“In order to move the needle for humanity we need to do things together”
Sustainability Strategist Lewis Perkins discusses his most important post-recession trend: Partnerships for sustainability.
LewisPerkins
Semantics of Sustainability
Category “Uncategorized”
My Favorite Books
On Friday, March 26, Laura Seydel and I will be speaking at the Georgia PRSA Chapter on the role of corporations in advancing environmental missions via communication & messaging. Below is a list of favorite books Laura and I will discuss at the end of the talk. There are SO MANY books to include – but here are a top list for those who want to improve their Spring reading list and educate themselves. These are in no particular order.
1. Organic Manifesto – Maria Rodale, CEO and Chairman of Rodale Inc., sheds new light on the state of 21st-century farming.
2. The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick – And What We Can Do About It – Robyn O’Brien – the story of how one brave woman chose to take on the system and a call to action that shows how each of us can do our part and keep our own families safe.
3. Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home ~ Christopher Gavigan – the essential guide for parents! All parents want a happy and healthy child in a safe home, but where do they start? It starts with the small steps to creating a healthier, less toxic, and more environmentally sound home – and this is the definitive book to get you there.
4. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America ~ Thomas L. Friedman - Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America’s surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests.
5. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization ~ Lester R. Brown - explores both the nature of this transition to a new energy economy and how it will affect our daily lives.
6. Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the Worlds Problems ~ Michael Strong, John Mackey – In BE THE SOLUTION, Michael Strong (with an assist from John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market) makes a case for common-sense, do-it-yourself, entrepreneurial capitalism in a way you’ve never seen before. His discussion of free enterprise as a way of doing good in the world is as far removed from today’s headlines, featuring greed-is-good corporate capitalism, as the America of today is from the ideals laid down by our founding fathers.
7. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto ~ Michael Pollan -Pollan provides another shocking yet essential treatise on the industrialized Western diet and its detrimental effects on our bodies and culture. Here he lays siege to the food industry and scientists’ attempts to reduce food and the cultural practices of eating into bite-size concepts known as nutrients, and contemplates the follies of doing so.
8. Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered (Hardcover)
~ Woody Tasch – Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money presents the path for bringing money back down to earth—philosophically, strategically and pragmatically, and with an entrepreneurial spirit that is informed by decades of work by the thousands of CEOs, investors, grant-makers, food producers and consumers who are seeding the restorative economy.
9. Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit – Daniel Quinn – Winner of the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, a literary competition intended to foster works of fiction that present positive solutions to global problems. Ishmael, a gorilla rescued from a traveling show who has learned to reason and communicate, uses these skills to educate himself in human history and culture. Through a series of philosophical conversations with the unnamed narrator, a disillusioned Sixties idealist, Ishmael lays out a theory of what has gone wrong with human civilization and how to correct it, a theory based on the tenet that humanity belongs to the planet rather than vice versa.
10. Our friends, The Frogs – Laura Elizabeth Seydel – In this colorful book, Laura Elizabeth Seydel introduces her readers to an array of interesting frogs in her quest to educate and save her slimy friends from extinction. Full of beautiful photography, expert knowledge, and optimism for the future of frogs, this is the perfect book for kids wanting to make a positive impact on the planet! All proceeds will be donated to Amphibian Ark (www.amphibianark.org), a global conservation community that is working endlessly to save our frog population.
PODCAST with Lewis Perkins & Paula Collins on GREEN TECH
PODCAST ON GREEN TECH: PODCAST on Green Tech with Paula Collins
For more information on Our Green Value or to contact Paula Collins, click here.
PODCAST with Lewis Perkins & Paula Collins on CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM
PODCAST ON CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM: Sustainability Is One Tenet of Conscious Capitalism
For more information on Our Green Value or to contact Paula Collins, click here.
My Favorite Green Websites
Many have asked me to share where I like to get my information. While I subscribe to many RSS feeds and podcasts, much of my information comes from trusted friends, such as my co-author, Laura Seydel in our upcoming Green Heroes Book and Multi-media project (Stay tuned for more information on this exciting project).
