Perspectives on Green Business

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Perspectives on Green Business

• ENVS 5150
• Brian Milani
• bmilani_at_web.ca

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Course Overview

• Focus on overall economic context
• some attention to practical business problems
• Postindustrial the Redefinition of Wealth
• Sectors use-value
• Distinctions between
• protection alternatives
• big small business corporate community
• Importance of values-driven or mission-driven
  business?
• Relationships within and outside of the firm

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What is Sustainability?

• Bruntland "development that meets the needs
  of the present without compromising the ability
  of future generations to meet their own needs."

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Durability Definition

• "refers to the ability of a society, ecosystem,
  or any such on-going system to continue
  functioning into the indefinite future without
  being forced into decline through the exhaustion
  or overloading of key resources on which that
  system depends."
  - Robert Gilman, Context Institute

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Wish List definition

• "Our vision for the future is of a region
  characterized by sustainable development,
  including economic vitality, justice, social
  cohesion, environmental protection and the
  sustainable management of natural resources, so
  as to meet the needs of the present generation
  without compromising the ability of future
  generations to meet their needs."
• -- Committee On Environmental Policy for
  the Economic Commission For Europe

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More Qualitative

• Sustainable development is a dynamic process
  which enables all people to realise their
  potential and improve their quality of life in
  ways which simultaneously protect and enhance the
  Earths life support systems.
• --Forum for the Future
• (used by Interface)

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Postindustrial

• Most Qualitative
• development focused directly on human and
  environmental regeneration through both the
  unleashing of human creative potential, and the
  benign integration of economic activities within
  natural systems.

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Green as Postindustrial

• from mechanics to organics
• from machinery to the landscape
• culture-based development
• substitutes intelligence for resources
  (people-intensive)
• focus on end-use, or human and environmental need
• from quantity to quality redefining wealth

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Structural obstacles to sustainability

• Nature of the Corporation
• Centrality of Economic Growth
• Ownership patterns inconsistent with Stewardship
• Alienated relationship to human need
• Creating rather than responding to it

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The Business Case for Sustainability

• Single Bottom Line Sustainability (SBLS)
• Essential to large corporations
• Not sufficient to create ecological economies
• Corporations need outside help!

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Internal External Action

• The balance is different for big small business
• Relationship between democracy economic
  evolution
• Centrality of Stakeholder relationships
• Importance of New Enterprise Networks

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Market Transformation

• Social Environmental Values become drivers of
  mindful markets
• Money capital increasingly a means (not the
  end-goal) of economic development
• Involves the transformation of regulation
  incentives disincentives built into everyday
  economic life

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The Service Economy

• Hot Showers Cold Beer
• The End-use Approach human needs-focused
• Materials Energy a means to the end.

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The Economy in Loops