What is Your Sustainability IQ?

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
Nov 30, 2010 9:01 AM ET

Taiga Company blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Compa…

As Albert Einstein said, "It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it."    From a sustainability perspective, that can take many forms.  As in, caring for the Earth's resources from a physical and material perspective, but also in how our individual thoughts and behavior shapes that caring.  A question to ponder: How are we as individuals contributing back to the world through our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors?

 One way is by living a sustainable lifestyle.  A sustainable lifestyle or green living is an attitude.  It's an attitude of appreciation.  Sure, it reflects sustainability concepts of efficiency, organics, waste management, and buying local.  But, at its essence, sustainability reflects a mindset of wholeness and appreciation for natural resources, communities, and the gifts our planet gives to us.

Currently, at this precise time on our planet lies a huge opportunity for us all.  The gap between awareness and action may represent the single largest opportunity for global sustainability progress.  While historical efforts have focused on expanding awareness, the recent explosion of information and global interest indicates that the “word is out” on most major issues.   The next step is closing the growing gap between knowledge and personal action.  That's where improving your sustainability IQ comes into play.   

The tried and true adage applies: "What gets measured gets managed." While expressed more frequently in a business setting, it applies to our personal lives as well.  For instance, if you want to lose weight, first you have to know how much you weigh to benchmark your success.  Similarly, in living a sustainable lifestyle, you first need to know the areas of your environmental impacts to measure your success. 

 To exercise your knowledge of sustainability on a personal level, it's important to know what your impacts are.  Click here to continue reading.  

 

Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".

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