From Paul Hawken’s Commencement Address at Portland State 2010

“…If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand data.

…But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and create a new business model, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.”

Sustainable Capitalism: The Triple Bottom Line

Lisa Swallow, CPA CMA MSPresented to Women’s Empowerment

Project April 2012

What is Sustainability?

“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”

--1987 UN Brundlandt Report

Sustainability: The possibility that we all flourish forever.

-- John Ehrenfeld, International Society for Industrial Ecology

Is the Environmental Imperative Nudging Business Towards Sustainability?

All major ecosystems in the world are threatened

Toxic build-up and dispersion Water tables dangerously low Dramatic decline in fisheries & coral reefs Forest depletion Loss of biodiversity Climate change

“Natural Capital”We’re spending the corpus, should be living off of interest!

Life Supporting Resourcesdeclining

Consumption of Life Supporting Resources

rising

What will our transportation systems look like ?How will we globally continue to feed a burgeoning population ?How will health care be administered? What sorts of materials will we use to produce consumer goods ?What role will technology play? How soon will all our buildings be net zero energy ?What will power our world?What will the biodiversity loss really look like?Will there be enough desalinated water for the world?

Shepard GlacierGlacier National Park, MT

USGS Repeat Photography Projecthttp://nrmsc.usgs.gov/repeatphoto/

Blase Reardon photoUSGS2005W. C. Alden photo

USGS Photographic Library1913

Problem with Extreme Business View: Tragedy of Commons

Dilemma – when multiple parties, acting independently and with own self-interest at heart, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen

Garrett Hardin 1968

What’s Different aboutNatural Capitalism

What happens to a trust if you live off the interest?What happens if you spend down the corpus?

Natural capitalism recognizes and assigns fair market valueto ecosystem services – valued at $2 trillion per year and no substitutesAnd focuses on product design using biomimicry,

providing services (not product ownership) and increasing efficiency

Triple Bottom LinePROFIT

PLANET PEOPLE

Businesses increasingly acknowledging new strategy –

moving from short term thinking to long term vision

Business Case for Sustainability Enhance revenue - Brand imaging/marketing Cutting operating costs

Waste Water Energy Renovate rather than build

Increasing interest in investment world in socially responsible firms SRI - $3 trillion (see Dow Jones Sustainability Index)

Enhanced EE recruiting/retention Risk mitigation/reduction of exposure Reduced costs of capital

Eco-efficiencies

Why is TBL Good for Business? Innovation opportunities for the impending green economy are

limitless Smart grids Distributed energyHydrogen infrastructureWater desalinization and purification New consumer goods Renewable energyEnergy efficiencyGreen building productsNew financial services and marketsAlternative transportation modelsNew manufacturing processes

Consumers are rewarding green businesses Saturation in many traditional markets Fastest growing markets are green

“Green Shoppers 2009”

Report conducted by Deloitte & Touche

3 Driving Trends Behind Thriving Market for Green Goods/ServicesNumber One: Rise of the “conscious

consumer”19%

15%

25%

24%

17%

LOHASNaturalitesDriftersConventionalsUnconcerned

Source: Natural Marketing Institute “NMI’s 23009 Consumer Segmentation Model”

True BluesSproutsGrousersBasic Browns

What else?Number Two: Availability of information/transparencyVery easy to access info on companies’ behavior and

product attributes based on interest – what are “green products”? Made and/or sold locally Recycled and/or recyclable Indigenous/artesian crafted Fair trade Toxin free Organic Sweatshop free Produced with green energy

Study after study showing increasing blending of values and purchasing

And if That’s Not Compelling Enough

”The Consumer Society” is transforming towards the “Simple Society”

Byproducts of materialist society weighs on us Explosion of debt Migration of jobs overseas Staggering amount of waste created by disposable

lifestyle

All this leads towards more responsible and value driven purchasing.

Consumer interested in authenticity & responsible supply chain practices

3 Recent Reports that Energize the Paradigm Shift

GreenBiz Fourth Annual MIT Sloan Management Review & and

Boston Consulting Group -2011 research report

Greening of Corporate America

2009 Greening Corporate America

Specifics of Green Business

Change product development Look at fastest growing markets Practice corporate social responsibility Craft new partners Establish benchmarks and measure

progress

Product Design with Purpose

Design that

complies with TNS

Green Materials

Sustainable Design

Framework that require mindful design:

• Biomimicry• Cradle to Cradle • Design for the Environment

Biomimicry From Bios (life) + Memesis (to imitate) – Janine

Benyus Product design framework – emulating 3.8

billion years of evolution - species don’t use up their host organism What’s flourishing on the planet today are the

best ideas - those that perform well in context, while economizing on energy and materials

Using Nature’s Best Ideas

Fastest Growing Markets

Organics/local vs. corporate food Green building

2005 - green building accounted for 2% of construction

2008 - 15-20% of new construction Amount equivalent to $50b market

Naturopathy/alternative medicines Early adopters (solar) going mainstream Natural fibers (bamboo, hemp, jute, etc) Sustainable home furnishings Recycled-content paper products

Vast OpportunitiesStu Hart – “Capitalism at the Crossroads”

BoP 1.0 - Large corporations will experience growth solving the world’s problems for the poorest 4 billion people

Saturation in existing markets “Trickle-up opportunity”

Smaller packages, different distribution model Sell service (pest control/house cleaning) Nairobi – buy ‘by the squirt’

“Next Generation BoP Strategies” BoP 2.0 Partner with local entrepreneurs to build

capacity S G Johnson – service and flow model

Enhancing Social Justice in Business

Business concerns: Employee health (down supply chain),

retention/productivity, consumer health, community prosperity

Purchasing policies (Fair Trade, Sweatshop-Free) Many office greening maneuvers (daylighting,

toxin free, etc.) will enhance employees’ worklife)

Address commuting issues Green HR policies

Partnerships Add to Capacity

Many MNCs looking to team up with ecological experts Coca-Cola employing ecologists

to help analyze future projects’ biodiversity impacts

Dow Chemical partnered with TNC to add ecosystem costs/benefits to business model

City of Sao Paulo collaborating with WWF to run drinking water project – analyzing effect of logging, ranching, ag on water quality/wildlife

Andrew Liveris, CEO "This collaboration is designed to help us

innovate new approaches to critical world challenges while

demonstrating that environmental

conservation is not just good for nature - it is good for business”

Establish Benchmarks & Measure Progress

“What gets measured, gets managed”More detail when looking at GRI tomorrowNew metrics emerging – be transparent!

CO2 e per … revenue dollar or employee or per sq. ft. of facility space

% of recycled materials Solid waste measurements Fair trade-certified product % Embodied energy (LCA) Embodied water Social footprint Sustainability Balanced Scorecard

The sustainability crisis cannot be solved by the same kind of education that helped create it.

--David Orr