Global Environmental Society and "Green" drinks in Zurich 22 August 2011

The Global Environmental Society is a new network with the environment, new technologies and innovation as its foci. GES is the first environmental community that approaches business and consumers alike. 

It offers its members not only the chance to link with like-minded people, but also an online magazine with the latest articles about the environment and innovation, a green guide for the sustainable use of resources, a platform for business & ideas and an event guide.  

Join the community now, come to the Green Drinks or other events and participate in spreading the new green lifestyle.  

Next Green Drinks: 22 August in the Hiltl Lounge or if the weather is nice out on the terrace in the heart of Zurich and experience vegetarian food and/or delicious drinks.

GES / Global Environmental Society is the first Zurich representative of the original, internationally reknowned Green Drinks and organizes and hosts the gatherings in Zurich.

Green Drinks a great way of catching up with people you know and making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there's always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organizing network for new business, old friends and environmental networking. The event is usually held in the Hiltl Lounge, Sihlstrasse 28, 8001 Zürich.

The non-profit network tackles the vicious circle of inaction among consumers, the industry and politics through proactive environmental management. It therefore runs educational campaigns and offers a platform to encourage knowledge and idea exchange among scientists, universities, industries, environmental groups, politicians and non-government organizations. It supports environmental events and launches its own projects which contribute to the conservation of the environment and of natural resources. The GES-Network aims to harmonize and unite global growth markets, the industry sector and the global community for a productive coexistence in a clean and healthy environment. All donations collected over the GES-Site are directly used for such projects.

If you are not already a  member, why not join today!
Membership is free and keeps you informed about relevant environmental issues, eco-trends and green events, while letting you make new contacts. It promotes ecological efficiency and system thinking by encouraging dialogue among consumers, the industry and business sectors, science and politics.

There is no entrance fee for Green Drinks, but space is limited so secure your place by registering as soon as possible under   www.GlobalEnvironmentalSociety.net, or send us an e-mail to: team (at) globalenvironmentalsociety.net.

The event is open to all GES members and friends and you are welcome to bring guests along too, but these will also need to register.

 

Are we really doing the green thing? Think again.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The young cashier responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to be green so we have a long way to go to clean it up."

He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, they washed the baby's nappies because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.
Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

 

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of a small country. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took a tram or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

 

Isn't it pathetic that we are so busy lamenting how wasteful the old folks were, just because they didn't have the green thing back then? 

This is a great story because it offers each us a good reality check about how green we think we are and how green we actually are not. I check out what I do on a daily basis, and I wonder about my own and all our own behavior in the present. 

How many highly educated executives like us do you know who may be buying organic food and lamenting the state of the Planet, but meanwhile using an iPod, writing on an iPad, phoning on an iPhone and working on a Dell, Toshiba, Apple laptop... all at the same time? Do you have any idea what the negative environmental impact is of doing that? 

Check out how toxic your seemingly harmless electronics are online, for example via Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics. 




The guide ranks the 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change. 


The three goals for this guide are to get companies to:  

1. Clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances.
2. Take back and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete.
3. Reduce the climate impacts of their operations and products.
 
Apple, just for the record, is in 9th place and dropping. 

So much for the "cool" factor on our i-Everything gizmos.
These guys need to ramp up their commitment to Cradle to Cradle design.

Take the example of Nike. 
Since 2000, Nike has been working toward a cradle-to-cradle manufacturing and product life cycle system. A two-phase collaborative effort between MBDC and Nike, is setting new design guidelines and auditing all of the company’s major material suppliers. Since 2001, research has focused on the chemicals used in the manufacturing process and the development of a list of materials that will comprise a positively defined materials palette.
 
“Our goal,” said Winslow, “is to take responsibility for our product through its entire life cycle.” To do so, Nike has begun to “align the life cycles of all its footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories as closely as possible with
natural cycles.” By 2020 Nike aims to:
• Eliminate the concept of waste in product design, using materials, energy, and resources that can be readily recycled, renewed or reabsorbed back into nature.
• Eliminate all substances that are known or suspected to be harmful to human health or the health of natural systems.
• Close the loop and take full responsibility for its products at all stages of product and process lifecycle, including the end of a product’s useful life when consumers are likely to dispose of it.
• Develop financial structures that promote greater product stewardship in design, engineering, and manufacturing, as well as create new financial models to reflect the full cost of doing business.

