Photo: Mr. T in DC

Today, one of the greatest calls to change heard around the globe is for sustainability. The transformations needed to move forward in this quest are on par with some of the greatest movements in history.

The green movement, from an American perspective, has the potential to be as monumental as the founding of this country, the Industrial Revolution, or the Civil Rights movement. Each occasion changed the manner in which individuals interacted with one another and had effects that reverberated around the world.

As people everywhere consciously choose to support the wave of green movements far and wide, the resulting crescendo of new ways to relate to each other, the land, and our monetary systems has the potential to create a healthy, sustainable planet.

The business sector is a key actor in consciously choosing change for sustainability. Joel Makower, well-known for his perspectives on business and the environment, highlighted some of the difficulties of the sustainability movement in his book, Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business.

In connection with what Makower has written about sustainability, to consciously choose change, we must take on the challenges of seeing the world and ourselves as they are; we must take responsibility; and we must choose to act in ways that are win-win for all involved.

What compels more and more people every day to stand strong in the face of these challenges and begin to cooperate for positive change?

Humanity’s Response to Planetary Destruction

The green movement is, in part, humanity’s conscious response to destruction of the only planet we call home.

A scary proposition
Photo: joiseyshowaa

Through our somewhat sophisticated evolution of how we relate to one another and use nature’s resources, we have moved adventurously from a foraging, agrarian world culture to one that becomes more and more industrial every day, as described by American philosopher Ken Wilber in his book, A Brief History of Everything.

The growing industrial framework continually brings a larger and larger percentage of the masses in touch with the business sector. Holistic principles aligned with the eco-conscious green movement can transform the field of business for a significant portion of the population, going from a devastating, often energy draining, system to one that thrives on an individual and group level, and leads us toward global sustainability.

Individual businesses can choose to adopt holistic, sustainable practices in many ways, including utilizing a company’s impact on nature in its valuation, and supporting employees in developing their own in-depth personal connection to the green movement.

In a green business model, when companies are valued among all that is taken into consideration, including products and services and real estate, their environmental impact will also be added to the equation.

I am positive that this is probably a scary proposition for many businesses, especially those that manufacture tangible products which create harmful byproducts in the process; however for the sake of the planet, all people, and global sustainability, this action must be taken.

Yes, under this model some companies will lose value. If they do, I would like to argue that this means currently they are over-valued.

This speaks to the fact that under the current model their value is not reflective of the company as a whole. Greener models will theoretically work to value companies from a holistic approach.

Future Possibilities

As a high profile field that affects the lives of such a large portion of global citizens on a daily basis, the field of business is positioned to consciously lead us into a sustainable future. Adopting holistic green practices can transform the business sector from the destructive beast of burden that it often behaves as to a life sustaining entity that helps people and communities world-wide tap into the renewable resources of self, spirit, and soul that all employees have to offer.

By valuing all that they are including their environmental impact, and supporting employees through workshops and seminars geared towards embodying the green movement companies can help to create a new day.

By choosing these changes, perhaps we can consciously create a new sustainable economy that can withstand the natural ups and downs of existence via creative expression and valuing all that is!

Reprinted with permission