How Big Brands can save Biodiversity - 25% of Top 15 commodities controlled by 100 companies

Jason Clay of World Wildlife Fund says it straight - 25% of the top 15 commodities are controlled by only 100 companies.

There is massive opportunity for just making these companies shift to sustainable production and supply chains across the key commodities on the planet....

Watch here:

The Movie Avatar - is actually a documentary for how we have spread our civilization!

Did you see Avatar? If not, there's no question why it's a blockbuster - one of the most entertaining films I have seen in years.

Of great interest to many is the story of the film - what it is telling us.

In India today - a company wants to blow the top off of a Holy Mountain to gain the 70 million tons of bauxite inside of it - and therefore destroy the sacred homeland of the Dongria people who have called this mountain their home  for millenia. Something isn't working here.

This story is not isolated, it has played out over many generations, the most well known was the how the "conquistadors" - Columbus, etc. "discovered" America.  Our culture's world view and related stories of history taught in our schools continue to allow for this destruction of life by framing the stories and celebrating the destroyers as leaders and heroes.

Charles Eisenstein inteview from "Money and Life" Movie

I deeply appreciate the conscious and insightful perspective which Charles Eisenstein to the conversations of money, value, quality of life and culture. Here's a video of some his thoughts from an upcoming film called "Money and Life"

Charles Eisenstein Interview for Money & Life Film from Charles Eisenstein on Vimeo.

"Inside Scoop on Green Business Networking" An article about a non-profit I co-founded

The recent article in Whole Person Calendar "The Inside Scoop on Green Business Networking" covers the group I co-founded in 2006 called "Green Business Networking"

"Many people are interested in protecting the environment and want to engage in positive “green” business practices. They also want to meet like-minded people who also share similar lifestyles that evolve towards sustainability. But where do “green-minded people” go to network? Others may wonder if networking isn’t really just a disguised excuse to have a few drinks at a bar? GreenYour.com, “your guide to green anything,” has a good primer on how to find green networking events and offers this advice if you are deciding the pros and cons of green networking:

On the prowl for an eco-job? Recruiting for a conservation project in the community? Simply looking to connect and converse with like-minded folk? If you responded “yes” to any of the above queries, attending a green business networking event may be the solution."

Read the entire article here. 

Ostrich, Musical Chairs or Plan B

My friend Leslie Christian of Portfolio 21 Investments wrote an excellent piece in the "Reimagine Money" blog from RSF Social Finance. The post is on assessing our own views on how to deal with the ecological limits of our economic growth.

She writes:  "As you think about your own response to risk, it’s unlikely that you will jump immediately from ecological limits to how much you should invest in stocks versus bonds versus real estate. It’s more likely that your responses fit into one or more of the following categories. You’ll notice that the risk responses below do not explicitly deal with investing, much less with traditional asset classes. Rather, they provide a way to examine your personal tendencies for dealing with risk, which is an essential precursor to forming an intelligent, risk-based investment strategy."

I agree, every time I discuss a situation with a client I do my best to assess how they feel about their response to risk.

She goes on to describe three different responses to risk: the ostrich approach, musical chairs or plan b.

Read her entire article here.

Growing slow money - a video from the slow money alliance

My friend Woody Tasch is changing the world of money with his "Slow Money Alliance".

Here's a video from his effort to give you an idea of what it's all about:

Why does a hamburger cost less than a salad?

NY Times article discusses food subsidies as rationale why our food costs are not in line with nutrition.

John Perkins - Shapeshifting Corporate Culture To A Sustainable Thriving World

Reality Sandwich just published a wonderful interview with John Perkins - author of the best selling book - "Confessions of an Economic Hitman."  In the interview he points to the opportunity, and responsibility we have to shift our global corporations to ensuring well being for all of Earth's inhabitants.

The interview finishes with an important opportunity:
Perkins states:

"Imagine if a number of us had the dream that Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Nike all committed to making sure that nobody in the world ever goes without sufficient water, food, or clothes. If we had that vision, we would tell those companies, look, we're never going to buy anything more from you until you do this.

Coca-Cola is like Godzilla. Can you really see it responding to these kinds of demands?

Immediately following the tsunami last winter, Coca-Cola sent millions of bottles of water to the victims. But every day 24,000 people in the world die of thirst. and starvation. You don't have to wait for a tsunami—there is a much bigger tragedy. If people have that vision and begin to act upon it, I guarantee you that Coca-Cola will change, and if Coca-Cola changes, then Pepsi Cola will have to change too. And everybody else."

