Some short notes/impressions from the plenary sessions to pass along. Happy to follow up with you on specifics as best I can. Society for Organizational Learning Forum on Business Innovation for Sustainability March 27-30 I participated as part of the US Partnership team that organized a Youth Leadership Forum within the main forum and was not able to attend any specific workshops. I worked with some amazing next generation leaders from around the country, New Zealand and India whose energy and commitment give us lots of hope (best hope?) for a better future. Many at the forum commented on the rapid movement of mainstream towards Sustainability in last 2 months. May have reached the approx 30% point that accompanies a tipping point. But so much to do. Have to increase efforts on the solutions- less exciting but crucial- side of the equation. Moving Outside the Industrial Age Bubble Peter Senge. * Bubble metaphor used to compare our industrial age take/throw away culture with shorter term familiar bubbles-dot com, real estate- where people are living in denial of impending collapse. * Outside the bubble is the reality (answers) of the natural world * Senge talked about the parallels to the scenario work in South Africa- that people dont change behavior until they realize there is no future if the current systems and processes are retained. So, we dont have to have to wait for a crisis to change if the scenarios are constructed and well communicated. On reflection, would seem to be and urgent need for the equivalent of SAs Low Road, High Road scenarios/stories out there globally instead of fragmentation by NGOs, countries, etc. We dont need more stories, just simpler and consistent ones to change mindset. Maybe a UN activity? As in SA, change requires patience and persistence (again, increased emphasis on grinding on with solutions now that activism has created awareness). * Factoids (I thought useful- others may have more to add): * 90% waste from resource extraction to stuff we consume (vs 0% for nature). Individuals in US generate approx 1 ton waste per day * The current plant, ocean CO2 sequestration capacity of 2-3 billion tons was only 0.5 billion tons not that long ago- I wrote down 50 years Building a Foundation/Persistence and Other Tips for Change Leaders * Roger Saillant CEO of Plug Power spoke about the long term, careful work we have ahead. Think of what we are doing now as building the foundation for a cathedral- know that you are growing sequoias not radishes He should know- the fuel cell business requires extreme patience (unless you are in Japan with heavy government subsidies). For autos, Roger (I sat with him at lunch) thinks 2025. Also, plug-ins need breakthrough in battery technology to have acceptable economics (battery life) * The older generation- heavily represented at the forum- must think of themselves as elders in training Need to be tough on yourself, tell the truth about how far we have to go on this journey. * John Adams http://www.eartheart-ent.com/ presented a Successful Change Tracking Grid- assessment/checklist of which the following stand out and complemented by his observation that facts dont change minds- stories do (see scenarios above) : * Acceptance that change is needed * Change is both desirable and possible * Sufficient passionate commitment * Mechanisms for repetition of new positive patterns of behavior * Patience and perseverance * Clear accountability -be visible, vocal, consistent and persistent * Rewards for new behavior and withdrawal for old behavior * David Gershon (Low Carbon Diet) presented (I caught only short piece of it) on continuing success with focused, well organized, fun Global Warming Café, Cool Communities teletraining: http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/lcd/lcd_files/LCD_Tele_Training.html , Cool Corporate Citizen programs Intergenerational Conversations * SoL plans to make youth centerpiece/theme of next such forum * In our group, Glen from New Zealand defined Sustainability as an intergenerational conversation about the future/conversation with the next generation. Isabelle added that we need to include past generations for full wisdom- we can let those that came before us hold our worries and fears as we move into difficult work * Our 14 year olds- James and Madeline from Brewster NY and DoRight Enterprise (middle schoolers doing energy consulting, sustainability PR and lobbying- were a big hit with the full forum and both of them gained great confidence and commitment over the three days of the conference http://scottbeall.com/doright.htm * Raffi focused on honoring/respecting the child in two ways: 1) rights of children to a better future and 2) how we might emulate how they learn- inquiry, playfulness- as we create a new society. See his covenant for honoring children http://www.raffinews.com/child_honouring/covenant_principles Business Realities John Krenicki from GE power and Vivian Cox from BP talked about their sustainability activities. Clearly business needs push/help/partnership from citizens and government to move more quickly but they are investing heavily in sustainable technology for next 100 years. * GE pursuing retrofitting of power generation aggressively which will have more short term carbon release impact than alternative/wind * BP moving from largely PR campaign of past to hard projects- seems mostly because of Vivians persistence, leadership Inspirational Presentations * Jeff Brown- SoL regular and minister in Cambridge Mass- spoke about his work in reducing black youth homicides by simply keep stepping into it After preaching to the community and seeing the failed attempts to take back the neighborhood by force (the gangs simply moved to nearby streets), Jeff and a few others just showed up in the bad areas after 1 am and eventually the youth reached out to them for help. Again, learning, patience and persistence. * Janine Benyus updated on many new developments in biomimicry. We need to quiet human cleverness and listen to nature and echo what you hear and give thanks o CO2 as feedstocks for * Bicarbonate for structural material http://www.co2solution.com/a-tech01.html * Biodegradable plastic o Low energy fans, pumps using natural logarithmic screw shapes- 50% less energy and 75% quieter- for things like computer fans in the short term. http://www.paxscientific.com/technology.html _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
