The Birth of Blue

I was sent a link to very interesting video of a speech given by Andrew Werbach at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Andrew, for those who don't know him, was the youngest president ever of the Sierra Club (at 23!) and has been working in the "green" space throughout his entire life. Note: Paul Hawken gives a nice intro on Andrew at the beginning. He had given a very powerful speech a few years earlier called the "death of environmentalism" and this was in a sense his follow-up to that talk. (for more on this background see Joel Makower's blog)

What Andrew is best known for now, however, is his work at Wal-Mart where he is working with the biggest retailer on the planet to help them meet their vast sustainability goals such as producing zero waste. Many people have vilified Andrew for essentially sleeping with the enemy, and he has responded by saying that if he can work with 1.2 million employees at Wal-Mart who influence more than 200 million shoppers, then he can have a far greater influence on sustainability than in almost any other venue.

What I particularly liked though was that Andrew has moved beyond "green" which is focused on the environment which lives in the world of politics (e.g., laws and regulations) to what he calls "blue" -- a concept which most certainly includes the environment, but also considers the social, economic and cultural elements of sustainability. He sees this as a lifestyle movement that allows people from all different backgrounds to join it through multiple touch points. Rather than fight against companies like Wal-Mart, he wants to create a consumer revolution and use buying power and consumption habits as tools rather than as weapons that need to be fought against.

In his words "blue is a way to integrate your green ideals into your broader ideals. We still can't get where we need to go without political change, but it's time to get serious about bringing our ideals to the way we live and the way we shop." With 1 billion people on the planet consuming $1 trillion worth of products, moving the needle even a little can cause a true revolution.

Each Friday I get an email from the Development Executive Group called the Global Development Briefing. It gives a quick summary of what has happened in the developing world. Today's briefing has a section called 2008 State of the Future:

The future continues to get better for most of the world, but a series of tipping points could drastically alter global prospects, according to the latest State of the Future report by the Millennium Project. Half the world is vulnerable to social instability and violence due to rising food and energy prices, failing states, falling water tables, climate change, decreasing water-food-energy supply per person, desertification, and increasing migrations due to political, environmental, and economic conditions, it says. “With nearly 3 billion people making USD 2 or less per day, long-term global social conflict seems inevitable without more serious food policies, useful scientific breakthroughs, and dietary changes," the Millennium Project says. “However, advances in science, technology, education, economics, and management seem capable of making the world work far better than it does today."

I've highlighted the word "management" from this quote because it stood out to me. It's not often that you see management listed among disciplines such as science, technology and education. It's good to see that while applying macro-economic theory and improving telecommunications infrastructure, people are starting to realize that it will take skilled managers, likely from the private sector, along with government officials and NGOs to make development programs work. Let's hear it for the MBAs!