Goldman v. United States: What It Means

"It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do, but what humanity, reason and justice tell me I ought to do." - Edmund Burke, statesman, philosopher  

My friend John Fullerton a 20 year Investment Banker from JP Morgan just wrote a must-read piece on the recent Goldman Sachs issues of conflict of interest, and the resultant SEC Lawsuit.

                 

John's last sentence sentence sums up my views on the need to rewrite the source code of financial system.

"There is much hard work ahead in creating a resilient and trusted financial system that serves the needs of the real economy rather than the self-interest of a few.  More importantly, finance must evolve so it can fuel the transition of the real economy to respond to the injustice of gross and increasing wealth inequality, and, for the first time, to intelligently acknowledge the finite boundaries of the ecosystem that are in conflict with the finance driven global economy’s never ending growth of material throughput." 

Many of America's Foods are killing it's people.

We need a new economic system that incorporates caring for each other and nature.

"Economic systems are human creations. Every economic institution and program, from banks and corporations to unemployment insurance and Social Security, is a human invention.  The economic rules we we take for granted are human inventions.  We must decide which economic rules we want to keep and which we want to leave behind, and invent new economic rules that meet our authentic human needs.  If we join together to demand these new rules, we can each play a part in moving toward a more caring economics and a more caring world."

From "Real Wealth Of Nations" by Riane Eisler.

SUSTAINABLE AND RESPONSIBLE INVESTING: How Your Money Can Help You and the World

This is an article I just wrote for Whole Person Calendar.

"Sustainable And Responsible Investing: How Your Money Can Help You and The World"
You can view the article PDF here.

In the past few years, our financial system has been rocked to its core. Belief in profit-driven motives as the sole metrics of perfor-mance has been fundamentally shaken. Our perception of risk have been forever altered, and our economy is shifting toward a new foundation. Traditionally, investments are made with one, and only one, measure in mind -- how much money does the invest-ment return? Every investment is consid-ered for its financial return potential, yet fi-nancial return should not be the only metric for success. In today’s world, investing pro-cesses must take into consideration the im-pact on the environment, the individuals employed, the communities involved, the climate, biodiversity issues, and a host of other factors.

One of my clients, Terrie, is an anti-tobacco educator for colleges across California. She’s devoted to her job and has a talent for helping young people recognize the perils of smoking. That’s why she was appalled when she learned that every one of her mutual funds held large investments in tobacco stocks. For Terrie, the revelation that her investment portfolio conflicted with her personal values is what sent her to my office and marked the beginning of her interest and inquiry in socially and environmentally responsible investing. Another client of mine, Mary, is pleased that now her “mon-ey is where her mouth is.” Mary, a successful television actress, is very active in supporting environmental groups and progressive causes. For years, her advisor was a family stockbroker at a major brokerage firm. On a number of occasions, she raised her concerns about companies in her portfolio that depleted natural resources and befouled the earth. Mary encouraged her advisor to find investments and mutual funds that were socially and environmentally responsible. Throughout the relationship, the broker derided her concerns; he dismissed such requests and advised her that sustainable and respon-sible investment strategies were inferior. Eventually Mary got fed up. She came to me seeking someone who would not only listen to her concerns, but also help her to earn competitive returns on her portfolio. Mary says she is pleased that her wealth is not only growing, but it is also helping to fuel positive change in the in corporate America and having an impact through community development investments she has made. Her investments, she says, are now safeguarding her family’s welfare – and the planet’s.

Mary and Terrie aren’t alone. The trend toward sustainable investing, also known as socially responsible investing (SRI), began in the 1960s, as people began to shun companies like Dow Chemical that profited from the manufacture of napalm for the Vietnam War. The movement to sell off “sin stocks” gained momentum in the 1980s. A growing number of investors found it unconsciona-ble to hold stocks in companies that did business in apartheid South Africa. Success with helping to end apartheid inspired socially responsible investors to turn their attention to other issues, such as protecting the environment and promoting fair labor practices. One faith-based institutional investor on the East coast, alone, leverages its $90 billion in assets to make better corporate citizens out of companies as large and powerful as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and General Electric.

Today, one out of every eight dollars under professional management in the U.S. is part of a values-based portfolio. In 2007, the Social Investment Forum reported that socially responsible invest-ments in the U.S. totaled more than $2.71 trillion in total assets under management using one or more of the three core socially responsible investing strategies—screening, shareholder advocacy, and community investing. About one out of every ten dollars under professional management in the United States today is involved in socially responsible investing—11 percent of the $25.1 trillion in total assets under management.

