CA Economic Summit Advancing the Triple Bottom Line

The CA Economic Summit is a collaborative process to "advance the triple bottom line" through advancing our economy. I'm very grateful to play the role of Co-Chair for the Access to Capital Team for the summit. Here's a video which is a quick highlight of the conference. Here's a link to our initial capital action plan for the state and a brief article describing our work.

Must watch - Earth from Space - core perspective from which we can evolve from economism to earth systems science.

This Nova Program - "Earth from Space" gives the perspectives and information necessary to evolve our worldview and create a civilization which will ensure a resilient biosphere for a thriving humanity for many generations to come.

A straightforward pathway out of our myopia...

"Our perceptual myopia, which has focused on products not processes, on objects and entities rather than their broader fields of interplay, has led us to reward analysis and punish synthesis, to overvalue competition while ignoring the equally valuable role of cooperation, and to artificially define "problems" and devise "solutions"to fit them..." - Hazel Henderson 

So... now we systematically build cooperative processes which synthesize broad perspectives into grounded currently relevant coherent solutions contextually applied at human scales across the world. That's all!

"Expanding Our Paradigm from Economism to Earth Systems Science" a conversation between me and Hazel Henderson

Simple, empowering change and applying the vision.

The vision years ago:
 

The vision applied:
 

"Green Century" an inspiring television show which I'm featured in

Great show put together by friends called "Green Century" available online and on public television. My segment starts just after minute 22.

The Gene Revolution - The reality of agriculture with genetically modified crops

Do we really need industrial agriculture?

This video addresses the myths of industrial agriculture.

Innovation for the next 100 years.

Innovation which does not have resiliency embedded at it's core is likely a mirage of true evolutionary change.

The recent article "Innovation for the Next 100 Years"in Stanford Social Innovation Review by Judith Rodin from The Rockefeller Foundation wrote states:

"Innovating for resilience is critical if we are to protect against the disruptions of the 21st-century world. As we do so, we should keep in mind the qualities resilient networks, communities and organizations share. Among them are:

• FLEXIBILITY | able to change, evolve, and adapt at a rapid pace. 

• REDUNDANCY | able to change course and adopt alternative approaches. 

• RESOURCEFULNESS | able to identify problems, establish priorities, and mobilize resources and assets to achieve goals. 

• SAFE-FAILURE | able to absorb shocks and the cumulative effects of slow-onset challenges so as to avoid catastrophic failure if thresholds are exceeded. 

• RESPONSIVENESS | able to re-organize and re-establish fund and order following a failure. 

• LEARNING | able to internalize experiences and apply those lessons to decrease vulnerabilities to future disruptions.

These are very close to the life's principles as defined by the Biomimicry Institute.

 

Catalyzing the Connection Economy

First posted on Ethical Markets and Triple Pundit

Somewhere along the line our culture lost contact with the recognition of oneness of all life, the connectedness to each other. Our institutions – government, economy, religion are all built on a false premise of separation.

Simply spoken, in Economics 101 we learned that everything around a business other than what is termed “business as usual” are “externalities” – “external” to the business, and the economy.  The model of endless growth for its own sake without regard to the effects of such growth is a symptom of blindness to such “externalities.”  Our prevailing economic growth-based model is not working to serve the needs of all humanity. If you don’t agree with me, ask the roughly 2 billion people who are living on less than a dollar a day. You may simply believe that their welfare is separate from yours, and you needn’t concern yourself with their plight…

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” – Anonymous


The meaning of this quote is so self evident and obvious to me that I find it surprising that we have to say it at all. Yet this is the world we live in right now. I have the quote on my email signature for its relevance to the evolution of economic theory and business management – the world in which I dance. And the inspiration to create a better economics and more effective business models is at the heart of that quote for me.

Our current capitalist model of economics was crystallized in the 18^th and 19^th centuries where two prevailing worldviews dominated our culture. The scientific temperament with reason guiding all was counterbalanced by the enchanted worldview informed by authentic human experience of art, beauty, consciousness and nature.

