SXSW and the Rise of Cleanweb

SXSW Interactive 2012 is off to a great start. Over the last few days, I’ve seen many fantastic panels and talked with interesting folks who are doing some really cool things in sustainability.

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BusinessEarth: Taking on SXSW 2012

As we all prepare for an action-packed SXSW, BusinessEarth is prepping for another year of innovative thought at Interactive 2012.  If you’re going to be at SXSW, come find us!  If not, we’ll be reporting from the conference, so you can keep up with the action from wherever you are.

Bradley Short is a SXSW veteran, and represented BE last year. Very aware of the scene, Bradley knows
how to grab people’s attention and get things done at this sometimes chaotic event. He will be blogging
about ideas and developments in responsible business. Also, he’ll be looking for insights into what is working for other startups and what we need to work on as a new company.

Lacey Miller is new this year but just to SXSW; she’s been with BusinessEarth for over a year now and is
ready to take on the SX scene. As a rockstar networker, Lacey is looking to meet some impactful people
interested in sustainability. She also has a very strong network in Austin and will be posting news on
events and things to see while you are in Austin…and as an avid food lover, she’ll probably be tweeting
about Austin’s food truck scene (get BBQ at Franklin; it will change your life)!

BusinessEarth is building a knowledgeable community of industry professionals who see significant
monetary and societal value in social and environmental sustainability.

Check out the BusinessEarth blog, follow us on Twitter, and let us know what interests you at SXSW!

Green: Generic Sustainability Term or Smart Buzzword?

When I begin to discuss sustainability with people, I get a lot of blank stares and questions. I then default to the buzzword ‘green’…

“Oh, I understand what that means!”

But that easy and fast response tends to make me cringe.

I am so passionate about sustainability but qualifying it with the concept of green, triggers images of hippies chained to trees. What I am talking about is an all encompassing term that defines responsibility; responsibility to our environment, our local communities and the world. I don’t want to deemphasize the importance of sustainability with such a simple word but I also know that an easy understanding of the concept is the only way we will grow the importance of sustainability…and, I will admit, in the world of SEO, green is a major keyword.

So what does green mean?

As a marketing mind, I consult Wikipedia for societal and trending definitions, and I found exactly the cliché explanation I was looking for:

“Recent political groups have taken on the color as symbol of environmental protection and social justice, and consider themselves part of the Green movement, some naming themselves Green parties. This has led to similar campaigns in advertising, as companies have sold green, or environmentally friendly, products.”

Another cringe-worthy moment as I read about the Green movement and green products in one paragraph. One speaks to capitalism and a greater economy; the other, to that “green” cleaning product you just bought that is “better for you and the environment”.  Green tends to be overused and misused, usually highlighting only a small piece of sustainability; I want to broaden people’s view with a much wider range of topics, the important ones.

In an article by Bahar Gidwani, he identified the rainbow of sustainability, the numerous “colors” that define this growing market. He surveyed a few thousand users from his site, CSRHub, and assigned a color to the different focuses of each group.

Green: environment focused; this group ranked environmental issues as their highest concern.

Blue: community and employee focused; this group pushed up the importance of community and employee engagement, and de-emphasized environment and governance.

Red: governance focused; this group wanted companies to be ethical, have a balanced and diverse board, and to be transparent about their behavior.

Grey: “all things being equal”; this large group of people declared all topics of sustainability to be more or less equal.

White: follow a leader; these members did not have a strong opinion, or they were more interested to know how “everyone else” feels about various issues.

Perfect; we now have a wider spectrum of colors to help us break down sustainability but what will really help professionals define this growing industry?

Robert Pojasek, via GreenBiz.com, defined sustainability as follows:

“Sustainability is about behaving in a way that can be continued or sustained. To operate sustainably, an organization must act in a way that is consistent with and supports the well-being of the physical environment and all of the biological communities and economies of the locations where they operate.”

He didn’t mention ‘green’ once and defined sustainability in a way that people can understand, well most people; Pojasek’s definition may elicit a few blank stares as it is strongly intellectual.

I want to move away from the simplicity of green but still use common words that give a smart, but understandable definition.  Then I came across and article by Tim Mohin titled “Less is More Obvious: Why Sustainability Is So Hard To Define.” Mohin put it as simply as this,

“It is an expectation that you treat people and our planet with respect.”

Amazingly well put. Society lives off this planet, we will affect it but we can control the repercussions by respecting the world around us.

What do you think? Is ‘green’ too strong and important of a buzzword to leave out or can we start to explain sustainability by using words such as respect and responsibility?