Adam Menter’s Blog

This morning Walmart announced that it will be implementing an environmental labeling system for all of the products sold in its stores. Their overarching goal is to create a single set of measurements for the entire retailing industry. Walmart is serious about this stuff - and is powerful enough to make it happen. It will be interesting to see how this progresses -and whether and how governments get involved now that Walmart has gotten the ball rolling. This is big, exciting stuff.

New York Times Article

Walmart’s Sustainability Website

Net Impact SF helped convene and facilitate the UnConference portion of Sustainable Brands ‘09. The UnConference ran parallel to the main conference sessions on Monday, June 1st. The idea was to help curate more in-depth conversation around the topics that were at the top of conference-goers’ minds.

I led a session about reverse logistics and the materials flows in our economy. I had initially entitled the session “Making Cradle to Cradle Work” because I wanted to prompt a deeper discussion about C2C and put it in context with other forms of recycling and reverse logistics. C2C is such a compelling idea - but I hear a lot of hype and not a lot of new case studies or more advanced thinking. I was fortunate that Mike Biddle from MBA Polymers was interested in joining the conversation. We ended-up co-leading the session. MBA Polymers recycles plastic from e-Waste. They are using processes that are similar to mining to ‘upcycle’ a complicated, mixed stream of waste (grade/use of original plastic = grade/use of recycled plastic). It’s pretty cool. Mike showed a video, which I can’t find online (but here’s a shorter one).

Going into the discussion, I created a the following visual aid to show some of the the material flows in our economy. I couldn’t find an existing diagram that showed the flows the way I wanted (feel free to re-purpose/re-use or suggest improvements)…

I used this diagram in a quick and dirty slide deck with some thought-starters and discussion prompts. The slides provided a nice reference point to help frame the discussion. It allowed the conversation to be organic and I thought it was a nice balance between winging it and actually preparing a presentation. All of the slides can be viewed online below or downloaded as a .ppt or .pdf.

One of the points I wanted to make in the session - was that there is a lot that each of us can do to reduce our environmental impact by how we choose to aquire, care for, and dispose of our stuff. Specifically, I wanted to talk about buying used stuff (re-using) and repair. These are two aspects of responsible consumption that I don’t hear enough about. You get a lot of eco-cred for buying a brand new Toyota Prius, but not necessarily for buying a used Ford or Honda. It seems that people show-off products like the Prius as eco-badges that prove their commitment to the cause. I wanted to create something similar for used and repaired items, so I whipped up some EcoBadges on Zazzle. These are stickers that you can put on your used or repaired items to start a conversation about the importance of extending the use phase of the stuff that’s already in our economy. I handed some out at the UnConference and now anyone can order them online. (I borrowed this idea from WattzOn). Below is an image of the two stickers I created.

Being in San Francisco, and in being involved in the green design community, I have the priviledge of being able to attend a slew of great events every year. I’ve long thought that I should somehow try to communicate what I’m seeing and learning via this blog - but never take the time to actually do so. Here is an attempt…

I attended this morning’s session of the Greener By Design conference (shared a pass with a colleague of mine at Autodesk).

Here is a copy of my notes, all in a pretty accessible mindmap format. And below are some quick impressions of some of the presentations.

Tom Szacky - CEO of TerraCycle (pictured above) - I was impressed with Tom’s presentation. I’m familiar with them from their worm poop/plant food product (I always lament the limited production capacity of my own worm composter), but I wasn’t aware that they’re working on several fronts to productize other waste streams. TerraCycle is actually trying to become the go-to solution deriving value from non-recyclable waste streams (i.e. CapriSun packages turned into bags/wallets). They’re partnering with big companies and engaging “brigades” of consumers to help them collect and separate usable waste streams (their raw materials). With my long-standing interest in closed-loop production cycles and reverse supply chains, this is definitely a company I’ll be watching. (check out the notes for more from Tom’s preso)