Many authors and thought leaders point out this schism in our culture – the two major worldviews: Richard Tarnas calls them enchanted vs. disenchanted, Riane Eisler calls them partnership vs. dominator, and David Korten calls them empire vs. earth community. The core insight upon recognizing this cognitive schism is that we are in the need of a fundamental shift in our paradigm, our system.

In other words, we have not only have a crisis of economics, politics and spirituality but a more fundamental crisis. The very way that we perceive reality is proving inept at addressing the complex issues of our civilization.

This dichotomy between reason and faith was the context from which our economics was born. Economics became a bit lopsided toward the rationalist movement, and efforts to make economics a “hard science” combined with the social Darwinism of the time.

Our economic mindset is deeply influenced by the philosophical delusion that the economy is separate from society, and society is separate from nature. Through simple observation one becomes aware that society rests within the womb of nature, and that the economy rests within the fertile soil of society.

In order to meet our own generation’s needs, without compromising the needs of future generations, it is incumbent on us evolve a new enterprise model based on this very straightforward recognition of interlocking complex systems. Some say this is impossible. And it may very well be so, within the lopsided worldview. Yet, the opportunity is clear. It’s time to shift the paradigm, evolve a new economic vision to include components of connection, natural systems, passion, ethics, beauty and trust which have been left on the conceptual shop floor.

 A more resilient and robust ontological fabric is growing for the emerging “connection economy” through deeper interaction between disparate disciplines, groups and efforts. Such a foundation is essential for the broad influence and impact of visionary capital to underwrite a new civilization which works for 100 percent of humanity.

“World views create worlds.” – Richard Tarnas

When we recognize the opportunity to create a new world based on an integrated worldview, the pathway is clear: develop businesses based on the welfare of all stakeholders and be inspired by an economic model, which takes into account all participants in the economy.

My colleague, thought leader and responsible investing pioneer Terry Mollner works tirelessly to make the wellbeing of the common good the highest aim of all economic activity. He calls for a new movement in capital: common good investing. He states, “Common good investing calls on all enterprises to publicly declare that their highest priority is the common good of us all and profit or anything else is second in priority.”

Today, in our hyperconnected world, our culture is increasingly waking up to the interdependence of all the systems on the planet, finally, we’re beginning to see the  synthesis emerging of the rational and the romantic into a worldview.

There are many people in the business world who are waking up to find that the concept that the economy is a separate system from the rest of the world is an illusion. An entire whole movement has emerged in the last 40 years in finance, business and economics responding to the need to express, quantify and model the impact of our businesses and the influence that they have on the world in which we live. The sunrise of a new guiding paradigm in economics is upon us.

If you’re not aware of this – just observe to the topic of hyperconnectivity being discussed in Davos right now or the range of issues being addressed or review the myriad advancements in business school curricula across the planet incorporating sustainability into business.

If you’re reading this you’re likely more than aware that it’s not just dollars and cents, balance sheets, money supply, unemployment, GDP and inflation anymore.

The Social Capital Markets Bay Area conference is the annual incubator for this movement to pollinate and inspire new ways to make money matter. The nexus of nearly 2,000 professionals is a hotbed of connective tissue where key innovators in philanthropy, impact investing, entrepreneurship, non-profit, technology and social enterprise mind-meld to build the new economy. This event is not unlike the ancient sea where new life explodes in the primordial soup of the emerging economy in the ecosystem of interconnection.

In this space, all the traditional silos begin to blur, everyone is working on multiple aspects of the dynamic social capital economy, and the dots further connect, conversation by conversation.

In sum, these thought leaders gather together annually because they recognize there’s much to be gained by “connecting the dots” and building a new economy which ties meaning to money, wellbeing to wealth and cultural evolution to capital.

Similarly on the other coast, the latest effort of visionary futurist Hazel Henderson and her contemporaries gather annually for the “SRI Leaders Retreat” which created the latest statement for the “Transforming Finance” initiative which she leads.

