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Greetings!
It's been a very busy few weeks in the sustainability world. Conferencis in Extremis! In the last few weeks, in the San Francisco region alone: CERES, Sustainable Brands, Industrial Ecology, and more. (Some mini-reports below.) If conference density were a reliable progress metric, we'd be doing great. As it is, it's a decidedly mixed bag. Business engagement in sustainability is increasing both in quantity and - as I've noted repeatedly - in depth of concern and seriousness. Each month our clients come to us with concerns that are deeper, more challenging and holding greater promise - for both business and societal benefit. Each month, the list of examples grows. At the same time, too many companies remain stuck in the "we can't afford it" rut, believing -- falsely -- that they need to choose between making money and making sense. And the external signs are not good: global carbon emissions rose in the recession, rather than falling as expected; water and food dislocations loom; the US is as far from a sensible energy policy as it's ever been, and.... At times like these, it's good to take a moment to reflect, to bring fresh eyes, not habit to the question of what's needed, what's effective, what's possible -- and what could be possible, if only we were bold enough. The Natural Logic team is thinking about that a lot lately, thinking about reach, scale and impact, re-imaging how we can best contribute to the companies and pubilc agencies that engage us, and our ultimate client, the life support systems and people of this planet. You'll here more from us about these new offers in coming months. (In the meantime, we welcome your suggestions.) |
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CFOs and Sustainability: Risk, Opportunity & Fiduciary Duty
CFOs have a pivotal role in understanding and managing forward risk. But the landscape of risk is changing rapidly, and many material-or soon to be material-concerns are invisible to the standard financial toolkit until it's too late to act effectively with maximum strategic and financial benefit.
Case in point:
Ten years ago, carbon emissions and climate change were fringe concerns. Today more than 3,000 organizations in 60 countries measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, water management and climate change strategies through the Carbon Disclosure Project, which "act[s] on behalf of 551 institutional investors, holding $71 trillion in assets under management and some 60 purchasing organizations such as Dell, PepsiCo and Walmart." Water is increasingly called "the next carbon," and a host of other storms are stacked up offshore, awaiting landfall. How companies address, or fail to address, these concerns, may increasingly be seen as a matter of fiduciary duty.
Two invitations:
Natural Logic is convening a small working group of CFOs to explore the business challenges and opportunities offered by these circumstances; the range, quality and effectiveness of financial solutions being undertaken; and the gaps -- in strategy, practices, and tools -- that must be bridged. Some of the matters to be addressed include: getting the prices right, and the impact of subsidies and market distortions; contingent liabilities with regard to emerging issues; policies, practices and financial tools needed.
1. Please take a few minutes to complete a brief survey about CFOs, ROI and sustainability.
2. If you would like to consider participation in this group -- or if you would prefer private consultation on how these matters might impact your firm -- please contact Gil Friend on 510-435-6346/c (or gfriend@natlogic.com).
(You can also forward this email and survey to your CFO, using the "Forward email" link at the bottom of this newsletter.)
PS: The audio for our third In Conversation dialog, featuring R Paul Herman, CEO of HIPinvestor.com, surprise guest Vince Siciliano, CEO of New Resource Bank, and Natural Logic CEO Gil Friend, is now available. (Also available, In Conversation 1 with Bryan Franklin, and, any day now, In Conversation 2 with Bob Dunham.)
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Sustainable Brands
I'm just back from Sustainable Brands 2011 -- a jam-packed, four-day, delightful three-ring circus of inspiration, innovation, leadership, PR and, yes, some greenwash, and a sense of both momentum and inadequacy. I co-led a workshop on the ROI of Sustainability initiatives (with Robert Boller of Kendall-Jackson Wineries); shared the stage in conversation with Chip Conley and Jeffrey Hollender; and launched Sustainability in Practice (the eLearning suite based on The Truth About Green Business), and now available for demo and licensing).
Some of the many highlights for me: Marc Gobé's bold "Are Brands Bad?" kickoff; Kate Brass of GE sharing her in-the-trenches view of the unfolding of Ecomagination; Jeffrey Hollender's call to action for expanding focus beyond brands and marketing to grappling with the serious issues facing this country, and Ron Shaich's moving and inspiring story of what happens when a courageous businessman takes on the challenge of feeding hungry people with dignity.