Packaging Outside the Box - Wendy Jedlicka from o2, Uri Kogan from HP, and Tony Knoerzer from PepsiCo. This was an interesting and diverse panel. Uri talked about HP’s laptop-bag as packaging experiment with Wal-Mart (nice idea, but perhaps just another bag to collect dust in the long run), Tony talked about Sun Chip’s new compostable bag, and Wendy talked about systems thinking and the practice of sustainable package design. Wendy’s a wealth of information about the nuts-and-bolts of sustainable package design. A few of the high-level slides she showed are below:

GreenOps - A project from Waste Management that involves consumers returning their recyclables to kiosks in stores like Whole Foods, having visibility into the content and volume of their recycling, and getting reward points for it (like RecycleBank, it seems). A cool idea in some ways, but my gut reaction is that it’ll be difficult to gain traction on a large scale. We’ll see. Below is an image of how the system works. (Update from after the Sustainable Brands Conference (6/1/09): GreenOps presence at SB ‘09 left a really bad taste in my mouth. It seemed like all marketing hype for a fundamentally flawed system. They attracted attention to themselves by having attractive young women wear skimpy dresses made from recycled plastic. All spin and no substance. My two cents.)

Stay tuned for more scanned mindmaps from the past year or so (Net Impact conferences, Fortune Brainstorm Green, etc).

Reading Bill McDonough & Michael Braungart’s book, Cradle to Cradle, has been one of those defining moments in my career journey. The huge task of re-vamping our production cycles to make them more environmentally sane seemed like just the kind of big, hairy problem I wanted to apply my business, engineering, and design skills to. About five years have passed since I read the book and, looking around, I haven’t seen the idea gain much practical traction - despite all of the hype and excitement surrounding it. The idea that Waste=Food is a beautiful concept… and I hope it doesn’t have to remain just a concept.

That’s why I was excited last month when I exchanged a few preliminary e-mails with a big electronics OEM that was thinking of exploring and implementing a Cradle-to-Cradle initiative. Unfortunately, due to the state of the economy, it doesn’t look like the project is moving forward… which is a shame because, in my opinion, it’s only through tackling problems like this that are going to shift our economy onto the right course in the long term.

In the process of getting my head around what might be involved with such a project, I took another look at the state of things. Some thoughts and useful links are below:

• First of all, Fast Company ran a brilliant and brutal exposé on Bill McDonough & MBDC late last year: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/130/the-mortal-messiah.html.
• True Cradle-to-Cradle is more complicated than just improving e-Waste management and take-back programs… but better take back programs that get consumers to shift their perceptions about their products at the end-of-life is a requisite first step for C2C. Some big players have been working on this but it has a long way to go (and probably requires stronger legislation in the USA that goes beyond voluntary take-back, which consumers often have to pay for).
• For example, both Herman-Miller chairs and USPS Tyvek envelopes have Cradle-to-Cradle certification. But neither, to my knowledge, have the robust reverse supply chain that’s necessary to actually put industrial nutrients back into the supply chain. In HM’s case, consumers don’t have an easy way to return the items and there isn’t enough volume.  In Tyvek’s case, it’s also hard to actually return the product back to the manufacturer - and, even when it is returned, most of it ends up being downcycled.
• Best Buy seems to be shoring up it’s e-Waste recycling capabilities, a great initiative: http://www.bestbuyinc.com/news_center/02-19-09/best-buy-electronics-recycling-program-now-available-all-us-stores
• The facts that consumers always want new items and that businesses have gotten use to quick product cycles as an engine for growth are huge barriers for strategies like upgradeability, reparability, and durability. (Again, a shift in consumer perception is required).
• Folks have been thinking about this idea for a long time, even before popularized by C2C (and big industry trade groups exist like the Reverse Logistics Association).
• Further reading…
• The October 2008 issue of the International Journal of Production Economics has an article entitled “Cradle to cradle: Reverse logistics strategies and opportunities across three industry sectors” by Sameer Kumara and Valora Putnam.
• Reverse Logistics In the Computer Industry (2005) - Lays out the issues and a few solution strategies:
• BOOK: Environment Conscious Manufacturing (ECM)
• http://ewasteguide.info/ and  http://www.step-initiative.org/ - e-Waste sites with best practices, case studies, and information about initiatives.
• For information (and graphic images) about the eventual fate of our current e-Waste stream, check out this GreenPeace e-Waste site.

