Learned On | gender, consumer behavior and sustainability

Learned On...

Green Expectations: When A Label is Redundant

As most of you know, I came to sustainability by way of marketing to women.  And, it never ceases to amaze me just how much my women’s market knowledge can be directly applied to the “green” realm.  Take the “green … Read on >

Why Ask Why? It’s a Good Sustainability Starting Point

Social media expert Mitch Joel recently spoke to a business lunch audience here in Burlington, and one big point he made may have burst a little bubble for many a company considering a jump onto Facebook or Twitter because … Read on >

Sustainability Is More Compelling for Men With Kids

I’m pretty sure Johnson & Johnson did not intend for their ad campaign to explain why people start to engage with sustainability, but I’m certainly using their tagline that way. “Having a Baby Changes Everything,” was by no … Read on >

Business Wisdom: Conflict-Free Gender Balance

“I think we exaggerate the degree to which the sexes are mired in conflict.” – Nicholas D. Kristof

Americans, with help from “the media,” tend to exaggerate problems due to a) tradition – such thinking is embedded in our DNA,  and/or; b) sexy “sound byte-itis” – such thinking makes … Read on >

Women and Science Careers: The Sustainability Attraction

The reasons vary for why girls and young women might steer away from science and technology careers, but I submit that now is the time to finally identify and resolve the matter!  Why now?  Sustainability is THE business and research … Read on >

The Female Systems Thinker Secret: Empathy

What’s the key to sustainability?  Systems thinking.  What’s the sustainability systems thinker’s secret? Empathy.  Who might be particularly good at contributing, and teaching, that way of thinking? Women.

My latest HuffingtonPost piece reflects the coalescing of my consulting and master’s program work toward a new research focus.  How can we … Read on >

On Collaboration, Partnerships and Sustainability

I spotted a New York Times article today* that speaks to the “women’s ways” or right-brain guided ways of thinking that sustainability seems to be ushering in for a lot of companies.  It is … Read on >

Sustainable Brands 2010 Re-cap, Part 3: Social Justice

Social justice is the topic of this third, and final, installment on my experience at the Sustainable Brands 2010 conference.  … Read on >

Sustainable Brands 2010 Re-cap, Part 2: Business Trends

To continue with my thoughts, as inspired by Sustainable Brands 2010:

There’s something about the sustainability topic that helps align a businessperson’s personal/human and work values.   This … Read on >

Robert Cialdini is My Hero: Sustainability “Social Proof”

When people see that their neighbors have more energy efficient households, it GETS them!  My absolute hero (and someone whose work I am closely studying for my master’s thesis), Robert Cialdini, is now leveraging his “social proof” compliance technique for sustainability purposes.  A New York Times article by Saqib … Read on >