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GreenMoney Journal - publishing since 1992
Fall 2010 issue
Socially Responsible Investing – Better Companies, Better Communities
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The Business of Restoration & Stewardship: True Sustainable Business
Rona Fried
We are witnessing the beginning of a profound transformation - the successor to the Agricultural
and Industrial Revolutions - the Environmental Revolution. It seems to take a crisis for human
beings to get serious about doing things differently. That is the silver lining to the grave
environmental problems humankind is about to experience - out of the impending crisis will come
true change.
The fundamental change will be a re-ordering of priorities. I believe that
"Quality of Life" - the stuff that makes us human - will finally supersede profits (for business)
and consumption (for "consumers") as the number one position. In the next stage of our evolution,
humankind will turn its attention to clean water, air, trees, biodiversity, and people as the
highest priorities.
Business plays a pivotal role. Many corporations have revenues and
assets higher than the gross national product of many countries, and are as powerful, if not more
so, than government. The role of business will change from thoughtless Industrial Age producer of
endless products and profits for an unsustainably expanding population and economy to Environmental
Age trader of services and products necessary to maintain a steady state balance for life on earth.
Completely new kinds of businesses are being spawned to solve the Industrial Age
problems. Now that one of four people on earth doesn't have clean water to drink, a water
recycling industry is emerging. Just as global warming is gathers steam "CO2 cleaning" companies
are rising to the opportunity. Legions of new types of companies will be required to give birth to
the coming hydrogen economy.
Industrial Age companies will re-invent themselves to take
advantage of the infinite business potential of providing services and products that enhance life,
rather than destroy it. Oil companies are beginning to see profits in selling renewable energy;
car companies are getting closer to providing clean transportation. Steel, often thought of as the
symbol of the Industrial Revolution, now carries a recycling symbol. More than half the steel
produced today is made from scrap. Paper mills are moving from the forest to the cities, as they
hone in on the source of abundant feedstock - scrap paper. As Bill McDonough says, the thrill is
not "getting to zero waste, but in unleashing creativity through a new vision of abundance."
SustainableBusiness.com's Role
Every person must decide the path they will take to bring
this vision to reality. At SustainableBusiness.com, we serve the businesses that are ready to make
this vision a reality now. We are the Internet community for businesses that integrate economic,
and social and environmental concerns into their strategy. We use the Internet to "grease the
wheels" - to accelerate the spread of sustainable business practices by increasing market
penetration of sustainable products, services, and the companies that produce them. SB.com covers
the field as a whole, bringing together businesses from such diverse industries as renewable
energy, organic products, social investing, green building and construction, and re-manufacturing.
By providing businesspeople direct access to the information and tools they need,
meaningful employment and resources for sustainable business development, we are helping to shift
human and material resources toward a restorative economy.
Our online trade magazine,
Sustainable Business Insider, reports on the latest developments and trends across all sustainable
business sectors. Our Green Dream Jobs service is the only job service that specializes in
connecting people with business skills to environmentally conscious organizations. Our Business
Connections service helps young green companies find the financing and partners they need to grow.
We have a number of services under development that will: increase visibility for all
sustainable businesses and their products; help make green products available at competitive
prices; and help green businesses find the strategic partners they need to grow much more easily.
My great hope is that I will live to see this great transition become reality!
Article by Rona Fried, Ph.D., is president of SustainableBusiness.com, the center for
environment and business on the Internet, at-
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com.
She can
be contacted at rona@sustainablebusiness.com.
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STATEMENT
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& environmentally responsible business, investing and consumer
resources in publications & online.
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of The GreenMoney Journal / Cliff Feigenbaum
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