It’s all about motivation.

Arkan Kayihan speaks to Green Teams as part of the Grassroots Leader series

As a management consultant, I often enact change without having any resources to bring to bear except executive sponsorship (when I’m lucky) and my ability to engage and motivate others. A key in leading change is to understand your stakeholders, their motivations, and their needs. When I started selling consulting services in my twenties I got some key advice: “don’t sell what you have, find out what keeps your clients up at night and help them scratch that itch.”

Change can come from top-down, bottom-up, or ideally from both directions. That being said, change within an organization is almost always easier when you have resources or power to bring to bear.  When you aren’t empowered, it’s even more important to understand your key stakeholders and help them scratch their itch so you can simultaneously enact change.  Empowering mid-level managers and front line staff to enact change in a corporate environment is why we started the NBIS Grassroots Sustainability Leadership Forum.

Green Team leaders engage in a presentation setting

This is an invitation only series for grassroots corporate sustainability leaders to share best practices, learn how to deliver messages to executive audiences, and feel like they aren’t alone in their efforts to drive change from the bottom up. Many of our leaders have day jobs in accounting or procurement, but in their spare time lead or drive a “green team” at work. Part of any green team’s role is to pitch and enact sustainable business practices while meeting the needs and goals of those who are empowered to make the change happen (those key sponsors again). And always, one can influence others if they know what their motivations are.

We’ve been lucky to have grassroots leaders from Nintendo, Alaska Air, Expeditors & The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center speak to their experiences in leading grassroots change at their organizations. At our next event we will be tackling a very specific corporate stakeholder: finance.

If you’re interested in participating in our Grassroots series, please come visit us at: http://nbis.org/programs/grassroots-leaders/

Often when you see people giving donations to plant trees, or saving a forest sometimes it’s never really as close or as significant when it’s right in your own backyard. This is the case with Trillium Forest located on Whidbey Island in Washington. The 664-acre property is the largest piece of privately owned property in Island County. Before it went into foreclosure it was originally divided into 124 plots and approved for development. This property is literally less than 3 miles from where my husband and I are in Greenbank, and just north of Freeland. In a rural setting, this is your backyard.

A nine-inch Northwestern Salamander on a Red Alder log. Whidbey Is. Photo by Robert J. Pennington.

Earlier this year the Whidbey Camano Land Trust was given the option to purchase the property and raise $4.2 Million. If successful, the WCLT would work to turn it back into recreational trails for hikers, birders, horseback riders, etc., and help restore the health and wildlife of a forest that had been logged back in 1988.

If the funds cannot be raised, the property will be divided and sold privately. Originally the Land Trust had until June 10th to raise the funds. As luck would have it they received an extension until September 10th.

So here we are on September 1st, just ten days away and I feel like I’m watching a horse race between thousands of people trying to save a forest and a financial institution. (I promised myself, I wouldn’t go there). Because I am familiar with the work the Whidbey Camano Land Trust does, it boggles my mind to see them spearhead what would seemingly be an impossible mission. As of this writing they need just $900,000. $300,000 has already been promised, leaving $600,000 left. From their newsletter posting today, “To help raise the remaining $600,000, an existing donor has made a pledge to match, dollar for dollar, the first person to donate $100,000 between now and September 10. After the Land Trust raises $600,000, a second anonymous donor will contribute the remaining $300,000 needed to complete the campaign.” That’s not much considering where they started, but it’s a still a big stretch in 10 days.

Curled fern. Whidbey Is. Photo by Robert J. Pennington

While it does comes down to money, it’s about so much more than that. It’s about watching people from all over Island County and beyond, work together to save this giant piece of land. You cannot walk into a local store, cafe, or lumberyard without seeing donation jars with “Save the Forest Now” buttons and postcards on them. Hikers, joggers, birders, photographers, horseback riders, and other groups lead talks and rides through the property. Even small schoolchildren are not spared, helping raise funds and teaching people about why we need to Save the Forest Now.

If saved, I have no doubt this forest could become one of the best teaching grounds and case studies in the U.S., both environmentally and socially. It can even provide inspiration for more successful transactions while leaving an important legacy for generations to come. The reach of what happens in the next few days goes far beyond the waters around an island in Puget Sound. If it can happen here, the lessons learned can teach others everywhere not just how to save a piece of land against the odds and in a recession, but how to bring a much larger community together, regardless of politics, religion or economic status.

So now it’s down to the wire and I’ve got my money on “Trillium” comin’ up on the outside, yelling, “Go baby! Go!” A photo finish for the ages.

Offset your carbon footprint! Find out more about this property and how you can donate, check out the status on the Whidbey Camano Land Trust’s site: www.SaveTheForestNow.org

Or contact the WCLT at:

Whidbey Camano Land Trust
765 Wonn Road, Barn C-201
Greenbank, WA 98253

Last Thursday, January 21st, a panel of business leaders spoke at Antioch University to a full room of entrepreneurs, students, faculty and members of the business community. Each gave a great presentation on how their company is working to create social and environmental benefits through innovative practices.

NBIS presented the program as part of Antioch University’s Center for Creative Change series on Global Issues and Perspectives. Karl Ostrom, Co-director of the Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (NBIS) moderated the discussion with Seattle-based executives from a variety of businesses with global footprints.