So, I guess at this point I can’t answer the question posed in the title of this blog entry. But one thing’s for sure, we can sure improve a whole hell of a lot… and I’d love to dig in and start trying.

I’ve been meaning to post the slides on visual recording and graphic facilitation that I prepared for a guest lecture I gave to CCA’s DMBA program in October of last year. Click here to download the PDF. It’s a short presentation that:

• Discusses some of the reasons for visual recording at group meetings
• Goes over a few different different situations and forms for recording
• Gives some pointers on the mechanics of recording (colors, fonts, etc)
• Offers suggestions for what content to capture (choosing form, using short-term memory, etc)
• Has examples of some simple fonts and graphics
• Suggests resources for further information

…and I gotta give props to Jump Associates - where I learned most of this.

My sister Lora and I ran a quick innovation workshop at a sustainability consulting firm yesterday. One thing we wanted to impress upon them is that being innovative is a state of mind that you can bring to all aspects of your work (not just in a brightly colored room or while wearing crazy hats). Setting the right conditions for innovative thinking - in my mind - often comes down to paying attention to the world around you, having fun, communicating openly, and trusting yourself. We also talked about the importance of letting the process diverge, being comfortable with ambiguity, and effectively harnessing different team members’ strengths at different times. We did made a quick hand-out to communicate some of this. Download the innovation handout.

We also crafted a pretty cool exercise that is fun and instructive of the power of co-creation. We called it “Doodle Fusion.” Here’s how it works:

1. Find a partner, a piece of paper, and a pen.
2. The first person draws a small squiggle. (i.e. looping curve)
3. The second person creates an object using those lines (i.e. a snowman)
4. The first person now draws a scene around that object (i.e. a small man with a pointy hat touching the snowman)
5. The second person finishes it off by adding a caption (i.e. Elf reiki training)

Some lessons to learn in this process are:

• You end up with something that neither of the two people would - or could - have created on their own.
• You create something that no one person owns, but that you both feel ownership of.
• You learn to build on others’ ideas instead of shutting them down. Furthermore, these builds can be productive in ways that you might not expect.
• Making ideas visual can be a powerful tool.

So besides being a really quick and fun game - Doodle Fusion has some important lessons that folks can take back to their teams at work.

You can even give it a try it at your next party…people will love it (but you might want to spare them the lessons-learned).

The environmental movement has evolved in exciting ways in 2008. One significant step is the increased consideration of the social/human side of environmentalism. Saatchi & Saatchi S, led by Adam Werbach, have done an admirable job articulating this shift in their Birth of Blue speech. Blue, as they define it, expands the idea of Green to include social, cultural, and economic benefits, as well as environmental good.

The video is an hour long - so to save you some time, here are my main takeaways:

• We need to properly balance the cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors of the green movement. The lack of balance is why everyone cares and no one acts.
• Shopping can be a platform for change and we need to create a 1 billion person strong consumer movement for sustainability (he’s big on this point).
• Unleashing the creativity and aspirations of the general public are key to this movement. And it’s important to keep “the way we treat ourselves and others” at the center of our actions to create the kind of future we want to share. (A world full of happy people contributing to a healthy planet).
• The conservation movement needs to shift its focus from limits to possibilities.

Blue, as a term, hasn’t really taken off yet. I’m sure the ideas embedded within it will. It looks to be a promising 2009.

This morning I participated in a Net Impact conference call with Paul Murray, the Director of Environmental Safety and Sustainability at Herman Miller. The topic of the conversation (which can be heard here) was “The Power of One” - how individuals at Herman Miller who are passionate about and committed to the environment are making a big difference at the firm.

His talk ended up being largely about how to implement corporate-wide initiatives. Takeaways for me were:

• Set a solid structure - Set up teams to coordinate actions arcoss the company and tap into individuals’ passions. These teams don’t need to meet full-time or meet for a lot of time (~1 hour/month). In addition, Paul’s staff is actually pretty small. They see themselves as coaches and facilitators rather than environmental police.
• Set ambitious goals - Having something to shoot for motivates people to act. Their first goal, back in the zero solid waste…drives ACTION, 2020 - Perfect vision - zero hazardous waste, air emissions, water, etc… footprint free …more holistic)
• Be measurable - Executives speak the language of numbers and a set of metrics will allow you to track progress over time. And don’t make purely environmental measurements/arguments for new investments or policies - any changes have to first make business sense from a cost or revenue standpoint.

