Comments for Less Conversation More Action

Comment on Can reducing food waste help to cool the planet? by Shawna McKinley

Shawna McKinley — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:35:49 +0000

Thanks for the post Michael. Lots of great ideas for source reduction. For those still throwing their food away I thought I’d share an tool created by the USEPA that helps facilities measure the carbon benefits of alternate forms of waste disposal and source reduction: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/Warm_home.html

Putting out a plea facilities will start using it (or haulers that use it) on behalf of every meeting planner who wants to measure the environmental benefits of less waste!!

Comment on BP: Beyond Practical. The point(s) we’ve missed about sustainability by Nancy Wilson

Nancy Wilson — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:56:13 +0000

Let’s hope this tragedy is a wake up call for those in the US and World who still believe our old habits of consuming fossil fuels are sustainable.

Thanks for this article, Michael!

Comment on BP: Beyond Practical. The point(s) we’ve missed about sustainability by Guy Bigwood

Guy Bigwood — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:30:31 +0000

Elizabeths reply highlights a missing element for me. Why were BP and their platform management company allowed to operate as they did? I just read a very interesting article in Newsweek explaining how the previous US administration changed legislation and controls to make it easier for oil companies to act “unsustainably” in their drilling and production.

This culture of sustainability that you talk about needs to reach right into the government. We see certain governments around the world taking this role – but many others sadly who need to step up and to help facilitate this new era of business sustainability. Lets just hope that the BP situation helps us all to focus.

Comment on BP: Beyond Practical. The point(s) we’ve missed about sustainability by Elizabeth Henderson

Elizabeth Henderson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:30:57 +0000

Happy Canada Day everyone! One hundred and forty-three today. Patriotism aside, I do agree that simply following standards, guidelines or reporting templates does not make a sustainable entity. You refer to “emotional investment” in sustainability above; these wouldn’t be quite my words, but I get the idea of what you mean. You can’t just act it; you need to BE it, because it matters more than a dollar sign. It’s the difference between putting a nicely framed copy of a code of conduct on the wall and making decisions based on a deeply ingrained personal code of conduct. We say that people who have this are ethical and have integrity. I am sure there are many people within BP that are ethical and have integrity, but tradition and laws tend to make corporations faceless. In the US, for example, the law says that corporations must maximize profits for shareholders. I think this is beginning to shift to take into account stakeholders, not just shareholders, but legal change is slow and actual change probably slower.

Comment on BP: Beyond Practical. The point(s) we’ve missed about sustainability by Michael Luehrs

Michael Luehrs — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:16:45 +0000

Thank you, Fabian. Your insight means lot.
In my view, The formation of a healthy culture of sustainability is a complex process which will be unique to every organization. To get there, Individual leaders, or leadership groups, must first have their ‘Aha’ moment. The Ray Anderson ‘Spear in the chest’ moment, is an example. Here, I think that sustainability reports and carbon measurements and sustainable event initiatives can play an important role.

I might add that leadership isn’t unique to people sitting in a boardroom. People at all levels of an organization have the ability to help influence those ‘Aha’ moments for other influential people in the organization.

I believe that most business leaders will eventually arrive at a place where they are emotionally invested in sustainability due to the reasons you list and the powerful transformation that will define the business performance as a result. Let’s hope that it doesn’t take more tragedies of this scale to spark the epiphanies needed.

many thanks for your thoughtful input.

Are there others who have thoughts on this? Please share your suggestions, solutions and examples.

Comment on BP: Beyond Practical. The point(s) we’ve missed about sustainability by Fabian Pattberg

Fabian Pattberg — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:42:47 +0000

Hi Michael. Great article. I absolutely agree with your point of the ‘emotional investment’ as you call it. This commitment would have definitely prevented this disaster in my opinion. BP would have not come close to a disaster like this in my opinion if they where not driven my ROI, cost cutting, machoism, bribery, etc.

Lets hope that this will rattle the cage of those companies that just want to go on with business as usual now. I think they will find it harder and harder from now on.
We as stakeholders also need to make sure that this momentum is continuing. A advice from you on how to do this?

Comment on Simplify messages for sustainable event momentum by Thomas Persson

Thomas Persson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:05:58 +0000

Great inspiration to the meeting’s and events industry! Thank you for this post! Between the lines I see:

-Be responsible!
-Be more transparent!
-Be communicative and understandable to inspire and draw quick attention to sustain your network!

Short and brief, over and out/ Thomas Persson, HållbartEvent.sr

Comment on Dealing your sustainable business a better hand by Michael Luehrs

Michael Luehrs — Sat, 22 May 2010 07:58:36 +0000

Astute, as always, Midori. Unions play an interesting role in today’s hospitality industry (a number of hotel companies view unions as combative and counter productive to quality service cultures. These same companies have issues with signing the UN Global Compact only because of Principle #3 related to collective bargaining for workers.) Still, where unions exist, they present a stakeholder group that needs to be a part of the process to roll out a successful plan.
One of the problems with this, which maybe I wasn’t able to make so clearly here in this post, was that it’s not enough just to want to do ‘the right thing’. These issues get so complex so fast that only a strategic approach with a sustainable framework (BS8901, anyone? Had this hotel embraced that process they might well have avoided difficulties) Such frameworks, as I know you support, can help good intentions become meaningful actions for sustainable business.
I look forward to examples and suggestions from others in follow up to Midori’s question above!
Thank you, Midori!

Comment on Dealing your sustainable business a better hand by Midori Connolly

Midori Connolly — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:43:39 +0000

Good points, just a few thoughts.
First, it is not consumer backlash that is happening here…it’s a battle by union labor, always a contentious subject in and of its own (at least in the United States, not sure about Canada).
As I see it, the inherent weakness of these workers’ protests lies in the fact that they call eco-friendly programs “fake” because the hotel is profiting from them. Wellll, no kidding!!! That’s the idea of strategic CSR and sustainability in business! And the hotel is already sharing the improved margins with their clientele through vouchers…not a bad deal for the consumer at all.
It sounds from this article that only a small handful of all employees are actually disgruntled. And not that they shouldn’t be accounted for, but the flaw in their argument leaves me feeling that these hotels are still trying to do the “right” thing…whatever that is.
How would others suggest the hotel make up for the reduced labor hours and still be fair to the planet and financial investors? Can they continue this operation with only a double bottom line accounting? What are the suggestions out there?

Comment on CSR Strategy before CSR tactics by compact mirrors

compact mirrors — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:15:35 +0000

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