Each week we’ll be posting a question on our blog – seeking to spark discussion with you all about something we’ve come across in our travels. This week was inspired by our visits to the White Dog Café as well as the Fryodiesel Pilot Plant in Philadelphia. (For some more context, see below.)
THE QUESTION IS: What makes a sustainable business? What makes a sustainable economy? What would it look like, how would it operate, how big or how small would it be? Which businesses or organizations can be included, and which do you look to as models – or promoters of a business model – that you think is sustainable?
To post your thoughts – scroll down to the bottom of this post, and leave a comment.
For context: Judy Wicks’ White Dog Café has grown a bit since she started, but she believes strongly in staying small and staying local. Fryodiesel, also in Philadelphia, is making partnerships with diesel distributors and is hoping it can fill the niche of trap-grease biodiesel producers – but, they’re not sure that if the big companies get into the game whether they’ll be able to survive without becoming larger. What would make these companies (or the economy as a whole) sustainable – environmentally, economically, and socially?
BONUS QUESTION OF THE WEEK: All the riders have some quirky sustainability habits of our own (read about them here) What are yours? Leave a comment on that blog post and share a little bit about yourself!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Question of the Week #1- What makes a sustainable business?
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2 comments:
This is an interesting question to me, as someone who proclaims to be both an economist and a biologist (int'l studies/conservation bio double major, yo)
I hear a lot of people promote local business.
I think that's great.
(but)
But I get concerned about what that means for growth - business growth, economic growth, and encouraging innovation.
I believe improved technology will help us be more efficient in our use of resources, but if we geographically isolate economies, will that inhibit advancement of technology?
I believe very strongly in decreasing our footprints, especially in cities where most commodities are transported from the outside - from agricultural centers and from manufacturing centers elsewhere in the country and in the world. In particular, the way that environmentally problematic agricultural and manufacturing processes have been exported to other countries, so that we can now say we have cleaner rivers...and cheap electronics or leather, say.
However, I also believe it is anethema to business success at this point to impose a geographic yoke. I believe that for sustainability to be, well, sustainable, it must be able to promote a growing economy. I do not believe that large corporations have no place in a sustainable economy, but they clearly have a lot they can work on. (clearly)
I believe it is important for consumers to make the choice to support local and organic produce, provided those are suitable for the region (ie, lettuce in Arizona, pineapple in VT, maybe not so much). However, I also believe that larger corporations have a place and should be rewarded with consumer appreciation for the steps they take towards sustainability.
If I don't hear from anyone else, I'll assume you all agree. :-)
--Kayanna
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