Green Innovation in Business Network, 2010 Solutions Labs Series Summary Report

Businesses leading in environmental sustainability are implementing strategies and practices and moving beyond basic measures for energy efficiency and carbon reduction. They are expanding their efforts outside the organization, improving the supply chain, and engaging stakeholders. Inside their organizations, they are institutionalizing sustainability by setting up behavior-changing policies, processes, and programs.

Many organizations are beginning to follow this lead. Their focus is on making the business case for sustainability to obtain executive-level buy-in. Proving energy efficiency savings and mitigating risk from impending regulation are at the top of their agenda. At another level, sustainability practitioners, economists, and policymakers are grappling with how to engage society in more-sustainable consumption and integrate sustainability thinking into educational systems and public policy.

To accelerate this progress, a number of organizations, allied as the Green Innovation in Business Network, are working together to encourage people engaged in these efforts to meet, share experiences, and solve shared problems. These meetings, called Solutions Labs, took place in nine U.S. cities in 2010 and gave more than 700 thinkers and doers from more than 300 diverse organizations the opportunity to explore future directions in sustainable business. Overall, the meetings reflected the maturing of sustainability in the United States. This report highlights the ideas discussed.