Natural Logic: Strategic Advisors to the Sustainable Economy

October 2011

Greetings! 

Sustainability conference season is upon us! Wall to wall, it seems, from mid-September through Thanksgiving. Will we see you there? (Where? See the sidebar.)

In this issue I'll share some of the ideas I discussed at some recent events, and and invitation: We have two new openings in our strategic coaching services as some prior clients complete their work and move on. See the sidebar to the right for details.
The business opportunity of a world that works - New video at natlogic.com

 

I'd like you to be among the first to see our latest video, The path of natural logic: Claiming the business opportunity of a world that works.   

 

Produced for us by award-winning BBC director/cinematographer Caroline Harrison of The Hive Studios, this ultra high definition mini-feature offers Natural Logic CEO Gil Friend's latest thinking on why taking sustainability seriously, and taking it deep, is exactly what companies need to do, even -- especially -- in the midst of these challenging economic times. And it presents reflections from some of our clients and colleagues -- Levi Strauss VP Sustainability Michael Kobori, SunPower COO Marty Neese, Sustainability Consortium Executive Director Bonnie Nixon, and Christine Arena of The High Purpose Company -- on the experience and the impact of working with us.

 

It's the perfect thing to share with a CEO, CSO -- or CFO! -- who's wondering how to take the next step on the sustainability journey, or what that next step is. (It's also great for the person considering whom to book for the keynote at that upcoming conference.)

 

You'll find some of our other videos on our web site and on YouTube; check back, since we'll be posting more soon.

Sustainability Hall of Fame Induction

  

I was deeply honored last month when I was inducted into the inaugural member of the Sustainability Hall of Fame by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals -- both for the honor itself, and for the company I shared it with. Here's what I said (as best as I can remember) as I accepted the award from Marsha Willard:


All of us stand on the shoulders of others, so it's an exceptional honor for me to be recognized together with those on whose shoulders I've stood. The other inductees have been my teachers and my heroes, and I'm humbled and moved to share this award with them.   

 

I've known Amory Lovins for more than 30 years -- and learned from his physicist's way of thinking, his rigor, and his bold reinventing of how we think about energy.

Karl-Henrik Robert and I met only about 17 years ago, and I have been grateful each of those years for the unstoppable elegance of the Natural Step framework -- still the most dependable tool in my toolkit.

Bob Willard, maybe only ten years -- but speaking of toolkits, Bob has, probably more than anyone, been delivering the tools for making the sustainability business case.

And of course Ray Anderson, who we lost just a few weeks ago, who took all the things so many of us talk about and put them to work at the heart of a multi-billion dollar corporation -- with humility, grace and effectiveness. A prince.

There are many other sets of shoulders to mention, but I'll name just one. I began this work in 1972, when I spent a month at the World Game Workshop with Buckminster Fuller and his organization. In a month long design charrette for the planet, I learned -- I demonstrated for myself, in big picture, whole systems design, and in nitty gritty, down in the weeds analysis -- that there's no necessary barrier to human success on this planet, only our will. I signed on, back then, to contribute whatever I could to (in Bucky's words), "a world that works for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological defense, or the disadvantage of anyone." That's been my guide ever since.

 

And here we are today, working to transform the economy of an entire planet. This planet. In one generation. I'm honored to be in this work, and honored to be in it with you.

SXSWeco: Ecologizing The Economy

  

Reinvent economy of an entire planet. This planet. In one generation. To do this, we need The True Cost Economy: Ecologizing Capitalism.   

  

This was the theme of the panel I shared with Jean Brittingham and Randy Hayes at SXSWeco last week, and of the thoughts I share here. But actually that's not a big enough topic. We have to ecologize economics, not just capitalism, because the problem we face  -- disconnection of the human economy from the living systems that sustain it, and the consequences that result -- are endemic in all modern economic systems, and perhaps in the human condition as well. (Matthew Nordan of VenRock drew, the day before, on neuroscience research showing that we are creatures wired for "more" in a world that can no longer sustain endless more.)

