The Birth of Sustainability 2.0: Thoughts from Sustainable Brands International 2008
Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release
provided by 
12.30.2008 - 11:21am ET
News from:
CSRwire's Video, Commentary and Research
The Birth of Sustainability 2.0: Thoughts from Sustainable Brands International 2008
Commentary by Peter Salmon of Moxie
(CSRwire) I recently participated in Sustainable Life media's Sustainable Brands
international conference in Miami. It was an assembly of savvy
sustainability consultants, designers and thought leaders, all primed to
discuss sustainability's future. For me, the conference was one of those
definable change moments, the birth of sustainability 2.0
The sustainability debate has been positioned all wrong - as an
environmental problem, as something business needs to account for, a risk
to be managed or a tax to be paid. The business community has been going
along with this to an extent, but it doesn't sit well. And now, in a
volatile global economy and competitive environment, sustainability is
being pushed aside as a luxury while business focuses on efficiencies, and
the bolder ones look to innovate their way out of recession.
But it's not an and/or situation. The answer is and/and. Sustainability
1.0 - compliance, CSR, reduction, limits, is over. Sustainability 2.0 is
here. Sustainability 2.0 is an outcome-focused all encompassing approach.
It's a process that builds prosperous businesses creating innovative
products and services; businesses founded on good financial results,
responsible use of resources, and community well-being.
So we put this idea out there, and a cool thing happened; a lot of people
agreed. I liked Tamara Giltsoff's point of view (formally of LiveWORK and
OZO lab) who said her "favorite take-out from the conference is that
sustainability finally translates as business strategy in the brand and
business community. It's not a report, it's not what you do
well/good/responsibly, not a message, not a campaign or not a lone product
innovation. And that is a profound journey."
It's time to change the game, the approach and the message. And it's time
to stop stopping and start starting. This requires new thinking, design
thinking. Long live the evolution.
About CSRwire.com
CSRwire is the leading source of corporate social responsibility and
sustainability news, reports and information. CSRwire members are
companies and NGOs, agencies and organizations interested in communicating
their corporate citizenship, sustainability, and socially responsible
initiatives to a global audience through CSRwire's syndication network and
weekly News Alerts. CSRwire content covers issues of Diversity,
Philanthropy, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Environment, Human
Rights, Workplace Issues, Business Ethics, Community Development and
Corporate Governance.
News Categories:
Events & Entertainment and Sustainability
Print
E-mail
