By Justin K. Lacey (Guest Blogger)

After 5 days, 24 lectures, 3 field studies and 2 “open space” sessions, what have I discovered about sustainability while attending the UBC Summer Institute in Sustainability? I learned a great deal in fact; some of it incredibly relevant for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Instead of providing you with another checklist or a bunch of recommendations to help you incorporate sustainability into your small business, I thought it would be more inspiring to provide you with three “big ideas” that I took away from my week back at school.

Big idea #1: Do nothing. That probably sounds counter intuitive, but what I see as a major issue is the pace of modern life. We are all extremely busy in both our personal and professional lives. Many of us are “type A” personalities driven by action items and deliverables. Our problem is that we are so driven by the requirements of our daily routine we find neither the time, nor the opportunity, to stop and think. I mean think long and deep. This type of serious reflection is what is required for us to think our way through this difficult time.

Big idea #2: Don’t look for the blueprint. There is no roadmap, blue print if you prefer, for any business to successfully implement sustainability. The best route is to educate yourself, and seek people who have done similar work in the past. Unfortunately no two sustainability strategies are the same, so you will need to chart a course that is tailored to your business.

Big idea #3: See opportunity where others see challenge. Every successful person, no matter their realm or discipline, will tell you that your state of mind has an incredible impact on your success. You must not view the issues associated with sustainability as challenges; rather view them as opportunities for you to create business value while addressing the environmental and social issues key to the long term viability of your business.

Let me leave you with a quote from Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller, an American architect, author, inventor, and visionary who was concerned with the question “Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?

“On spaceship Earth, there are no passengers. We are all crew”.

Thanks for reading.

Justin K. Lacey is the founder of Walk Softly Communications and a friend of Retail Prophet.

By Justin K. Lacey (Guest Blogger)

Over the last couple of days at the UBC Summer Institute in Sustainability, we’ve spent a great deal of time discussing, in one way or another, the “business case” for sustainability. It’s an area of great interest for businesses large and small, and many feel that it’s the key for companies to identify those opportunities that add business value while promoting environmental and social benefits.

What I find ironic is that, all of a sudden, there exists this belief that every business on planet earth completes an exhaustive business case before they make any business decision bigger than where to order lunch for the afternoon brainstorming session.

I have worked for companies large and small, all quite successful, and we made many decisions without the aid of a detailed business case. And even when we did complete a business case, assumptions and “gut instinct” were never too far removed from the final recommendation. Business people have pet projects and initiatives that they feel are “strategic” and always find a way to get them implemented – business case be damned.

Truth be told, none of that really matters any more – the business case for sustainability is incredibly strong, and getting stronger each and every day. Reduced energy usage, improved efficiency, enhanced brand image and greater employee engagement are all positive factors that need to be included in the business case for any sustainability initiative. And as the cost of various “externalities” (a term coined by economists to describe the full “cost” to the environment of a given business activity) are factored into the price of all sorts of goods and services, the case for sustainability is only going to get stronger.

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, the key is to identify specific environmental or societal issues that are strategic to your business. Every business relies on something the earth provides, or a service from a particular group of people.  The key is to identify opportunities that both add value to your business and contribute to addressing the environmental or societal issues affecting your company’s long term viability. If you feel your business is too small to make a difference on its own, then you need to work with other, like-minded businesses or work through your trade group or business association.

Over time, each and every business will do the math and determine that the business case for sustainability is in fact the only business case that matters.

Tomorrow will be my final guest post and I will be providing a few final, likely random, thoughts about business, sustainability, and my 5 days at UBC.

Justin K. Lacey is the founder of Walk Softly Communications and a friend of Retail Prophet

By Justin Lacey (Guest Blogger)

If you’ve lived anywhere on planet earth during the latter half of the 20^th century, you’ve probably heard of the Marlboro Man.

The brainchild of Leo Burnett, a famous advertising executive also known for creating such icons as the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Marlboro Man was designed to help sell filtered cigarettes to men. At the time, filtered cigarettes were considered feminine, and Phillip Morris (now Altria) was experiencing great difficulty in convincing men to try Marlboro cigarettes.

