It’s the National Park you’ve never heard of. Brought to you by Keith Maitland and Sarah Wilson. Stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.
Green
Big Bend of the Rio Grande
Monday, July 12th, 2010
LIVE FROM LOHAS
Friday, June 25th, 2010A few ideas from the soup I swam in yesterday. First and foremost the tenor of LOHAS is one of action. It vibrates with the feeling that doing good is great but that even great isn’t good enough. It’s about constantly examining your practices in the name of green, sustainability, and holistic health. This mindful way of being is perhaps the opposite of leading an unconscious existence whether corporately or individually. This is why the sustainability movement often takes on spiritual tones. There is meditation in the search for a truer, higher path. But make no mistake this is a rigorous exercise that takes equal parts left and right brain. Maintaining the status quo may be easier and more profitable but it is also fraught with danger as the natural world and consumer consciousness crush in on the “way things were”.
The gusher in the Gulf only fuels the fire of innovation. What I am seeing here is a very Jedi like attempt to channel the rage / fear / confusion into kindling for a bonfire of solutions. Call it the fire under our collective ass. You get it, metaphor extended. Yesterday the entire conference sat in a room with Stephanie Owens from the EPA, Charles Hambleton producer from The Cove film (who is now working the Gulf region camera in hand), and Philippe Cousteau via Skype. The dialogue was very real but carried reason over reaction. It was heart wrenching to hear Philippe describe his dives into the spill site. “Looking up from under the plumes, the sun shines through, turning the sea a red color and outlining dead sea life.” He then spoke of visiting the Exxon Valdez spill site and spoke of the ongoing devastation to the ecosystem these many decades later. The takeaway – this isn’t going away in our lifetimes. The conversation then turned to action – Charles and Stephanie both made a great point about not punishing private owners of BP stations saying that it only hurts locals, not the company who trades fuel anyway. My take – retribution made in individual acts that curb personal consumption of petro products is the first order. Use this as a personal call to action. First look within, then look out. We finished this session with a moment of silence guided by Dr. Larry Dorsey. I prayed that I would have the perseverance to make personal change and the wisdom to teach my children a better way.
This takes me to the last thought on yesterday which spawned while listening to a man named Tom LaForge, whose company puts a drink on the lips of billion people everyday. Tom is Global Director of Human and Cultural Insights for Coca Cola. You can follow and inspire him on twitter at @otama Tom is smart and affable. He carries a massive corporate line on his shoulder when he comes to a conference like this. He tows it well. Coca Cola does some good. Does plenty of harm too. Not going to get granular here but I will share what I believe the most powerful thing Tom shared with us. It felt more like a poker tell then a direct call to action but still he said it though I am paraphrasing here – “the most important thing consumers can do is organize and speak to companies in a compelling collective voice.” The mandate for massive change will be an external force. Seems to me like he was asking for help, blinking morse code at the audience.
LOHAS Forum. Critical mass for giving a hoot.
Monday, June 21st, 2010Very psyched to be attending LOHAS Forum in Boulder CO at the end of this week. I will blog this event some, tweet it more. Look for #LOHASForum if you want to follow along in the twitterverse.
So what the heck is a LOHAS?
Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) describes an estimated $209 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. The consumers attracted to this market represent a sizable group in this country. Approximately 19% percent of the adults in the U.S., or 41 million people, are currently considered LOHAS Consumers. This is based on surveys of the U.S. adult population estimated at 215 million.
What’s the forum all about?
LOHAS offers a rare opportunity for both business owners and consumers to meet with the decision makers from many large companies, including Coca Cola, Petco, eBay, and the CEO of Ecover, and for those larger businesses, who may not know how to navigate the rapidly changing market, to learn from smaller ones who are making it work. It is also a place to find out about new trends and approaches to engage conscious consumers, who pay close attention to more sustainable and ethical ways of doing things.
This trip also gives me the opportunity to connect with Alex Bogusky and Robyn O’Brien prior to their scheduled talk, “Phood and Kids” where they will be joined by Chef Ann Cooper the “Renegade Lunch Lady”. I fully expect to be very inspired by the cross pollination of idea people, world changers and ‘do the right thingers’. So many of our passions as a company overlap here – cause marketing, food truthing, holistic thinking about work and life. I hope I can put some energy back on the passion grid because I know I will be pulling plenty off.
