Chaos is the New Normal

Last night I attended the Illahee Lecture Series featuring Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. I wish I had time to comment on his lecture but this is busy season at TriLibrium so I'll be brief while providing you some interesting links.

Richard's main point was that there will be no return to normal. Global economic output as measured by GDP probably peaked in 2005/2006 and that we'll never again return to that level given the direct connection between energy and our economy. The solutions are varied and diverse but the key point is that a return to "normal" is impossible given limiting factors and the sooner we embrace this fact and transition to the new paradigm the better. A movement he mentioned and that I intend to explore further is called "Transition Towns."

I'd also like to point readers to Richard's publication "Searching for a Miracle: 'Net Energy' Limits & the Fate of Industrial Society." This report explores whether any combination of known energy sources can successfully supply society's energy needs up to the year 2100. I won't give away the answer but they explore the different solutions against 10 criteria. The report is available as a free PDF download.

I'd also like to point those interested in accounting and innovation to a recent blog post by Gifford Pinchot. Gifford discusses Intrapreneuring in Accounting and the need for innovative accountants to help provide the understanding, metrics, and systems for the economy of the future.

Sustainable Business Resources

I was recently interviewed by Jennifer Woofter, the Founder and President of Strategic Sustainability Consulting, for the free podcast series they offer on sustainability. In my interview, we discuss a number of issues including how accounting fits into the sustainability field.

Strategic Sustainability Consulting is building a very nice library of bite-sized podcasts on a wide variety of topics pertinent to sustainable business, including renewable energy options, carbon regulation, sustainable design and more. I’d especially like to direct you to the podcasts on Green Business Travel with Kim Allen and Green IT with Jessica Vreeswijk, both Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) alumni. Jennifer and the team at Strategic Sustainability Consulting add a new podcast every week or two so check back frequently for new topics from sustainability experts.

As you know, sustainable business is the new and emerging paradigm. The folks over at ISSP (International Society of Sustainability Professionals), of which I am a member, are offering a Professional Certificate in Sustainability. You can take the individual courses ala carte, or select the appropriate courses to obtain the certificate if you’d like. Many of the instructors are top professionals in their field. People like Darcy Hitchcock, Marsha Willard and Tom Gloria, to name a few of the ISSP instructors, are both practitioners and teachers. I bring this up because there is a course on Life Cycle Assessments beginning in August that one of us from TriLibrium will be attending.

CPE class on sustainability for CPAs

I am proud to announce that I'll be teaching a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) class for CPAs entitled "Sustainability: What it means for the profession, you and your clients."

The class is scheduled in Vancouver, Washington on December 10th from 1-5pm. It will qualify for 4 hours of CPE credit.

This may be the first CPE class for CPAs to focus on sustainability and what it means for the profession and their clients. I'm currently working on the outline but here are some of the points I intend to cover:

** Get up to speed on sustainability and what it means for business
** Understand the business case for sustainability
** Get an Introduction to triple-bottom line accounting
** Discover the opportunities and risks in this rapidly emerging paradigm
** Discover resources to help your clients
** Look at evolving metrics
** Look at changing reporting requirements and initiatives

Accounting's role in sustainability

My accounting professor at Bainbridge Graduate Institute (http://www.bgiedu.org/), Dr. Kate Lancaster, PhD, CPA has written a paper with two of her colleagues urging the development of sustainable curriculum for university finance and accounting students, and outlined some specific courses or curriculum modules that need to be created.

Kate asked me if I would write a few sentences about why it is important to include sustainability in finance and accounting curriculum. Here is what I wrote:

"The shift towards sustainability will be a significant business driver over the foreseeable future. An emerging and evolving set of metrics beyond traditional financial measurements will provide guidance, scoring, comparability and accountability for sustainable business practices.

Who better to measure, report, analyze and interpret the data than accountants? It is vital that students learn the thinking and tools they'll need for jobs in the 21st century."

Sustainability offers significant opportunities and challenges for both internal and external reporting. In a sustainable economy, everyone will be on board. It is a hopeful sign when even traditionally conservative professions like accounting begin to see the light.