Consciously choosing change can often be quite a courageous feat; it is not for the meek or the faint of heart. Today, one of the greatest callsto change heard around the globe is for sustainability. The transformations needed to move forward in this quest are on par with some of the greatest movements in history. The green movement, from an American perspective, has the potential to be as monumental as the founding of this country, the Industrial Revolution, or the Civil Rights movement. Each occasion changed the manner in which individuals interacted with one another and had effects that reverberated around the world. As people everywhere consciously choose to support the wave of green movements far and wide, the resulting crescendo of new ways to relate to each other, the land, and our monetary systems has the potential to create a healthy, sustainable planet.
The business sector is a key actor in consciously choosing change for sustainability. Joel Makower, well-known for his perspectives on business and the environment, highlighted some of the difficulties of the sustainability movement in his book, Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business. In connection with what Makower has written about sustainability, to consciously choose change, we must take on the challenges of seeing the world and ourselves as they are; we must take responsibility; and we must choose to act in ways that are win-win for all involved. What compels more and more people every day to stand strong in the face of these challenges and begin to cooperate for positive change?
The green movement is, in part, humanity’s conscious response to destruction of the only planet we call home. Through our somewhat sophisticated evolution of how we relate to one another and use nature’s resources, we have moved adventurously from a foraging, agrarian world culture to one that becomes more and more industrial every day, as described by American philosopher Ken Wilber in his book, A Brief History of Everything. The growing industrial framework continually brings a larger and larger percentage of the masses in touch with the business sector. Holistic principles aligned with the eco-conscious green movement can transform the field of business to a significant portion of the population, going from a devastating often energy draining system to one that thrives on individual and group levels and leads us toward global sustainability.
Individual businesses can choose to adopt holistic, sustainable practices in many ways, including utilizing a company’s impact on nature in its valuation and supporting employees in developing their own in-depth personal connection to the green movement. In a greener business model, when companies are valued among all that is taken into consideration including products and services and real estate, their environmental impact will also be added to the equation. I am positive that this is probably a scary proposition for many businesses, especially those that manufacture tangible products which create harmful byproducts in the process; however for the sake of the planet, all people, and global sustainability this action must be taken. Yes, under this model some companies will lose value. If they do, I would like to argue that this means currently they are over-valued. This speaks to the fact that under the current model their value is not reflective of the company as a whole. Greener models will theoretically work to value companies from a holistic approach.
As a high profile field that affects the lives of such a large portion of global citizens on a daily basis, the field of business is positioned to consciously lead us into a sustainable future. Adopting holistic green practices can transform the business sector from the destructive beast of burden that it often behaves as to a life sustaining entity that helps people and communities world-wide tap into the renewable resources of self, spirit, and soul that all employees have to offer. By valuing all that they are including their environmental impact, and supporting employees through workshops and seminars geared towards embodying the green movement companies can help to create a new day. By choosing these changes, perhaps we can consciously create a new sustainable economy that can withstand the natural ups and downs of existence via creative expression and valuing all that is!
Lorraine Lyman, MS, is the founder of Savvy Success Unlimited, (http://www.savvysuccessunlimited.com), and the author of several papers on global sustainability, consciousness, and community. A business and life coaching company, Savvy Success Unlimited, specializes in the organizational embodiment of the green movement’s values and practices as well as utilizing our inner strength to transform the world around us.
Lorraine excellent write-up I am amazed at your ability to articulate this subject matter so well. Please continue to inform me of your entries.
ReplyDeleteJay
It is a tough challenge for businesses and orginizations to go green as a system and also as individuals within that system. Perhaps some push and some persuasion from the government, in the form of both laws and incentives, would get the green movement started. I think that if businesses were motivated in this way, and inturn, green values reflected all the way down, the old model would be non working, and the new, green one would spread like wild fire. History shows us that paradigms do not change slowly over time, but rather shift in leaps and bounds!!
ReplyDeleteMy Dearest Lorraine
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. I have watched you grow into a fine young woman. Thanks for looking out for planet earth by bringing awareness to the green practices. You will be blessed for you efforts. Keep on doing what you are doing; awareness is the start of change.
Love always
Mrs. Minor
I agree with the previous posting that the green movement is going to take institutional change to mandate a shift in the consciousness of our country. Much like the civil rights movement we can not wait for individuals to change. We need institutional change, sustainability as law, then the shift in individual consciousness will follow.
ReplyDeletelorraine, You are amazing!! I agree with you 200%. The green movement will be the salvation of our planet and we must work hard to make it a reality. As the saying goes, "charity begins at home and ends abroad" (unknown). The few of us who are concious of the ultimate destruction of the only home we know (Mother Earth) must strive to create sustanibility now! so that it can become a global conciousness, thus saving our planet.
ReplyDeletelots of love to you.
Hi Lorraine, thanks for writing this passionate "manifesto."
ReplyDeleteThe question I suspect that many people are asking is - which change to consciously choose?
Cheers,
Patrick
thanks Lorraine for sharing - it was a pleasure to read and I'm happy to see what you're latest venture is! Have you gotten into John Mackey (of Whole Foods)'s Conscious Capitalism? The company I work for, Stagen, is aligned with CC.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work and best of luck!
Thank you, Jay, Mrs. Minor, and Anonymous (lots of love to you) for your positive support with regard to two of my goals of raising awareness and articulating important views that will help create sustainable change on the planet. I think that everyone here is helping to create the change that we wish to see.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your contributions Rachel and Anonymous_Tough Challenge. Do you think that the government has started to make some of those changes? Some of Obama's aims of rebuilding America and the economy are included in his green stimulus. Then, there are some local governments that are supporting individual and community changes towards a shift in energy use for projects that include adding solar panels to homes and weatherization? What do you think the government is doing now to support a paradigm shift? What more do they need to do?
ReplyDeleteHi Patrick,
ReplyDeleteBased on this posting and people's responses thus far, what changes do you think individuals and groups ought to consider consciously choosing. What change or changes with respect to the green movement are you considering?
Thank you,
Lorraine
Your welcome and thank you, Nathanael, for adding your blog comment to the mix. It is greatly appreciated. I know that I needed a reminder about Conscious Capitalism. I will be sure to check it out. It is great to hear that Stagen's coaching work is in line with those principles.
ReplyDeleteI think the most important part of the green movement is outreach concerning natural processes and resources that support human life. For example, we now know very little about our water sources, watersheds, animal raising processes, and sources of produce--knowledge that has been fundamental to human life for all of human history until now. Unfortunately for us, we are now separated from much of this knowledge because the most important knowledge we now perceive is the flow of money through the economy. While I think that we absolutely need some government impetus guiding the practice of green management, as some of the posters here have pointed out, the green movement's influence on business will be limited until we reaffirm the indispensable nature of ecological knowledge for all members of a society.
ReplyDeleterW82, I do agree that overall we must improve our awareness and understanding of ecology in order to make the deep connections necessary to shift the current mainstream business bottom line paradigm away from being solely focused on money to now and in the future include people and the environment. Thank you for bringing this point forward!
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