But when I am not tapping into the brilliance of my fellow eco-warriors, I enjoy checking for the latest “green” news and info on the following sites:
Treehugger.com – Partial to a modern aesthetic, it shares sustainable design, green news and solutions.
HuffPostGreen – Green News and Opinion on The Huffington Post.
MNN.com – MNN is the leading resource for daily environmental news, green commentary and simple steps to save money, stay healthy, and support the environment.
ecofabulous.com – The authority on stylish, sustainable living – your inside source for all things both eco and fabulous!
EWG.org – EWG is a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, DC and a leading content provider for public interest groups and concerned with public health and the environment.
gengreenlife.com – Find everything you need to live a sustainable life: Local green business directory offering products and services; Events and classes where like-minded people.
grist.org – Environmental news and green living tips from Grist, the most recognizable voice in environmental journalism.
Healthy Child Healthy World – Igniting a movement that inspires parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.
Check out the sites and let me know what you find. It is sure to be good information whatever it is.
Lewis Perkins & Laura Seydel speak – Communicating in a New Sustainable World – PRSA Luncheon March 26
Join PRSA|GA and renowned environmentalist, Laura Turner Seydel, for an inside look at the evolving environmental movement and the role of communicators in today’s “new sustainable world,” where corporations and non-profits not only co-exist, but collaborate.
Traveling the world for the last 20 years to learn about and communicate the importance of sustainability, Seydel has long believed that a truly sustainable future would only be possible through a collective effort of corporations and community advocacy groups.
Today, she says that collective sustainability effort is not only a reality but also an important marketing tool for both corporations and non-profits.
Focusing on the importance of effective communications in this growing collaboration between business and non-profits, Seydel shares real-life anecdotes from her work as a leader with three Atlanta environmental community organizations – Captain Planet Foundation, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Mothers and Others for Clean Air, as well as her national efforts
Kicking it up a notch, she’ll be joined by leading sustainability strategist, Lewis Perkins, for a lively discussion of:
why corporations are collaborating with non-profits in their sustainability initiatives;
why environmental stewardship has moved to the forefront of many corporations’ marketing strategies, and even become part of overall brand identity, in some cases.
how communications creates an educated public , which influences decisions of corporations on sustainability issues.
their upcoming book, Green Heroes
Perkins and Seydel will discuss the concept of partnership for larger social impact using examples from the work they have both done with Captain Planet Foundation, Global Green USA, US Green Building Council, Upper Chattahocchee Nature Center, and more.
Speaker(s)/Panelists:
Laura Turner Seydel is Chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation, co-founder of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Mothers and Others for Clean Air. She serves as: Chairman of Zero Waste Zone; Vice Chair of the League of the Conservation Voters Education Fund; Executive Committee Member of Defenders of Wildlife; Trustee to the Turner Foundation and Jane Smith Turner Foundation; and Advisory Board Member of Environmental Working Group, Georgia Conservancy, Earth Share of Georgia, Ron Clark Academy and Water Keeper Alliance.
A long time advocate for ‘doing the right thing’, Lewis Perkins is a champion for sustainability – personally and professionally. Perkins works with companies both big and small creating programs and awareness for environmental and social initiatives. Over the past several years, Perkins has led the ‘green’ charge as director of sustainable strategies for The Mohawk Group, a leading carpet manufacturer and commercial division of Mohawk Industries. Prior to his current consulting projects, he served with The Clean Air Campaign. Perkins holds a Master of Business Administration in marketing and strategy with a focus on social responsibility from Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington & Lee University. In 2009, Perkins was honored as one of three speakers in Forbes Magazine Green Visionary Series.
Day and Date:
Friday, March 26, 2010
Time:
Registration – 11:30 a.m.
Lunch & Program – Noon – 1 p.m.
