2Sustain

Ever heard of a reverse boycott?

It’s a concept that’s gathering steam thanks to a growing number of activist consumers who call themselves a “Carrotmob.”

The theory is rather straightforward: instead of using a “stick” and boycotting businesses that are not eco-friendly, Carrotmobs organize and spend their consumer dollars (the “carrots”) at businesses that agree to use a portion of the money to become more sustainable.

“Traditional activism revolves around conflict,” Brent Schulkin, 28, the San Francisco–based activist who founded the Carrotmob movement in 2008, told Time. “Boycotting, protesting, lawsuits — it’s about going into attack mode. What’s unique about a Carrotmob is that there are no enemies.”

This positive reward philosophy is catching on, and Carrotmobs are organizing in cities throughout the United States and Europe. For more information, check out the Carrotmob website, where you can find out details about their latest event, a Carrotmob at the Epicenter Café, in San Francisco, planned for mid- to late-August.  Epicenter vied with three other SF coffee shops and won a public vote as the café whose sustainability plans made it most deserving of a “mob.”

Anyone who is working in corporate CSR knows that these days, there are powerful “sticks” in play. Pressure is mounting from natural sources (climate change, resource depletion), government regulations, and business-to-business expectations and standards. That’s why today, I thought I would focus on the carrots, such as profitability, efficiencies, innovation –and quite possibly a mob of new consumers, too.