You never felt fully part of this world where you had to make a living. Somewhere along the way, you had your “Blue Marble” moment… seeing that the world is interconnected, sacred, beautiful. And it is under threat. This is the moment where you were called to service...

1. The Transmutation of
the Secret Society
of Sustainability
Presentation by B. Laszlo Karafiath, Cultural Alchemist &
Joe Brewer, Change Strategist for Humanity, Planet Earth

2. Welcome to the World
This is the “ordinary world” that is familiar
to everyone. How Not very well. It doesn’t Of
does it work out so far?
value nature.
Creates pollution and other harms for its
citizens.It is leading humanity down a bad
path. And WE here never felt fully part of
this world where we had to make a living.
Corporate Capitalism

3. Awakening
Somewhere along the way, you had your
“Blue Marble” moment… seeing that the
world is interconnected, sacred, beautiful.
And it is under threat. That is why we are
here, in this room.

4. Calling
This was the moment where you were
called to service.

5. • And we maybe refused the first call and your
reasons were good ones and they made sense at
the time. There were bills to pay. Making ends meet.
A family to feed. Children to put through college.
Though you weren’t really happy with this path, it
was the safe one to take because things weren’t
that urgent then. So you took a “normal job” and
went with the flow… for a while.
5

6. Companionship
A mentor arrived! As you found others who
saw the world in the same way they began
to guide us and help make a meaningful
difference. No longer alone in our views,
you began to feel empowered to take
action. So you set off on a journey to
discovery or create a better world.

7. Welcome to Eco-World
And this is how you ENTERED the
“magical world” where things are different,
they can be better, WE can do something
to fix the problems of the ordinary world.
You’ve crossed the threshold and are
working to make corporations sustainable.
Progress has been made… but not
enough. The world is improving but a lot
more needs to be done and the tools you
have simply aren’t enough.

8. Allies and Enemies
It’s been hard. There is not so much
TRUST around. The inside lingo doesn’t
work for customers. Solutions vary by
sector.
You found unlikely ALLIES in procurement
folks who work on supply chains, metrics
for raw material inputs, and engineering
solutions to technical problems. But the
BOARDS of directors are still all about
shareholder value, a non-existent category
frankly in the age of machine trading.

9. The Big Push
So you put together an ambitious plan
relying on your allies went for the big prize:
reforming the corporation. Slowly turning
the big ship to the right direction.

10. But you have to realize the METRICS
ONLY will not Ordeal
help, this isn’t a technical
problem, it’s a cultural one. Technocratic
language doesn’t help with the customers.
And the POWERS that be are stronger
than ever. You realize you maybe took a
knife to a gun-fight. Money still talks. Your
insights are not recognized by CFO’s and
investors. Competition among investors
shapes larger corporate evolution patterns.

11. Re-group! Power Up!
So we have to re-group. Find new allies.
But now it is happening. That is why we
are here in the room! The powerful
awakening starts to grow cultural roots. We
know what are the big questions needed to
be answered before change can start to
happen. And this approach has to be
rooted in deep cultural understanding and
looks at the big cultural waves to make the
right first moves.

12. We are in It to Win It !
Transforming culture and transmuting
corporations is BIG. But we are in this to
win this. Its bigger than sustainable product
lines, customer relationships, indexes or
brand redesign. This challenge requires
deep thinking and planned cultural change.
To achieve change we first have to change
the culture, the core beliefs.

13. We Must Face Our Shadows
• Fewer than one in five people trust
business or government leaders to tell the
truth when confronted with a difficult issue
And we have to be the change. We have to
start with ourselves. People don’t trust
corporations. - So Edelman they see (2013)
CSR and
corporate sustainability as lipstick on a pig.
To many of them it is greenwashing.

14. Test One
Working together with environmental
organizations and researchers,
our young startup has been careful to
identify current and future plant sources
that truly deliver improved sustainability
performance and do not compete with
food crops.

15. Test One
Working together with environmental
organizations and researchers,
Coca-Cola has been careful to identify
current and future plant sources that truly
deliver improved sustainability
performance and do not compete with
food crops.

16. Test Two
Our startup’s Green Room is a platform
for an ongoing conversation with NGOs,
suppliers and others who want to share
ideas and partner with us in helping
people live better around the world.

17. Test Two
The Walmart Green Room is a platform
for an ongoing conversation with NGOs,
suppliers and others who want to share
ideas and partner with us in helping
people live better around the world.

18. World Domination of the Corporation
The 1318 transnational
corporations that form the
core of the economy…
Superconnected companies
are red, very connected
companies are yellow. The
size of the dot represents
revenue.
Image: PLoS One

19. A Great Battle of Ideas
Dr. Joanna Boehnert, Director of EcoLabs
Entrenched interests
have been fighting
back…
...and winning for a
long time!

20. Massive Investments in Status Quo
Robert J. Brulle, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Billions spent in dark
money networks to
confuse and stall
action...
...a web of PR
against sustainability
efforts.

21. Evolution of the Sustainability Meme
The meme created its niche and is now reshaping its environment.
Engineering + Technical Concerns → Metrics for Management → Process
Improvement → New Organizational Structures and Practices

22. http://sloanreview.mit.edu/reports/sustainability-strategy/
commitment/

23. Some 70% of respondents who say their companies have put sustainability on the
management agenda say they have done so in the past six years -- and from this group,
20% say it’s happened in the past two years.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/reports/sustainability-strategy/introduction/

24. You snuck in a Trojan Horse...
...updating DNA of business.

25. The Homework is Done
● Mapping out “footprints” in
supply chains
● Studying “green values” in
consumer behavior
● Investing in renewables,
taking inspiration from nature
Yet all of this has been “insider lingo” that evolved the discourse to where it is
today. This history matters -- it tells you why it has been so hard to talk with
outsiders.

26. Sustainability has been framed!
● Was viewed as environmental issue, should be core business strategy

27. Sustainability has been framed!
● Understood as technical problem, but should be cultural norms

28. Sustainability has been framed!
● Was thought of as green products, but should be new industries

29. Sustainability has been framed!
● Misconceived as outside of economy, but should be foundation for economy

30. Sustainability has been framed!
● Considered to be a market segment, but should be full-blown brand identity

31. So What’s Next?

32. And Yet -- Real Progress!
Transcends “green” framing…
goes into health, family, the future
instead.

33. Tipping Points in Culture
To see meme spreading, we look at dynamic patterns --
evolution, selection, emergence:

34. Now we need to look closer...
...see emerging patterns.

35. Let’s Talk!