The Statement – “Tranforming Economics Into True Wealth” is born a recognition of an interconnected world begins: “We undersigned investment professionals recognize our human responsibility for the many breakdowns in our societies and enfolding ecosystems resulting from our limited consciousness: climate change, hunger, poverty, conflicts, financial crises and ecological destruction. These systemic breakdowns are accelerating due to global interconnectedness and now driving the breakthroughs worldwide occurring below the radar of the mainstream mass media.”

The statement further calls upon the entire industry to lead the new integrated worldview of capital.

 “We celebrate the growth and success of our industry, but the time for a narrow focus on competitively developing the market for our own products, brands and services is past. We honor and acknowledge those of us already engaged in system change.  Let us challenge ourselves to go further and exercise ethical leadership by engaging our energy and resources in collaborative networking to manifest the integrated system change we all believe will lead to a more positive future for all life on this planet.”

 It’s imperative for all of us in the social capital movement to connect the dots and embody a new world view and create the next economy to serve all life. If you consider yourself part of the new economy and impact investing movement, you are a crucial catalyst for a new paradigm for our civilization.  The living reality of the connection economy is a sprouted seed in your heart.

Enoughness....

My first published work, in book form, "Creating Good Work"

My first published work, in book form, came out today. I wrote a chapter in "Creating Good Work - The World's Leading SocialEntrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy"

In the book over 20 leading innovators in social entrepreneurship, known as "deliberate disruptive design" share their learnings, experiences and insights gained from their work in building a new healthy economy.

Jeff Hollender, thought leader in corporate responsibility and co-founder of Seventh Generation wrote about the book: "Social entrepreneurs are committed to a goal that neither our government nor big business has been willing to take on - the building of enlightened society. It's the job of these special people who want to leave the world a better place for those who have yet to be born. The book provides practical, hard-won advice for how prospective and even-in-the-trenches social entrepreneurs can do just that. This is a book you'll not want to miss."

I resonate with his sentiments - that it is incumbent upon everyone in this generation to work for the well being of current and future children, of all species. I'm privileged to be part of such a movement, and inspire others to do the same through this work.

"Transforming Economics into True Wealth" Statement November 2012

I'm a signatory for this statement on TRANSFORMING ECONOMIES INTO TRUE WEALTH

Posted on Ethical Markets website: 

"This is an invitation to fully engage in the planetary whole-system shift now under way.  Many SRI investment professionals recognize our human responsibility for the many breakdowns in our societies and enfolding ecosystems resulting from our limited consciousness: climate change, hunger, poverty, conflicts, financial crises and ecological destruction. These systemic breakdowns are accelerating due to global interconnectedness and now driving the breakthroughs worldwide occurring below the radar of the mainstream mass media. The 193 country members of the United Nations have recognized human interdependence and that no nation acting alone can solve these global systemic crises.  Thus, they have pooled their sovereignty, however imperfectly, seeking solutions through treaties, agreements, protocols, institutions and agencies to promote the common good and all life on planet Earth.  Likewise, many public, private and civic sector organizations, professional and academic groups are also coalescing to take broader responsibility."

The statement is:

TRANSFORMING ECONOMIES INTO TRUE WEALTH

Invitation To Fully Engage In The Planetary Whole-System Shift Now Under Way

We undersigned investment professionals recognize our human responsibility for the many breakdowns in our societies and enfolding ecosystems resulting from our limited consciousness: climate change, hunger, poverty, conflicts, financial crises and ecological destruction. These systemic breakdowns are accelerating due to global interconnectedness and now driving the breakthroughs worldwide occurring below the radar of the mainstream mass media. The 193 country members of the United Nations have recognized human interdependence and that no nation acting alone can solve these global systemic crises.  Thus, they have pooled their sovereignty, however imperfectly,seeking solutions through treaties, agreements, protocols, institutions and agencies to promote the common good and all life on planet Earth.  Likewise, many public, private and civic sector organizations, professional and academic groups are also coalescing to take broader responsibility.

We humans are leaving the 300-year fossil-fueled Industrial Era based on digging resources from the Earth and are now looking up to our Mother Star, the Sun, increasingly harvesting its daily photon shower just as plants have learned to do – providing sustenance for all species in our biosphere.

