I can emphatically recommend this book. And as a student of Carol’s, I can personally attest to the capabilities and power within her work. 

The Responsible Business provides a clear road map for making ALL business practices authentically healthy, regenerative and simply GOOD. It is an enlightening, instructive and inspiring book and it is also incredibly accessible – Carol illustrates new paradigms with the use of clear, concise and compelling case studies from her 35 years of consulting experience.

Here are just a few examples of some of the the results she shares:

• As apartheid was coming to an end in South Africa, Stelios Tzesos, who had partnered with Carol in Europe, led Colgate-Palmolive.  Tzesos courageously initiated a community-building process both inside and outside the company and actively engaged with workers in their communities, and encouraged service in Nelson Mandela’s newly established township councils.  Workforce strikes, which were universal in South African factories at the time, never occurred at Colgate’s plants. And in the span of six months, the company leadership changed its racial consistency from majority white to 98 percent black. Within the three-year effort, the profitability of the business doubled.   Twice.

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• Early in his tenure as a maintenance manager, Chad Holliday was attracted to working with the technology outlined in The Responsible Business, as it offered more authenticity in communication on all levels. So, after 25 years, when he eventually worked his way up to CEO of DuPont, he became a champion of transparency and stakeholder education for the business as a whole.  He set up advisory boards for a number of DuPont businesses and actively recruited a diverse group of scientists, ethicists, environmentalists and medical experts to join them at the table simply because “it makes the company better.”  On a global scale, Holliday even helped to design the UN Global Compact – a voluntary initiative for multinational corporations that required all participants were to communicate annually on their progress with regard to human rights and environmental responsibility.  As a result, Chad Holliday’s efforts drastically transformed the field of corporate governance.

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• Even though Seventh Generation had begun as a producer of environmentally responsible consumer products, the business ironically still had a significant ecological footprint as a result of their operations. Drawing from the leadership of Jeffrey Hollender and others in the business, they turned their focus away from reducing the harm of their products and instead began asking how they could “do something that is genuinely healthy and healing.” As a result, they eliminated the use of synthetic fragrances and replaced them with organic essential oils – a change that was safer for their workers and supported small specialty farmers and businesses and advanced their position in the markets they served.  The company had achieved fundamental changes in their work simply by changing their focus and the questions they asked themselves.

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This last story from Seventh Generation illustrates maybe the most important and compelling part of Carol’s work and writing.  Within the book she demonstrates that businesses can be GOOD, not just LESS BAD.

Most “green” and “sustainability” efforts are focused on the first half of the work by looking at how to make a business, municipality or organization LESS BAD by:

• Curbing carbon emissions.
• Removing toxins.
• Generating less waste.
• Disturbing fewer forests and wetlands.
• Subjecting employees and communities to less harm and hazard.

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This is LESS BAD work.  And while it’s vital and important, it’s not enough. This LESS BAD work is only the first half of the sustainability equation.  When we are simply “solving problems” in the way we are used to, we are really only working on one piece of the puzzle at a time.  Working with just one piece at a time will never get us to workable solutions.

This is why this book is so important.  Carol has shown us how we can work with the whole of a business or community to be GOOD:

• We can enable healthy experiences for our customers.
• We can advance the wellbeing of those we work with.
• We can positively contribute to the health of the Earth.
• We can support the health of the communities we’re a part of; and
• We can generate financial wealth for investors while doing so.

All of this is possible.  And it can be done at once. (Really.) This is the work of being GOOD.  When we are working on being GOOD in the way that Carol illustrates, we gain the ability to see the entire puzzle.  We also gain the ability to work together in a way that draws on the core essence and unique characteristics of each business in order to change the whole damn puzzle (and not just the pieces).

Please.  Pick up this book and give it a read.

And when you do, be sure to be ready for a change in the way you see business in the world.

BTH now offers two groundbreaking Master’s programmes. These programmes come with the great opportunity of being free for all EU/EEA and Swiss citizens, and compared to tuition in the US, the international fees are very reasonable (around $10,000 per year).
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The network of graduates from this program is out in the field, all over the world, doing incredible things to move society towards sustainability.  We’re a tight-knit group, actively supporting each other in our work, and there are few places in the world that I can’t find a place to stay through the alumni network.

