At the end of his presentation, Gore alluded to the need for moral courage to be able to face each of these daunting challenges now and within our current generation. While writing the book Smart Green in 2008, no one could have predicted the severity of the economic crash in the fall, nor could anyone continue to see the world the same as one time-tested company fell after another. It was as if I had written a book with one world view and overnight I had to cut, rewrite, and re-think every section to accommodate a new world.

One element that remained the same in both versions of my book-and consistent with each of the three crises Gore spoke of-is the interdependence between the environment, the economy, and the betterment of society. I saw it first-hand while traveling in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and I see evidence of it now on Main Street in America. I believe our fourth crisis is our need for integrity as individuals, organizations, and governments to implement changes for lasting value and authentic change.

How do we start? Reflect on the three meanings of “integrity”: First, we are most familiar with the meaning as being honest, trustworthy, and truthful. What could be more evident about the need for more transparency and honesty than the way some leading corporate, financial, and political leaders have behaved, leading to many of the negative impacts in the environment and the economy which has directly exacerbated worsening social conditions.

Second, integrity means “oneness” or “wholeness”. We are all part of a global system that has the double-edged sword of encouraging and discouraging growth. Any changes we make or someone else in another country makes, for better or for worse, will reverberate throughout the system. Realizing our oneness and the implications of the power of the system will accelerate our creativity and effectiveness as a world community. Third, integrity means “strength” like that found in a building, a government, or a business-structural integrity.

We each have to face this fourth challenge of the need for integrity before the other challenges because, without integrity, I believe our efforts will not have the necessary lasting effect. Gore mentioned that business leaders are the keys to helping define the future and for innovation. With integrity, I believe this to be possible.

Strategic Planning.  As organizations begin the process of thinking about sustainability, they may be struggling with where to start and what resources are available to gain insights for the shortest path, best practices, and results-oriented planning processes that take into account the triple bottom-line of social equity, environmental stewardship, and profitability.  This topic will introduce steps, processes, and examples of how to get started with sustainability strategic planning.

Sustainability.  The dimensions of sustainable development are so broad that this site cannot possibly address them all.  What I plan to provide are examples of mission statements, planning processes, key ideas for creating a new sustainable economic model, challenges facing leaders during this period of rapid transition and how to overcome them.

Analytics.  One of the most important advances in recent years for helping companies become more successful and competitive is the development of business intelligence.  Data alone will not provide the answers to success, but asking better questions and the use of analytics tools will help tremendously.  Combining the power of analytics with the vast amounts of information being collected for sustainability outcomes will be discussed and demonstrated.

Case Studies.  None of the discussions will make sense without having real companies, real people, and real problems being addressed.  Periodically, a company or organization will have a sustainability initiative examined for implications, spending, ROI, payback period, innovations, and mindset change.  Any organization and leader should be able to benefit from the examples and the dialogue that follows.

Other features of the site will include an annotated list of resources covering organizations and websites that support companies desiring to become sustainable; books, white papers, and reports that provide benchmarking information and key trends to be aware of; tools for businesses to utilize for measuring, reporting, or planning for sustainability; and articles either written by me in other publications or those that I find that strikes me as immediately relevant.

I am very excited about the monthly Podcast, “Envision Smart Green” which debuts this week with the T-shirt printing company, TS Designs in Burlington, NC.  Each broadcast will focus on insights into what leaders in a variety of organizations are thinking and doing in relation to sustainable practice.  Far from being yet another video on how to go green or new green products, “Envision Smart Green” zooms in on the mindset change and specific strategies for achieving organizational goals while implementing sustainable practices.

I am looking forward to working and communicating with you advancing sustainability into the fabric of our lives, businesses, and communities.

Current indicators demonstrate an increasing demand for products developed with a sustainable process and in spite of this demand, there is a dearth of such products available. This condition creates an unprecedented opportunity for forward-thinking enterprises. Many business owners interested in a sustainable product model are seeking proof of profits, not just cost savings to mitigate their risk, which can be demonstrated through an analytics process of measurement.

