3 Big Ideas for Business Sustainability

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.