The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has done an outstanding job in greening the industry. But as the LEED standard continues to evolve, the question is: What’s next? To get a feel for where the green building marketplace might head one day, go to GoodGuide.com and look up any of the 75,000 consumer products they… Read more »
Yearly Archives:: 2009
Why Investors Should Consider Sustainability Risk Management
Here’s yet another concern for investors: sustainability risk management, or SRM. While the basic concept has been around for years, emerging market forces are creating a new strain of investor sustainability risk: point-of-purchase reputation risk. Disruptive systems are on the verge of revealing ecological impacts of products that could sink some brands — and boost… Read more »
Daniel Goleman responds to Po Bronson at Newsweek
Po Bronson is a first-rate journalist, and I’m sure NurtureShock is a wonderful book (I haven’t had a chance to see it yet). But in his Newsweek blog Po has mis-stated several of my positions. So for the record, let me begin to set the record straight by quoting from my Forward to the 10th… Read more »
The Age of Eco-Angst
My grandson’s third birthday is at hand, and I’m looking at a toy racing car I won’t be giving him. Painted a bright yellow, this nifty little toy seemed just right for him when I paid a buck for it at a big box store. But before I could give it to him, I learned… Read more »
When Ecological Awareness Hurts
At a Cambridge restaurant one night, I was about to order the cod when my dining companion, Gregory Norris, whipped out his iPhone, accessed www.Blueocean.org, and told me the sad news. On the Eastern seaboard cod has been over-fished; while it’s fine to order it in San Francisco, with Pacific Ocean supplies plentiful, doing so… Read more »
Wal-Mart Exposes the De-Value Chain
Wal-Mart’s announcement of its new sustainability index marks the dawning of the age of ecological transparency in the marketplace. This is not just idle speculation; Wal-Mart has signaled that suppliers who ignore the requirements for ecological transparency will become “less relevant” to them. In other words, suppliers may one day compete for shelf space on… Read more »
Sitting Quietly, Doing Something
I recently spent an evening with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, the Tibetan lama who has been dubbed “the happiest man in the world.” True, that title has been bestowed upon at least a few extremely upbeat individuals in recent times. But it is no exaggeration to say that Rinpoche is a master of the art of… Read more »
When Your Business Has Nowhere to Hide
Only the Paranoid Survive was the title of Andrew Grove’s candid account of the years he headed Intel, leading it from a small maker of computer chips to the ubiquitous microprocessor found in computers everywhere. Grove’s account resonates with these grim economic times, particularly his warnings about the “Valley of Death” companies can face when… Read more »
Leading Green: The Future of Ecological Leadership
Visionary leaders tackle great challenges with grand consequences over long timespans. How long? Well, the current crises in the global economy and the consequent reshaping of capitalism will work themselves out over a decade or two. But the threats posed by the potentially inexorable ecological meltdown of our planet will play out over centuries. That… Read more »
The Earth Needs a New Operating System and You are the Programmers
Paul Hawken is a personal hero, someone who has led the way in progressive thinking and action for an ecologically sound world. In terms of ecological intelligence, he’s a genius. I was deeply moved by the address he gave to the University of Portland graduating class of 2009, and want to share it: “…You are… Read more »