BAND ON THE RUN?
There are plenty of claims and commitments in corpland. Lip service and going along to get along. Lowest common denominator compromises…and common denominators that raise the bar. You know where I fall on that spectrum (bar-raising, for those of you who are new), so I was pleased to see Greenbiz report that “Unilever is threatening to walk away from any trade association that doesn’t align its policy positions with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius.…[and] published a detailed assessment of 27 of the more than 600 organizations of which it is a member. And I was pleased to join more than 600 sustainability leaders who have signed on to ClimateVoice’s LEAD statement, calling on their companies to
- Leave obstructing trade associations
- Elevate climate policy as a company priority
- Advocate publicly for effective binding climate policies; and
- Demonstrate real commitment to the collective action needed to achieve the just and equitable transition from fossil fuels agreed on at COP28.
Greenbiz again: “[Unilever] quietly quit the world’s biggest business trade group, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, years ago over its historical hostility toward environmental policies.” There are reports that Microsoft—which has expressed concern for many years over the Chamber’s climate policies—is considering such a move too. Will more companies join the push to move the Chamber? Will the Chamber move or dig in? Will your company go along…or push the Chamber and other trade associations too?
BELONGING TO THE LIVING WORLD
The recording is now live for our Living Between Worlds conversation last week, where we explored the question of “What might it be like if we did business, and everything else, as though we actually belonged to the living world?” Take a look, let me know what the conversation provoked in you—and where you’d like us to take these conversations in the future. And please join us Wednesday, April 17th for our next Living Between Worlds, and a conversation with special guest Bill Reed. A co-founder of the LEED green building rating system, Bill is a principal in two firms, the Re-source Group and Regenesis, and an eloquent, effective, and busy pioneer of Regenerative Development—an integrative, whole and living system design process.
AND SPEAKING OF MOOD…
Yeah, I know you weren’t. But I was. I’m doing it all the time. (And you’re in the grip of mood all the time…whether you know it or not.) My latest Substack, Dancing With Mood, explored how the moods we inhabit—or that inhabit us—shape how we encounter the world, and the possibilities we see or don’t see. Do they trap us? Or can we learn to dance with them? And in that dance open new doors to effectiveness, well being, and peace of mind in these wild and crazy times.
What in the world does mood have to do with sustainability, regeneration, business, and ESG?
Oh, let’s see…Do you face the future with resignation? resentment? rage? resolve? adventure?
Moods, my friends. The pervasive, persistent backgrounds that we live into—or that live in us. That shape how we encounter the world, and the possibilities we see—or don’t see. Do they trap us? Or can we learn to dance with them? And, in that dance, open new doors to effectiveness, well being, and peace of mind in these wild and crazy times. My article offers a practical reflection on these questions—and some moves you could make. (Please like and subscribe—and let me know: what does it provoke in you?)
REQUEST & REWARD
I’m enriching my coaching offering for leaders, teams, companies. (You know—the one a serial entrepreneur client called “one of the best business investments I’ve made, ever!”), and I’m looking for great people doing meaningful work who could benefit from the insights, approaches, and tough love I bring to my clients. Maybe your ready, or maybe you know someone who’d like to work with me. (I’ll gratefully reward your referrals with generous contributions to the NGO of your choice.)