It was a "who's who of sustainability" last week at the ISSP (International Society of Sustainability Professionals) Conference 2014 in Denver, Colorado, where leaders in sustainability came together to network, educate, discuss, and honor leaders within the profession. The agenda included the important task of shaping the future of sustainability. ReNewable Now was also on hand, gathering exclusive video coverage and interviews. These will be released in a series over the next few weeks.
This conference was something special, and yes, you could feel it in the air. When you think of the timing, it couldn't have been any better with opening day occurring on the same day as the historic climate change deal between the U.S. and China. Some may have said that this was only a coincidence, but for ReNewable Now there are no coincidences; this is a reflection of the growing importance of all around sustainability on every level. During the conference, we did hear from a number of speakers about the need to be dealing with climate change and how this is a matter of urgency. This couldn't have been better articulated or emphasized by none other thanHunter Lovins during the “Sustainability Hall Of Fame Wisdom Panel”. Hunter, in her own classic Hunter way, got the attention of the audience when she shouted, "Get prepared for a !#@% STORM(you can fill in the blank) if we conduct business as usual, we are looking at a collapse of all living systems!" If that doesn't get your attention, we don't know what will. The entire video of the “Sustainability Hall Of Fame Wisdom Panel” will be released by ISSP for your viewing in upcoming weeks.
ReNewable Now conducted over 50 interviews, and we tried to attend as many break-out sessions as possible. Our takeaway from the conference is that businesses who aren't thinking about how to incorporate sustainability will fail long term. Those who embrace it will not only continue to be in existence, but will be part of the solution. In some cases, businesses will see the opportunity in problem solving innovations and profit accordingly. And for us that is what it is all about, rolling up your sleeves, be willing to sweat a bit, and feel good about being part of moving future generations in the right direction.
Our congratulations goes to the entire ISSP staff for putting together such an inspirational conference. We especially want to give a special shout out to ISSP Marketing Director, Ray Berardinelli, and his assistant, Elias Kauders for helping us coordinate all the interviews.
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