I attended a panel session at the Powerhouse Museum tonight organised by Green Capital, an initiative of the Total Environment Centre addressing "The Phoenix Effect". Green Capital used the occasion to launch its new brand, which focuses on Building Sustainable Economies.
There is a lot I could say about what Green Capital is doing but not all of it is relevant to sustainability in law firms. I have listed their blog on this site so you can check out what they say. I will focus on what I took away from the speakers, who were all prominent in promoting sustainability in business, charity or government.
The keynote speaker was Sam Mostyn. She is on the boards of Virgin Australia, Transurban Group, and Citibank Australia. In January 2012, Sam was appointed a Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission, and in late 2012 she was appointed to the first National Sustainability Council of Australia.
She gave an interesting perspective on the history of the sustainability movement in Australian from the point of view of business. Initially those within corporations who were advocating social responsibility and sustainability were faced with arguments that it was contrary to the fiduciary duties of directors. The Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change, partnering with the Australian Conservation Foundation, was one of the early movers for a price on carbon.
From that high point, largely through the failure of political leadership and the GFC, the momentum has slowed and it is time, according to Mostyn, for a new approach which looks at the need for sustainability from an economic perspective. "We are building sustainable economies in ways we don't even know yet". Governments are struggling with transformation but the global community through the forces of technology, consumption, and collaboration, is surpassing their efforts. However we are still suffering from the effects of cheap prices for inputs such as fossil fuels, pollutants etc when the real price is anything but cheap.
So what ideas can law firms adopt in trying to implement sustainability?
1. People are not motivated to change their habits by fear. You need to make them feel good about doing something sustainable.
2. People need to be told "You are capable of delivering great change".
3. We need to be honest about what the inputs are when reporting on sustainability.
4. We need to apply proper pricing and new measures of progress to our businesses.
There is a lot I could say about what Green Capital is doing but not all of it is relevant to sustainability in law firms. I have listed their blog on this site so you can check out what they say. I will focus on what I took away from the speakers, who were all prominent in promoting sustainability in business, charity or government.
The keynote speaker was Sam Mostyn. She is on the boards of Virgin Australia, Transurban Group, and Citibank Australia. In January 2012, Sam was appointed a Commissioner with the National Mental Health Commission, and in late 2012 she was appointed to the first National Sustainability Council of Australia.
She gave an interesting perspective on the history of the sustainability movement in Australian from the point of view of business. Initially those within corporations who were advocating social responsibility and sustainability were faced with arguments that it was contrary to the fiduciary duties of directors. The Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change, partnering with the Australian Conservation Foundation, was one of the early movers for a price on carbon.
From that high point, largely through the failure of political leadership and the GFC, the momentum has slowed and it is time, according to Mostyn, for a new approach which looks at the need for sustainability from an economic perspective. "We are building sustainable economies in ways we don't even know yet". Governments are struggling with transformation but the global community through the forces of technology, consumption, and collaboration, is surpassing their efforts. However we are still suffering from the effects of cheap prices for inputs such as fossil fuels, pollutants etc when the real price is anything but cheap.
So what ideas can law firms adopt in trying to implement sustainability?
1. People are not motivated to change their habits by fear. You need to make them feel good about doing something sustainable.
2. People need to be told "You are capable of delivering great change".
3. We need to be honest about what the inputs are when reporting on sustainability.
4. We need to apply proper pricing and new measures of progress to our businesses.
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