Also, I was interested in how their design team incorporates the environment into their product development process. Their Design for Environment process includes five parameters:

1. Appropriate Durability - Don’t overengineer OR underengineer anything. Design it to meet expected and intended use.
2. Low Impact Manufacturing - Since they were pioneers in the field, they created their own manual back in 1992.
3. Innovative design - First and foremost, folks have to like the product regardless of the environmental impact. It’s not doing anyone any good if it sits in the store and accumulates dust on the top of the box.
4. Longevity of design - Is this thing still going to be in fashion in 12 years?
5. Cradle to Cradle - Herman Miller helped Bill McDonough write the C2C protocol and they have a staff of four chemists that analyzes all of the materials they use and aims for complete recyclability. Their new Mirra chair is the first C2C certified chair.

At the end I asked if he could tell a story about an individual’s actions leading and perseverance leading to a big win. He told a memorable story about a particularly dedicated groundskeeper. In broad strokes:

A nest of wasps had moved into the increased green space that the LEED green building guidelines had required at one of Herman Miller’s plants. They were stinging people and generally wreaking havoc. The grounds-keeper was charged with getting rid of the wasps by whatever means necessary. Instead of blasting them with harmful insectaside, he looked for a more creative, holistic, and environmentally friendly solution. He found that honeybees are natural competitors to wasps - and that they would help pollinate the flowers near the plant - so he worked with a beekeeper to establish hives of honeybees to displace the wasps. It worked - and as an added bonus, Herman Miller now actually harvests honey from the bees and gives small jars of it to customers!

This groundskeeper was acting entirely on his own. He turned what could have simply been an additional cost into a big marketing and customer relations win. What’s more, he helped inspired and empowered others within Herman Miller. That plant manager, who had been an environmental skeptic, set a goal for the plant to have zero landfill waste. They aren’t there yet, but they’ve made dramatic improvements and the plant of 350 employees sends less than 1,000 lbs per year to the landfill.

Now that’s a cool story! Remember, each of us has a part to play!

I recently came across an article from the McKinsey Quarterly about green branding and green product development (Helping Green Products Grow). It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s interesting to see what consulting firms are putting out there in an effort to be thought-leaders in sustainability.

Highlights for me:

• The ever-present rift between the desire to help the environment (87% green is important) vs. willingness to actually do something about it (33% actually buy green).
• Businesses are really failing to to educate consumers re: green. (Understandable given all of the cluttered marketing messages - green and otherwise - out there).
• There are barriers to buying green at every stage of the buying cycle. Now this is an interesting idea that deserves a bit more thought. There is a powerful framework waiting to happen in there.
• Example: P&G’s future friendly campaign (http://www.futurefriendly.co.uk/ - interestingly, only in the UK).

With all this talk about how to green branding, I think more and more about the simple virtues of empathy and honesty. It seems to me like you can get to the core of a lot of this advice by running a company like you would any good relationship. For example, transparency is a theme you see over and over again.

Information transparency is a huge opportunity - and a huge challenge - when it comes to creating a more responsible consumer culture. The more complete and immediate this background information the better. Just imagine if none of the foods you bought had ingredients listed or nutritional information.

A few weeks ago a friend turned me on to GoodGuide.com, a new website that helps consumers better understand what’s behind the products they buy. Each product is rated on a 10 point score for its environmental, health, and social performance.

You often hear about the importance of voting with your dollars. While it’s a bit clunky now, GoodGuide is working to provide tools to help you vote (keep your eye out for the iPhone ap they have in development).

Taking the Voting metaphor a step further… in addition to its primary product and company search engine, GoodGuide can now show you how companies fall on the political spectrum by analyzing campaign
contributions. Check it out…

Starbucks is all alone over there…