Location:
Maggiano’s Restaurant – Buckhead location
3368 Peachtree Rd NE,
Atlanta, GA, 30326-1008
404-816-9650
Corp! Magazine Article on Conscious Capitalism
In today’s business community, many new conversations are emerging, sounding much more like the type of dialogue you would expect from ministers, rabbis and other people of faith than your typical corporate leader. Words such as authenticity, transparency and truth are infusing corporate speak, but perhaps more significantly their mission statements. Corporate culture is evolving – for the better.
As corporations analyze and strategize their ability to remain profitable for the future, they are having the types of conversations within their organizations that previously belonged to a smaller sector seemingly dominated by health and wellness companies such as the organic food or outdoors equipment or clothing industries. It would not surprise us to learn that conversations about consciousness are taking place within companies who have social consciousness in their DNA, such as Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s or Tom’s of Maine, but would we expect to hear from within the Fortune 500’s? Perhaps we should.
The Call for Conscious Capitalism
Since the executives of Enron were exposed in 2001 for accounting fraud to the more recent Wall Street scandals, such as Madoff Investment Securities, citizens around the world view corporate leadership in the U.S. with a significant level of distrust. All you have to do is visit the Gallup Web site for statistical proof that disapproval of our nation is at an all time high.
Couple this with the shenanigans of the “Big 3” automobile executives and Wall Street’s infamous golden parachutes, and we have a country clearly in great need of a strong dose of good old fashioned ethics. The thing is, the top business schools have been teaching ethics for well over a decade now and Corporate Social Responsibility has been in the lexicon of companies for even longer. If we have all been talking about it, and in many cases doing it, what’s the problem? Could it be that corporate responsibility is simply an afterthought of major corporations or used as a way to mitigate risk with key stakeholders who could prevent us from doing business in the most profitable way? Clearly, the old way of doing business has not been serving the greater good. And maybe the old way of corporate social responsibility was not serving us well either.
Here enters a new movement called Conscious Capitalism. In short, this new model promotes that businesses can and will exist in the world not only to create products and services that benefit humanity, but in the process of doing so, they can be a part of the solution for the current social and environmental issues that exist in our world today. In the old business model, corporations existed to increase profits and thereby increase shareholder wealth. In the new model, corporations exist to provide wealth and a better way of living to all stakeholders – customers, employees, vendors, all partners and shareholders alike. It’s no longer “Company PLUS cause,” it is “Company IS cause.”
Champions of Conscious Capitalism
Other companies who are leading this conversation are Whole Foods Markets. Co-Founder John Mackey writes the forward in author Michael Strong’s book Be the Solution: How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the Worlds Problems. And Mackey himself has an audio CD called “Passion and Purpose: The Power of Conscious Capitalism.” Both of these works outlines conscious capitalism and led to the creation of an organization called HYPERLINK “http://www.flowidealism.com” Flow Idealism. Mackey and his group believe that you can create a business model which helps to grow your industry in a socially responsibility manner.
In the case of Whole Foods Markets, consider all of the organic food producers and makers of organic textiles, cosmetics and home products (7th Generation included) that have had a venue for shelf space. This kind of conscious capitalism has led most grocery stores chains in this country to add an organic food aisle to their stores. It has also driven companies such as WalMart to call out their vendors and create mandates on consumer packaging that could prevent a company from even working with the world’s largest retailer if they did not meet the reduced consumer packaging material guidelines placed forth. Other examples include Clorox, which launched its Greenworks natural cleaning products line in late 2007 and purchased Burt’s Bee in 2008; Häagen-Dazs has led a large campaign to save the honey bees, whose product is not only a critical component of several of Häagen-Dazs’ ice creams, but also a major contributor to the health of our agricultural industry. These companies understand that solving issues of the environment and society means that we will all be around longer to benefit from their corporate offerings – be that a product or a service.
Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.
