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So, some people have begun to understand the message about sustainable living. They are stirred on the inside and want to take their responsibility. They change their lifestyle and choose products in a conscious way. But is it enough? Can their individual contributions make a change and turn the ship? Isn’t it today’s powerful global institutions, multinational companies and governments that decide the rules? How can we make our voices heard?

I have been thinking a lot lately on how to make best use of the new social tools we have these days like blogs, newsgroups, email, mobile phones, etc. As never before we can connect and coordinate. Information can be spread in a moment’s notice to millions. Media coverage is no longer governed by professionals. Coordination is no longer only possible by well-managed organizations. These tools can be a real boost to democracy.

While looking for resources on this subject I stumbled over “Here comes everybody” by Clay Shirky. I finished reading his book today. In this very interesting book these things are discussed, with many examples of how the new social tools make a difference. The success of Flickr, Twitter, MySpace, Meetup, Wikipedia and Linux are examined. The author also compares similar stories that occurred some 10 years ago and again recently. He shows how amateur journalism totally changes the landscape of information distribution. Stories that for different reasons media or organizations decide to suffocate can spread in spite of that. The open software movement shows that complex cooperation is possible.

A big question in the past has been whether a task was best dealt with by the state, directing the effort in a planned way, or by businesses competing in a market. Now there is a third way; we can have action by loosely structured groups, operating without managerial direction and not motivated by profit. Clay Shirky puts it this way: “We used to have a world where little things happen for love and big things happen for money…Now though, we can do big things for love.”

I would like to explore and discuss these social patterns and tools. I work with software development and we talk about agile development. Agile means that we are quick to create a solution and, if needed, quick to modify it. I believe that with an agile attitude we can make use of social tools with the purpose of creating public opinion in environmental issues. Yes, we write in our blogs and forums, but I believe we can stretch further. If we are aware of the potential, we can tailor the use of tools according to our purpose and audience. Social software makes possible what 10 years ago was impossible. We can make our voices heard, multiply and create landslides.

My youngest son Albin, discussed with me the other day the fact that stores all over Sweden are beginning to sell ecological alternatives. What is the real motivation behind, he asked me? Is it because they are concerned about our environment or is it because people are asking for these kinds of products? If you are in business, you look for opportunities to sell. If there is a demand and you have the capabilities, you want to offer products accordingly. In the last year things have changed in Sweden. Customers are looking for eco-products and small and big stores are competing to offer the soundest alternatives. There are many more or less defined labels; for example eco-something and fair-trade.

Hopefully, the definition of the labels will not be diluted. When something becomes mainstream, not every offer is what you think it is. When we have reached one level of fair and ecological trade, there is a danger that we as customers relax because our conscious feels better. Likewise, businesses relax because they continue to make money feeling somewhat altruistic. The motivation is still centered on ourselves and on our needs, on the consequences for ourselves. A bad conscience is a weak force. A relief means that we stop moving forward and true innovation stops.

I believe we need a deeper conviction, a persuasion that has become an inseparable part of us. Even if the consequences turn out bad at first, we insist because we believe. Passionate conviction is powerful. Conviction mixed with passion means that we will not be mere spectators, but become involved. To believe in something is really to act.

We can be thankful for the people in history that believed passionately in democracy, in women’s rights, in children’s rights, in poor people’s rights. They did not stop; they pushed on, because of their conviction. They were creative, they found new ways, and they conquered governments and continued in spite of oppression.

Think about this being in us also. In the small things; we might choose a more expensive alternative because of ecological or fair trade reasons. We might choose a different kind of lifestyle. Business might choose less return of investment because of sustainable reasons.

In a bigger perspective; I have a feeling that creativity can be unleashed because of our persuasion. We can reach a new level of innovation and start to find new ways of solving our problems. Egocentric innovation is not as powerful as collaborative innovation. Monocultural innovation is not as powerful as multicultural. If we are convinced we will press a little harder, we will endure a little more and we will strive a little longer. I believe, we will discover that taking responsibility for air and water will not drain our economy in the long run. Taking responsibility pays back.

Those motivated by conviction took the first step. The others followed. Who is going to take next step? Those motivated by strong conviction.

How can I develop this passionate conviction, I said to myself? The answer that came to my mind was; “touch the reality”. Touch the reality by nakedly facing the fate of the earth and the daily lives of the majority of the people of the earth. It can be a fearful encounter. But it can also be powerful. I will challenge myself to touch other countries and other cultures. Shifting the center from my world to the outside world. Ouch!

We talk a lot at home about the future, the climate and our responsibility for the earth. My children at home (13 and 15) challenge me: “what do you do for our future”. As parents we like to put savings in the bank for the future for our children, but establishing a lifestyle that is sustainable is like that, investing in the future of our children. What the world will look like when they are in their forties depends on me now.

What do we mean when we say sustainable? We mean meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The problem is: we consume too much or in the wrong way. What nature has developed and stored during hundreds or thousands of years, we consume in a twinkling of an eye. The oil in the earth we soon have emptied and the rainforests we cut down to give place for short-term cultivation. A tree that has grown for forty years is used for a newspaper that is read for ten minutes and then thrown away.

We discuss at home and try to learn how to establish a sustainable lifestyle. We take a step at a time and try to change our habits, choosing alternative products. It could be easy to think that our small contribution doesn’t count or that we don’t have time, strength or money to change. But if we do not make the change who will? We need practical and sound advice. We as consumers need to get together and put pressure on the producers that we are serious in this. We need to catch the vision and begin to work on it!

In Sweden there is a growing interest and consciousness among consumers, especially young people. There are some magazines like Camino and blogs like CSR i praktiken that discusses these things. CSR i praktiken (sorry, in Swedish only) is interesting because it gives practical examples of how companies in Sweden are beginning to take responsibility for their products and services. Something at least is happening. If you know of a similar blog in English, please let me know.

We, in the industrial countries, are all responsible for the environmental crisis on earth. Our ecological footprint is too large. If all the billions on earth would live as we do, several earths would be needed. We are consuming the resources for poor countries and for our children and our grandchildren and at the same time leaving our garbage for them to take care of. We, as countries and also as individuals have a responsibility and we ought to act on all levels. We ought to inform ourselves of what we can do. We need a personal vision about this.

We can work on all levels…
In our personal lives, choosing bike instead of car.
As lobbyists, persuading people everywhere we go.
As customers, purposely buying food and things according to the sustainable and renewable idea.
As professionals, taking the right decisions, not only avoiding things, but find new ways of doing business that is sustainable.

We need ideas and we need to be creative. We not only have to stop doing wrong things, but we have to do start doing new things. Here are som interesting links about ecological footprint; WWWF on Humanity’s Ecological Footprint and from Wikipedia.