There is a monumental shift taking place that is bringing businesses, environmentalists, and governments into the same room, reading from the same page, and using the same language.

Reviewing the history of the environmental movement and how we got to where we are today, it started as a reaction to the “unparalleled wave of mining, forestry clearance, and land drainage” of the Industrial Revolution 1730 – 1850. According to Andy Reynolds’ A Brief History of Environmentalism “a few scattered individuals began to speak out. But it took over 150 years for environmentalism to mature to the public movement we know today. The focus of environmental concerns has changed over the decades, but one debate has barely altered – what is the reason for protecting the planet? For some it’s for the benefit of humans, for others it’s because nature, like a work of art, has its own value.”

Many of us have lived long enough to remember the TV commercial where an aboriginal elder is by the road side, shedding a tear as an unseen person tosses litter out the window of a speeding vehicle onto the ground near the elder’s feet. There was a line drawn between those with and without respect for nature. Pollution, pesticides, species extinction – these are things most of us heard from early “scattered individuals” speaking out. They became known as environmentalists.

The 1960’s are when the environmental movement finally got traction by organizing and providing scientific support for their theories around environmental destruction and what it means to humans, not only nature. There was a focus on the food chain, recognition that what goes into every step of the process ends up in us. 50 years later at a conference in Vancouver, B.C., the supply chain, looking up the river from the end product, is still a focus. Read the rest of this entry »

Saint John, N.B., February 02, 2010 — Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions, CBC/Radio-Canada, interviewed Greenomics President, Erich Schwartz, to discuss the creation of the consultancy Greenomics and how Greenomics the Game was created. This insightful 10 minute interview reveals the life changing catalyst that made Erich change careers from being a globe travelling IT executive to the founder of a Sustainability Consultancy. It divulges the thinking processes that merged Erich’s science background with his business acumen. It also uncovers some of the challenges businesses face when pursuing Sustainability as demonstrated in the manufacturing of Greenomics the Game. Convinced that leading by demonstration is more credible than just talking, great efforts were made to make the game 100% sustainable. While unusual, the goal was to enable people to toss the game into a composter at the end of its lifecycle to be converted into soil. We hope you enjoy this interview on Steven Webb’s morning show Information Morning. (Please note, we’ve compressed this file to make the download faster, so you will have to download then launch. Sorry for this inconvenience.) Alternatively, you can stream it from CBC Radio.

While listening, please add your comments and questions to our blog.

Greenomics the Game started as an educational tool to augment the Greenomics Sustainability Workshop. After repeated play it evolved into an entertaining board game. Based on the enthusiastic responses received during more than a dozen focus groups, we decided to put the game into production. Now, others can enjoy it at home and educators can use it to make their courses and programs about sustainability more engaging.

 We formed a virtual team to design and build the game. This included our own sustainability consultants, graphic artists, printers, and researchers. We had fun, learned a lot, and achieved most of our goals. To make the game we had to live by our own principles of sustainability. We had to walk the talk.

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Turning Grey to Green.

The black and white world of decision making can often turn to grey when it comes to sustainable business practises. Those who do not accept the overwhelming research from credible sources world-wide are holding back the necessary and important work to address the seriousness of the situation impacting their own business.

If the “sustainists” in your organization are being kept in the closet, the Greenomics team would be happy to provide you with tangible real world examples to unlock the door and let them out. We can help align the naysayers through our workshops, geared specifically for your industry. We can provide the black and white for those who see green as grey. Once those colour correcting processes have occurred – there are many more to follow. Decision-making moves from securing the lowest cost for goods that meet your business needs, to embracing fuller criteria that take into account planet, people and profit. Read the rest of this entry »