The Future of Corporate Capitalism
A long-time advocate for “doing the right thing,” Lewis Perkins is a champion for sustainability – personally and professionally. A sustainable strategies consultant to corporations and businesses, including The Mohawk Group, a leading commercial carpet manufacturer, Perkins draws on this passion to help advance companies’ missions of environmental and social responsibility. He has recently spoken on the issues as part of Forbes’ Business Visionaries Series, the Sustainable Brands conference and the Lifestyles of Health and the Sustainability (LOHAS) forum. To learn more about Perkins, visit http://www.lewisperkins.com” www.lewisperkins.com and follow his insight on environmentalism and corporate citizenship on his blog, “http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/lewis-perkins/semantics-sustainability-0″Semantics of Sustainability, on FastCompany.com.
GREEN LEADERSHIP FOR STUDENTS
Green Schools Alliance Event
National Student Climate and Conservation Congress in Shepherdstown, West Virginia this week.
I was pleased to learn that The Green Schools Alliance is holding a National Student Climate and Conservation Congress in Shepherdstown, West Virginia this week. The event was developed in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC).
100 outstanding GSA Student Fellows and 10 Faculty Fellows, selected from over 24 states, convene to participate in a national environmental leadership conference. One outcome will be a student toolkit, the foundation for a national student climate & conservation service initiative. The goal is to have schools sign up as GSA Chapter Members, so that the more fellows can be nominated. This is real grassroots change to educate and train the next generation of environmental leaders. Check out the speakers at the conference:
http://www.greenschoolsalliance.org/students/fellowconf.html
Also, join the Cause page on Facebook:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/191326?m=3f1cca43
Lewis Perkins speaks with Coca Cola and Walmart at 2009 LOHAS Forum
Jean Spencer, Camera Staff Writer
Thursday, June 18, 2009
BOULDER, Colo. — The annual Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Forum — which once targeted small, green-business entrepreneurs — has this year drawn the likes of Facebook, eBay and Walmart.
Those are among the 260 businesses represented at the three-day sustainability conference at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder.
The forum, which was created in 1996 in Boulder, is a worldwide conference that aims to combine top-level business leaders with “green-minded” investors to expand an already-rapidly growing marketplace for sustainable business models.
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, or LOHAS, refers to the $209 billion international market segment of consumers and businesses focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living and social justice.
The forum, which began Wednesday and continues through Friday, includes panel discussions about corporate strategy by industry leaders; exhibitor booths displaying a range of green-friendly products from acai berry-based Veev alcoholic beverage to green vacations; and even free yoga.
Fortune 500 companies attended this year’s forum looking to learn and share eco-responsible business practices.
“We haven’t been sustainable for a long time, but we have a vision to be zero-waste,” Candace Taylor, Walmart’s director of strategy and sustainability, said in a speech about the company’s sustainability goals. “It’s a lofty vision, but it’s there.”
Taylor, along with April Crow of the Coca-Cola Co. and Lewis Perkins of The Mohawk Group, was featured on a panel Thursday that discussed small steps big corporations are making in the world of sustainability.
Ted Ning, the LOHAS director for the past six years, said the increased interest by big corporations reflects a changing dynamic characterized by consumers demanding more environmentally aware businesses. More companies are beginning to seek business partnerships that allow for growth in their sustainable business plans, he said.
“It was a huge learning experience for me,” said Kate Alini, marketing communications manager for Mini USA, a division of BMW.
Alini said because she represents the automotive industry, she thought she would be “ostracized by tree-huggers,” but she found a unique cross-promoting network at the conference.
“The automotive industry is not moving fast enough sustainability-wise,” she said. “I thought they were going to think I was the plague, but everyone wants know how they can help each other.”
At its inception 13 years ago, the LOHAS forum was a “small, sleepy natural food conference,” but it has since grown to a worldwide phenomenon dedicated to promoting relationships among companies targeting the conscious consumer, Ning said.
For Debbie Williams, vice president and co-founder of GreenSmart — a company that transforms recycled bottles into products such as laptop bags — it is those relationships that drive the expanding sustainable marketplace.
“Everyone comes here with the shared interest to better ourselves and better the planet,” Williams said. “Nowhere else is there a place where we all want each other to succeed.”
Click here to learn more from DailyCamera.com.