What better way to celebrate my first post than to pay homage to the very event that introduced me to SocialYell: the Sustainable Brands 2010 Conference held in Monterey, California.  Recommended to me by Treehugger columnist Pablo Päster, the conference didn’t just open up a whole new world of learning for me, it also enabled me to form relationships many new and brilliant people (and even helped me land a blogging gig!).

If you’re on SocialYell, chances are that you have a job or interest in issues related to those commonly called green, sustainable, or environmentally-friendly.  Maybe you’ve even fantasized about a more sustainable career path or have been wanting to learn what the big fuss is about ‘green.’  Either way, conferences and networking events are great ways to learn about sustainability and to learn who its key players are.  Through Sustainable Brands, I learned who Yvon Chouinard is and how Patagonia is changing the world, about behavior change campaigns that can save aquatic habitats from invasive species, and about how good design can make people desire change instead of resenting it.

“Wait a second, Alli, those conferences are expensive. And I’m out of work, re-mem-ber?” you might be thinking.  Well, here are some tips to make the most out of sustainability conferences on a budget:

Author: Marc Schuelper; GNU License, Version 1.2 http://commons.wikimedia.org

• -  If you’ve got the time, consider attending a conference or event in your area, or tack on a few extra days and make a vacation out of a conference in a faraway land. (I learned a lot in Monterey, but the highlight of my trip was definitely walking back from the Monterey Bay Aquarium past sea lions cuddling on the shore.)
• -  Many of these conferences actually offer reduced rates or free admission to students and attendees who volunteer before or during the event.  In fact, I attended SB’10 as a volunteer and paid about 25% of the full fee. Even if there aren’t any reduced rates posted, turn on the charm and contact the conference organizer to offer your time or services in exchange for lower rate.
• -  Another option is to score a press pass, which can usually get you free access not only past the conference gatekeepers, but also to many of the speakers.  With a badge saying “PRESS” swinging around your neck and a notebook in hand, conference attendees will be excited to tell you their stories.   Conference organizers generally prefer to give out these coveted press passes to members of the established media who write on a regular basis, so if you’re not part of the media yet, start writing now!  Or get in touch with David to write for SocialYell!

Sadly, SB’10 has come and gone, and it won’t be until June 2011 that another life-changing conference will convene in Monterey.  In the meantime, here are some other events to consider (sea lions not included):

Urban Green Expo, New York, NY, September 29-30: According to the conference web site, “Urban Green Expo connects the sustainable building industry with a wide variety of vetted green products and services.” And William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle is the keynote speaker!

West Coast Green, San Francisco, CA, September 30-October 2: According to the conference web site, “The West Coast Green experience is a feast of innovations, ideas and opportunities designed to expand your business, widen your vision, and stimulate your thinking with the latest best practices and key players in building, business and design.”  And William McDonough is here, too! Also, check out their low student and volunteer rates!

LCA Sustainable Product Design, Miami, FL, October 26-27: LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment, and it will be a gathering of many heads of design and CSR across.  If you’re curious about design and happen to live in the greater Miami area, please attend for me!

Sustainable Agriculture Conference, Winston-Salem, NC, December 3-5: “The SAC theme this year is, “Local & Organic Arrives: Our Opportunity is Now.” ” Be sure to check out the other events run by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association!

Green Build International Conference and Expo, Chicago, IL, November 17-19: Even if you can’t make the whole event, try to go one day early to the Green Jobs Summit.

Green Drinks, international, monthly: For something more casual, look for a Green Drinks group in your city!

Sustainable Business Networks, national: Many cities now have Sustainable Business Networks with events worth checking out and people eager to help you.  Philadelphia and New York both have sizable networks.

Michael Pollan Speaks at UBC Farm (June 6, 2009)

A guest post by Dave Mcdonald.

Dave is a Certified Management Accountant based in Vancouver, Canada.  Since 2007, he has taken a personal and professional interest in sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through strategy and responsible purchasing.  He believes that sound personal and professional purchasing strategies, integrated with our values and our missions, are the foundation for protecting the environment and our health while increasing community engagement.

On June 6th, I had the good fortune of attending a talk at UBC Farm by Michael Pollan – author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defence of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. It was a beautiful day out at the farm – the sun could have come out and burned us, but stayed nicely behind the clouds. I’ve yet to read either of Pollan’s books, but his talk resonated with me in several ways I’d like to share.

Food is a complex issue – on all of industrial, societal, and even psychological levels. Discussing food as a system, seemingly without variation, is painting some fairly broad strokes, but the key to this, if I read Pollan correctly, is through culture. Pollan began by stating his premise: That you can’t have a healthy population without a healthy diet and that you can’t have a healthy diet without a healthy food system. This makes sense on an intuitive level and even he admitted that the latter is a point that will take some convincing. Assuming Pollan is correct, there’s a chicken-and-egg paradox here: In order to have a healthy food system, producers need to be providing healthy, sustainable food options to consumers. But producers are not currently providing these options to consumers in any large number, so without these options, how does this all start on a meaningful scale? Because they act in the interest of sales and profits, it’s really not likely that producers will change their models for the sake of sustainability. In fact, I would speculate that most traditional food providers would not be able make these changes even if they wanted to because they are so deeply rooted in their strategies, supply chains and general processes that any change would be entirely profound and beyond the capacity of most. The onus is unfortunately pushed onto the “eater” to be diligent. This is where I have the most concern – we’re asking the masses to act independently and there’s no obvious compelling case to convey that there is a tipping point for most; that is, a reason that appeals to people’s pocketbooks and sense of value, to ensure they act responsibly. Appealing to intellect, values, and the general sense of what one ‘should’ do, versus corporate decision making on the scale of a half trillion dollar industry is a gargantuan task. Looking at a larger system, roughly sketched out below, there’s a significant vested interest in parties representing economic sustainability and growth to keep things as they are.

