2Sustain

There’s an old torch song called “What a Difference a Day Makes” by Dinah Washington. It has been stuck in my head lately, particularly as I read stories coming out of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change which kicked off this week in Bali. I think the reason I can’t shake the tune because everywhere I look I’m reminded of the huge difference between the environmental movement as I remember it from the late 80s/early 90s and the movement today. So I suppose it’s more like “What a Difference Two Decades Makes” – but who’s counting?

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Part I focused on my belief that we have arrived at the juncture where sustainability risks crossing over into the rarified world of “super words.” This scares me a bit, particularly given the very serious issues we face – from global warming and disappearing bees to over-fished oceans and drought-plagued cities. In the face of these very real problems, “sustainability” is now poised to become one of the top cross-industry marketing buzzwords of all time. Make no mistake, what we are seeing now is just the beginning. Other buzzwords come and go (“Dotcom”) or are industry specific (“Low-Carb”), but sustainability is different — it is bigger, stronger, faster, more flexible. It is the Six Million Dollar Man of marketing words, and Madison Avenue is doing what it does best right now and grabbing hold for the ride. This is the old scorpion and the frog scenario – it’s just in their nature. And that is hugely risky given the real issues at stake here will not, repeat NOT, be solved by selling more Frosted Flakes by highlighting that the corn comprising said Flakes was “Sustainably Harvested” because the farmers started sorting their recycling.

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