Learned On...

Empathy Needs A Better Rep In Sustainability

Does empathy have a “touchy/feely” rep, or is it just me?  What I mean is, do we as a culture – and by default – assign empathy a “feminine” or “soft skill” essence?  Our need to nurture sustainability leadership, right now, makes this a very important question.

Before I go further, … Read on >

The Social Ties That Bind Us to Sustainability

While in Vermont last week for the final residency of my  Goddard College Master’s Program, I noticed something.  Whether it was in workshops or site visits, the “social” element of sustainability and corporate responsibility was what made those involved … Read on >

Green to the Roots

The story in the New York Times today about how smaller, independent green cleaning product brands (like Method and Seventh Generation) are doing better than “green” lines of larger brands (like Clorox Green Works) presents … Read on >

Marketing Sustainability: Invest in the Journey

Anyone who delves into a sustainable business management book or two will quickly note references to “long-term,” “investment” and “journey” throughout.  (See Paul Hawken and Ray C. Anderson, for good examples).  By virtue of the fact that sustainability involves tending to many interconnected systems of thinking/being/doing, there’s no … Read on >

Is Sustainability Growing Up?

I’ve been noticing at least a tiny shift in the greater sustainability discussion lately.  There are beginning to be more examples of sustainability-mature companies, organizations and just general business thinking. This is very positive!  Still, because this movement seems to move at glacial speed, it may be worth acknowledging these … Read on >

Certainty and the Sustainability Perspective Shift

I’m reading Being Wrong, a fascinating book by Kathryn Schultz, and came across something that seems worth sharing here. She writes that “one of the most defining and dangerous characteristics of certainty” is that “it is toxic to a shift in perspective.”

This seems like a great reminder that some … Read on >

The Counterintelligence of Sustainability

One of the things that so intrigues me about sustainability is the way it forces a hard look in the opposite direction for just about every business topic.  For instance, you’d think “green marketing” would demand an overt or visible approach, but green or sustainable marketing seems to be most … Read on >

Transparently Reaching Sustainability-Minded Consumers

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Be Transparently Green for Sustainability's Sake"][/caption]

It is not often that I come across such a straightforward example of an organization’s marketing to women thought process.  And, when that case study can be used to provide insight for  better reaching sustainability-minded consumers, … Read on >

The People Part of Leadership

As part of my master’s thesis on the qualities and traits of sustainability leaders, I, of course, have been studying up.  One thing I’m paying attention to is whether sustainability leadership is really that different from exemplary, pre-sustainability awareness, leadership – and, if so, how.  What strikes me so far … Read on >

Of Sustainability and Social Categorization

A fantastic article by Tom Vanderbilt in the March issue of Outside got me thinking. Vanderbilt tells the story of an “extreme” bike commuter, and along the way raises the topic of the psychology behind how and why cyclists and drivers have became so polarized. If you are like … Read on >