But humans are creatures of culture, not only biology, and culture can change. One indispensable change -- which I've seen as central to the sustainability challenge ever since my World Game work in 1972 -- is "getting prices right". Eliminating the subsidies and externalities that seem an inescapable part of modern economic life, and that distort market and minds. Absent getting the prices right, we sustainability warriors are doomed, like Sisyphus, to forever push the boulder uphill, almost to the crest, only to have it roll back down again.

As that under-appreciated progressive Adam Smith observed, some 235 years ago... 

Read more here 

We help companies take sustainability seriously -- and take it deep. 

In This Issue:
New video profile
Sustainability Hall of Fame
Ecologizing the Economy
CFOs & Sustainability
Strategic Coaching
Upcoming Events
CFOs & Sustainability:
An Invitation

CFOs "own" risk and value, and  hold a pivotal role in the sustainable business challenge -- a role that is still largely unfulfilled at most companies. Despite the rapid uptake of sustainability as a potent, perhaps indispensable business strategy, CFOs seem to be absent from the table. (We've written about this here, here and here.) There are notable exceptions, but the fact that they are exceptions just proves the point.

 

That's why Natural Logic has been increasingly focusing our advisory services on working individually with CFOs, and hosting a series of programs focused on CFOs and Sustainability. These will include:
- a one day event this month at Wharton with Sustainble Brands (see coupon below)
- a half-day conference in Phoenix in January, with AHC Group (as part of its semi-annual corporate strategy workshop)
- and a
six-month, generative inquiry for 10 CFOs (invitation only). We'll meet a day and a half a month, at a luxury resort in northern California, to explore:

-The cutting edge of sustainable finance;

-The role of the CFO in the sustainability challenge

-What's missing: distinctions, frameworks, language, tools, training

-How both CFOs and investors are re-thinking the business case for sustainability;

-How to overcome the market-distorting impacts of subsidies and externalities; and

- The critical challenge of "getting the prices right."

If any of these events are for you (or for your CFO), please contact us today for details. 
Strategic Coaching

Natural Logic's strategic coaching service - confidential conversations directly with CEO Gil Friend  - helps sustainability executives and managers clarify and advance both your company's and your personal sustainability goals.

 

This opportunity might be for you. Or it might be for one of your colleagues. Or employees. Or your boss. It's for someone, someone you probably know, who is extraordinarily committed to making sustainability happen in their company, their community and their life - and the world. Someone who, despite their skills, experience and accomplishments, isn't satisfied with how well they're doing that.  

 

If you're ready for the next step in your business strategy or your own career (and for some deeply experienced tough love), follow this link and call me today.    

  

"Gil is a masterful coach. Flexible, adaptable, and skilled."

- Rodney McDonald, President, McDonald Sustainability Group 

Upcoming Events

  

GreenBiz Innovation Forum, Oct 11-14, San Francisco

 

Bioneers, Oct 15-17, San Rafael  

 

Sustainable Business Metrics, Wharton Oct 24 (see below)

 

Opportunity Green, LA, Nov 10  (watch for the launch of our new "print or pixel" tool, in cooperation with Domtar and HP)  

 

Cumbre Negocios Verdes, Mexico City, Nov 25  

 

And probably BSR and Green Festival too! 

 

Recent events have included: SOCAP; International Institute of Sustainability Professionals, Going Green, and SXSWeco. 

 

Natural Logic's In Conversation  series will resume... soon; watch our events page for details.

 

And contact us today, to arrange a keynote or other presentation for your upcoming events.

Gil Friend

Natural Logic

510-248-4940

Save 20%
Sustainable Business Metrics at Wharton: Oct 24, Philadelphia, PA.

Join Gil Friend, Paul Herman and Andrew Winston as we explore the future of sustainable business metrics and measurement. This one day Issues in Focus event, produced by Sustainable Brands in partnership with The Wharton School, looks at the retooling of key business metrics to optimize business for sustainable success in the 21st Century. Industry leaders from companies like Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Dannon, Deloitte and more will collaborate on issues such as valuing eco-system services, moving environmental impact onto the balance sheet, and putting goals in context.
Learn more or register at  www.sbiif.com;
use the code NLOGICSBM to claim your discount.