Today's lack of vision?

Reading a fantastic book, from John Elkington, the 1997's "Cannibals with Forks", I saw in a page, in the 5th chapter, a definition of, in the eyes of the author, what was Revolution 1 been building in the last years. He demonstrated that there is a shift in business reality, shifting from a compliance focus towards a competition focus. This means that there was a shift from traditional ways and processes to more develop and market driven mechanisms. I'm talking about a book and a vision from 1997, and we are in 2011 having still many companies working on a traditional standard, even most of those who embraced sustainability. You certainly see it around the world, but I can talk about Portugal's reality, and that's the majority only worries about simple compliance to standards. The sustainability reports from that companies are a very good example of that.

So, what's the problem? Lack of vision? Knowledge or know-how?

Of course there's been a big progress in general in this area, but is it enough?

Another part of the book, I found a citation from Sir Ian Vallance, saying that "in today's society, companies not only need to operate in an ethical manner, but also need publicly to demonstrate they are doing so." (Elkington, 1997). This citation brigs a very important issue that many forget very easily, especially in reporting: you have to demonstrate that you're doing so. It's very different from just saying it. Today we're still worrying in preaching that good intentions are not enough, doesn't make changes, doesn't makes things better.

Sometimes this seems that we're speaking to a wall, to a crowd of stones, but the only way, the only path is forward, not to give up, and continue to work towards real sustainability, real integration, real sustainable development. 

Elkington, John. (1997). "Cannibals with Forks - The Triple Bottom Line of 315721st Century Business", Capstone

The Obvious Revolution

Orex SM