More resources and examples are needed to illustrate basic business principles of how to integrate leadership development, measurement, and guidance for proving the profitability of environmental sustainability decisions.

While there is an increasing interest in sustainability in the business community, I’ve noticed there are few resources available that provide a practical guide and examples of sustainability and business success—a desire among many business owners I’ve spoken to who require less theory and more action. Here’s the need as I see it:

• How do we merge the current concepts of sustainability models with entrepreneurial approaches?
• How do we provide direction for new and current industries to explore sustainability issues while phasing in and innovating for maximizing cost savings and profitability?
• How do we utilize business intelligence and analytics to minimize risk?

With the increasing changes in the global marketplace towards more environmentally sustainable models for energy solutions and product development, business leaders and entrepreneurs are eyeing the opportunities for new or re-development of their products to meet this new demand. Current indicators demonstrate an increasing demand for products and services developed with a sustainable process and in spite of this demand, there is a dearth of such products and accurate information available. Moreover, as consumers become more discerning of sustainable options, they will begin pressuring for change through their pocketbook. This condition creates an unprecedented challenge and opportunity for forward-thinking enterprises to begin evaluating their energy sources, carbon footprint, and overall sustainability strategy. This condition is also an opportunity for energy providers to educate and encourage the corporate community to begin learning more about energy efficiency.

What would this social network look like? Each of the participating stakeholders in the initiative, for example, could benefit as follows: Energy providers could gain marketing notoriety, insights into the interests and motivations of corporations seeking to diversify their energy sources, and metrics for analysis to provide guidance to companies and consumers for better cost savings and return on investment. Corporations could potentially increase their positive marketing position to the ever-widening interest in sustainable practices and a better understanding of the implications of strategy and spending for energy for the greatest benefit to the environment while continuing to thrive economically. Consumers could make better decisions about services and energy choices by exploring corporation’s sustainability profiles. Advocacy groups could benefit by increasing the influence of its overall agenda to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy diversity that is less harmful to the environment, engage the business community as a force for change with up-to-date information and direct access through the social network site.

The main target group could be all corporations with more than 100 employees within the energy provider region. Smaller companies could be invited to participate through connections with the Chambers of Commerce in the same area. Consumers could be invited to participate as well. The purpose of developing a social network among the larger corporations would be to establish an early benchmark of change towards sustainable practices among the largest consumers of energy—the low-hanging fruit with the largest potential financial savings and resources available to explore a variety of options.

This social networking site could be developed in stages, targeting smaller groups and then expanding to reach a variety of sectors, types of companies, and geographical areas. Moreover, the long-term purpose of the site could include companies across the country and expanding into other environmental impact areas such as air, water, land, waste, etc.

Beyond the default social networking features of forming groups, live chat—much of what you would experience in FaceBook or MySpace, the main activity of the Social Network site is the development of corporate profiles with varying degrees of complexity and exposure of energy use as well as the interaction between peer individuals across many sectors about the application of sustainable energy. The following additional features assist in prompting additional discussion:

Sustainability Evaluation: Online tool to assess current thinking and approaches to elements of the triple bottom-line.

Energy Source Guide: Database and educational material on current energy technologies, current state of availability, and case studies of application of approaches.

Business and energy calculator: Assessment tools for calculating various indicators of energy use, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, cost/benefit analysis of energy diversification over time, energy efficiency, and other triple bottom-line indicators.

Energy Strategic Planning Guide: Information and tool for developing a sustainability strategic plan specifically designed for energy efficiency.

Transparency Profile Options: Users will be presented with a series of options for providing more or less information about the company’s energy output and changes from year to year.

Energy Cost Savings Reports: Tools for developing a business case for any size company towards energy efficiency and diversification.

Small Business Profiles and Tools: Adapted versions of the features mentioned above will be made available to small businesses.

Consumers: Resources, expert information, and profiles of local companies provide consumers with new discriminating insights in their product and services purchases. Basic functionality includes:

• Energy saving ideas,
• Energy diversification ideas,
• Energy planning guide
• Energy footprint report
• Green business networking
• New Ideas Box (plug-in vehicles, etc.)
• Green products that use less energy

Let’s get it started!