I'll have more reflections in coming weeks, both here in News From Natural Logic and in my blog. (You can also review the blow-by-blow coverage in my tweet stream and by following #sb11.)
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Cradle To Cradle
I joined Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart (and 150 of their closest friends) last week to honor their work and the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute.
This was their first time together in the US in six years, when they led a C2C training at SRI.
The conversation was challenging, tender, reflective, inspiring, meandering through the meme of "more good, not less bad" than has been consistent in their work. (Michael even gave a scholarly, C2C perspective on bowties, and the relation of mens' and womens' fashion to building design.)
Bill summed it up beautifully:
"Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world, with clean air, water, soil and power - economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed. Period! (Which part of this don't you like?)"
I tweeted a bunch, as do at conferences and events these days (idle hands being the devil's playground); the last one summed up the evening for me (some of you old Bucky hands will recognize the reference): Bill McDonough & Michael Bruangart. Design. Science. Poetry.
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Natural Logic helps courageous companies
design, implement and
measure profitable sustainability strategies.
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LIMITED TIME OFFER
There are just a few more spaces left in our strategic sustainability executive coaching program.
Please see the coupon at the end of this email, and contact me today if you're interested.
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Survey: CFOs & Sustainability
Natural Logic has been thinking hard about the pivotal role of CFOs and sustainability.
If your primary affiliation is business, you can help us by talking a few minutes to complete a brief survey.
(This one is just for people working in business. NGOs, academics, government, and just interested are welcome to look, but please don't respond.)
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At Your Service
Natural Logic engages with clients in three ways:
Coaching: You do the work; we help you do it much more effectively.
Consulting: We serve as your trusted advisors and outsourced sustainability experts, delivering strategy & plans, analysis & tools, programs & results.
Collaboration: We partner with you, on a gainsharing basis, to produce results neither of us could produce alone.
Ask us how we can:
Assess and refine - or create! - your Sustainability Roadmap
Provide frank, "Rapid Diagnoses" of your performance gaps and opportunities
Develop strategies, plans
and budgets that will catapult your sustainability initiatives to a new level
Read about our Full Cycle Sustainability™ approach, and contact us today to determine which of these programs is right for you.
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Fastest Start
Strategic Sustainability Coaching can help you -- or a colleague, boss employee, supplier or customer -- excel. Visit here for details, or contact Gil directly at 1-510-248-4943.
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Resources for You
Sustainability In Practice, the eLearning version of The Truth About Green Business, brings interactive, on-demand sustainability learning right to your employees' desks. Click to arrange a preview.
You can find the audios of our In Conversation dialog series here (or will be able to in the next few days, if the links aren't working today)
Videos of recent speeches: Sustainability in 7 (Designers Accord), Commonwealth Club, Clean Tech Open -- and our video pages at YouTube, FaceBook and Natural Logic. (Major facelift coming soon!)
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Upcoming Events
- Evolving Business: Redesigning Capitalism for the 21st Century, CCA, SF, June 15, with Rory Bakke, GreenBiz.com; Stuart Candy, Arup, John Elkington, Volans; Gil Friend. Natural Logic Inc; Kirsten Ritchie, Gensler
- ISSP Annual Conference (and Pinnacle Award), Sept 22-23, Portland OR
- Green Business Innovation Forum, Oct 11-13, San Francisco
- And others TBA
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Peer Pressure: An Invitation to Five People for Personal Coaching
As you may know, 500+ of our peers named me a finalist for the Pinnacle Award of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP), for contributions to the field of sustainability. The other nominees are Ray Anderson, Amory Lovins, Karl-Henrik Robert and Bob Willard, so as you can imagine I am deeply honored to be in the company of my heros.
I'd like to deepen the meaning and impact of this award by giving back. Would you help me? I'm looking for five people to take on as personal coaching clients, so I can bring my experience to them -- to help them take their sustainability work, their effectiveness and their impact to the next level.
Is this something that could benefit you, or someone you work with? If so, please call or email me today so we can discuss whether you're an appropriate candidate for this program. I'll ask you about your goals, concerns, commitments and challenges; I'll describe how the program works; and I'll make clear my commitments to you. (In a nutshell: to be more committed to your commitments than you are!)
| | Please call today, since I'm limiting this program to five people. |
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