   
So now, back to you and me. 
If we are the new generation, the younger generation, the generation with the future in our hands, the ones who can "save the world" from the wasteful older generation, we can ask ourselves, honestly:
 
Do we really do the green thing right now? 

Do each of us personally take responsibility -- this means taking action not just talking about it -- to put companies that produce the right things in the wrong ways under pressure, and get committed to helping producers to improve?

Do we even know how half our stuff gets produced, how it ends up in double plastic packaging in neat rows in our over-air conditioned mega-stores? 

And what kind of company do you work for? Do you dare to ask? 

What kind of stocks, shares, investments, products and services are you and your company buying or creating? Are you willing to NOT buy into this stuff if it's obviously the opposite of anything even close to sustainable?
 
See, that's the hardest part. If we want a change, it starts with you, with me, with each of us. That, my friends, is the only bottom line that counts.

First-of-its-kind training program designed to nurture future leaders

Business School of Lausanne, University of St. Gallen and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development launch a unique Executive program in Sustainable Business.

Business School of Lausanne (BSL), University of St. Gallen (IWÖ-HSG) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have joined forces to launch a first-of-its-kind Diploma in Sustainable Business, designed to nurture future business leaders.
The program offers a unique setting in which participants can acquire the new skills and competencies required to lead the sustainability agenda in business, and apply them directly in a practical consulting project.
The Diploma in Sustainable Business brings together experts from IWÖ-HSG’s renowned Institute for Economy and the Environment, specialists in interdisciplinary learning and training from BSL and business and sustainability professionals from the WBCSD. The year-long course will address global sustainability challenges, explore their strategic implications and assess their impacts via lectures, corporate visits, exchanges with NGOs and outdoors sessions.
Modules will be taught by thought leaders from academia, government, non-governmental organizations and business leaders. The Diploma in Sustainable Development is aimed at participants who want to develop their skills in the sustainability field, integrate sustainability into their existing area of responsibility or become sustainability experts.
Dr. Katrin Muff, Dean, BSL, said: “Equipping leaders at all levels with the competences to embrace the emerging environmental, societal and business challenges of the next decades globally is our main aim. We are using the latest pedagogical methods and highly innovative circular learning methods to ensure that participants leave the program with everything they need to lead responsibly and sustainably in any situation and organization they choose.”
Prof. Dr. Thomas Dyllick, Professor for Sustainability Management, University of St. Gallen, said: “What makes our new program special is the particular mix of subject competence in the sustainability field combined with leading-change skills and their practical application. We want participants to not just know what to do, we also want them to be able to do it."
Margaret Flaherty, Chief Operating Officer, WBCSD, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with such esteemed academic institutions on this new diploma. The WBCSD is uniquely placed to provide the business perspective on global sustainability challenges and we are excited to be contributing our knowledge and experience - - by making our reports and publications available, as well as staff to lead sessions - - to help train future leaders.”
The part time Diploma in Sustainable Business is run in association with the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business.

Do you have the skills for success in sustainable business?

Green economy is here to stay

 

Switzerland is expected to create 53,000 jobs by 2020 in the green economy according to the Swiss newspaper LeMatin.ch. The green economy sector, generating a turnover of 29 billion Swiss francs (23 billion Euros), has enjoyed "an annual growth of 6.3% since 2001, double the overall growth in Switzerland" during this period (3.2%), according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

At this rate, "in 2020, we can count on 53,000 additional jobs related to the environment (...) for a turnover could reach 57 billion Swiss francs," said the study, entitled "Environmental Markets in Switzerland, prospects for the economy and employment." Some environmental markets have actually "experienced a boom in recent years," the statement said, citing in particular the area of green building. The records show an annual growth of 47%. The renewable energy sector for its part, increased annually by 13% and the organic food industry by 6%. 

Are you ready?

This growth in the green economy will require the rapid development of sustainable business skills in all professional fields. We know from our research that many companies are not ready for this and that there is a search for talent and experienced professionals in the market.

