Ecopreneurs: We Must Be the Change
As going green becomes more and more popular, it seems that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Consumers want more sustainable options for all their needs, and companies are beginning to listen. Or are they?
Maybe I’m just a little paranoid, but I don’t tend to trust the megalithic corporations that have so much power and wealth today. So while I see many ad campaigns touting green promises and hear of many large corporations changing their ways, as much as I want to believe them, I have my doubts that many of these companies are truly committed to sustainability. The very nature of our economy leads companies to focus solely on profit and their own growth, at the expense of people and the environment.
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Like it or not, we are a society dominated by corporate interests. Of the 100 largest economies, 51 are corporations; the other 49 are countries. Industry (and its lobbies) has an enormous sway on politics, public policy, the economy, our lives, and of course, the earth. As powerful forces in the world, companies are going to have to lead the shift to sustainability. Getting companies to do the right thing no matter what its effect on their bottom line is going to take a major paradigm shift. It’s time for change, and we certainly can’t count on the government to do anything very quickly, so we need business to lead the way.
As socially conscious business owners and ecopreneurs, we need to listen to Gandhi’s famous words and “be the change we wish to see in the world.” It’s time to take the reigns, define sustainability for our companies and boldly pursue it. We can set our own standards if we have to, and then go above and beyond them. We can bring ideas like true cost economics and the triple bottom line to the forefront of business thinking and practice. We can share sustainable ideas that have worked for us with other business owners. We can invest in making our businesses more sustainable and ethical, and we can find ways to make a living at the same time. We can support other sustainable businesses we believe in and purchase fair-trade, organic, sustainably made products. We can market our goods and services by telling the truth about being green, instead of greenwashing. We can run our businesses the way that all businesses should be run: with integrity, responsibility, human dignity, and sustainability.
We can change the world if only we believe that we can. And given the influence businesses have, it’s up to us to create this change. I’m not just talking about switching to recycled office paper, although that’s certainly a good start. The stakes are high and we need massive change to steer us on a path towards sustainability. We’ll have to rethink the way we do business, change minds, and transform society’s priorities. If anyone can pioneer this change, it’s those with entrepreneurial spirit and good hearts.
Calling all conscious ecopreneurs: the time for change is now. It starts with us. Let’s be the change.
Read more about sustainable business:
- Nobody’s Really Going Green – Most Companies Just Pay Lip Service on Ecopreneurist
- The Six Sins of Greenwash… and How to Repent on Sustainablog
- Good Eco Entrepreneurs Don’t Greenwash on Ecopreneurist
If the U.S. had decided to be a moral people, and leaving Iraqi oil alone, follow Al Gore, to develop the South Western deserts, with the technology of the times, solar/thermal installations, for the same amount of money as that war cost, today, we would be tapping into the largest, renewable, sustainable, energy source the world has ever known. It would have paid every energy bill in the U.S.A. for maintenance fees only - FOREVER! It is an oil well that can NEVER run dry! After the millions of murders, and billions of dollars, borrowed from our children’s futures and spent, with thousands of our own and others maimed and disfigured for life, millions of families utterly destroyed, ours and theirs, we are no closer to Iraqi oil production than the Iraqis are!
The next time you hear a blithering idiot spoiled brat, drunken, drug addicted, sociopathic, rich daddie’s boy, stand at a microphone and threaten YOUR safety with someone else’s weapons, remember what you lost America, remember, and weep!
I think if the individual inventors, entrepreneurs, and investors don’t get ahead of the curve and re-think America (and the world) that our future will be controlled by the same corporate giants that got us where we are today! We may be better off, greener, and leaner but THEY will still be in power and still dictate THEIR terms for our lives. I’ve been looking for start-up companies to invest my modest, meager savings in and, folks, I can’t find anything that doesn’t look like a scam; at least on the surface.
Amen on most of it, Uncle B!
Corporations are run towards one goal: money. Every dollar you spend is a vote for that company. We as a people need to come together and buy products from socially and environmentally responsible companies. If we stop buying their products, they will eventually die.
I see small steps coming from mid size companies. As the author said the bigger corporations intentions are not very true. So we individuals and smaller companies should do our bit. I saw a mid size company called Kapston.org giving free business consulting services to small and mid size eco friendly companies for free. Check it out at http://www.kapston.com
[...] our RSS feed and stay up to date.People, planet and profits (at least some). That’s what the triple bottom line means for green businesses and a truly sustainable [...]
Let’s make a real action to collaborating business,natural conservation, and community development through real project, such as community based ecotourism. We should follow up our ideas as soon as possible.