An Update on my Homegrown MBA in Sustainability

I think it’s been a couple of months since my last update on my homegrown MBA in Sustainability.  I was trying to think where to start and thought it might be more honest to start with where the wheels have come off and then end on a high note.

Wheels Off

• GRI Test Case. I haven’t been able to find a willing participant in a GRI project. Granted, I’ve only reached out to a couple of places and both were small companies but I think that may show that (a) it’s a serious undertaking to begin the GRI process (b) it sounds good in theory but the practical implication are a bit fuzzy, like what’s the return on their time, investment etc. I’ve heard more than once that implementing GRI reporting is no small task and that often the first year is often spent just identifying indicators to track and assembling the appropriate records. Perhaps, a prep-GRI phase needs to be defined, so that undertaking a methodology like this is more manageable and efficiencies can be realized at various points in the process. Or maybe GRI needs to be folded into existing business processes so it’s not yet another methodology to introduce to the organization with much initial support and fanfare only to peter out with time.
• Stats. I’ve taken both books down, quickly scanned them and then found something, anything, else to do.
• Networking. I took a bit of a break from the grin and grip circuit. I firmly believe that sometimes you need a bit of down time to come up with new material or your just rehashing the same anecdotes to the same audience. Who’s going to pay for that?
• Victory Garden. (this doesn’t really have anything to do with sustainability directly but it’s another flop) My victory garden looks disheveled and pitiful. I planted them during a severely fluctuating spring in Boulder, where 84 degree temps have seared their tender leaves or watch their yellowed leaves float atop rain puddles. And then the final injustice was watching my big galuf of a cattle dog, Tex, stomp on them as he ran inside to avoid getting wet in the rain.

Wheels ON

• Books. I’m still reading tons. I picked up Getting Green Done by Auden Schendler. I heard him speak most recently at the Sustainablity Opportunities Summit in Denver. I’m about half-way through and so far I like the pragmatic perspective of the book.
• Volunteering. I’m going to begin writing blog posts for CORE (Connected Organizations for a Responsible Economy) and becoming more involved with that organization, helping them to promote the good work they are doing.
• Technology. I’ve actually been doing some social media/seo/web metrics analysis work of the online presence of a couple of sustainability companies. This has been a great experience and I have learned a lot about the challenges facing sustainability companies as they begin to adopt some of these tools.

Technology is the key to Sustainability

I feel very fortunate to be working the social media analytics field at the moment because I very much believe that the tools and technology that are allowing us to share our opinions on Levi’s and Survivor will one day be used to share vital information on water usage and sustainable business practices. The real goal will be making sustainability topics as interesting and as captivating to share and discuss as Levi’s or Survivor. I think this may be the bigger obstacle, creating engaging content that is less about drowning polar bears and more about recognizing the value of our natural environment and using technology to celebrate and protect it. Cuz if the alarmist-type of marketing really worked, we would have solved climate change a long time ago. I’m not claiming to know how to change our perception of sustainability as less ascetic and more about bounty but I’m certain we can all come up with something.

What’s Next – My Sustainability Journey

Now what? I feel a little like I am spinning my wheels: one step on the banana peel forward and an uncontrolled slide back. But I knew it wasn’t going to be easy and I do feel like I’m learning something with every interaction or project.  I’ve got some ideas that are percolating in my head but have not quite brewed yet. And I have a few more books on my list to read: Confessions of a Radical Industrialist, Ray C. Anderson and
Dark Age Ahead by Jane Jacobs.
So, that’s the update. Thanks for reading!