Community sustainability groups are no longer in their infancy,
but they are far from mature. In the late 1980s, Seattle became one of
the first major metropolitan areas to address issues of sustainability
on a large scale. A decade later, a half-dozen similar action groups existed,
and today, nearly every major metropolitan area includes a sustainability
forum or action group interested in creating a sustainable community.
Creating a sustainability group is the first step toward making green
environmental changes, but these groups have much more work ahead of them
to ensure every company or government entity in their community is doing
their part to become green.
In Dallas, Texas, Sustainable Dallas took action to promote sustainability
on an individual and business level to help local companies incorporate
sustainability initiatives into their business models. The efforts of
this group have led area businesses to become more environmentally and
socially responsible, and motivated the city of Dallas to incorporate
alternative fuel vehicles and hybrids into its fleet and use the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for new buildings.
In 1999, three Dallas leaders formed Sustainable Dallas, a nonprofit organization
with a mission of providing leadership and guidance to businesses, institutions
and communities in the greater Dallas area to create an economically profitable,
socially responsible and environmentally sound future. Sustainable Dallas
focused on showcasing the practices of successful green initiatives to
other businesses and organizations through “sustainability through
seeing, then doing—sustainability through replication,” a
strategy the organization learned through its participation in the National
Town Meeting for a Sustainable America in 1999. The group also serves
as an industry watchdog to ensure that corporations that vocalize a commitment
to sustainability are following through with those goals, and established
criteria to weed out companies that are not truly sustainable.
In the beginning, the group struggled to find and secure qualified speakers
from companies that showed a commitment to sustainability. Today, CEOs,
marketing gurus and ad agencies are clamoring to capitalize on the “growth
of green” by promoting, selling and advertising that they are sustainable
as a way to increase their corporate reputations and appeal to an increasing
number of green-minded consumers.
The organization determined that going green had to be more than just
a marketing campaign, and learned not to make assumptions about presenters
and attendees. Rather, Sustainable Dallas exercises due diligence to ensure
that speakers and company examples are legitimately green to maintain
the organization’s hard-earned credibility. Although many in the
business community are taking positive steps in regard to sustainability,
recent involvement in sustainable business practices does not automatically
qualify a company or person as an expert or a case-study example. Sustainable
Dallas looks for individuals in particular fields with 10 or even 20 years
of experience with sustainability issues.
Exemplifying Sustainability as an Organization
An ongoing frustration for Sustainable Dallas was determining whether
the organization was actually making a difference in the community because
of a lack of evidential feedback. When the organization completed its
first two conferences in 2000, Sustainable Dallas representatives met
with local business leaders to answer two important questions:
• How do we know if we are truly creating a sustainable Dallas?
• How do you measure sustainability?
Only by engaging directly with the local business community and government
did Sustainable Dallas know that it was having measurable success through
the reporting of accomplishments by these private-sector and tax-supported
entities. The organization, with the help of local businesses and the
municipality, set goals to measure its success, such as quantifying a
reduction in emissions and a reduction in waste going to local landfills.
The organization had a gut feeling that progress was being made, but had
to build up its credibility, leading Sustainable Dallas to adopt a bio-regionalistic
approach. Rather than flying in qualified speakers and presenters, the
organization searches for people in its vicinity. The organization also
utilizes Web-casting technology to save time and travel costs and reduce
emissions, which still allows chosen speakers to disseminate information
and messages of sustainability without added financial or environmental
costs.
When speakers need to be flown in from other regions, the organization
maximizes their appearances by setting up multiple presentations and engagements,
such as arranging private meetings with key leaders in the public or private
sector. During the 2003 Sustainable Dallas Conference, organizers brought
in Amory Lovins, who inspired the construction of Texas Instruments’
world-class semiconductor manufacturing facility in nearby Richardson,
Texas. To leverage Lovins’s time and effectiveness on his visit
to the city, Sustainable Dallas arranged a meeting with The Dallas Morning
News Editorial Board and the president of Richland College. Lovins also
met with 23 engineers involved with planning Texas Instruments’
LEED-certified plant, providing ideas that were incorporated into the
TI facility which earning the company praise in The New York Times, as
well as mention in two Discovery Channel documentaries: “Addicted
to Oil” and “Green: The New Red, White and Blue”
Developing a Sustainable Action Group
Issues such as global warming, ground-level ozone, air quality, water
quality, soil fertility, human health, habitat diversity and ecosystem
productivity are valid and critical factors determining the sustainability
of our continued healthy existence. The data overwhelmingly indicate that
climate change is human-influenced. In 100 years, the world’s population
of six billion is on course to double. Is it possible to continue consuming
at the current pace and be able to sustain a livable and healthy existence,
maintaining a natural balance on the planet? Sustainable Dallas is encouraging
individuals around the world to work together with their communities to
create similar action groups that promote sustainable practices. To create
a group, Sustainable Dallas offers these strategies:
• Make sure example businesses are practicing what they preach.
To determine if green businesses and entities are keeping their word,
Sustainable Dallas looks at a company’s membership in sustainability
organizations, such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Environmental
Defense or the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES).
Businesses with memberships in multiple groups are likely truly green.
If a business is not a member of any of these or similar organizations,
Sustainable Dallas advises groups to dig deeper and be leery of those
companies that practice self-monitoring or perform self-reporting with
no outside certification. Do not assume that any organization with a green
label or sustainability claim is legitimate.
• Make sure sustainability groups in your area are addressing all
of the needs of the outlying communities. If there is already a group
in your area, but it is not addressing the concerns of your specific community
(i.e. suburb, neighborhood, township), perhaps you can start one that
addresses issues most pertinent to your needs. Ensure there are open lines
of communication between the existing and established groups. Work together
to avoid mistakes and become more effective and successful organizations.
• Don’t feel like you must shoulder the burden. Even though
one person can make a profound impact, do not assume that it’s your
sole responsibility. Align yourself with same-minded individuals who are
deeply committed to creating a sustainable planet. Make sure that they
have demonstrated through their actions that they understand sustainability.
Don’t be afraid to invite others to support your efforts.
• Invite government agencies to help you meet your goals. There
are many employees within the ranks of government entities at local, state
and federal levels who understand and support sustainable practices, both
in government policy and practice and in the commercial sectors where
they play a guidance or regulatory role. Many government agencies are
setting an example that both corporations and consumers should follow.
If our largest corporations, medium and small businesses, as well as consumers
followed the lead established by some government agencies, we would be
well on our way to achieving sustainability. When dealing with government
agencies and entities, ask how you can help them and where their needs
are, which can aid in the development of relationships and increase the
possibility of funding and use of other resources down the road.
• Look for allies. Community colleges, business colleges and chambers
of commerce are potential allies that have facilities and other resources
for public use. More importantly, the contacts and relationships built
through these venues are even more valuable than the facilities and other
tangible benefits that they offer.
• Don’t give up. Unite with others in your community who you
know are in congruence with your desires to create a sustainable community.
It may not be easy—in fact, it may be downright difficult. However,
the most difficult things to accomplish are often the most rewarding and
often pay the greatest dividends.
Tom Kemper is the chairman of Sustainable Dallas and the CEO and founder
of Dolphin Blue, an online retailer of environmentally responsible office
supplies. |
