THE NEXT ECONOMY -
By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will live in urban centers and that number will have increased by about 3 billion people in the interim – a big challenge and opportunity to feed. One emergent model is indoor farming, aka, vertical farming.
Columbia professor Dickson D. Despommier, Ph.D., (now emeritus) at Columbia University Medical School authored “The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century,” published in 2010, and is credited with mainstreaming the term vertical farming.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Installing more efficient equipment is often at the forefront of an energy manager’s mind when it comes to driving down carbon emissions, but even the most energy-efficient kit still requires human involvement. Making that link, and understanding how people’s behaviour impacts on technology outputs, is crucial if building management systems are to be optimised.
This is where carbon psychology can help. It’s a technique that can be used by companies to understand the drivers behind staff behaviour change and from this, develop strategies to reduce energy consumption.
NEW METRICS -
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” - Joseph Goldstein
Context is a game-changer for sustainability professionals and for the businesses that they work with.
A dramatic statement is often a good way to start an article – and sometimes they are justified; this piece explains why I think that context heralds big changes for the practice of sustainability and CSR.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
The second of a three-part proposal for using sustainability to recharge America's problem-solving.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Marine plastics pose a serious problem for both marine ecosystems and human health. In fact, with between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tons of plastic ending up in the world’s oceans every year, it could be considered one of the most dangerous environmental catastrophes the world currently faces.
COLLABORATION -
Human activity is driving rampant loss of flora and fauna around the world, prompting fears that we are in the midst of a sixth great extinction event, with one-third of all species in the wild facing threat of extinction.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture, the follow-up to the watershed environmental documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel, will make its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival as a Day One screening, part of The New Climate - a program dedicated to conversations and films about environmental change and conservation.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
“The main Business of Natural Philosophy is to argue from Phænomena without feigning Hypotheses, and to deduce Causes from Effects till we come to the very first Cause, which certainly is not mechanical; and not only to unfold the Mechanism of the World, but chiefly to resolve these, and to such like Questions.”
~ Sir Isaac Newton
It can be difficult being a sustainability practitioner. Our mission sets us in opposition to the general direction of the world. Finding ways to stay optimistic, to celebrate change and keep an eye on the scale of transformation that is required takes resilience, flexibility and deep reserves of passion.
LEADERSHIP -
In a world where consumers are increasingly buying into brands that stand for more than just positive gains in profit, having the ability to clearly communicate your company’s social good efforts is more important than ever. From educating consumers on how to make better consumption and lifestyle choices, to inspiring other business leaders and decision makers to follow suit, the opportunities that come with being a purpose-driven company (and being able to effectively communicate this differentiating factor) extend far beyond the sales numbers.
As with most things in life, however, these opportunities don’t come without challenges – challenges which tend to stem from the lack of both strategic and creative communication knowledge and leadership skills.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Answer this question quickly without giving it much thought: Is the human species inherently a compassionate, constructive species destined to leave the Earth better than we found it?
BLOG -
A new year. A much-needed chance to start fresh.
Resolutions are fun, and I created my usual list of things such as writing more (day one, check!), putting my phone down when I’m with family, exercising and eating well, and better managing email.
But I know deeper changes are needed. Sadly, this past year exposed profound divides in the world and in America, in particular — high levels of distrust in each other, in our leaders, in our institutions, and, most disturbingly, in facts. This comes at a bad time. As the world’s biggest challenges get thornier and bigger, it gets clearer that we must work together to solve them.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Can capitalism be ethical? This was the question asked by Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, in a recent lecture in Cambridge (part of Murray Edwards College’s Capitalism on the Edge series). He argued that while capitalism may unarguably deliver ethically desirable outcomes – such as innovations in health and less onerous work – it cannot be ethical per se if, at its core, it is about the ownership of property and its exchange for profit. Such a system, he argued, can’t generate systematic, sustainable answers to questions of social good and therefore be ethical.
COLLABORATION -
While in the past I have written summaries that looked back on accomplishments and challenges in sustainable development over the last 12 months, this year, I’ve decided to take a different approach. Instead, on the heels of COP22, I asked sustainability leaders to share their thoughts about where things are today, and where they see things going. Of course many were encouraged by the more than 365 companies that pledged to continue their carbon-reduction efforts at that meeting in Marrakech.
LEADERSHIP -
Note: In the aftermath of last week’s Presidential election, we at Sustainable Brands were struck by the parallels to a recent, similarly polarizing political situation abroad with an equally shocking result – the UK’s Brexit referendum – and how Andy Last’s astute observations at the time, about the breakdowns in communication that led just over half of Brits to vote to leave the EU, seem applicable to us here in the States now. We share it with you below – enjoy.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
With over 8.7 million views on YouTube already, Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary film Before the Flood is already making waves.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
The Accounting major is popular in college because it is one of the easiest ways to ensure you get a job after school, and the most prestigious – and lucrative – route to take is to get a job with one of the Big 4 Public Accounting firms. My Accounting professor told me that working for one of the Big 4 Public Accounting firms was like going to grad school and getting paid for it. So naturally, that is what I strived for and started my career as an Audit Associate. For those of you that don’t know, an accounting role tends to be long hours in a non-collaborative environment, doing work that is repetitive and lacks creativity. On the bright side, however, accountants tend to get paid very well.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Beginning Sunday, October 30, climate change will take over primetime on National Geographic. The channel has announced it will host its first-ever Earth Week, which will air six straight days of primetime programming dedicated exclusively to climate change in 171 countries and 45 languages.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Business leaders who embrace ‘purpose beyond profit’ can transform the fortunes of their organisations, but they can’t do it alone. A company’s purpose only truly comes to life if all employees are both inspired and equipped to put purpose into action.
This means that purposeful leaders need to have a firm grasp on how purpose flows and moves within an organisation: how it inspires and enrols people, how it must be mapped and translated across different parts of the business, how it encounters resistance and how it unlocks new approaches to problem-solving.
Above all, business leaders must understand that truly effective purpose serves as an invitation to co-create. What does this mean in practice? Here are five key steps to help you learn how to go with the flow:
NEW METRICS -
Frontier Co-Op has always been a recognized leader in sustainability, and it remains an industry leader given its cooperative governance structure, organic and fair trade products, commitment to give back 1%, and Well Earth program for supplier development.