There is so much money being made at all these different layers, that no one has an incentive to change beyond the leap of faith related to what is generally good. Pollan notes that $283 billion in revenue is generated in the US thanks to food-related health care. I am someone who depends heavily on the British Columbia health care industry for my own sustenance and the thought of losing that scares me. Where’s my ROI for the right choice? I’m not certain that the people on the planet today are facing the most hardships seen on the planet in history, but I am sure there’s a case to be made for that. We certainly have one of the most difficult choices in the history of the planet – to take action against the corporate earnings per share mentality from 20 years ago and force change in supply chains we don’t even fully understand. It’s an interesting leap of faith, indeed.

Who wins when CSR is superficial?

by Imran Aijazuddin

 

We see corporate social responsibility (CSR) everywhere.  Prominent organizations ranging from General Electric to the National Basketball Association advertise missions that claim to better society and/or the environment.  Companies worldwide feel the need to turn toward sustainability.  After all, the public expects a high degree of social responsibility from the nation’s largest businesses.  Why?  Simply because we think these businesses have the power and influence to make a difference in the world and to serve as role models for other organizations and everyday citizens.

We are not stupid; we realize that the world is in bad shape, from a societal perspective and an environmental one.  And as public concern increases, so does demand for socially responsible organizations.  However, both citizens and businesses forget the importance of effective CSR.  Businesses address any generic social issue just to please us.  The result is painful to watch.  Most businesses exaggerate their accomplishments to garner favorable public opinion.  They succeed in winning support from most citizens who do not have enough counter-evidence to reject their claims.  Consequently, CSR initiatives are often just costly advertisements that produce little, if any, actual results.  Unfortunately for companies, they usually lose money from their CSR advertising expenses and harm their bottom lines.

Businesses today dread CSR.  Unrealistic expectations from the public are a major reason why.  We encourage our businesses to fight generic world issues far beyond their control.  Consider the hypothetical car company Automaker X to illustrate.  Automaker X. is an American automobile manufacturer that wants to impress the public by addressing a social problem.  Market surveys show that citizens place the AIDS pandemic in Africa atop our list of problems.  Thus, Automaker X invests time, personnel, and funds into sponsoring health education and medical relief for impoverished African countries.  It then uses exaggerated local advertisements to tell us about its successes in fighting AIDS, attracting a larger audience.  The trouble with this is that Automaker X can do very little to provide AIDS relief.  Its competence lies in producing quality vehicles, not in providing medical relief or healthy lifestyle education.  Organizations such as Beaumont Hospital and the AIDS Relief Fund for China have the resources and knowledge to actually make a difference in African countries.  Automaker X, on the other hand, does not.  As a result, it has wasted its money trying to address an issue that it understands little about.  The auto company can do very little to benefit Africans besides writing a check – which will only harm its profits.

Effective CSR is different.  Businesses can use CSR to benefit themselves and society simultaneously – the opposite of what Automaker X did in the previous example.  Now suppose that the company addresses a specific issue that it has some control over: poor fuel economy.  The automaker invests in research and development for a hybrid vehicle that offers great gas mileage and reduces harmful carbon emissions.  Within three years, Automaker X releases a new model that averages over 40 miles per gallon and is available for less than $20,000.  As expected, the new model is an instant hit.  Sales skyrocket and the new vehicle quickly replaces old cars with low gas mileage and notoriously high carbon emissions.  Americans slowly grow independent of gasoline and fewer toxic chemicals harm the ozone layer.  Automaker X, meanwhile, enjoys the financial rewards and gains a larger share of the market as competitors scramble to manufacture their own vehicles.

In the previous example, both our society and the company benefit from the specific CSR initiative, a win-win scenario.  If businesses realize that they can profit from CSR, they will approach it without hesitation.  And we need them to approach CSR in a proactive manner, not a reactive one.   But businesses can only profit if they pursue social issues that they understand.  For a CSR campaign to be effective:

1. the campaign should address a specific issue within the company’s control as opposed to a generic issue, and
2. the company should approach the campaign willingly and take a proactive stance as opposed to a reactive one.

Bear in mind that businesses ultimately benefit society by making money.  Successful businesses create millions of jobs that help lift citizens out of poverty, while educating them in marketable trades and providing them with self-gratification.  Americans have seen what a slow economy and rising unemployment can do to a nation and understand the importance of a powerful economy to society.  So we shouldn’t expect organizations to incur losses just to undertake a social mission.  Instead, we should expect them to channel their strengths in a particular area to benefit society and themselves simultaneously.  After all, what can be better than a victory on both sides?