Voice of Reason
The Economy and the Environment: Lessons from the oil spill
August 2010

If we want to avoid tragic environmental catastrophes like the BP oil spill, we will need to change the way business operates. In fact we need a transformation of twentieth century capitalism into twenty first century sustainable enterprise.

I have long believed that only by transforming business and the economy can we hope to shift the trajectory of development toward a more sustainable future. The oil spill graphically illustrates why. But this is not a sudden new insight. We’ve known for decades that the environment and the economy are inextricably linked; that business has a huge environmental footprint; that treating the environment as an “externality” that can be left off the balance sheet eventually creates huge costs and (as in this case) terrible consequences.

It’s hard not to be discouraged by the BP case because, under the leadership of CEO John Browne, BP was considered an environmental leader. Browne famously declared that BP should stand for “Beyond Petroleum” and that the company should adopt its commitment to sustainability as a core value. BP was one of the global companies that joined the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and would therefore have shared the WBCSD vision for a sustainable economic future by 2050:

“In 2050, around 9 billion people live well, and within the limits of the planet.”1

But BP either lost its commitment to SD principles or forgot to apply them to its Gulf drilling operations. How can this kind of sustainability backsliding be avoided in the future? What will it take to achieve the requisite transformation in the way business and the economy operate?

I prefer to rephrase the challenge: how can we learn from the lessons of the oil spill? This approach puts the emphasis squarely on education defined not in terms of teaching but as new learning. In fact, I’m talking about societal learning that includes our formal education systems (from pre kindergarten to post doctoral), all kinds of training and professional development for those in the workforce and general knowledge and awareness of the broader public.

More importantly, this new learning is not just theoretical – it must be translated into action. It must inform (and transform) behaviour. In other words, humankind needs to learn to live differently on this planet if we are to achieve the visionary ambition of “living well, and within the limits of the planet.”

How would this transformation affect our lifestyles? Will it lead to widespread impoverishment? On the contrary, if we continue along the current path the outcome looks very bleak. But we do need to make a fundamental “paradigm shift” along at least two key dimensions: first we need to distinguish between economic growth and economic development. This means among other things using economic measures of “genuine progress” and “genuine wealth” that go beyond GDP. These measures have been devised and are readily available. But we have not yet “learned” to apply them.

Second, we need to separate the idea of quality of life from that of high consumption. Consuming more and more does not automatically bring increased life quality and happiness. There is ample research to indicate that beyond a level of sufficiency happiness no longer depends on increased consumption. To capture this important idea the economist Juliet Schor has come up with the helpful concept of “plenitude” which “calls attention to the inherent bounty of nature that we need to recover. It directs us to the chance to be rich in the things that matter to us most, and the wealth that is available in our relations with one another.” 2

The good news is that there are many organizations around the world that are committed to promoting the kind of learning we need, most of them doing so under that banner of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and actively participating in the UN Decade for ESD which is now in its seventh year. We need better business leadership so that means improving both “pre service” business education (eg MBA programs) and “in service” training and professional development throughout the workforce. Sustainable enterprises require appropriately trained future employees and customers, hence the need to infuse ESD across the curriculum in formal education systems. Governments at all levels must do more to promote sustainable business practices so both politicians and public servants need new ESD learning as well.

Concerning ESD in Canada, I am particularly proud of the accomplishments of the organization of which I am honoured to serve as Chair – Learning for a Sustainable Future (www.lsf-lst.ca). After two decades of work across Canada to “promote, through education, the knowledge, skills, perspectives and practices essential to a sustainable future”, LSF has come to focus increasingly on the “economic dimension” of sustainable development and has developed fruitful partnerships with and sponsorships from many leading companies.

In its Vision 2050 document, WBCSD outlines a “critical pathway” toward this ideal future. The critical pathway includes:

  • Addressing the development needs of billions of people, enabling education and economic empowerment, particularly of women, and developing radically more eco-efficient solutions, lifestyles and behavior
  • Incorporating the cost of externalities, starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water
  • Doubling of agricultural output without increasing the amount of land or water used
  • Halting deforestation and increasing yields from planted forests
  • Halving carbon emissions worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions peaking around 2020 through a shift to low-carbon energy systems and highly improved demand-side energy efficiency
  • Providing universal access to low carbon mobility
  • Delivering a four-to-tenfold improvement in the use of resources and materials.

