Blog
SB '13, Day Two:
Plenary Speakers Explore Sustainability Trends and Drivers

Kicking off Tuesday, the first full day of the SB’13 conference, business leaders, social entrepreneurs and several other innovators presented a myriad of ideas to a packed house of attendees gathered in the Paradise Ballroom. With the overarching theme of “Trends & Drivers” dominating the conversations, the morning plenaries focused on what brands are doing to drive the sustainability revolution towards a renaissance.

SustainAbility’s Mark Lee kicked off the Tuesday morning plenaries by asserting that although the sustainability revolution may not be over — social and environmental concerns are indeed pressing — there is ample evidence a renaissance has already begun. Citing cars as an example, Lee said technological developments have led to better cars such as the Prius, car-sharing services such as Zipcar and the continual improvement of electrical vehicles. He added that sustainable development is a systems problem that requires collective action to achieve. Experts say the system needs to change — the global public agrees the social, ecological and environmental problems we face are our greatest challenge.

“The two most limiting obstacles are the belief that companies make false claims, and that their efforts must be accelerated by the government,” said Lee. “We need every company to push the boundaries of better and different."

Continuing the theme of collaboration, Bryan Welch discussed themes from his book, Beautiful and Abundant, which asserts that building a beautiful and abundant future requires sharing and teamwork. Welsh said sustainability is not a political issue — everyone wants their grandchildren to live on a healthy and abundant planet. And while our challenges are many, history shows that we are capable of great accomplishments when we choose to focus on a particular challenge.

“We are unique and brilliant creatures — there is no other species in the universe than can contemplate its impact on the universe,” said Welch. “We are a species capable of mindboggling innovation.”

Uwe Dreher, BMW i’s Head of Marketing, showcased the German car company’s new electric vehicle (EV), built from the ground up with more sustainable materials. Most current EVs are modified gas-powered cars, which poses design problems and often leads to inefficiency, Dreher said. Dreher said that an astounding 95 percent of the materials used for production of a BMW i vehicle are completely recoverable, solving many of the challenges of end-of-life cycle for vehicles. Countering the common EV criticism of toxic batteries, Dreher said BMW i’s batteries are 100 percent reusable as temp storages for solar power and wind energy.

Bill Shireman, President and CEO of Future 500, told the SB’13 audience that we need to stop looking at issues as right or wrong and begin looking at disagreement as an opportunity to gain wisdom from divergent perspectives. While conservatives are often associated with power and liberals with purpose, both sides have their own measure of power and purpose, and both their viewpoints are correct. He went on to say that, just as the government should not waste money on things best left to the private sector, business should heed social and ecological issues.

Cynthia Figge, co-founder of CSRHub, shared data trends for the CSR world. Their most recent findings confirm that there is a dramatic return on investment for sustainability and that that ROI is increasing. Cynthia closed on a hopeful note, stating, “I believe we may be at the edge of a big shift.”

John Havens, the founder of the H(app)athon Project, warmed up the crowd with a lively bit of blues harmonica before diving into his talk. H(app)athon is a project initiated to “Give big data a direction and help people leverage the mobile sensors in their smartphones to identify what brings them meaning in their lives.” The ambitious project is preparing a smartphone app called “Personal Happiness Indicator,” which will aggregate survey responses and personal data and attempt to identify activities and organizations that might help them optimize their personal well being. Havens also referenced Sheryl Sandberg’s recent book in advocating that women leaders ”don’t lean in, (but instead) stand up.”

Johnson & Johnson’s Paulette Frank shared her experiences with Project Phoenix, a Brazilian waste co-operative, through which J&J is producing needed post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials for certain products while nurturing the local economy. Recycling in emerging economies often consists of scavenging by people who eke out an existence living in and around landfills. In Brazil, waste pickers have organized into cooperatives — called Catadores (cooperatives). Through Project Phoenix, Frank reports that quality of life is improving for co-op workers and they now have a waiting list to join, while Johnson & Johnson has a reliable source for PCR in Brazil.

Bob Willard, author of The New Sustainability Advantage, discussed the reputational risks of ignoring sustainability. He suggested that we’ve come upon a perfect storm of risks: pollution, poverty, social justice, climate change, food & water insecurity, over-harvesting & species extinction. Willard believes that stakeholder expectations are rising and that companies are improving their performance in response. He said the “time is right to figure out how to measure what matters and get on with it.”

Rounding out the morning’s presentation, Coca-Cola’s Chief Sustainability Officer Bea Perez described a shift she sees in what is valued by society, that people now expect transparency from firms. Bea sees us coming to a “Me, We, World” outlook in which we value our interconnectedness. Her group is working with Exercise Is Medicine to encourage doctors to prescribe exercise for personal wellness. They’re also working to empower five million women entrepreneurs throughout the world by 2020.

Check out a wrap-up of Tuesday’s afternoon breakout sessions.