On November 9^th, I attended Bob Willard’s book launch of The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook: How to Transform Your Company (New Society Publishers, 2009). Prior to the launch, I had never heard of this author’s work, but, Willard’s presentation couldn’t have been more relevant to my life and what I am currently learning in school. Coming from a business background and listening to the importance of sustainability was somewhat predictable. However, what truly caught my attention was the “how to” get prominent business leaders to listen to and implement changes that positively affect the environment. Bob Willard’s solution to getting business leaders (CEO’s) to listen and implement sustainable practices in their companies is to use business terminology. As simple as that may sound, it works! Think about it…business-minded individuals are primarily concerned about one thing, and one thing only, money. Thus, talking to them in terms of profit is the ideal solution. Instead of calling it “sustainability” and “corporate social responsibility,” Willard proposes calling it “asset management.” Furthermore, Willard suggests that the three components of asset management should be renamed “financial capital,” “natural capital” and “human/social capital.” His presentation on making sustainability a part of our lives truly impacted my life as a business student. To learn more about this event, please visit http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=15969

Image from ThoughtBubble.org

Last month, Stephen Harper annihilated the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) even though it was defeated in Parliament 43-32, without a debate. This has not happened in eighty years. This blatant, insulting attack on democracy is, to say the least, concerning.

A link on the IRIS facebook page lead to me to the David Suzuki Foundation’s website, where I was able to send an e-mail to Mr. Harper about eliminating the bill right before UN Climate negotiations began.

I wish I could say that I was surprised by Stephen Harper responding and apologizing for his undemocratic hissy-fit. Instead, I was surprised by responses from politicians who were cc'd. I received an e-mail from Elizabeth May touting green party rhetoric, reminding me that she has been a supporter of the bill since its inception.  I also received an e-mail from Mr. Ignatieff, which summarized the issue as well as had a similar underlying message. Surely Canadians know why they are sending the e-mail in the first place. I did not choose to use the David Suzuki Foundation as a channel so that I could get spammed by the opposition.

This aside, I am disappointed by the lack of response and am unsure of how to proceed. The Green Party suggests a letter writing campaign. Thus far, this has only resulted in getting spammed.

So, I am opening this up to anyone reading this post. Any suggestions on how to move forward?

Last month IRIS released a report from the 2009 Ecojustice Conference which stated that the Global South is disproportionately affected by climate change. Although Northern countries are the main causes of climate change, it is our Southern counterparts that are dealing with the consequences. Climate change is resulting in droughts, floods, atypical weather events as well as other natural repercussions that are creating mass migrations that are certainly not by choice. This being said, these disasters are never solely natural; they are a combination of political, cultural and social interactions that affect communities like the South Pacific island of Tuvalu which will soon be under water.

The international community has not adequately prepared for the consequences of climate change. What will happen to the people of Tuvalu when they are forced to migrate? Currently the term climate refugees is contested. Many reject the word ‘refugee’ for victims of climate change because they do not fit into the rigid and strict 1951 United Nations Convention definition. Because these populations have not been persecuted in the traditional, political sense they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which is the UN agency that handles all refugees with the exception of those originating in Palestine. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is a separate, specialized UN agency.

The international community needs to begin questioning and deciding what they are going to do with this mass influx of communities that are forced to migrate. Are they climate refugees? Stateless people? Simply migrants? Where are these people going to migrate to?

What Northern countries should really be asking themselves is: when are we going to take responsibility for our actions?

Last week, here at the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), we were very fortunate to be able to host a talk by Dr. Bob Willard and to launch his latest book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook. This book succinctly explains the case for why a sustainable business is a smart business. What personally struck me was the fact that, being a Human Resources management student, I have been taught that change has to be top down in order for it to be effective. We learn in our course, that it is top management’s responsibility to create a vision and ensure that the whole organization shares that vision. Top management has to “walk the walk and talk the talk” to show commitment to any significant change. However, this perspective does not allow us to take account of how change can be initiated at any level of the organization. Dr. Willard’s new book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook, calls for a paradigm shift and emphasize the fact that any employee, regardless of their position can encourage and initiate change. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how to inspire a shared vision and mobilize commitment and embed and align change within any organization.