Living in Atlanta requires a car if you live the way I do. I am always on the go. I run the business, I play tennis and golf, I go visit my brother and his family and friends on the farm, I visit friends OP (outside the perimeter) and I have business meetings  all over the city. GO, GO, GO is my life. Much of what I do requires owning a car and all that comes with it.

But, as my car lease was nearing the end of its life, I decided to take on a personal journey of a different sort. I decided that I would give up my car, for a year, and live carless in Atlanta. This adventure, as I refer to it, is not quite a week old because I gave up my car Earth Day 2010 to live a year, until Earth Day 2011.

As I was preparing for this adventure, figuring out how to turn in my leased car as seamlessly and as smoothly as possible, I made a colossal mistake. In doing so, I believe I have experienced what perhaps a lot of companies experience as they shift their business practices to a sustainable platform.  This mistake was going to cost me money that I had not planned on and I was faced with a significant dilemma. The mistake was in reading the lease termination date. I had committed to going carless, a more sustainable way of living, but now, it was not going to save me money; it was going to cost me money for a few months. I was going to be paying for a car that I was not driving.

So, I am in turmoil. What do I do? I have said I am going to do this. I have told the world, through the blog and loyal readers, that I am GOING AWOC-Atlanta WithOut a Car. I have told my Advisory Council at work. I have told all 200 plus greenies at SART, I have told friends and family and my professional family that I am giving up my car, Earth Day to Earth Day.  And, of course this is the week Atlanta INTOWN just finished a photo shoot and an article that includes a bit about me and this adventure. And of course, I just found out that Southeast GREEN, a site that gets over 100,000 readers, has posted my blog to their site. CNBC called and I talked about it to a reporter. It is a scary thing to have others so aware about your life.

So, I turned to trusted friends and advisors.  Do I move the date? Do I keep it? What about the money? What will the financial cost be if I stay the course? If I move the date, what will be the reputation cost? If I move the date, how do I justify it? I have already said EARTH DAY to EARTH DAY.  Will I need to do damage control on BRAND STEPHANIE? How will I explain it? How will I explain it to my Advisory Council, the green community, readers, friends, family?  How amazingly vulnerable I felt through this 24 hour period.

Move it to July since that is the month your lease is up. You can make that work….talk about energy independence, national security and July 4^th-wave the flag…etc…..was one lines of thought that surfaced. So,  I let that sit with me for about 30 seconds and NO, that did not feel good. I knew I was not speaking my truth, if I went that direction. I began to realize I would be GREENWASHING if I did that. Not acceptable to me. 

The only thing that felt good to me was Earth Day to Earth Day. I gave my word. But the money, I kept thinking. This is going to cost me real dollars, too. $1500 +/-  out the window was a hard pill to swallow.

One of my advisors, Rex, asked, “If you were a company, what would you do?’  That question began to reveal the answers to me. The proverbial CFL began to glow. I listened as he counseled me. And what did I notice? 

I felt my truth begin to wash over me. I had to stay the course.

I believe I have experienced a mini-mini-microcosm of what companies go through.  I believe this experience I have had  is what companies go through when they shift from traditional practices to a more sustainable business platform. And, as you know, this is what GreenBusiness WORKS advocates -make the shift and stay the course and now, I get it. I get on a deeper level, what we advocate and I get what I am advocating when I give up my car. I get the fear that can creep in when you have made a commitment and the financials begin to erode profitability.  I get what it feels like when your reputation is threatened. I get what it feels like when TRUST, and brand reputation may become tarnished. I get, on a super, super small scale (although it does not feel that way to me!) what Timberland’s CEO experienced when their supply chain was tainted with leather goods that were not harvested fairly. It was an honest mistake; an unknown error that crept into the journey. These situations present an opportunity to really define your character. For me, this has become an opportunity to see who I am and what I am made of and an opportunity to see if I am who I think I am and if I really believe what I say I believe.

Wow, all of that before I even gave up my car!

In the last few years, like many of you, I have become more and more conscious of the effects my life style has on the environment. I made some professional changes and I also made some personal changes.  What lies ahead excites and scares me.

So, I am giving it a try. Atlanta WithOut a Car.

Change is good, right? The noun, that is. It’s the verb that has me a bit uneasy! But, change keeps us alive and vibrant. Remind me of this if I start thinking I can’t, will you?

And click to join me in the blog community because I am Going AWOC – Atlanta WithOut a Car!