Anyone interested in sustainability, who is ready to take a leap and bring their leadership to the next level should absolutely apply to one of these programs.  Applications close 17th January 2011. The process is straight-forward and online: www.bth.se/sustainability

BTH is a top ranked sustainability research and education institution currently recruiting bright, early – mid career professionals for their cutting-edge Master’s programmes.  The Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) and the Master’s in Sustainable Product Service System Innovation (MSPI) are underpinned by the science-based Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (widely known as The Natural Step Framework), spearheaded by Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, a global sustainability leader and programme co-founder.
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MSLS explores the baseline science of strategic sustainable development coupled with the skills required for organizational change. The programme produces graduates who can deliver organizational leadership for strategic change towards sustainability.  MSPI enables students to design and innovate for positive socio-ecological impacts of products, services, and product-service systems throughout their life-cycles. This programme produces graduates who can deliver outcomes that meet user needs while generating competitive advantages in the expanding sustainability-driven market.

The Swedish state kindly pays for tuition fees for these Master’s programmes for European students and courses are taught in English. BTH is located in the beautiful coastal city of Karlskrona, a UNESCO world heritage site on the southeast coast of Sweden.
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Again, applications close 17th January 2011.
Please see www.bth.se/sustainability for more information and APPLY TODAY!!

This “B” step represents a huge leap forward and a major opportunity in the green business movement.  Nationwide, there are already 315 businesses, (representing 54 industries and $1.5B in revenue) which are already certified as B Corporations.  There are already two Certified Benefit Corporations in Maryland – Lateral Line of Easton and Norwood Marble & Granite of Brentwood – and there are 45 B Corps in Pennsylvania, eight in DC, five in Virginia, three in New Jersey and one in Delaware.  Until now, all of these businesses could only achieve “certification” as a B Corp.  Now, in Maryland, companies can also choose to be legally recognized by the State as a part of this new sector of the economy.

To become a B Corporation, you have to do two things:

1. Complete a transparent third-party assessment and certification process. Typically, this means taking about 60-90 minutes to start with the (free) B Impact Assessment, which surveys the impacts of your company has on the communities it operates within.  If the resulting report contains a composite score that is above 80 (out of 200 available), then your company is eligible to continue on in the Certification process offered by B Lab.  (Note: The new Maryland law does not specify that you must use only the B Lab certification, and says that the business may choose ANY “third party” verification to show off your “benefit” credentials.)
2. Make it official with the State. Once you have completed a certification, it’s time to for you insert certain language into your governing corporate documents (membership or partnership agreement) that outlines what responsibilities the owners of the company or its board of directors are obligated to maintain themselves and demonstrate to others.  The suggested language states, in part, that the managers will give “due consideration… to the short-term, as well as long-term, interests of its members and the effect of the Company’s operations (and its subsidiaries’ operations) on the environment and the economy of the state, the region and the nation.”

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There are a number of benefits to becoming a B Corporation:

1. Being a leader. If you are already conducting business in a way that is socially and environmentally aware, this will give you the recognition you deserve and an independent and solid and verifiable way to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.  If these are values that you strive to put into action, this is a great way to begin your sustainability journey.
2. Staying true to your course. Because your ethics and values are written into your company’s “DNA,” you can maintain a focus on your mission as you grow, raise capital, sell or plan succession.
3. There’s money on the table. First, there is no annual fee for maintaining “B-Corporation” status, only a one-time State application fee.  Second, there are the member-to-member discounts (e.g. a 75% discount on Salesforce) that are available.  Third, there are a number of lenders and groups of investors now interested in giving preferential treatment to B-Corps because they believe that B Corporations demonstrate reduced risk and the potential for greater reward.  And fourth, there are always the “regular” savings in efficiency and productivity gains that are achieved by all companies who engage in green business practices in a meaningful way.

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Consulting with a sustainability professional and your lawyer before investing deeply in this work is certainly a good idea.  There are certain provisions, such as a requirement that there be a two-thirds majority to ratify the legal changes to the company’s governance documents, that must be adhered to.  And, of course, the sorts of actions and decisions your company will have to take to achieve B Corp status will be unique and may even get to the heart of what makes your business unique and valuable to the communities it serves.  This kind of work can greatly benefit from guidance and facilitation.

Now is your opportunity to be one of the first in the nation to legally earn the “B” of benefit for your business!

Within this context, we took a moment in this Stepping Stones newsletter from The Natural Step to consider water from the perspectives of regional planning, building design, industry and academia.

Click here to read on.