Finance has lost its way, strayed from its stewardship role, and become a global casino, a bubble exacerbating many global problems. We, along with so many friends, have addressed reforming financial markets and have been investing in many creative activities and successful models.  Deeper collaboration and broader engagement are now needed at all political levels, from global to local, to better coordinate our efforts to build equitable societies based on Life’s Principles and the successful evolution of Earth’s 30 million species over 3.8 billion years.

Our socially responsible, ethical, ESG, triple bottom line, impact investment communities have long championed innovative investment practices to support well-governed businesses and communitieswith positive social and environmental outcomes. Our industry has led the way in directing resources toward solutions-based socio-economies. After more than twenty-five years of growth and success inour investment industry, social inequality and environmental degradation have reached unsustainable levels, and underlying economies are still:

•Unsustainable: They over-consume and degrade the resources upon which their long-term prosperity depends.

•Unfair: They multiply financial advantages to those already advantaged at the expense of those most in need.

•Unstable: They lack resilience in a time of growing volatility and rapid social, political, technological and ecological change.

•Undemocratic: They operate with inadequate democratic controls and accountability on the part of their most powerful organizations – corporations, financial institutions and governments.

The health of our industry is ultimately conditioned upon the health of our planet and its peoples. Toensure that there will be economies worth investing in, we call on our colleagues to support cross-sector efforts to transform our failing political economic system. Specifically, we ask for greater support for the following key system changes that can accelerate the transition to a political economy that sustains people and the planet.

1.Restoring trust and integrity to currencies and monetary systems.

2.Transforming the global financial services industry from extractive to creative of community health and wealth by:

 •Supporting a financial transaction tax, as approved or implemented in many countries.

 •Protecting the commons and public infrastructure from privatization.

3.Building a new financial system that includes, but is not limited to:

 •Restoring a public banking system.

 •Directing investments to undercapitalized communities through Community Development Financial Institutions and microfinance.

 •Creating the enabling conditions to support flourishing local living economies.

 •Investing democratically through crowdfunding.

 •Continuing to involve mainstream financial institutions which demonstrably share our goals, values and ethics.

4.Restoring democracy and our collective capacity to regulate, tax and invest in public priorities by limiting money in politics, amending “corporate  personhood” and the “money isspeech” doctrine, and promoting public financing of elections.

We celebrate the growth and success of our industry, but the time for a narrow focus oncompetitively developing the market for our own products, brands and services is past. We honor and acknowledge those of us already engaged in system change.  Let us challenge ourselves to go further and exercise ethical leadership by engaging our energy and resources in collaborative networking to manifest the integrated system change we all believe will lead to a more positive future for all life on this planet.

Co-conveners and Initial Co-signers, November 2012

Co-conveners:

Hazel Henderson, president, Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil)

Susan Davis, president, Capital Missions Company (USA and Ecuador)

Co-signers

Mariana Bozesan, Ph.D., president & founder, AQAL Investing, Munich, Germany

Katherine Collins, founder and CEO, Honeybee Capital, Boston, MA

Leslie Danziger, Co-founder and former Chairman of Solaria Corporation; Co-founder and former Chairman/CEO of Lightpath Technologies, TX, USA

Mary Houghton, co-founder, Shorebank, Chicago, IL

Alan F. Kay, founder, AutEx and Public Interest Polling, St. Augustine, FL

Kathleen Paylor, Chief Spiritual Officer, Conscious Capital, San Francisco, CA

Helen Rake, principal, Collins Capital Management, Jacksonville, FL

Rosalinda Sanquiche, executive director, Ethical Markets Media, St. Augustine, FL

Sarah Stranahan, New Economy Network, New York, NY

Stuart Valentine, CenterPoint Investment Management, Fairfield, IA

Michaela Walsh, founder, Women’s World Banking, New York, NY

Gregory Wendt, CFP, Stakeholders Capital; founder, Green Economy Think Tank, Santa Monica, CA

