Sustainability is Not a Choice, it is a Necessity A review of the lecture "Business, society and the journey to sustainability" by Rob Abbott on April 6th in Calgary's Central Library. Written by: Benjamin Carlier Date: April 24th, 2010 It seems the 'green community' in Calgary is still a fairly small circle; at Rob Abbott's lecture, a lot of people seemed to know each other. It was pleasing to see that more chairs had to be retrieved, as the attendance was larger than expected. After a short introduction by Stephanie Jackman, Respect for the Earth and all People's (REAP) president and founder, Rob Abbott takes the speaker's chair. Rob Abbott (http://www.abbottstrategies.com/) is one of Canada's leading sustainability strategists, writers and speakers. However, he introduces himself as a "business strategist" - someone who helps companies integrate sustainability. Abbott starts by reading a passage out of his book "Conscious Endeavours", because he feels things happen because of our origin. The past is not simply the past, but a context. As he recites camping trips from his youth, it is easy to see how he ended up in this career path. Continuing his speech, Abbott states a few key messages: How do we live within the limits of nature? What is our current narrative with impact to the economy, environment and energy? Essentially, we are 'overshooting', meaning that we are consuming more than the natural resources allow us to. Sustainability is not a problem to be solved, it is a future to be created. To illustrate this, Abbott refers to the book "Carbon Shift" by Thomas Homer-Dixon, which compares the dead end of the carbon economy with the opportunities in the nanotech technology. The latter will allow us, just 20 years from now, to use solar power for all of our energy needs. Risk or opportunity, the choice is ours. As Abbott brings up, a lot of companies ask themselves "why should we go green?" According to The Economist, 74% of companies going green are profiting from it. Abbott brings up the example of Walmart, which was named as one of the top five green brands in 2008. Walmart saved over four billion dollars last year by going green. That said, companies should go green because it is profitable. While public awareness is growing, only a small percentage of companies have actually capitalized on the benefits sustainability brings. These benefits include a competitive advantage and the ability to attract top talent. As a Stanford study indicates, 92% of young professionals prefer to work for a company with a strong green stance. Furthermore, in order to remain competitive, companies have to invest in new green technologies. Thus, sustainability is not an option, it is a requirement. Abbott strongly believes sustainability should become a building block on which to found great businesses. He concludes his lecture with a quote from Star Wars icon Yoda: "Do, or do not. There is no try."