These pathway principles can serve as a beacon to companies like Bosch (also a longtime WBCSD member), which has already established itself as a leading business with a stellar sustainability track record, and a set of strong environmental commitments that include:

  • Sustainability – the economic use of resources, as well as working towards a more natural and cleaner environment
  • Responsibility – maintaining compliance with all laws and regulations pertaining to the environment
  • Products – using/developing products that are designed to reduce burdens to the environment during their everyday use, as well as during their subsequent recycling and disposal
  • Processes – utilizing processes that ensure negative effects on the environment are kept at a minimum
  • Continuous Improvement – measuring the effects of processes on the environment and ensuring ongoing effectiveness to protect and reduce environmental impact.3

- David

1Vision 2050 is available at the WBSD website

2 Juliet Schor, Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth. New York: The Penguin Press, 2010. pp. 1-2.

3Bosch’s Principles of Environmental Protection

Our own backyard or the community as a whole?
July 2010

As consumers we often practice environmental responsibility that begins and ends in our individual lives at home – recycling more efficiently, reducing energy consumption to save money and lower greenhouse gas and smog emissions, using less water etc., etc. These individual acts of green have been and will continue to be important. However the term sustainability is often connected to larger scale initiatives, some on an international level that include responding to climate change, introducing fair trade practices, reducing poverty, abolishing child labour, increasing education for all, and so on. How do the two levels connect? How can we as individuals have a positive impact on a larger (perhaps even global) scale? This is what Bosch Home Appliances, through their search within communities for Canadian Eco-Leaders, is interested in exploring.

For one, the idea of “thinking globally, acting locally” – and the companion term “glocal” – gives us some insight. We need to be aware of how our individual actions help solve large scale sustainability problems, or in some cases make them worse.

The counter argument to an individual action approach is that the problems are so vast that only system level responses can solve them. We need to redesign our economies, to move away from the linear “take, make waste” industrial model of the past two centuries that has led to so much ecological destruction and social injustice. We also need more compact urban form and transportation systems that will provide viable alternatives to the automobile culture that dominates the wealthy countries (and is increasingly being emulated in countries like China, India, Brazil with their rapidly expanding economies!).

In fact the two levels are connected, and action at the grass roots can create pressures that result in system level change. The internet and social networking have expanded exponentially the impact of individuals whether acting as consumers, members of voluntary organizations, or citizens. The products you buy (or refuse to buy); the organizations you support by committing your own time, talent, or treasure; the way you vote and express your views to your elected representatives or encourage fellow citizens to take action – all can have an effect that is multiplied many times if you publicize your efforts on social networking, blogging, You-Tube and so on.

It is the act of reaching out to others in the community – locally or globally – that is the most hopeful sign of a true “culture shift” toward sustainability. The authors of the Earth Charter Community Action Tool (EarthCAT) expressed this point very effectively:

“As you read this, we are on the verge of a [profound] cultural shift — the moment when human culture grows out of a prolonged adolescence and recognizes our place in the global ecosystem and our responsibility for all other life on Earth. The people on the front lines of this transition are people working at the local level to improve the quality of life. Communities everywhere are increasingly aware of the connections between their local well-being and the global state of the economy, the social fabric, governance, and the environment.” 1

EarthCAT is based on the Principles of the Earth Charter, which are grouped under four categories:

  1. Respect and Care for the Community of Life
  2. Ecological Integrity
  3. Social and Economic Justice
  4. Democracy, Non-violence and Peace

There are strong indications that Canadians are at the forefront of this new sensibility, and understand the importance of community sustainability.

