DOTs
Help us reach our goal of 1 billion people practicing personal sustainability through Do One Thing (DOT)
Latest DOTs
Jessica Appelgren: I'm paying attention to my OPower energy report and am trying to change behaviors like when I wash clothes. Hopefully, I'll beat my neighbors soon!
May 2012
Corey Walker: Ill Continue to pick up trash when I see it, and to continue to recycle.
“There is no conflict between sustainability and long-term profits. In the short term, however, responsible business leaders will make choices that might produce smaller short-term profits, but that’s a small price to pay for assuring the long term viability of a business. Capital investments in eco-efficiency provide long term operational cost savings as well as a hedge against resource cost fluctuations, like the unpredictable price of oil. Investing in engaging your staff will result in higher productivity, innovation and retention rates. Investing in R&D towards emerging consumer trends will assure long-term innovation.” Read more at CNN Money.
Here’s an interview with Jay Yarrow of CNN Money/Fortune’s “Business Insider”:
Business Insider: How do you define sustainability?
Adam Werbach: In a business context, sustainability simply means long-term profitability. Before 1987, that’s the definition that was widely understood. But in 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland report, defining sustainable development as meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations. This definition was quickly conflated with protecting our natural environment. In the book I argue that we need to return to the old definition of sustainability because the types of changes in society, technology and natural resources that are happening today are threats to the viability of businesses. Businesses that are prepared for the long term will get ahead of these trends in order to assure their longevity.Read more...
A recession is like a forest fire — a rush of destruction that affects everything in its path. And for about the last hundred years, nations and companies have sought to protect themselves from these catastrophic meltdowns through fiscal and monetary policy at the national level, with similar effort at the corporate level. The results have been unimpressive at best, and catastrophic at worst. The U.S. and the world today face the worst recession since the Great Depression, the equivalent of a super-fire that threatens the entire forest and the people in and around it. At the corporate level, the U.S. is experiencing an alarming three hundred and fifty commercial bankruptcies a day, including familiar names like GM and Crabtree & Evelyn.
The world will only experience more turbulence in coming years, with an escalating human population, declining natural resources, and challenges to U.S. hegemony. So what can a forest teach us about survival in this fire-proneI p world?Harv
Article in Harvard Business “Conversation Starter” by Adam Werbach: Read more...
Here’s an interview with Michael Krasny from this week. I’ve always been impressed with what Michael is able to do with this format. It’s one of the most in-depth opportunities that you get to spell out ideas. This is actually the fifth time I’ve done his show, and each time I find the audience questions challenging.
The McKinsey Quarterly features an excerpt of the book which describes the roots of the definition of sustainability. There’s also a video interview below.
Article by Adam Werbach. “Particularly in these tough economic times, it’s critical that we address the basic needs of people first, ideally by saving them money through sustainable innovations. But I have no time for 800-thread count recycled organic bamboo sheets right now. It’s an excellent green innovation, but surely not Blue. We are preparing for a world with 9 billion people, and we already have plenty of suffering on the planet to deal with.” Read more at Environmental Leader