That is why Business School Lausanne (BSL) and the Institute for Economy and the Environment at the University of St. Gallen have created a joint executive program leading to a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Sustainable Business, which is officially endorsed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a CEO-led, global association of some 200 companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development.

Specifically, the aim is to prepare future leaders in business for success in developing sustainability, with training in the best current knowledge in the global and business sustainability fields. This includes developing change management skills and offering project experience with corporate sustainability projects. The program approaches the topic of sustainability from its impact across business functions and, at a broader level, the strategic implications on business in general and the global challenges facing our planet today and in the coming decades.

The English-language program is a project-based, one-year, part-time program that runs over 13 weekends. The program starts coming September, with two intakes per year in September and February. Enrollment for the September 2011 sessions is now underway. 

The program welcomes professionals with a university degree or equivalent and at least three years of professional experience at a management level or a minimum of six years of work experience.

The program is designed in a unique format, with projects being brought in directly from business and dealing with multi-stakeholder environments and learning in action, in the field. More than 50% of the program taught outside the classroom, involving multiple stakeholders in addition to the program faculty. Locations include the University of St. Gallen and the Business School of Lausanne (Chavannes-près-Renens), as well as at off-site locations out-of-doors, in nature, in companies, with project teams on site as well as working with NGOs.

The Program Director, Dr. Madelon Evers, leads the academic direction of the joint program. “At the core of the learning is everything about sustainability as well as developing management skills to actually succeed in leading change. When people become competent in sustainable management and confident that they can depend on other’s strengths to transform their companies, good things can start to happen” Madelon Evers says. “The challenge will be to develop leaders that can change the rules, adapt strategy and operations to embrace sustainability in a responsible way.”

This new program in Sustainable Business has been launched by two of the co-founders of the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB) and complements the aims of this global business school council. The WBSCSB gathers concerned thought leaders from the international business community, academia, international organizations and NGOs, and works with existing organizations and networks to make change happen.

For more information, contact 

Business School Lausanne

Route de la Maladière 21 – PO Box 73

1022 Chavannes - Switzerland 
T +41 21 619 0606

www.bsl-lausanne.ch

Sustainable Brands

This blog post profiles a fascinating company in the USA called Sustainable Life Media, a leading producer of sustainable business conferences and educational events, with supporting products and services that include targeted e-newsletters, an online learning resource and community and more.

SLM says, "we are here to inspire and support innovation for sustainability by linking people with ideas and solutions that are creating positive change in the global business marketplace." The company aspires to be an example of the kind of business they hope to encourage, seeing business basics like customer focus and quality to be just that -- basic. 

They believe that the bar is being raised for tomorrow's business leaders, and want to be at the front of the train -- not the back. This means extending commitments beyond the basics, to things like a pursuit of both purpose AND profit. To being transparent, to collaboration, and to being more environmentally aware. 

SLM notes "We're serious about reducing our impact on the environment, and as a company whose business will result in air travel and congregation of thousands of people each year, we realize we have a responsibilty to be part of the solution. For this reason, we're eliminating hand outs in conference sessions, offsetting our carbon emissions, and in other ways, will continually look for ways to improve our environmental performance."

SLM knows that their preferred Suppliers can help drive business-to-business demand for more "sustainable" (environmentally or socially beneficial) products and services. For this reason, they give preference when possible, to partners and service providers who are also on the path to sustainability.

One of SLM's main events, Sustainable Brands ’11, which runs from June 7-10th, in Monterey California. This is where the sustainability, brand & design communities come together for the 5th year to discuss how better brands can succeed by helping shape a brighter future.  Reawaken your sense of the possible as you learn how sustainable brand leaders are making smarter strategic moves, developing new problem-solving skills, and inspiring others to help them bring healthier, smarter brands to market.

They will have 750+ Attendees, 120+ Speaker and  80+ Sessions on issues like

• Business Drivers and Innovation Strategy     
• Sustainable Design & Packaging              
• Brand Communication, PR and Marketing Best Practices              
• Supply Chain, Sourcing, & Community Partnerships              
• Culture & Brand.

See the interactive program guide here.

Download the Green Event Guide to learn more about how SLM tries to consider the environment when planning their events, as inspiration for your own!

Sustainable business? It's all about you.