  • Canadians are taking sustainable living to the next level by embracing the impact that environmental change has on their local communities and are focusing their efforts on making a change through community-based acts and efforts
  • According to a Google Trends search conducted by Bosch Home Appliances, more Canadians search the term Green Living than people in any other country
    in the world. 2
  • In addition, since 2004, there has been a steady climb in Canadians searching the term Green City with the most recent finding showing a 250 per cent increase in interest. 3
  • In just four years, households across the country increased the amount of materials that were recycled by 65 per cent. 4

These findings are not surprising given the large and growing number of Canadian municipalities that have made sustainability a key element in plans and policies, focusing on such issues as reducing green house grass emissions, better waste management practices, water and sanitation, transportation and, sprawl, poverty and homelessness. Communities as small as Whistler BC, towns like Okotoks Alberta, small cities like Guelph Ontario, and our largest urban areas like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have all gotten on the sustainability bandwagon.

Part of the impetus for this trend came from the federal government’s requirement a number of years ago, that municipalities develop an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) in order to take advantage of new gas-tax agreements and access green funding for municipal infrastructure. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) partnered with the federal government to encourage and assist its 1800 member municipalities to strengthen their commitment to sustainability, by introducing planning that considers economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts, including those that are indirect and long-term.

Chances are that wherever you live in Canada, your local government has some sort of sustainability plan. Check your municipality website to get details. I encourage you to participate in local sustainability initiatives in your community. Your input and support will help determine their success – and you may end up winning a Bosch Eco-leader Award!

- David

1 Preface to the EarthCAT Guide to Community Development (based on the principles of the Earth Charter) available at http://www.earthcat.org/workbook/EarthCAT_Workbook.pdf

2 A Google Trends search was conducted by Bosch Home Appliances on Friday, May 7, 2010 using search terms ‘green living’ and ‘green city’ and analyzing search volume trends based on region.

3 A Google Trends search was conducted by Bosch Home Appliances on Friday, May 7, 2010 using search terms ‘green living’ and ‘green city’ and analyzing search volume trends based on region.

4 According to information gathered by Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/16-002-x/2007001/article/10174-eng.htm

Greenwashing 101: Why every day should be “Earth Day”
May 2010

Quick on the heels of Earth Day and having just experienced Earth Hour, it has now become evident that as “green” consumers we can have a large impact on businesses and the economy if we make wise, informed consumer decisions. It is also important to remember that we have to make these wise and informed decisions on a daily basis and throughout the year, not only during special environmental celebrations like Earth Day or Earth Hour. For green consumerism to work, every day must be Earth Day.

To help continue the momentum of Earth Day and Earth Hour and in order to encourage greener, more sustainable communities, Bosch has introduced a new Canadian Eco-Leader Award this month. This award is designed to celebrate the environmental efforts of people in communities across the country. As a respected global corporate citizen, Bosch is encouraging Canadians to use this opportunity to educate and inspire each other – think of every day as Earth Day and tell them how you are helping your community be a better, more sustainable, place to live. To submit a nomination, complete the online nomination form on the Bosch Eco-lution site.

To help you continue to make informed consumer decisions, I thought it would be a good idea this month to also explore the concept of greenwashing and to share a few pointers on how to spot a good corporate citizen. Even I was surprised to hear the results of a study conducted by TerraChoice Marketing who reported that an astounding 99.9 per cent of so-called green products made false, misleading or unconfirmed claims.
[See http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=92a3d1cc-596c-4c10-9f69-f89c879768fa&k=60260]

The study points out that there is a booming market for “green” products, especially here in Canada, where “70 per cent of consumers say they are willing to spend up to 20 per cent more for environmentally preferable items.” So it’s not surprising that many companies are attempting to cash in on this market. But when they make false or misleading claims for their product or company, they are guilty of greenwashing - the distribution of misleading information by an organization to hide its abuse of or disregard for the environment in order to present a positive public image.

Businesses that are trying to avoid greenwashing should be honest and truthful, detail the specific part or aspect of the product that is green, use language that the average consumer can understand, consider the whole life cycle of the product, and substantiate whatever claims they are making with facts. A consumer shouldn’t have to spend hours researching a company to figure out whether they are being truthful about their environmental stance or not. Here are a few key approaches to help determine if a company is greenwashing or not:

  • Read the fine print – compare the marketing claims with the product specifications to make sure that the green claims match
  • Pay attention to packaging – look for minimal/recycled packaging wherever possible
  • Research on the web – incorporate web-based information into your decision making process
  • Beware of buzzwords - organic, green, earth friendly, low-impact, low emissions - all nice buzzwords, but read between the spin and look for the substance - how are these terms applied, what's the justification and context?
  • Carefully consider certification - certifications and endorsements by third parties can be helpful - but who is the authority? For example, look for ENERGY STAR qualifications when it comes to home appliances such as dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators.

