PerpetualPlanet

The Christian Science Monitor gave the Portland Chamber of Commerce a lesson in boosterism with this article. The metro area contains most of Oregon’s population and has earned a reputation for its progressive and ecologically sound mindset. The perception from outside has led to immigration by young adults seeking a place that matches their outlook.

As a resident in the countryside nearby, I can attest to the article’s accuracy. However, more can always be done. The water quality of Willamette river which bisects the city has seriously declined in recent years. The urban growth boundary is under constant pressure from developers seeking to make a quick buck on open spaces near the core. Yet, the outside attention forces us to continue to walk the talk and work on those issues.

If you have the opportunity to hear William McDonough speak, take it. He visited our city last night to discuss intentional design for society and to share some of the projects his architectural firm has created. The man is somewhat a modern DaVinci, though he stresses he always works with a huge multi-discipline team. Whether designing carpet, the Ford Model U, Nike European Headquarters or fighting diabetes, his designs adhere to this goal:

“We hope for a delightful, safe and healthy world, with clean water and renewable power, economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed.”

It’s not enough to recycle something after use if it or the process to create it is toxic or depends on unfair treatment of people. While at first it seems overly idealistic, the logic of the goal is inescapable. Skepticism lessens when you see in practice - actual products sold at a profit and buildings that save their owners money.

McDonough contends that we are on the cusp of another industrial revolution in which companies and countries that become eco-effective will thrive while others wither. If a $170 billion a year company like Ford is buying in, it can’t be too hippie-dippie.

A good book for finding out more is Cradle to Cradle (printed on plastic!) by McDonough and his chemist partner, Dr. Michael Braungart.

China’s president Hu Jintau outlined his country’s economic goals for the coming 25-50 years in an exemplary speech before the APEC CEO Summit this past November in Santiago, Chile.  He noted that his country has a sustained annual growth rate of 9.5%, a result of the strategies defined 25 years ago and executed with continuous discipline.  That a country so successful at implementation of a far-sighted plan is now laying out its next set of goals ought make Europeans and Americans take notice.  The U.S. rate of growth is 3.5%.  China, now fully capable of feeding, clothing and sheltering its own, seems on a course to become the leading economic power on the planet by appropriate means.

“In a word, mankind is faced with both grave challenges and rare opportunities for development. Given the circumstances, the only right option for us to take is cooperation geared to a win-win result, and the only goal for us to endeavor towards is sustainable development. Our own experience with development tells us that every country must go through an evolving process that today’s development is the continuation of that of yesterday and the groundwork of that of tomorrow. When a country lays down its plans, chooses its strategies, decides on its approaches and implements its measures towards its long-term goals of development, it should take into account both its present and future needs of development and address both the current concerns of the people and the interests for their long-term development.”

It’s heartening to hear that sustainability is at the core of the plan, even if it is a disappointing reminder that our leaders in the U.S. are still planning for faster consumption of finite resources and the war machine required to secure them.

I’ll confess up front. I love the game of golf. Yes, I know golf courses are looked at with scorn by champions of sustainability. Those dismissing this as golf propaganda will be forgiven.  But any environmentally-minded golfer who understands my dilemma will read on with great hope that indeed great courses have their place in sustainable recreation.

The Shark from Down Under, PGA professional Greg Norman, has created a masterpiece course near Shannon, Ireland.  Doonbeg Golf Club, I think, will rank as one of the must play courses of the world with Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

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Norman and his firm designed the course with minimal disturbance to the site.  Very little earth was moved in comparison to modern courses.  The native grass fairways maintain most of the bumps and rolls originally present, and wind around off-limits ancient grey dunes.  In addition, all construction and future maintenance had to comply with EU Habitats Directive that protects an endangered species of snail in the area.

The course began operations in 2002 and seems likely to host a future Ryder Cup competion.  The effect it will have on the local economy is guaranteed to be dramatic.  Future impact studies will show if the serious reservations by some about the ecological impact were warranted.

About 4 billion people on the planet are ignored by most marketers.  Making less than $1500 per year, puts them off the radar for most multinationals.  However, this market, coined as the bottom of the pyramid, may be more fertile than most b-schoolers first think.  Corporations like HP, Citicorp,  Honeywell and Starbucks are currently experimenting with products made by and sold to people who possess almost nothing.

Many of the efforts focus on meeting basic needs such as food and clothing.  One company in India, for example, sells jeans making kits for $6 each to entrepreneurs who assemble and sell them at a profit.

However, high tech companies are watching HP’s e-Inclusion program on project of which aims to create digtal town centers with affordable shared internet access.  Pilot sites already  exist in Central America, Asia, Africa and Central Europe.  Banks look to assist by creating microcredit operations in the same areas, accepting very small deposits and making very small loans.

Success is not guaranteed, but the prospect of such an enormous number of new customers apparently makes efforts to create the required purchasing power an attractive investment.

Authors C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart explore The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits in a short paper and in their book by the same title.  Prahalad is a professor at Michigan Business School nad Hart teaches at UNC Business School.  The subheading of the book is synomous with doing well by doing good: “Eradicating Poverty Through Profits”.