How Can I Become A Socially Responsible Investor

Mama's Hot Tamales - one of my favorite restaurants in LA and anchor for change

Wanna make a 79% return? Check out Grassland Ecosystem Restoration...

I first heard of the term "ecosystem services" in the groundbreaking book "Natural Capitalism - Creating the Next Industrial Revolution" by Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawken and Amory Lovins. Essentially the concept is that ecosystems provide tangible value to the global economy far greater in scope and economic value than the economy itself.

I just came across an article on Science Daily which references a study which actually tallies the potential rate of return on investing in restoring particular ecosystems.

This is truly next level for me, as the concept of actually MAKING MONEY while RESTORING ECOSYSTEMS is very, very sexy indeed.

The article states:

"Experts concluding the global DIVERSITAS biodiversity conference in Cape Town described preliminary research revealing jaw-dropping dollar values of the "ecosystem services" of biomes like forests and coral reefs -- including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation. Undertaken to help societies make better-informed choices, the economic research shows a single hectare of coral reef, for example, provides annual services to humans valued at US $130,000 on average, rising to as much as $1.2 million."

The article cites estimated return estimates from such investments in various ecosystems:

"•Coral reefs: 7%, (with a cost-benefit ratio of 2.8);
•Rivers: 27%, (cost-benefit ratio 15.5);
•Tropical forests: 50% (cost-benefit ratio 37.3);
•Mangroves: 40%, (cost-benefit ratio 26.4);
•Grasslands: 79%, (cost-benefit ratio 75.1)."

If we could spur an investment gold rush into such endeavors to restore and actually expand such ecosystems we'd see a revolution in the church of money.

Imagine - greedy Wall Street Executives clamoring over eachother to restore more and more ecosystems. Now that is the closest thing as a good use for greed if I ever saw one.

More green jobs per million...

I got this chart from my friend Andy Lipkis' blog, created by University of Massachusets at Amherst. It simply speaks for itself. Green Industry creates more jobs per million dollars invested...

This is how economics should work - regenerative ecological systems for economic gain!

An ecological network for economic gain. A fish farm and bird sanctuary!

Our bread basket is threatened by a systemic liquidation of natural resources. We can create world where every community can feed it self.

Farms that restore ecosystems rather than destroy.

Farmers experts in relationships.

Create a business for serving others - Social Entrepreneurship

A Vegan in a Hummer?

Many enviros simply want change, as long as they don't have to change their lifestyle very much.

I know this from experience, my own! Admittedly - this green guy still could do more.

Yet the smartest people I know are aware that our happiness is built on lifelong journey of learning. Ray Anderson's book "Midcourse Correction" is a testament to that sage wisdom applied in business.

There's a movement afoot in the MIT Circles -

Smart managers are wary of epiphanies. “Suddenly, everything looked different” should be the last line of a short story, not a report from the management front. But sometimes, something makes you look at a matter you’ve paid a lot of attention to in a different way. Even if you look at everything differently for only a moment and then you return to your original perspective, that perspective has been changed.That may have happened to some people at last week’s Pop!Tech conference, in Camden, Maine. One of the speakers was Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire, who delivered a variation of his standard talk on sustainable food. In that talk, he dropped this nugget:

“A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius.”

Read the entire article here.

“A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius.”

Excellent Video about Complimentary Currency in Germany

Article I wrote for Triplepundit.com - Economics Built on Beauty and Community

I wrote an article last fall for Triple Pundit:

Right before I boarded a plane recently, I noticed a Body Shop in the terminal next to the gate. The Body Shop has been a leading business that incorporates social and environmental values into its operations. It was founded by the late Anita Roddick, one of the emergent leaders in the expanding and evolving “green” business movement.

Roddick was a very influential and inspiring thought leader, she stood as a pillar of the socially and environmentally responsible business movement. As I thumbed through my reading materials I found an article in Resurgence Magazine by Roddick entitled “The Currency of Imagination.” This eloquent article laid out some of her guiding principles and reflections on being one of the only CEOs (if not the only CEO) in the crowd of human beings who raised their voices against the globalization paradigm represented by the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle.

In the article she laid out a new vision for society, a vision which I share, where we place community and beauty as driving values for our individual and institutional decision making. I have learned that for any successful endeavor in new economic thinking to work, it must be built on a culture of trust and collaboration amongst the participants. Such ideas have inspired me in the efforts I have made in my region in co-founding Green Business Networking, a monthly networking event which brings together entrepreneurs and professionals who are committed to greening our economy through their businesses.