Be an informed consumer. Educate and inspire others around you. Celebrate the Earth every day in all that you support and do in your homes, with your families and in your communities.

- David

The Importance of Corporate Sustainability
March 2010

While attending the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) last spring, I was privileged to serve as facilitator for a workshop on “The Economic Pillar of Sustainability: The Educational Dimension.”

More than 70 participants from 50 different countries attended the workshop, which took place over 2 days. We all recognized that the global economic crisis is also an opportunity for rethinking and re-visioning the way the economy operates. We talked about the importance of transforming the culture of “reckless profit and greed” and short term thinking that has proven so enormously costly - financially, socially, and environmentally - for all countries in the world. Many of us saw ESD as an antidote to the causes of the crisis.

After the first day’s discussions we were able to focus our subsequent work on the following question:

How can education help transform the global economy to make it more sustainable?

We all agreed that the current trajectory is unacceptable – with almost half the world’s population living on less that $2US per day and almost 2 billion people unemployed, the global economy is not “meeting the needs of the present generation.” To move us toward a more sustainable future, the economy needs to be transformed to create more sustainable livelihoods by increasing employment, provide products and services that meet basic needs while producing less waste, lower throughputs of energy and materials, lower Green House Gas emissions, decrease environmental impacts, ensure corporate social responsibility, and so on.

This is a very tall order, and it applies as much here in Canada as in other parts of the world. There is a role for all sectors: civil society, governments, corporations and education. If we are to make any progress on this ambitious agenda for transforming the economy, however, the way business operates needs to change. I believe there is a really important role for companies to make a commitment to sustainability and to move society toward a more sustainable future. We each have a responsibility to support companies (and governments) that are making the right choices because their leadership and commitment are essential to this economic transformation.

That’s why corporate sustainability is fundamental to what I’ve been devoting my time and energy into – shifting the way we live on this planet to leave a better legacy for future generations.

With Earth Hour fast approaching, Saturday March 27th at 8:30pm, researching corporations and businesses that support this initiative (and other initiatives like this) is one way to gauge which companies are moving towards a sustainable future and consciously making an attempt to adopt sustainability principles and practices, and which ones aren’t. Quite a few businesses have already signed on to participate in Earth Hour this year. Visit the WWF-Canada Earth Hour web page to find out who they are and to join the movement yourself.

- David

Decrease our footprint but increase our ‘handprint’
Fall 2009

I was at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Germany earlier this year, and I heard a saying: “Decrease our footprint but increase our handprint”. This idea actually came from a Grade 4 student in India, and it has now become a key theme for the Centre for Environmental Education (CEE) in India, which incidentally just recently also established CEE-Canada.

I was thinking how wonderful – that some of the world’s top sustainability scholars could be so inspired by words of wisdom coming from a child. While many businesses are leading the charge corporately-speaking in environmental and sustainable work, it’s not only those day-time work seminars that are changing this generation’s opinions. So often, it’s those small but mighty influencers sitting at the dinner table after school, who are influencing their parent’s attitudes and actions on everything from recycling at home to community advocacy.

I believe as individuals, we are realizing that we each have a role to play in environmental and sustainable development. I think we are facing an exciting social and cultural turning point today where our society’s fundamental operational mode is changing.

In our instant and interactive society, as we talk, text and tweet our thoughts into the world, each of us is playing a role in persuading one another, and we’re all starting to learn how we can live more responsibly.

Increasingly the corporate mindset is changing as well, and the quest for profits is being linked to a new sense of corporate responsibility that seeks benefits to people and the earth.

Someone once said to me, self-interest in the 21st century means caring for each other. I’m curious to know what you think our “handprint” will look like in Canada over the next few years.

- David

David Bell