Monthly Archives: April 2009

Last week I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the CRO Summit. Let me sum up the trip with one word—exhausting.

The near ten hours spent driving down I-95 and back are partially to blame. So too is the extra hour that I waited for an oil change in Aberdeen, Maryland. But this is about more than traffic jams and the stiff chairs in Jiffy Lube’s waiting room. Sustainability seems a bit tired at the moment. And when she yawns, I tend to follow suit.

The engines of sustainability—namely innovation and integration—are threatening to stall along with our economy. Companies are so focused on weathering this economic storm that departments are taking on a “silo mentality” and forward progress in the realm of sustainability is slowing down. And it shows, particularly at events like the CRO Summit.

The contrast was really quite stark. Corporate types—and I’m lumping consultants into that group—seemed by-and-large very… More >

Ceres conference post #3

Although the Ceres conference was chock-full of experts expounding on a variety of planetary challenges—from water scarcity to the difficulties inherent in financial market reform—I felt that we all missed an opportunity to explore a very basic problem: that of somehow helping ordinary people to change their behavior.

As a sustainability professional with years of training and education, I can’t say that it’s been easy to change my own daily behavior to be more socially and environmentally responsible. The mere fact of being well-versed in the benefits of, say, installing energy-efficient windows, or programmable thermostats, or low-flow shower heads is not sufficient to spur action, especially given the other demands (family, relationships, work, car maintenance) that daily life puts in front of us. And that’s without even considering the stresses many are experiencing in a declining economy: job loss, foreclosure, loss of health coverage, etc. It’s no… More >