I remember during the early dot-com days when companies were deciding whether or not to get a website how many opted not to have one—and when they finally did decide years later, they hired a friend’s teenage nephew to build it for them. Even with overwhelming potential gain in marketing reach and changes in consumer behavior, many companies continue to invest very little in their web presence. This “wait and see” and “just good enough” behavior persists in the present day regarding sustainability.

In a US Climate Change Program report from December 2008, scientists have had to reset the clock for expected impacts from climate change. Many of the original projections expected to occur decades from now are now occurring, and climate changes are accelerating at an exponential rate. More regulation is in the pipeline, and many companies are not prepared to comply with the new requirements. Meanwhile, consumers, buyers, and other stakeholders in the market supply chain are beginning to demand more accountability from their business relationships. Some questions being asked are: Where were the components made? How were the workers compensated? How were the raw materials extracted? How far was the product shipped? What happens to the product when it’s no longer usable?

So how do you respond? I have found there to be several types of reactions to climate change and the opportunities presented with becoming more sustainable:

The first response is like an ostrich whose head is in the sand—hear nothing and so do nothing. These companies may be neither immediately nor directly affected by the push and pull of regulations and consumer demand, so they choose to ignore any calls for changes that don’t directly impact their business today.

A second response is treating sustainability like a fad. The direction and culture of the organization remains the same but it runs a few green projects up the flagpole to see if it attracts attention.

A third response is considering sustainability like a trend. For a short period of time, an organization adopts language, strategies, and methodologies that appear to be sustainable but the basic mission and organizational goals remain the same—style over substance.

A fourth response is when an organization decides to make incremental changes over time for real and lasting change towards a sustainable model. This organization may take years to make a change but like the tortoise against the hare, eventually wins.

A final response could be a paradigm shift when an organization stops its practices altogether and recreates itself in a completely sustainable model, like a caterpillar to a butterfly, with many of its original methods, mission, and culture are indistinguishable from its original form.

Whatever the response to climate change, we certainly need to make conscious decisions about our impact in order to survive these challenging times.