Additional signatories

Michel Bauwens, P2P Foundation

Terry Link, Starting Now, LLC

Monika Mitchell Founder/CEO Good Business New York

John Rogers, Value for People, Germany

Elisabet Sahtouris, PhD, Evolution Biologist, Futurist, Professor, Speaker, Consultant

Stephen Viederman, Board, Network for Sustainable Financial Markets

Transforming Finance - a top priority

Last fall, I had the pleasure of joining a group of leaders in the new economy and responsible investing movement at the home of Hazel Henderson for the annual "SRI Leaders" retreat. At the retreat we reflected on the state of the global financial system and further offered perspectives and solutions for transforming finance to serve the world, rather than extract from it. Here's a link to the Statement: "Transforming Economics into True Wealth (November 2012)"

Hazel posted an article on CSR Wire based on the retreat, and the Statement which we created.

Here's the full text of the article:

By Hazel Henderson

Despite incremental reforms, the Dodd-Frank Act in the USA, Basel III and the 0.1% financial transaction tax now approved by EU finance ministers, the global financial casino is still playing.

Financial lobbying still seeks to block or weaken reforms and floods of money distorting democratic politics, loosed by the Supreme Courts’ 2010 Citizens United decision, are still flowing unchecked.  Billions still secretly fund attacks on climate science, social safety nets, teachers and other public employees and their pensions. All these efforts to repeal FDR’s New Deal and a fairer economy continue unabated.

Ethical Markets’ Transforming Finance initiative, launched in 2010 with its first Statement, emphasizing the bigger picture: finance is a part of the global commons, to serve real economies, not dominate them, and its high-frequency traders and all market players use and rely on taxpayer funded infrastructure: the internet, satellite communications, computers, wireless transmission over public airwaves.

Many high-minded financiers who have co-signed this Statement and later ones are former Wall Streeters. They are pioneers of ethical, SRI firms and are also interviewed on our Transforming Finance TV series, including John Fullerton, Amy Domini, Susan Davis, Karl Kleissner, Alisa Gravitz, Terry Mollner, Katherine Collins, Leland Lehrman, Sarah Stranahan, Michaela Walsh, Ben Bingham and author/lawyer Ellen Brown (available at www.ethicalmarkets.tv and www.films.com).

Our latest Transforming Economics Into True Wealth (November2012) is an invitation to fully engage in the planetary whole-system shift now under way. These investment professionals recognize our responsibility for the many breakdowns in our societies and ecosystems resulting from our limited consciousness: climate change, hunger, poverty, conflicts, financial crises and ecological destruction.

Jan 24 2013 Radio Interview on Business Rockstars KFWB about "Conscious Capitalism"

Here's my interview on the radio show "Business Rockstars" about my views about the concept of "conscious capitalism" which is also the title of the new book by Whole Foods CEO John Mackay and Professor Raj Sisodia 


In the interview radio host Ken Rutkowski and I discussed the different paradigms in business. Most notably we distinguished between the outdated view of business as only serving shareholders and the profit motive to businesses recognizing the opportunity to not only succeed but thrive by serving all of the stakeholders in the business.

This more sophisticated paradigm leads to a more robust and resilient business while at the same time stakeholder engagement is a key driver in profitability for the most successful corporations.

I trust you'll enjoy listening to the radio show as much as I did sharing my views.

Here's a link to the show, my piece starts at around minute 44.

Bringing Good Capital Home with a Living Economy Fund

Originally posted on CSRWire.

When was the last time you asked a financial advisor to put your money in a financial fund that would support environmental and social concerns only to be met by a blank stare, because the advisor had no knowledge of that such a fund existed?

Or perhaps you went to your advisor and said, “I’d like to invest my money locally, in small businesses that are struggling here in our community and help them improve our local economy. Do you have a fund that will do that?”

Did the blankness of the stare deepen?

As a financial advisor I regularly place my clients in vehicles that might fundamentally change the way the economy works and at the same time provide a competitive return on investment. Unfortunately, there are simply few if any local choices that will satisfy such needs.