Many companies are searching for a new business models for sustainable development. Business models for sustainable development aim to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits – the three pillars of sustainable development – through core business activities. In these models, the value proposition includes social, environmental and economic values, while value distribution within the whole market chain is a key feature.

According to the International Institute for Environment and Development, the center of any business model is the company’s ‘value proposition’ — the products and services that yield tangible results for the company’s target customers. A company’s value proposition distinguishes it from its competitors. The two main areas in which adaptation and innovation of a business model are talked about, are production and marketing. The production side comprises the set of activities, mechanisms and relationships for providing a good or service — in other words, ‘creating value’. The marketing side comprises the activities, mechanisms and relationships for selling that good or service — in other words, ‘capturing value’.

A company can use a new business model to pull a local farming community out of poverty, tackle climate change, protect a forest’s biodiversity -- and the IIED's ‘business models for sustainable development’ series (http://pubs.iied.org/17056IIED.html) shows you step by step how this can help to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals.

But there is one little yet essential element missing in all this talk about sustainable business models, marketing and production. And that is the human element, more precisely the leadership, the mindset, the me and the you who will take up a model and make the change. So how do you and I  change our internal orientation, ramping up our own leadership so that any sustainable business model we use will work out well? Here are a few inspiring New Rules of Work for leadership:

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable - and to pursue projects that scare you.

2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.

3. Lead yourself first. You can't help others reach for their highest potential until you're in the process of reaching for yours.

4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.

5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.

6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.

7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what's best for sustainable business, for your organization and the customers you serve.

8. Don't fall in love with the media. Greenwashing is the new Agent Orange.

9. Every moment listening to your customers is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess - or you don't).

10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.

11. Become obsessed with sustainability such that every touch-point of doing business with you leaves people in awe of the integrity of your company.

12. Read sources of information you don't usually read. Talk to people who you don't usually speak to. Go to places you don't usually visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh and free.

These point were inspired by http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/03/the-50-new-rules-of-work

Grown Skis: a sustainable business walking their talk

Grown Skis

Munich, Germany
http://www.grownskis.com

Products: high tech eco freeride skis - light, durable, aesthetic, eco and beautiful.

 

As a mountain and snow and ski lover I wondered, is there really a company out there that is changing the face of a distinctly environmentally unfriendly, unsustainable outdoor sport? I found one that is head and shoulders above the rest. This is what the team at Grown have to say about their company:

Grown is a young innovative eco-entrepreneurial company that was founded in 2007. Visions are at the beginning of change - the necessary change of our current way to do business which exceeds the biocapacity of our planet by far. Visions need to be put into practice though in order to foster change, and we are developing our vision of more sustainable production and consumption. We use our business to inspire and implement solutions to interrelated ecological and social concerns.

We develop and design products of premium quality that are high tech and eco – high performing products on the cutting edge of technology that cause no unnessecary harm to the environment with the lowest possible ecological footprint. We currently offer allmountain freeride skis – eco-rrect skis and other models.

Grown is pioneering alternative materials and concepts in the ski industry. It has been the first ski company introducing an eco-efficient ski at the most important international sports industry fair, the ISPO in Munich, Germany.
 

In 2008 our efforts were awarded with the ISPO Volvo sports design award ECODESIGN. This event triggered the ski industry to develop their own sustainability efforts. We offer the most eco-efficient skis on the market, emitting at least 40% less CO2eq emissions than skis of comparable high quality produced in Europe. The skis are the first on the market to be climate offset or climate neutral, as is our company.

As the leader in sustainable ski design, we are proud that major ski companies took our design ideas and our results as a benchmark for their further development in this direction. Unfortunately, many of our competitors remain in greenwashing their conventional business with a single 'eco' ski.
Still, sustainability is a process, and the path to walk is a long and difficult one of entrepreneurial risks and investments. We admit that our business and our products are far from being perfectly sustainable as any kind of production and consumption has negative impacts on the environment. 

We strive to constantly improve our practices and believe that one should not leave the good for the better. If you want to be dedicated to growing a sustainable business, you must build up a community of like-minded people who contribute with their creative ideas and experiences to an open innovation process. So our Alpine or Telemark ski were just the first products - other ideas will follow.