Civic civility on the Trail.
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Annick Beaudet project manager for the City of Austin’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program asked us to help with laying down the “law” of the trail.
The trail is near and dear to our running shoes, bike tires, and BOB’s. Last year we designed the new identity for the Trail Foundation. While this poster was a much simpler project to execute there was some great learning…I wasn’t aware that the “speed limit” on the trail is 10 MPH for instance. Let’s just say it took me a little longer to ride into work today.
Big thank you to design partner Toby Sudduth for jumping in and creating the look for this poster at a moments notice. Keep your eyes peeled for it at local bike shops and blown up big this weekend on the trail.
And yes, we can all get along on the trail if we just take a minute to remember a few simple rules.
Happy Trails.
SeaWorld’s Corporate Social Opportunity.
Sunday, August 30th, 2009My family visited SeaWorld San Antonio this weekend. The park has been open for 20 years – and none of us had ever been. It’s a clean, beautifully maintained 250 acre park that serves over 2.5 million people who visit each year. The staff was friendly and helpful.
On the surface there is nothing wrong with this park. Millions of happy families stream in and take full advantage of the Lost Lagoon water park, roller coasters, marine exhibits and incredible up close access to marine mammals. The shows are entertaining, too. Watching a whale breach the surface of the water and sail through the air, all set to high decibel Euro-style techno music, is exhilarating.
A dolphin takes flight at one the shows we visited.
However, I understand that our ocean’s are in trouble, so I felt a huge disconnect in the park. It’s apparent that SeaWorld lacks a fully integrated conservationist philosophy.
SeaWorld’s greatest opportunity is to guide people to make a clear connection between themselves, the animals and the environment. The park is too focused on short-term human satisfaction and doesn’t function to educate how human behavior is the dominant force in determining the future of not only the oceans but our planet. Humans need re-think and re-learn our place in the world. Organizations like SeaWorld are perfectly suited to take on a challenge of this magnitude.
SeaWorld takes full advantage of the captive creatures it trains. These animals are the largest draw for the park. They help generate wealth for a few and a living wage for many. But how do the world’s oceans fare on the payroll? The animals are on loan from the ecosystem from which they were harvested. They are not really performers or actors – they are ambassadors representing the thousands of species in the oceans who can’t cooperate or ‘smile’ in a show. The animal’s performances should be seen as a invitation for us all to take heed and become involved.
A good strategy would be to incorporate the soul and goals of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund into the mainstream entertainment concepts and programming of the park. The Foundation’s goals can become the core driver of the business. With this act, SeaWorld can transform itself from a theme park that skims less than a million dollars from its immense annual profits to put towards its scientific grants – into a highly effective and entertainment/education advocate organization for the worlds oceans. Sure, some SeaWorld programs exist that touch on conservation, but they’re lost amid the larger theme of the park – which is mostly about humans being ‘entertained’ by animals. It’s time for SeaWorld to make the worlds oceans a proper business partner.
Families should leave SeaWorld inspired to become a part of the solution to key issues that threaten our oceans. Picture millions of Americans empowered by practical ideas on how to sustain wildlife and their environments. Teach people that all of us have a responsibility and each of us have real power to protect and conserve and about our responsibility because of our wealth, influence and our capacity to consume.
This is how SeaWorld becomes a part of the solution. This is how all the toil and investment really starts to make sense and the whole world wins. Leaders like SeaWorld San Antonio’s EVP Dan Decker have been with the company for many years. He believes in the culture. Decker states in a youtube film that the company has, ‘Taken very good care of he and his family…’ He has obviously been a good steward to the brand. The question is, can leaders like him think beyond the walls of SeaWorld and be as good a servant to the world’s oceans?
Why can’t SeaWorld become a place that churns out inspiration and action? They can…. it’s simply a matter of will.
