Submitted by ChadPark (not verified) on January 10, 2012 - 10:53am.
Thanks for the comment, Mark Anthony.
I absolutely know where you're coming from. My experience working with Nike has been that many people within that organization do too. In fact, I don't think I've ever worked with a company where there was less need for awareness-raising about the need for changed models and strategies. There, it was all about "how." I guess part of the answer lies in the immediate short-term gains that can be made by leveraging the market power of a big company like Nike. The other part, from my perspective, comes from the fact that a company like Nike has resources to invest in innovation that others may not - for example, they are the only company I've worked with that has a director of Green Chemistry - seeking innovations in how they reduce and eliminate toxics from their materials and explore new materials that can help them drive toward their goal of a closed loop material flow.
At the same time, I also see that if we only limit ourselves to encouraging change in companies so entrenched in the unsustainable system, we likely will not get there fast enough. Perhaps it's not a question of taking one approach or the other, but of doing both - trying to foster change and innovation within the current system, while also working to support the emergence of alternatives. Another exciting business model that has a great contribution to make to sustainability, in my view, is the co-operative business model. That's probably a discussion for another day!
Thanks for the comment, Mark Anthony.
I absolutely know where you're coming from. My experience working with Nike has been that many people within that organization do too. In fact, I don't think I've ever worked with a company where there was less need for awareness-raising about the need for changed models and strategies. There, it was all about "how." I guess part of the answer lies in the immediate short-term gains that can be made by leveraging the market power of a big company like Nike. The other part, from my perspective, comes from the fact that a company like Nike has resources to invest in innovation that others may not - for example, they are the only company I've worked with that has a director of Green Chemistry - seeking innovations in how they reduce and eliminate toxics from their materials and explore new materials that can help them drive toward their goal of a closed loop material flow.
At the same time, I also see that if we only limit ourselves to encouraging change in companies so entrenched in the unsustainable system, we likely will not get there fast enough. Perhaps it's not a question of taking one approach or the other, but of doing both - trying to foster change and innovation within the current system, while also working to support the emergence of alternatives. Another exciting business model that has a great contribution to make to sustainability, in my view, is the co-operative business model. That's probably a discussion for another day!
Chad