As a member of the California Financial OpportunitiesRoundtable, we ran into similar problems around providing access to capital locally. With SEC regulations and government investor protocols, targeting investments within a community through traditional financial vehicles is often difficult -- but not necessarily impossible.

Needed: Local And State Support For Small Business And Micro-Enterprise

We know that many Community Development financial institutions have been flooded with available funding lately, which says that the local interest exists, but the money is not yet flowing out for  investments in small local businesses and startups.

Getting money into the hands of those who can help build a healthy economy requires an economic development strategy at both the local and state levels that supports small business and micro-enterprises.

Our visions of global grandeur have often redirected our focus away from investing and buying locally, often fueled by the possibility of windfall profits in larger markets. But that focus has pulled us away from the richness of our community businesses and the economy they support. These businesses operate adjacent to the multinational big boxes that can sell for less, but become extractive from the local economy rather than generative.

Transforming Our Finance and Securities Laws

In the book, Creating Good Work: The World’s Leading SocialEntrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy, (Palgrave, 2013) I wrote in my chapter about the transformation required to see money as part of the natural biosphere in which it operates. If we can transform our perception of money, we can simultaneously address issues such as the needs of communities, quality of life, human justice, food quality, education, infrastructure, energy security, and soil fertility.

The issue, of course, is that our securities laws and our financial vehicles operating under those laws don’t always allow us to invest our money in ways that can have an impact on these very important living issues.

This is especially true for those unaccredited investors whose net worth is less than $1 million. Equity crowdfunding may allow for more of this kind of investment to take place in the future, but we still run up against the lack of financial vehicles that would allow us to direct investments toward  environmental and social issues in our local communities.

In addition, financial advisors are also limited in this arena by the choices available through traditional channels. These investments are equally as prudent as others on the market while at the same time improving the quality of life in the communities. The problem is they are rarely offered because in many cases the traditional marketplace doesn’t know they exist.

Alternative Funding Sources

Getting funding into the hands of local businesses that are doing good work is a real challenge in this climate. However, instead of relying on traditional bank loans, alternative funding sources could be created for locally-owned businesses.

One new model could leverage network thinking and connectivity to create scale. It would be transparent so it could deliver the desired social, economic, financial impacts for its stakeholders. It would also be a true “neighbor to neighbor” investment experience, allowing local investors an opportunity to achieve a “living return” while at the same time supporting the locally owned businesses and enterprises in their community, and for that matter, communities all over the country.

Living Economy Fund Model

One model we are developing based on this thinking is what we're calling a “Living Economy Fund,” which would be open to all investors. It would provide support to locally-owned, mission-driven businesses nationwide, while at the same time offering the necessary liquidity, transparency and security to retail investors so they could achieve a living return. Currently, such investments are only available to accredited investors.

A key element would be an eligibility requirement so that it could be offered through retail investment  platforms with a low to moderate investment minimum, commensurate with mutual fund minimums and experience. Additionally, the investments would need to be structured so that yields would be high enough to offer a growth of investment for savings, while at the same time offering an affordable borrowing cost to local businesses.

A core component of such a fund’s management and purpose would be embedded within linked networks of businesses (for loan sourcing and review) and an online community to connect businesses with their investors, much like Kiva or Prosper.com. Communities such as Green America, BALLE, and Slow Money, all have aspirations to create such an experience.

A fund like this can then be simultaneously offered in different contexts as a “white label” experience, and also offered on a national basis to fiduciaries nationwide. Thus, community organizations can brand the fund for their constituents, while investors can enjoy the benefits of national diversification.

In addition to its direct benefits, the creation of funds based on a “Living Economy Fund” model would enable others within the financial services and impact investing community to leverage and utilize the business model created to further harness the estimated $120 billion in demand for impact-oriented community investing.

As is stated throughout Creating Good Work, we have to be willing to apply the notion of deliberate disruptive design to any situation that is not delivering the impact required. This is true whether we are trying to end childhood hunger, creating more collaborative solutions to climate-based influences, or building a health local economy.

More of the same simply won’t carry the day. It’s time to build something new.

- Greg Wendt and Ron Schulz