Basics of the Do-Better Economy
Here’s what really makes my approach radically different:
I’m not trying to get the Regular Guy’s n Gals to change their lifestyle
Hell bells, most of us got enough trouble just trying to survive.
So I just ask us folks to ask organizations to change.
In fact, I gave the 1st Frick’n Goofy Award to me and my fellow activists. Because we are alway trying to get folks to change. You know, stuff like “if everybody just did blah-blah, then we could save the yada-yada”
The Basic info about the Do-Better Economy
The Do-Better Economy is ……
every organization making a commitment to continually
improve their Relationship to People & the Planet.
Because eventually Everything we come in contact with has to be improved. This opens up great business opportunities to ”Build a Better Mousetrap“.
Every organization can Do-Better in how they impact People and the Planet. Whatever you sell or do. Be you a single reglious organization or an oil or financial conglomorate that is transnational (and maybe has some trans fatty acid)
You’re probably already confused about what this Green Economy stuff . And then you’ve got terms like Sustainability, and The Triple Bottom Line, which really aren’t catchy phrases. And what’s this about Climate Change. Or is it Global Warming? Is there a difference?
And now I’m giving you yet another term – sheesh. Like you need it, eh? It is all very simple. And don’t let nobody tell you otherwise. I gives you everything youse needs to become un-conbobulated.
Top 11 or so things
One. Relax a bit…
And keep your sense of humor. We are all beginners when we start. Getting the gist of just two books will get you enough structure to keep you relatively sane. So there’s no need to get blown away.
In “Generations: The History of America’s Future….” they came up with four generation types. This blog gives a concise summary. Carl Frankel identifies four stages of environmentalism evolution in “In Earth’s Company.” I use them in my “Sustainability is Everyone’s Business” presentation.
Two. Green is NOT just about the environment.
Don’t tell anyone, but Green is also about being fair to people. As Gomer Pyle would say, “W-e-ll Gol-l-ee. She-zam, shezam, shezam!”.
The Environment is only 2 out of 8 criteria used to evaluate an organization. Money/Financial stuff is another. Four criteria have to do with Social and Employee Justice.
Three. Environmental stuff is NOT just about Renewable Energy
It’s a big part of it, for sure. And with good reason. But there’s lots of other aspects. Grow a Do-Gooder Victory Garden in front of your house, fer example. Green building materials, cleaning supplies, not using herbicides and pesticides, locally owned businesses, local farms…and more.
Four. Green didn’t just start yesterday.
Even the hippies didn’t invent this. Back in the 1920′s there were religious groups that did what is now called Socially Responsible Investing. They refused to invest in alcohol and tobacco companies. And some environmental groups go back 100 years too. But it wasn’t until the 1960′s that environmental laws got created.
Four. Nobody is perfect.
Nobody has the one right way to solve all of our problems. As the Wizard of Oz would say, “Not No way, not no How.”
And even the best Green companies know they’ve still got a long way to go.
Back in 1985, the year Before the Bears won the Super Bowl, I was at a bar on the south side. The great Defensive end Dan Hampton was there. He was asked about speedy wide reciever Willie Gault. Wasn’t he a woosie because he wouldn’t catch passes over the middle: “He’s got aspects of his game he needs to work on.”
It’s great if your shirt is made of organic cotton and soy-based inks. But if it’s made by some poor woman in a Sweat shop down in Mexico, then that’s a bad thing about the company that needs to improving. But don’t demonize them just because they aren’t perfect. Unless they are lying about what they are doing. Then rip them a new one. (smile)
I’ll take somebody going one millimeter in the right direction over somebody going in the wrong direction any day.
And don’t let anyone tell you, “well, you’re not perfect, so why should I do anything.” That’s a dump truck full of Bull-poop.
Five. If we go Green, businesses won’t survive.
This is an old Bull-poop argument that super large corporatations pull out of it’s butt everytime it doesn’t want to do something. They’ve been using it since forever. Back in 1992 I published an article in the Sierra Club newsletter “Smart Environmental Policy is Smart Economic Policy.“
Commerce is always adjusting to market forces. Or they die. That’s part of the Great Game of Business.
The leading edge companies have known about the financial neccesity of measuring and improving on their non-financial indicators since at least the late 1990′s. I’ve still got the sales pitch from one of the large consulting companies, from back in 1999.
Oh, and you know what happens when “D0-Gooder” company kicks the snot out of their competition in the marketplace? The competition will imitate what the Do-Gooder does. Isn’t that cool?
Don’t belive that being a Do-Gooder is good for your wallet? Check out the Domini Social Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
Six. Green doesn’t impact me or my job.
Eventually, everything we do and touch must be done in a way that does not do damage to People or the Planet. Which means every organization is going to change. For the better, of course. Here’s some actions they can take. AND lessons I’ve learned.
Look, there’s still gonna be Smucky jobs.
90 percent of the people don’t like their jobs. That sucks. But somebody’s gotta clean the toilets. Or do boring repetitive office work.