Here are some companies that embrace corporate social responsibility as a key part of their business model and are rewarded for it:
Patagonia (constant environmental vigilance baked into everything they do)
Interface Flor (Mission Zero: eliminate their negative environmental impact by 2020)
National Farmers Market Week
Monday, August 10th, 2009
I unknowingly participated in the National Farmers Market Week last week while vacationing in Lake Tahoe. After picking up a local rag in Tahoe City I was excited to see mention of a market taking place on Thursday AM commensurate with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s decree. Not that I needed a governmental stimulus.
I love farmers markets. I’ve frequented my downtown Austin market weekly for the last four years. Other than the organic food you buy directly from the people who grow it there is a lot of upside. The people watching is prime. There’s music and laughter. And there’s ample excuse to eat breakfast twice.
But there is something more than surface glee. There exists a nervous vitality at farmers markets that is not found in any supermarket. The farmers worked like hell to get the food into the stand. Most woke up extra early market day and drove 50 to 100 miles to be there. They need to sell out or close to it. The shoppers are hoping that there will be enough of whatever it is they are after. They must deal with the relatively lawless lines and the awkward hand offs of produce. The lack of structure. The hand scrawled signs. A slight degree of uncertainty is present for all involved. Something that feels much more like reality and much less like we’ve become entitled to expect hangs in the air. It’s all very humanizing.
Apparently there are now about 4900 farmers markets in the US. That is a bounty of reality waiting to be harvested. So grab a canvas bag or three and get yours.
“Second Industrial Revolution”
Friday, April 24th, 2009In 2006 we went to the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo to make a documentary. We wanted to explore how close America was getting to undergoing a green building revolution. We thought, why not ask the companies and people who it mattered to most. One of the quotes that really stuck with me from the trip was in response to our question, “If you had to re-name the green movement, what would you call it?” Deborah Snoonian, who was an editor at Plenty magazine at the time, said, “The second industrial revolution. (more…)
Bogusky B-Cycle’s to B-Bros.
Monday, February 23rd, 2009Alex Bogusky is an ad man of some renown. That’s all well and good if you’ve got a product to sell. But he’s up to something more than interrupting and selling gypsy wares. He’s also interrupting and attempting to shift a behavior that has an enormously negative impact on the planet – driving. He isn’t doing it with a Truth style campaign though. He, along with Humana and Trek bicycles, are doing it with B-Cycle. It’s an uber dialed bike sharing plan. He is coming to Austin on 13 March to share the vision with SXSW interactive conference attendees.
We are gathering a group of Austinites that can help him see this vision to fruition. As a bike friendly office with two full time bike commuters rolling in and out each day we’d love to see it go. If you want Austin on the B-Cycle map get off your Facebook and get over here. If you have any great ideas for how to drive grassroots awareness of this mission drop us a comment, tweet it, or just launch it into the universe in your own special way.
Eating good in the neighborhood, really.
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Community Supported Agriculture is good. Literally. The Butler Bros joined a CSA, The Johnson’s Backyard Garden, to fuel our largely plant based diet. Much tastiness is being served in our offices thanks to the Johnson’s and all the members of our new CSA. Feels great to be investing locally and reaping the rewards. Considering that, on average, food travels 1200 miles before reaching our plates. CSA’s provide solutions for much more than hunger pains. Sample the abundance for yourself.
Pork for Pedaling?
Monday, October 13th, 2008Q – How will the Congressional bailout positively impact me?
A – That depends on how you get to work Mr. Middle Class Small Business Owner.
Q – Well I ride my bike. I actually sold my car. So again what’s in the bailout for ME?
A - There’s this one thing I think you’ll like, you energy bar eating, bike riding hippie…hold on…(turning pages SFX)…Here it is. We call it Sec 211, “The transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters” and it goes a little something like this:
(i) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING REIMBURSEMENT- The term `qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.
(ii) APPLICABLE ANNUAL LIMITATION- The term `applicable annual limitation means, with respect to any employee for any calendar year, the product of $20 multiplied by the number of qualified bicycle commuting months during such year.
(iii) QUALIFIED BICYCLE COMMUTING MONTH- The term `qualified bicycle commuting month means, with respect to any employee, any month during which such employee’
(I) regularly uses the bicycle for a substantial portion of the travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment, and