Somewhere along the line we picked up a virus in our culture’s source code. This virus misguided us by placing money and power as the central measuring sticks for success, all fed by a rapacious economic operating system driven by the gospel of consumerism. Our economy has become devoid of beauty and community, transactions have become ”complex, opaque, anonymous based on short term outcomes” according to Don Shaffer, President of RSF Social Finance, and our transactions need to become “direct, transparent and personal based on long term relationships.” On a similar theme, Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Café, who is also a co-founder of the very successful movement “Business Alliance For Local Living Economies” lives these principals. She says that her business was built on the principal of “maximizing relationships” rather than “maximizing profits.” As a result of her focus, her business thrived with the satisfaction of higher sales, and happier people.

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, and the significant ills facing our world, it has become clear to many people that the prevailing economic paradigm is no longer working to improve the well being of humanity. With climate crisis, declining ecosystems, billions, food riots, childhood diabetes, etc. individuals and institutions are experiencing the severe ramifications of an avaricious and predatory economic model. However, there is another way.

I spend a fair amount of energy inquiring into the nature of the latent economic opportunity of which Roddick spoke–that which incorporates beauty and community into the economic equation. I am also keen on discerning the most effective and coherent actions necessary to transmute our current economy of waste into an economy of thriving abundance, conservation and renewal for 100 percent of humanity. Our economic paradigm utilizes debt manipulation and consumerism as a short-sighted means to an unforeseen dead end and endless gluttony for few at the top of the heap.

Roddick said:

Consumerism doesn’t care if we buy in beautiful or ugly surroundings. Few aspects of the global economy provide beauty or community and, worse, in many ways it drives them out by deliberate manipulation of debt, which is as as powerful motivator as invented in human history. On the other hand, providing for these vital needs requires another kind of economy altogether, which emphasizes beauty, community and creativity.

Sadly, and with far reaching consequences, our current economy has failed to value such manifestations of “beauty, community and creativity. She pointed out that the economist John Maynard Keynes “talked about the hideous waste of economic system that could not recognize art or beauty…. In a speech to the Irish government in 1933, he urged politicians and economists to raise their ambition, and spend the money on beauty.”

Yet, the economy of beauty that we need transcends and includes the artful beauty of which he speaks. It is a culture of thriving community of people inspired by, evolving and learning from others and from and beauty that surrounds them.

How do we recognize and create such a vibrant community as the foundation of a successful economic paradigm?

Such a community has “deep connectivity” between participants. In a private paper, leading thinker Jon Ramer wrote that some of the citizens in a society of deep connectivity are “committed to produce something in their lives and the lives of others.” And, that such a society “is for building relationships, producing meaningful results, learning and growing together via a principled-approach to personal and community development.”

An economic system that encourages such “deep connectivity” is based on what I would call the currency of relationships. A perfect example of is the deeply successful Mondragon Cooperative movement, a community based economic system successfully operating the Basque region of Spain. It started during the Great Depression in the 1930s and thrived amid the oppressive Franco dictatorship. Mondragon succeeded in such a fascist context “by avoiding confrontation, not by being passively servile but by doing what was for the good of all.”

Author Thomas Greco made an important point that the success of Mondragon experience is replicable, but only in conjunction with the simultaneous weaving of a strong social fabric. That effort need not necessarily be centered around ethnic identity and culture, but could based on other common factors between the participants – such as religious affiliation, geographical proximity, shared values, or other factors that create common interests (but with concern for the greater common good always foremost.)

It is precisely this inherent characteristic of wishing to be part of something greater than ourselves that has given humans a sense of meaning since time immemorial. This heroic sense of contribution and sharing for the common good is a key principal of success.

Consider: has there ever been a time in history when this kind of collective heroism is more important than now, when the stakes are as high as they can get?

Mondragon scholar, Terry Mollner makes a distinction between the declining ‘material age’ and the emerging ‘relationship age,’ and concludes that the [Mondragon founders] ‘set about building a Relationship Age society by extending into more sophisticated realms the Relationship Age values which were already present In Basque Society.’

Along the same lines, Roddick concludes “We will succeed to the extent to which we encourage human connection and conversation. We will succeed also to the extent to which we spend the small change of imagination – the human stories about people and places and what they aspire to do.

Although it has been said before – we are at a critical juncture where our global circumstances require each of us to embrace that responsibility in every relationship we have. We share the responsibility to manifest the “Relationship Age” right where we are. A Relationship Age where artful living in deep connectivity is the evolutionary catalyst to shift our current economic operating system into a creation of shared wellbeing for our lives here on spaceship Earth.