Wouldn’t you feel better about your schloccky job if you at least could tell yourself and your kids that you were part of the Do-Gooder Economy?
Even if you have a smucky job, if your company is a Do-Gooder, chances are you’ll be making a fair, Live-able wage, with safe working conditions. Your 401k plan will have a Socially Responsible Mutualfund as one of the options.
Seven. Renewable energy can’t compete in the marketplace with nuclear, coal and oil.
What a croc of corporate propoganda BullS**t.
There is not one technology that has survived without government money.
If renewable energy had all the government subsidies coal and oil and nuclear has, it would kick ass in the marketplace.
Seven. Nobody goes D0-Gooder all at once.
How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time.
Going Green happens One STEP at a Time. It’s a Natural step by step process. And each step must make sound business sense. But you have to look at all the factors, and the long term.
Like quality and profits – every company is constantly making improvements. And measuring and setting goals. So don’t let some company say “Oh, we recycle.” As if that’s all they have to do.” That’s Goofy. Hey buddy, you ate yesterday too. Aren’t you gonna eat today?
Eight. It ain’t just Al Gore and a bunch of old hippies.
Yep. EveryOne, everywhere, is waking up and smelling the Fair Trade & Shade Grown coffee
It ain’t All a bunch of green-washing either. It ain’t a passing fad, or the coroporate slogan of the week.
Even Humongously, insanely-large multi-national corporations are getting involved.
Every type of industry is getting involved.
Nine. We gotta blow up capitalism.
Maybe eventually, but not today. I don’t know, and right now, it’s not an issue for me.
Natural Capitalism makes so much sense, I created a club based on that name. Neat, eh?
Ten. It is ok not to have a solution to some of the problems.
Back in 1978, I took a course on the major problems facing the world – pollution, over population, energy. The premise of my term paper on world problems was: “Environmental issues will never become popular until they are economically viable.”
My collaborating professor told me: “You didn’t find an answer to the problem. But you asked the right question. And if you don’t ask the right questions, you’ll never get the right answers.”
So don’t be afraid to not have the solution.
Eleven. The simple concept of Externalized Costs
Companies make stuff cheaper and make more profits because they do bad things (like pollute) that the community winds up paying for. The book ” Cradle to Cradle” shows us a smarter way.
Example: a typical Widget company
Externalizing the costs of Making the Widget
- Widget company ABC reduces it’s cost by polluting the water.
- The pollution kills the fish, and makes the water unfit to play in. Fishing industries die. Tourism dies.
- The community (government) has to clean it up. Us folks have to pay for it.
- Everybody in society has to pay for part of producing the widget, regardless of if we bought the damn thing or not.
- Widget company ABC get more profits. And we, the public, get screwed.
Externalizing the Cost of Getting rid of the Widget.
- The person who bought the Widget eventually tosses it in the garbage.
- Even if it costs the person or company a tipping fee (garbage collection) to toss it out, it still is now somebody else’s problem. As the great folk singer from Chicago, Steve Goodman sang “It ain’t hard to get along with somebody else’s trouble/ and they don’t make you loose any sleep at night.”
- There’s NO Incentives for the company ABC to care about getting rid of it. Hell, they got what they wanted.
- Company ABC get more profits and we get screwed.
Twelve. Follow the Money
For each issue where people or the planet are getting wacked, ask “Who stands to make money? “
In fact, I’d like to see somebody create a spreadsheet with this info on it. Down the left column are the current Do-Bad-er ways of doing stuff. For each practice, list the industries and companies that get more money by doing it the bad way.
With that information, we can develop a sensible, logical, sound strategy to go get the bastards and rip their damn hearts out. Er, well, they don’t have hearts, do they? No soul either.
Thirteen. That’s all Folks
Check out my personally endorsed resource page for more good stuff. But do it tommorow or the next day.
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[...] he explains it really simple. And where to go for more info. And he ain’t asking us to change. He just shows us how we can [...]
Helen Lundergan said
Well done, PackerBackerBob,
Just call me BearsieWearsieHelen. I really liked your earthy Mike Royko style. Lots of facts and examples. One question: How do I make a “Rain Garden” I live in Florida now, and we need all the help we can. Can’t help thinking though of the symbol of our “Green” revolution and the “Green” of the Iranian protestors. We all wish them well. Good luck with the job search.
Miles Kierson said
How come they call you PackerBackerBob? I thought you were a Bears fan?
I enjoy reading the principles of the Do-Gooder Economy. I like the humor, even in the name, although if i were going to change anything, I’d change the name. “Do-gooder” has such a negative connotation, like it’s a bad thing to do good. Also, I think a lot of people think they are doing good by waging war, dropping bombs, suicide bombings, and making up bad stuff about the do-gooders. And then the us/them paradigm: “I’m a do-gooder/You’re a do-badder”. We’re all in this together — let’s honor people and the planets together; let’s find ways to take care of the Earth; let’s be smart, not oppositional; let’s help everybody see the light.