What if we really listened to each other?

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Hello Reader,

Ok. Opinion content incoming!

This week I read an article about ‘plastic-eating bacteria’. Researchers are looking at including heat-resistant spores in plastics that will break down the plastic at the end of its useful life. It’s early-stage research and far from planet-saving.

It wasn’t the content that stood out to me though.

It was the comments. There were a lot of negative comments from sustainability professionals.I was not surprised to see many dissenting comments. As intriguing as this technology is, it does appear to be more of an ‘It’s ok. Business as usual will be fine.’ article.

What really surprised me was that they were such black-and-white views. It felt almost like reading the comments of climate deniers on social media. Leaving no room for discussion. It was a ‘yeah but’ statement.

It was more informed than the typical bile and bluster that denier comments feature but it still had the finality of their opinion. There was no room, it seemed, for discussion.

So many of the comments made were remarks around 'unintended consequences' (a systems thinking staple). This is a great place to start a discussion. But this approach of shutting down the conversation doesn’t help.

We’ve spoken a lot about the importance of collaboration and understanding impacts. Take the opportunity. I get it. I often look at initiatives and get angry that they’re ineffective measures. The important thing is not to end the discussion.

So, I suppose the message here is, let's be open to hearing others' opinions and ideas, really listening to ensure we understand, and then work together to find common ground and a path forward. This isn't new thinking, but against a backdrop of heated side-taking, this is the only approach that will lead us to an effective outcome.

Keep talking (kindly), keep collaborating.

Cheers,

Adam

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Responsible Innovation

There are several words that are often associated with innovation. It’s not uncommon to hear people tout innovation as disruptive, user-led or sustaining, but it is far less common to hear responsible.

Responsible innovation (RI) is a concept that is gaining more attention. It emphasises recognising the ethical and societal implications of innovation. Alongside understanding if you can do something, RI encourages considering if you should.

Unsurprisingly, RI concepts share some commonalities with systems thinking and sustainability. We explore those commonalities in our latest blog, Responsible Innovation: Sustainable and Systems-Led.​

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Unveiling Greenwashing: A Practical Workshop for Marketers

Greenwashing is often misunderstood and is frequently far more stealthy than we think. And because our overall situation is likely far worse than people realise, even good intentions can unwittingly lead to gross misrepresentation. This ultimately doesn't help us move the dial in any way.

What if all marketers took greater care when building messages and campaigns? What if more marketers were climate literate? What if more marketers were able to spot the bulls*t before making bad claims? In this one-off workshop, I invite marketers of all stripes to explore how the climate crisis is and has a marketing problem - one every marketer can help solve.

Roundup

​Researchers from the University of Waterloo employed AI to investigate heat loss in residential buildings. They discovered significant energy savings to be had. It highlights the importance of energy-efficient housing. For us, in Australia, this is severely lacking. Hopefully research like this and education can change that. How's your home energy efficiency?

Australia's Federal Budget was released this week. One component of interest for SMEs is a tax deduction for energy-saving upgrades. In terms of measures that demonstrate a longer-term view for transitioning our economy, though, that is still very much lacking.

Microsoft will now require key suppliers to use 100% carbon-free electricity in an effort to wrangle their supply chain emissions. This is exactly what we should expect to see as more mandatory disclosure reporting comes into effect - big players placing downward pressure on those who supply to them. SMEs should consider this the new ticket to the game.

​In a new report from Deloitte, over 40% of Millennials and Gen Z's state they have or will change jobs over climate concerns. 86% of Gen Z and 89% of Millennials reported the importance of having a clear purpose, telling us again that those who make up the majority of the workforce and with the greatest consumer spending power are looking for more from companies.

What We're Reading

The Future by Naomi Alderman is a technology-driven speculative fiction that has me on the edge of my seat. It's a critique of where we've found ourselves, explored through a pre-collapse timeframe: AI, mass consumption, tech billionaires and more. Highly recommend - M

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