There will be two webinar introductions to the PROBE tool next week:

Tuesday, Jan 5 at 11:00 a.m. EST.
Thursday, Jan 7 at 12:00 p.m. EST

CI is now beginning to offer trainings and licenses for use this qualitative/quantitative tool with their clients. A few of us are working with them to arrange a training in the Baltimore / D.C. area in early February, 2010.  Please be in touch if you’re interested in completing the training or want to use this powerful tool to jumpstart your own sustainability efforts.

ALSO, the folks at Holacracy are also offering an introductory webinar on their”organizational operating system” – it’s some really amazing stuff…

Tuesday, Jan 5 at 8:30pm EST

Happy New Year!

All federal agencies are facing a sustainability push. President Obama has tasked every Federal Agency for a target in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reductions and sustainability.  This is going to require a tremendous amount of effort.  Navstar and STACK Coordination have a growing expertise in this area to help you with your auditing, planning, and consulting.

The first step in our partnership was to dive into this executive order to see where we can help out. The results were a few best practices in key areas to guide the newly appointed Senior Sustainable Officers. Hopefully, these tidbits can alleviate some pressure as they get a crash course strategic sustainability planning:

Sustainable Contracting – Procurement

Per the order, Federal agencies must:

“Ensure 95% of new contract actions, task orders, and delivery orders for products and services are energy efficient, environmentally preferable, contain recycled content, etc.”

In addition to using EPA recommended Energy Star and EPEAT products. The Regional Municipality of Whistler has developed and implemented an excellent Sustainable Purchasing Guide that uses a six-step decision-making process to help managers make sound decisions. It guides decisions towards those that reduce costs and impacts and ensure long-term success and demonstrates that this seemingly daunting requirement can be met.

Baseline Assessments

The best way to develop a strategic plan is to develop a baseline of energy use. It is quite a challenge to measure your overall energy use, including the new challenge of identifying them as direct (scope 1 and 2) and indirect (scope 3) carbon emissions.

There are lots of programs for measuring carbon out there.  But to be truly effective, you need to study the whole issue of sustainability (including CO2).  The Natural Step Framework and the PROBE for Sustainable Business tool offer ways to comprehensively evaluate and measure your organization’s full impacts (beyond just CO2) and potential for improvement and change. This can provide the much needed longer term, budget focused, understanding of the sustainability challenge.

Reducing Energy Intensity

How to reduce our energy use? Where to start? Who to contact?

Many of these answers can be found in the commercial world. Some key takeaways to keep in mind when searching for ways to increase energy efficiency:

1. Begin by implementing a few proven projects and easy wins to get the ball rolling. Here are some great examples from the Midwest Energy Effeciency Alliance.

2. Bank the savings earned from your early wins and get familiar with the people and information sources that will help you with more difficult projects along the way:

• Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)
• Flex Your Power
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)

3. Plan for the long-term savings by integrating energy efficiency into ongoing operations with a comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS).

Zero-Net-Energy Buildings

Getting to net zero – it’s possible, but complex. The tips above help you to reduce the impacts of existing operations and maintenance, but much more can be done in longer term planning. Things like retrofitting our old buildings to designing new buildings. This reaches deep into top-of-the-line strategic planning in building design, construction, operation, management, maintenance, and more.

To meet this challenge is essential to work through the design process with an understanding of how the building, its surroundings and the design team function as a whole. Creating ‘zero-energy,’ ‘green,’ or ‘sustainable,’ development requires extensive coordination to ensure that the building’s various systems work together in an effective way.

The Whole Building Design Guide is a great place to start, as is the GSA Sustainable Design Program.

Even more is possible when we “redesign the design process” as explained in a new book on the integrative design process for green building.

Addressing the Challenge.

Meeting the challenges of Executive Order 13423 will be challenging.  Navstar and STACK Coordination can help your agency develop a strategic plan for addressing it.

• Images! There’s lots of free STACK (stock) images available for your use in your sustainability work (paid or unpaid) on Flickr.  Our world is beautiful – let’s share in its good looks.
• Presentations. I’ve uploaded Powerpoint slides from a few recent appearances at the Green Building Institute, the B2B Green Forum and a Parks and People GROWshop.  I hope to add audio to some of them soon…
• In-depth information. There’s lots more to know about strategic sustainability (green business) and regenerative development (green building), and this is a great place to start your search!

A reading list is coming soon…