David Basson, CEO of Greensource Organic Clothing

First up to speak was David Basson, the CEO from Greensource Organic ClothingCompany. His is an eco-friendly company, mitigating the negative environmental impacts of the apparel industry, particularly the toxins used in the growth and processing of cotton. He spoke eloquently about how their brand is not just the products they sell, but more how they do business in the world marketplace. One of the highlights showed how their traceability tracking system gives their customers the benefit of being able to trace their garments from field to final production. He also spoke about giving back to the communities where the organic cotton is grown. They have built three schools to provide access to education for the children in these rural communities. The also have medical clinics on site in several locations. Organic cotton is still only about 3% of the world’s cotton supply, yet conventional cotton is the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world. For every Cotton T-Shirt made with conventionally grown cotton, six ounces of toxic chemicals containing pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers and defoliants are used and these find their way into the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat.

Valerie Bone, Director of Quality/Corporate Social Responsibility, PMI

Next up was Valerie Bone, Director of Quality/Corporate Social Responsibility from Pacific Market International. PMI is best known for their Aladdin and Stanley Thermos brands. Her presentation covered the strategic approach the company took in becoming more sustainably aware. Building on the company’s strong foundation in codes of conduct and quality, she spoke about PMI’s Corporate Social Responsibility charter that embeds sustainability in the core mission and vision of the company. PMI has been conducting extensive R&D to develop BPA-free alternatives to polycarbonate material. One result of these efforts was the co-development of eCycle, a food grade quality plastic that is made from 100 percent recycled materials with a 25 percent post consumer content. It’s also recyclable where [5] plastic is collected. In 2008, PMI used more than 1 million pounds of recycled plastics in its products. As a result of these product innovations, PMI has strengthened its relationships with customers like Starbucks and Nike that have aggressive sustainability goals for products and vendors.

David Okrent, Brand Director for Environment for Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Speaking from the Aerospace industry was David Okrent, Brand Director for Environment for Boeing Commercial Airplanes with additional duties as the coordinator for the European section of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group and as the project manager for the Boeing Sustainable Biofuels Steering Team. It was obvious that Mr. Okrent certainly has his work cut out for him. For Boeing it is more a question of trying to reduce their environmental footprint. When you look at how large a company Boeing is, it becomes very interesting to see how this aerospace giant is seeking to talk about sustainability. Boeing’s work in pioneering new technologies and materials to reduce fuel consumption, striving to find better fuel solutions and even looking at air traffic efficiencies to reduce fuel usage made for an eye-opening presentation. If you are interested in learning more about their progress, read the company’s Environment report.

Dennis Gawlik, Faculty Member at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and Director of Purchasing Services for the University of Washington

Last up was Dennis Gawlik, a Faculty member at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and the Director of Purchasing Services for the University of Washington. Mr. Gawlik raised the bar on sustainability imperatives noting that while many companies are striving to achieve better sustainability performance, most, in his view, are not currently going far enough. He engaged the audience in a whiteboard session challenging those in the room to come up with the top ten issues identified in a survey of purchasing agents in the U.S. as their biggest sustainability concerns. At the top of the list were Biodiversity and Water. It was a great way to bring the presentations to a close and get the audience to think in terms of the global economics and impacts of American businesses.

After the presentations the panel joined in a discussion on what sustainability means to each of them. Questions were taken from an enthusiastic audience, and Antioch was pleased to see so many people stick around afterwards to converse with the speakers. It just makes you realize it’s how we harness people energy that will make the business world a better place.

For many of us, a yearly health checkup with our general practitioner is standard. We count on our GP to have a grip on the grand scheme of what’s going on with our bodies, providing an integrated medical approach, and sometimes a referral to a specialist if a problem comes up.

Your house deserves the same attention, every ten years or so.

A home performance contractor is the GP for your home. “Home Performance” is the term used to describe how well a house functions in terms of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and durability. Because all of these elements interact, the science-based, whole-house approach taken by home performance contractors is the best way to solve problems with a house.

For example, if insulation is installed without considering moisture and ventilation, or if a new furnace is installed without addressing air and duct leaks, the house could end up in worse shape, and even possibly a safety hazard with air quality or combustion issues. A thorough home performance analysis (commonly called a home energy audit) can ensure that your home is healthy with all its elements working well together.

Home Performance illustrating potential air leaks. Source: U.S. EPA

If there are home health problems, a home performance contractor can prescribe the appropriate construction improvements or system retrofits. The whole-house approach means this can be done in a way that best meets the wants of the homeowner as well as the needs of the house.

While you perceive benefits such as being warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, breathing fresher air, and having lower energy bills, the increase in the house’s efficiency also means a lower carbon footprint. Improving the nation’s residential carbon use by 25% is equivalent to doubling the gas mileage of all the nation’s cars.

Thanks to an increasing number of articles in the mass media, along with state and federal tax credits and incentives, the public is beginning to understand that home performance is an important part of the energy solution, but there is a long way to go. The non-profit organization Efficiency First is working in Washington, D.C. to effect legislation that will incentivize based on performance, rather than products. Certain jurisdictions are already requiring an audit before a home can be put up for sale, and as metrics become more centralized, an energy score (much like a car’s MPG) may end up on the real estate listings.

In Washington State, a new trade association—Home Performance Washington—has formed to address the growing demand for home performance contractors and related companies. Their mission is to increase public awareness, set the standard for the work that is performed, support conservation programs, and work with local, regional, and national organizations to support the industry.

The great news is that hiring a home performance contractor to retrofit your home usually does not cost a fortune; the most common improvements are quick, easy, and affordable—with immediately detectable results for the health of your home and your enjoyment of it.

So just as an apple a day may keep the doctor away, doing a home performance retrofit can keep the energy losses at bay.

Alison Kartiganer is the Operations Manager for Vesta Home Performance Retrofitting