Green Business?
Green Business
April 2011
What we are going to do
✤
Explore the Future
✤
Critique business practices in the light of the Future
✤
What is a Green Business?
✤
Questions & Next Steps
The Future
✤
Form groups of two - take turn to be an ancestor from the future & ask
each other what was it like? what did you do?
What we know
✤
Energy
✤
Environment
✤
Economy
✤
Society
✤
People & Work
✤
Growth in current form is unsustainable, de-growth is unstable
✤
A summary Story of Stuff
Is this anything to do with us?
✤
What the Government thinks?
✤
What consumers think?
✤
Who has responsibility for this
✤
Paul Hawken Commencement Address at University of Portland
Are our business practices fit for
purpose?
✤
Business Processes
✤
Stuff that comes in
✤
Stuff that goes out
✤
Waste
✤
Community
✤
Reputation
✤
Industry & Influence Span
Are businesses fit for the future?
✤
What do you think?
✤
What are the risks we face?
✤
Do we need new ways of doing business?
What is a Green Business?
✤
Marketing tool
✤
A big concept
✤
Can be used narrowly e.g. retrofit buildings
✤
Evidence of growing demand for eco-literacy & evidence that students
see this as a critical skill in the future
✤
Legislation & frameworks
✤
Evidence that Green/Sustainable Businesses are successful
So what is it!
✤
Business that contributes to society & well-being, recognises that we
are part of a finite planet, ethical, socially responsible, real costs are
apparent in its environment.
✤
Business that embeds approaches to sustainable development
Values & Principles of
Sustainable Development
✤
Brundtland Commission development which "meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.“ This would mean:
•
Inter-connections & systems thinking
•
Responsibility
•
Innovation & creative thinking
•
Flourishing rather than growth-orientated
•
So a quick overview of Sustainability in an animation
How would you do it?
•
Natural Step 4 principles Eliminate our contribution Unsustainability
–
Look at concentrations of substances from crust of the earth
Look at concentrations of substances produces by society
Look at degradation of nature
Look at undermining of humanity’s capacity to meet needs worldwide
•
Measure what you do? - Triple Bottom Line
–
–
–
•
Learn to analyse issues and choices from an environmental, social and economic
perspective at the same time rather than separately
(Forum of the Future/ Learning & Skills for Sustainable Development)
Who is doing it?
✤
IKEA
✤
Marks & Spencer
✤
Wal-Mart
✤
Unilever
✤
NIKE
✤
Chiqita
✤
GAP
What would this look like in the
Marshes?
✤
Over to you.
Next Steps & Questions
✤
What do you think? What are the questions that need to be explored
further?
✤
Resources - www.dkit.ie/sustainableliving