“Sustainability” is one of those words that is showing up everywhere, as frequently as “natural” did a decade ago. And like natural it is one of those words that has as many definitions as folks to define it (some from institutions with fancy names and some from the man/woman in the street). What I am most interested in is exploring the notion that it is NOT JUST GREEN. It is a wholistic model with several key components. As both a consultant and entrepreneur for 20+ years in the Sustainable Business world (what we used to call the socially responsible business world), this is what I think it is. I would love to hear what you think.
1. There used to just be business (the first leg). If you were a good patriotic American, you believed in the capitalist model and that, if the business was successful, then all other aspects of life would naturally fall into place.
2. In the late 80s, a group of people started talking about socially responsible business and the importance of the Double Bottom Line (now we have two legs). A company needed to make money AND it needed to take care of its employees and be concerned for the planet. There were icons like Ben Cohen and Anita Roddick, and doing the right thing felt great and drew lots of enthusiastic young people into the business world. There was lots of recycling, post-consumer paper and a range of other behaviors which confirmed that as an entrepreneur, you were a true believer. Business may be part of the problem, but there remained a belief system that business could be part of the solution.
3. As the movement matured, some folks said, “We have to split the environmental and the social.” That made three legs. Environmental behaviors were becoming more mainstream, but care for one’s employees (and indeed one’s consumers and maybe even one’s community) became more important. The measuring tool was now the triple bottom line.
4. As the new century has begun and as we finally admit that the planet is terrifyingly fragile, companies, especially emerging ones, have a responsibility in four arenas: business success, environmental impact, impact on people and impact on their community (the four legs of the stool). To develop an incredibly green product and not care about where it is made or the conditions under which it is being made is not sustainable. To open a business and not include the full spectrum of your new community in your workforce is not sustainable. To be fair to your employees while making a product that damages the environment is not sustainable. To be so mission-driven that you do not prioritize making money is not sustainable.
One of the hardest jobs in the world is to be an entrepreneur. And to have to bow to all four of these mandates- especially when some conflict with others- makes the job even harder. But we have no choice. More thoughts to follow.
Mac, Check our blogs at 3BL Media. Yours is right in there in its thoughts. John