One of the outcomes for me was a shift in my thinking. Actually, it is one of those key points you already know, but addressed in this context  brought with a renewed commitment to operationalize my a-ha moment.

Rana Foroohar, Senior Editor, Newsweek International moderated and panelists included Anisa Kamadoti Costa, Director CSR for Tiffany’s; Tony Prophet, Senior Vice President, Hewlett-Packard (no. 1 on the Green Rankings); Annalyn Swan, Partner, ASAP Media; Sally Wilson, CB Richard Ellis and the most intriguing to me was Peter Lehner, Executive Director, National Resources Defense Council.

Peter unfolded the value of NGO’s to corporate America through a lens I had not previously considered. I am keenly aware of NGOs role vs. a NPO, but now more fully aware of why NGOs should be Corporate America’s partners.

As you know, NGOs perform a variety of activities and often shift the balance of the activities they pursue.  New to me was the classification: operational or campaigning.  Operational NGOs achieve small-scale change directly through projects while campaigning NGOs achieve large-scale change indirectly through influence on the political system.

Peter made a simple point.  He unraveled a thread about how NGOs shape corporate thinking by the issues they raise about public policy. Ok, not earth shattering so far, but what turned on the CFL for me was this: A partnership with an NGO gives corporate America the opportunity to affect their bottom line because NGOs affect policy. Policy affects how businesses can operate. That was my a-ha moment.

So, I am on the hunt for the NGOs that line up with corporate sustainability and environmental issues specifically in the Southeast, although geographical location is not a requirement.  I am signing up for their e mails, their blogs and  all that social media stuff these youngsters say are good for me. And yes, I will carve out time to be more active. Since I am in Atlanta, I do not have to look far for many terrific NGOs. And I hope you will join me wherever you are.

‘Got NGO?’

The research program determined the attitudes and opinions of C-level executives with regard to the use and value of business analytics. The title of the report is Emerging Green Intelligence: Business Analytics and Corporate Sustainability The white paper can be downloaded from SAS on their web site http://www.sas.com/whitepapers/index.html

For those companies who are on the fence or have not begun considering the impact of sustainable business practices, perhaps this white paper will provide some insights for consideration. An executive summary includes the following points:

1. Although still in its adolescence, sustainability is being recognized by innovative executives for the opportunity it offers; more than half of executives are focusing on sustainability throughout 2009.
2. Sustainability is not a top-tier concern at the moment but is still a focus of many C-level executives.
3. Sustainability issues are driven by C-level executives, especially the CEO .
4. Additionally, in the last 12 months, half of organizations have increased their focus on sustainability, while two in five have kept their emphasis on sustainability the same.

If you are leading your organization down the path of sustainability, congratulations, the rewards are many. Companies that get their data together fastest will save money, improve performance, recruit and retain the best and brightest talent, answer customer questions and demands, and find new market opportunities.

If you have not decided to take these important steps, how will you compete? And how will address playing ‘catch-up’ with your stakeholders?

In my days of agency work, we would tell clients who waited until the last minute, ‘We can do it good, fast or cheap-pick 2!’ Like any project, a strategic plan that incorporates sustainability as a way of doing business,  will be a higher caliber when you can be planful. It’s less expensive when deadlines are flexible and mandates aren’t looming.

Why not consider deploying sustainability in your organization while choices are still in your business favor?
Stephanie

The world needs a generation of sustainability leadership in the C-suite around the planet. There are good examples out there to serve as role models. At GreenBusiness WORKS EXPO 2009, we heard from a small business executive, Keith Kantor, CEO of Services Foods, who experienced prosperity when most companies were merely trying to survive. He did this by committing to sustainable business practices.  He inspired his team, navigated the change and the business expenses shrunk. And, not so amazing, profitability increased. Not rocket science, right?

We all love the word change; we even say we embrace it. After all, to admit we prefer to stay stuck in old and outdated ways does not sound like enlightened business practices. Maybe the reality is we love change, the noun, but not the verb!

Solving sustainability problems won’t bankrupt a company and does not even depend on a technology breakthrough. EXPO 2009 revealed numerous low cost, no cost changes organizations can adopt that don’t break the corporate bank and we already have technology required to shift to a sustainability platform. So what’s stopping us?

Sustainability depends on inspirational business leadership that can change what tasks their managers manage. Let’s concentrate on fostering leadership, then get out their way and allow them to lead.

Managers manage. Leaders inspire. Which one are you?

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11 Alive News Article – GreenBusiness Works EXPO