by Sustainability has been on a long journey from the fringes to the mainstream of society. The discussion has shifted from whether to be sustainable to how. I have used the “Soft Path” (borrow from the ideas of Amory and Hunter Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute) to characterize a scenario in which the economy has sustainability front-and-center. About five years ago, my company had a meeting of a couple dozen corporate and government clients and spent a day exploring the potential for the Soft Path. They could see how this future could emerge and they recognized the challenges it could present to existing business models. The hardest part, perhaps, is to envision the transition, not the destination.
There are all kinds of indicators for the Soft Path out there. We are taking environmental concerns much more seriously, from carbon footprints to green buildings to consumers paying more for green products – other indicators include:
- Grass-roots movements and social entrepreneurship flourishes (see Paul Hawken’s Blessed Unrest)
- New measures of government success at all levels of government go beyond the Triple Bottom Line, including such factors as happiness/well-being (see Gross National Happiness)
- Alternative energy investment grows
- Local products and services flourish
- Licenses-to-operate granted by some communities that require organizations to give back to the community, i.e., to keep a certain percentage of their profits within the community (see B Corporations)
The Soft Path is emerging – suggesting green ($$) from green (sustainability). Andy Hines
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