosure Project Businesses say #sustainability is vital in the long term, but margins are lower on...
May 23rd
1 note
May 21st
May 21st
1 tag
May 10th
90 notes
April 2012
8 posts
1 tag
Apr 27th
1 tag
Find of the Week: Good and Bad Trends
A week of trends, good and bad, for sustainability in business. Three landmark reports were released this past week that provide directional indicators of sustainability adoption by business and consumers. First, the good trend:  new models for supplier engagement. Apparel company Levis Strauss and Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups leading the charge on sustainable...
Apr 27th
1 note
2 tags
Apr 25th
Apr 20th
1 tag
Business + Sustainability 101: State of Green...
I think of Dana Carvey impersonating George Bush Sr. when I say: the state of green business looks good. It’s probably more accurate to say that the State of Green Business is maturing. This fifth and semi-final in the mini-series Business + Sustainability 101 focuses on the emerging standards and improved tools. The first two posts, Green Leaders and Industry Titans, highlighted early...
Apr 17th
3 tags
Business + Sustainability 101: The Economic...
Sustainability is a field of costs and benefits, of winners and losers. After a hiatus of several weeks, the Business + Sustainability six part series resumes with a focus on the cost of ignoring ecological disruption and a few economic benefits of moving toward sustainability. In the first two parts of the series, I described the Green Leaders and Industry Titans who blazed trails for...
Apr 10th
2 notes
2 tags
Apr 9th
3 tags
Apr 4th
March 2012
12 posts
4 tags
Mar 29th
5 tags
Mar 27th
1 note
3 tags
Mar 23rd
3 tags
Business + Sustainability 101: The Ecological...
I’ve gone this far in the mini-series, Business + Sustainability 101, without explaining the ecological challenges, resource constraints, and pressing global changes that propel sustainability into the forefront of issues in our era. The series is a brief overview of the state of sustainability in business today, how it got there and why, and where it’s headed. In part one, I described the Green...
Mar 22nd
1 note
2 tags
An Intrapreneur's Homage to the Sustainable...
Fred Keller, CEO of Cascade Engineering, featured prominently in the final article on my seven part GreenBiz.com series on social intrapreneurs, professionals leading social change at companies. He made a passionate argument that the green economy is well on its way that I wasn’t able to squeeze into the article. Today I bring you his fantastic quote: “There’s evidence that we have this...
Mar 20th
2 tags
Business + Sustainability 101: The Industry Titans
I remember reading Ecology of Commerce laying on the grass in front of my house when I was 17, awed by the possibility that business could actually be good for the environment. Exxon was still mired in a costly legal battle over the Valdez oil spill while Prince William Sound was mired in a clean-up effort. At the time the notion was radical: everybody knew that economics and environment mixed...
Mar 13th
3 tags
Mar 12th
3 tags
“Drive to the Better Answer”: Dow-UM Collaboration
Today’s announcement of an unprecedented $10M collaboration between The Dow Chemical Company and the University of Michigan is exactly the type of next generation approach necessary to reach global sustainability. It is, as Dow CEO Andrew Liveris put succinctly, a “Drive to the better answer”. Joined by University of Michigan (UM) President Mary Sue Coleman, the pair announced the collaboration...
Mar 12th
2 tags
Mar 9th
3 tags
Mar 8th
2 tags
Business + Sustainability 101: The Green Company...
A few months ago a friend of mine asked where she could go to read a summary of sustainability in business. Not a small task. But I realized I really didn’t have any good resource to point her towards that would, in fairly short order, summarize the leaders, the state, the practices, and the future of sustainability in business. Today I begin the short series, Business + Sustainability 101. Green...
Mar 6th
2 tags
Mar 2nd
February 2012
6 posts
2 tags
Seventh and Final GreenBiz Intrapreneurs article... →
Feb 29th
2 tags
The Cascade Engineering Sustainability Method
Commitment. Experiment. Education. Renewal. These four lessons are central to Cascade Engineering’s sustainability journey. It seems an unlikely company for sustainability – manufacturing, plastic molding, Grand Rapids, MI – I mean it’s not Clif Bar in San Francisco. But Fred Keller and team have shown that it’s possible in the most unlikely of places, times, and industries. I was very happy I...
Feb 27th
2 tags
Feb 26th
2 tags
Learning from Ford in my latest GreenBiz Article... →
Ford’s Dave Berdish is a role model for anyone who wants to retool existing businesses for positive social and environmental impact. Learning from him while writing this article was tremendously valuable. He’s patient and willing to roll up his sleeves. He focuses on what has impact - in the lives of people where Ford works and with Ford employees - rather than the just high...
Feb 23rd
3 tags
Feb 22nd
3 tags
Business + Sustainability Launches...with a...
I’m pleased to launch this Tumblr platform for Business + Sustainability where I can document my sustainability journey. Sustainability is professional for me, but it’s also personal. I grew up in Oregon where I climbed mountains, canoed rivers, and hiked cathedral forests. I have dedicated my life to sustainable community development in the Peace Corps, environmental projects for low-income,...
Feb 22nd