Phillip Morris originally introduced the Marlboro brand as a women’s cigarette in 1924, but was looking to reinvigorate the brand and make it much more appealing to men. The Marlboro Man rode to the rescue.

For roughly 45 years, from 1954 to 1999, the Marlboro Man convinced men of all ages that filtered cigarettes were masculine, almost a sign of strength and virility. He completely reversed a commonly held impression of filtered cigarettes, and made Marlboro cigarettes synonymous with the aspirations of so many men of the day: cool, confident and rugged.

Can we not do the same for sustainability? Should we?

So often I see companies employ traditional marketing technique to promote green products and services. They leverage and modify what has worked in the past with the hope that it will appeal to a new, more environmentally and socially conscious generation. I am not convinced.

I think we need a completely new approach. We need the Leo Burnett of our day to convince us that sustainable consumption is just not the right thing to do, but it’s the thing we want to do. Sustainable consumption must make us feel good about ourselves; that we are making the right choice for ourselves, our family and the planet. I have yet to see any “green marketing” that comes even close.

Maybe the new approach for “selling” sustainability, the Marlboro Man for our time, is already here. Maybe we already have what we need to connect and engage consumers on the importance of buying socially and environmentally sustainable products. Maybe you are our new Marlboro Man.

Most agree that the production, distribution and sale of many goods and services will need to become increasing local if we are to effectively reduce green house gas emissions.  As a local business owner, consumers will increasingly look to you for information and guidance on the products and services you offer. We will rely less on brands, and more on those on the front line of commerce to help us make choices that are good for the planet and make us feel good about ourselves. We need a new, different kind of Marlboro Man. Are you our new Marlboro Man?

Tomorrow, I will be writing about the business case for sustainability.

Justin K. Lacey is the founder of Walk Softly Communications and a friend of Retail Prophet

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to be removed from our daily routine, and instead, find ourselves immersed in a topic that we are passionate about and believe to be of historic importance.  For me, this week is one of those very rare times indeed.

This week I will be attending the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Summer Institute in Sustainability being held at the Point Gray campus in Vancouver, British Columbia. This innovative program is part of The Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability (CFS) at UBC, and is one of several programs focused on sustainability that the university offers.

Over the next five days, I will be sharing my thoughts, views and observations on what I have learned while attending this program, and hopefully provide a few insights of my own that will be of benefit to you and your business.

As I drove from my house in White Rock, B.C. into Vancouver towards the beautiful UBC campus, I found myself wondering – “just who exactly attends a full week dedicated to Sustainability”. So let’s start there for my first post of the week.

As it turns out, and not surprisingly, the issue of sustainability is of keen interest to a rather broad cross-section of people. As I look across the room, many colleges, universities and various institutions of “higher learning” are well represented. We have participants from various levels of government, as well as some people that work for crown corporations (quasi government organizations that operate with varying levels of independence).

Big business is represented, and we have a fair number of advisors and sustainability consultants (including yours truly) that are participating in the activities this week. However, one group that I do not see adequately represented is small business. This is not surprising of course – as I am sure you will agree.

There are very few small business owners that have the luxury of removing themselves from the “front-line” to attend a week long course on sustainability. However, the sad truth is that we can ill afford as a society not to have this critically important group actively engaged on this topic.

In many places across the globe, it is the small business owner that is the engine for economic prosperity. In British Columbia, nearly 6 out of every 10 individuals in the private sector are either self employed or are employed by a small business (those that employ 49 employees or fewer). And of the 378,700 companies operating in British Columbia, just 8,100 (or 2%) have 50 employees or more.

How can we hope to make meaningful progress on such an important issue unless we have active participation from small business leaders? Maybe that‘s the job of consultant like myself and the others that are attending this week’s program.  Maybe we need tailored programs that meet the unique needs (and time requirements) of small business leaders and entrepreneurs. Or maybe the small business community has not been convinced of the business case for sustainability (something I will write about later on in the week).

I don’t know the answer, but I do know that it’s a question (among many, many others) that must be solved in rather short order.

Tomorrow, I will be writing about why so many of us struggle with defining Sustainability in a way that everyone can understand (and why it’s so important to do so).

-Justin Lacey is the founder of Walk Softly Communications