International Day of Action

I'm excited about Saturday, October 24th. That is the International Day of Climate Action being promoted by the folks at 350.org. As I write, there are nearly 2,500 actions planned in over 150 countries to help build international awareness and momentum around the scientific consensus that the CO2 our atmosphere should not exceed 350 parts per million (ppm).

On October 24th, I will be joining a group of human powered boats on the Willamette River to write the numbers 350 with our boats. What a fun and creative action this will be. If you visit the 350.org site, you can join an existing action or create your own. The point is to be engaged and involved because none of us can do this alone.

This is really a wonderful opportunity to re orientate our world with a sustainable economic system. The Chinese symbol for crisis is a combination of Danger + Opportunity. Both are present and I'd like to see us seize the opportunity and avoid the danger.

The current CO2 concentration is 387 ppm and climbing by 2 ppm per year. Scientists tell us that we must reverse this trend, reducing our global emissions to bring CO2 levels below 350 ppm.

While this poses challenges, I am proud that Portland has decreased per capita emissions 17 percent below 1990 levels, while the rest of the country has increase CO2 emissions by nearly 20 percent in the same time frame. We've done this through a variety of measures including land use planning, zoning, tree planting, hybrid autos, improved public transportation, multi-model transportation support, and more.

What are you doing on October 24th? I hope you'll join me in changing the world.

Twin Crisis – One solution

In 1999 I marched at the WTO in Seattle with my then 5-year old daughter.  I’m proud that I took to the streets to protest the corporate agenda.  It was obvious to me back then that our world was headed in the wrong direction.  My chief concerns at the time were the large and growing environmental problems as well as corporate power.  Both problems have only worsened over the ensuing 10 years.

Right now, tens of thousands of protestors are again taking to the streets, this time in London at the G20 summit.  The twin crisis of climate change and global recession are at the heart of the matter.  Nothing less than the future of the planet may be at stake.  Are the world leaders listening to the people or the corporations?

The beauty of these twin problems is that it is possible to solve both of them simultaneously.  We can solve the recession and address climate change with a Green New Deal.  This is the beauty of sustainable business and a sustainable economy.   If we do this right, we fix both problems at the same time.  If we do it wrong, fixing one exasperates the other.  Given the corporate agenda, I fear that we’ll work to jump start the old economy - carbon emissions be damned.

Here is the problem – Climate change won’t wait and doesn’t give a damn about the global economy.

Just a month ago, the world's climate scientists met in Copenhagen and concluded that “the worst-case IPCC scenario projections are being realized.  … including global mean surface temperatures, sea-level rise, ocean and ice sheet dynamics, ocean acidification, and extreme climatic events.”

Steven Chu, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who has been appointed Energy Secretary by Barack Obama, says: "I don't think the American public has gripped in its gut what will happen. We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California. I don't actually see how they can keep their cities going either."  

If you think we have economic problems now, I think we’ll look back to now as great times if the people of LA, San Diego and SF are forced to leave their cities and places like Florida and NYC slip under the sea due to rising oceans.

A Green New Deal has the potential to put people back to work, solve our looming energy problems, clean up the environment, address climate change and refuel Main Street.   Time is running out.  We need to act now and we need bold progressive leadership.  

Return on Sustainability

Kudos to my Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI)colleague Kevin Wilhelm, for the publication of his new book Return on Sustainability.  Kevin shows the clear business case for sustainability and dealing with the climate crisis proactively.

Kevin highlights the risks and opportunities climate change poses for business.  As I've stated in previous posts, there are opportunities for companies that 'truly' embrace sustainability and Kevin digs into the details including:  enhanced brand value; improved customer, employee and shareholder relations; and better climate performance all at the same time.

As Kevin points out, climate change touches on every aspect of a business: Energy; transportation; innovation; waste; supply chain; employee retention and morale; investor pressure; brand value; customer loyalty; market opportunities; cost savings; tax; regulatory; carbon trading; and leadership.  

Given all that, don't you think a comprehensive strategic business plan should address climate change is a serious manner?  What we learn at BGI, and what I teach my clients is how to address sustainability and climate change in a comprehensive way.  Kevin's new book helps bring that understanding to a wider audience.

Treating climate change as an ancillary issue creates mostly costs for business whereas addressing sustainability comprehensively allows a company to capture the opportunities.

Think of the technological revolution back in the 80s.  Companies that embraced technology in a strategic and comprehensive manner left their competition in the dust.  Those who were slow on the uptake were forever relegated to playing catch up.

“True” Commitment

I’ve been writing about the A.T. Kearney report that discussed their findings that the market rewarded “companies who show a ‘true’ commitment to sustainability.”  What is a ‘true’ commitment to sustainability and what does that look like?

To me, using sustainability as a strategic driver means you make that focus primary.  Making money and being financially sound are also important but if they become the primary focus or raison d’etre, I believe you’ll make short-term decisions and when the two conflict, you’ll likely make the wrong choice.

Another sign of “true” commitment is leadership and a continuous drive for improvement.  I toured Rejuvination's manufacturing facility this week and learned that they sit down each year and evaluate all areas of their business to ensure they are using the current best practices.  Is there a better chemical, process or material they should be using, if so, they change.  

One thing I’m beginning to use as a criteria between a deep and real commitment to sustainability and a lesser, questionable commitment is the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.

No GHG inventory and no plans to do one = Questionable commitment.  Are they just greenwashing?

Taking action to minimize your waste stream is important. The largest and arguably most dangerous waste streams are your unseen and unmeasured carbon emissions. 

Dr. James Hansen, the NASA scientist and climate expert, recently wrote that “our planet really is in peril” as a result of our carbon emissions.

Will 2009 be the year you do your GHG inventory, or are you prepared to be accused of greenwashing and lose your brand and market position?

Time to ACT

Dr. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the leading experts on climate change wrote a Sunday op-ed for The Observer.

The picture is not pretty - "our planet really is peril" he writes.

Are we going to heed his warning?

"Our global climate is nearing tipping points.  Changes are beginning to appear, and there is a potential for explosive changes with effects that would be irreversible - if we do not rapidly slow fossil fuel emissions over the next few decades."

"If we do not change course soon, we will hand our children a situation that is out of their control, as amplifying feedbacks drive the dynamics of the global system."

I hope you have an emotional reaction to this information.  I did.  I woke this morning thinking what more can I do?

While there are a number of individual actions I can and will take, I still believe the greatest leverage point occurs at the system/paradigm level.  We must change our economic system to a sustainable system and we need to do it fairly quickly.

Dr. Hanson calls the trains carrying coal to power plants "death trains."  "Coal-fired power plants are factories of death" he writes.  Every product you buy or sell should make you think about the embedded carbon. 

How might we get off the "death train?"