In an area of the central pacific covering over 1 miIlion square kilometers floats the greatest collection of waterborne waste ever assembled. The pacific trash vortex sits trapped at the center of the currents that form the north pacific gyre. It holds upwards of 100 million tons of suspended plastics and other associatedflotsam.

 Thinking of this giant trash flotilla makes one wonder at the, essentially wasted, resources expended in order generate such an incredible phenomenen.

 It made me think that we need to develop a list of the 7 'side effect' wonders of the modern world - a grand tribute to the unwanted consequences of the modern age.

A preliminary list could include:

1) The aforementioned Pacific Garbage Vortex

2) The Love Canal (In a nod to old-school environmental tragedies)

3) The, now closed, Fresh Kills landfill in New York

4)  The sky over Los Angeles

5) Lake Tai Hu in China

6) The Aral Sea

7) Insert your favourite side-effect of the industrial age

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Feeling the impacts of rising fuel prices, it looks like people are finally making the switch to fuel efficient technologies. An article today in The Globe and Mail reported that waiting lists for hybrid vehicles - the best available option for drivers looking to save on fuel - are becoming increasingly common. Car-makers are now scrambling to up production of these vehicles as sales of their once beloved SUV's sag accordingly.

Given this clear link between fuel price and purchaser demands for fuel economy one wonders at the political consistency of advocating greenhouse gas emissions cuts while favouring fuel tax breaks .

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For those of us trying to minimize the environmental impact of the things we buy and consume, green labeling would seem like a boon. However a recent survey by Terrachoice Marketing of over 1000 products with eco-claims revealed that  the labels of all but 1 were misleading in terms of the actual environmental performance of the product in question.

Eco-labels are a handy way for buyers to guide their purchasing without investing hours of time in researching the exact environmental impacts of the dozens of things they buy a week.

I buy organic breakfast cereal and clothing made of recycled material. I take the claims of sellers at face value and walk away feeling like my participation in the consumer economy sends a signal to industry that incites more companies to ‘green’ their products and services.

However, if companies can successfully sway the environmentally conscious consumer with vaguely worded claims and pleasing green packaging without actually investing any sort of concerted effort in re-thinking the way the products are made, transported or the impacts of their use, then the move to reduce the environmental burden of our lifestyles dies on the operating table - a victim of some new brand of quackery.

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Since opening its first store 7 years ago in Vancouver, lululemon athletica has exploded to over a hundred stores across the Canada, the US, Australia and Japan. Demonstrating the viability of sustainability as a business strategy, lululemon has successfully ridden the green wave through a business model that focuses on environmentally conscious yogis and active-types looking for superior and sustainable athletic apparel.

Since holding an Initial Public Offering in July of this year, the company had seen its stock price more than double within 3 months; proving that sustainability can pay off on the stock market as well. Yesterday, however the company's stock dropped by 7.8% on news that independent tests of its seaweed based line of clothing revealed no seaweed content whatsoever. Lululemon is challenging the results of the study and it remains to be seen how this story will end, however initial reports point to a mistake in materials sourcing.

Regardless of how this ends up, this case illustrates the growing scrutiny that company's face when they stake their reputations (and valuations) on sustainability as well as the critical importance of oversight of aspects of operations that impact on the public's perception of their sustainability performance.

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I was listening to a talk the other night given by Yves Chouinard, president and founder of Patagonia Inc. In a lecture given at Stanford University , he outlined his company's mission to continually reduce the impact of its products and how this green product-innovation has become a cornerstone of the brand identity ofthe company.
A fact that struck me from his talk was the way companies such as Patagonia manage to redefine the rules of the market in their favour. Over the past 5 years, Patagonia has undertaken efforts to move exclusively to organic cotton for all of the cotton-based fabrics used in their clothing products. They were one of the first to do this and by educating customers as to the value of organic cotton, they have essentially created a new variable in the customer choice-set for outdoor apparel. Many customers now look for an organic cotton label prior to buying an item of clothing - regardless of the fact that organic cotton products may be more expensive. In doing this, Patagonia has forced its competitors to source organic cotton in order to play catch-up. All the while, Patagonia benefits from the first-mover advantage in this new market niche and the brand recognition that goes with it.
Similarly, Whole Foods is starting to redefine the way we view food - moving us away from the late 20th century food-paradigm of more, bigger, cheaper to a focus on the importance of quality in terms of both production and nutritional value. The growth of Whole Foods markets has forced their competitors to increasingly stock their shelves with organic and local products in an attempt to keep pace with the evolving tastes of their customers.
These two examples show how a company can reinvent the parameters of the markets in which it operates in its favour and, on the flip-side, the risk for business-as-usual companies that are caught on the wrong side of this innovation and are forced to react, often slowly to the changing rules of the game just to maintain market position. By changing the logic of the markets in which they operate, sustainable innovators create value for their brand and provide the catalyst that can alter the behaviour of the entire market.

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Earlier this week, a group of 33 CEO's of Canadian corporations released a declaration that climate change is the most pressing issue of our age. Included in the declaration is a statement of their belief that economic growth and fighting climate change can co-exist harmoniously and a call for Canada to take a leadership role in the fight against climate change.

Declarations such as this increasingly grace the pages of the business sections of our daily newspapers, but is this a sign of progress in getting climate change on the agenda of big business or just good PR?

A key challenge faced by the sustainability movement as it becomes mainstream is avoiding dilution of the message while making inroads into the daily discourse of our politicians and business leaders.

A healthy dose of skepticism and some judicious reading between the lines are sometimes required.

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