The Tar Sands are the largest industrial project in Canadian history. We are seeing increasing demands by Canadians (read: stakeholders) to slow down the expansion and impose more stringant environmental regulations. Most of these demands are coming from Albertans (read: local stakeholders).

Compounding this rising tide; a new federal report by Environmental Defence labels the tar sands as "The Most Destructive Projecty on Earth" was just released. The report outlines how our nation's rivers and skies are being polluted at an ever increasing rate.

For the long-term future of Alberta and Canada, it is imperitive that we place strong environmental restrictions, not just for greenhouse gases, but also for water contaminants, acid rain and local community impacts. 

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I just heard a great talk and discussion from the Stanford Center for Social Innovation with Lawrence Jackson, former President and CEO of Global Procurement, Wal-Mart.

The main points were:

The move towards sustainability was started by one very influential person inside the organisation, Rob Walton.

The first store retro-fits were very expensive and did not work that well. But, Wal-Mart was willing to take the initial losses because they saw the big picture and potential windfall. When setting out on a new business path, the first steps are always the hardest (and most expensive). That is why Vision Setting is so important.

Wal-Mart included NGOs and other organisations which were not traditionally friendly to Wal-Mart in the sustainability discussions. This was an example of Community Engagement on the largest possible scale. Wal-Mart realized that their efforts needed support from the Environmental Community to ensure success and credibility.

The CEO, Lee Scott set aside one our per week to deal with sustainability. This shows how seriously they took the issue. How often do you see a recurring one hour meeting on a CEO's weekly schedule?

They started their organic cotton line with Baby Wear. This was logical as the people who are most prone to buying wholesome products are mothers. To convince the board that organic cotton was a good idea, Lawrence Jackson simply brought in a tub of pesticides and set it down on the boardroom table. The tub contained the exact amount of pesticides that was used to make the shirts the board members were wearing. This was a great use of a concrete example to enact change.

If Wal-Mart can make these changes, so can other organisations.

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As more and more mainstream companies see the untapped wealth in the world's lower classes, we ask ourselves, what other opportunities lie at the bottom of the pyramid?

Barclay's has recently announced plans for a bank to target the poor in India (taxi drivers, small merchants...). This seems to be one step above Muhammed Yunus' Grameen Bank, which targets the extremely poor. Can it work, I think so. The hardworking lower classes (which will become middle class) need a place to safely place their hard earned money, gaining their trust today will pay huge dividends in 10-20 years.

While banking seems like the obvious service offering for the emerging working class, other opportunities exist. The Grameen phone , started by a friend of Yunnus, places a cell phone in the hands of one person per village. That person then sells airtime to (usually) her fellow villagers for a premium. Not only has this system connected families, increased business and improved communication; it has also essentially created low-cost ATM machines .

Another example of great bottom-up marketing and implementation is Danone's program in India. Partnering with the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, Danone aims to provide safe food, jobs and sustainable growth through yogurt!

Companies are using sustainability and empowerment to flip the pyramid and find new sources of publicity, revenue and profit. Can you?

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Here is a great list of practical applications of sustainability in traditional businesses. It is easier than most organisations thinkto operationalize sustainability and make money.

 Article from Fast Company: 50 ways to green your business

How can we improve the efficiency of our public transportation system? One simple way is to optimize bus size for the quanitity of passengers. Often, lines which few people use are still using the full size bus (+ 70 person capacity).

 Québec city has recently purchased small (micro) buses (20 person capacity) to run in the old city - which is hilly and full of snow! Ifthey can do this, so can any city. 

 With rising fuel costs, it is essential that our public transportation system's optimize their routes. We need to operationalize sustainability in Québec.

With clean electricity, all our buses should be going electric. It's not the size of the bus that counts, it's how you use it.

 Here is the bus used in Québec City (3,25$/day to operate):

A Montreal Bus:

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