It is a dangerous problem that, in a global economy, too many costs are externalized to people OTHER than customers and shareholders, and never show up on the financial statements.  As our companies extend our reach thousands of miles from headquarters, we become less and less tied to the communities we serve.  We cut ourselves off from feedback.  We know less and less of our impacts on people, culture, health, or the environment. We subsist only on the shallowest feedback: direct internal financial returns. 

Sisters and brothers of Planet Earth,

 

We meet here as global citizens, seeking to imbibe a new global consciousness, in all that we think, say or do. We wish to add a new meaning to our lives, and the lives of all others around us. We come from all over the world to share our experiences, and forge and fortify a new leadership ethos. A contemporary ethos for a contemporary world. In this noble task, we seek wisdom to shape our vision, momentum to spread the message, and growth in numbers of new corporate adherents – so that this becomes the new global benchmark of success.

The Dynamic Enterprise – the theme of this CoreNet Global Summit.  As I was preparing my remarks about the Profit in Sustainability, I was fascinated to learn about your concept of the Dynamic Enterprise, and the study of the FORCES DRIVING CHANGE in corporate real estate, and the broader economy.  The result of those forces, you concluded, is the emergence of the Dynamic Enterprise – the Networked Virtual Enterprise, that is redefining the real estate needs of the modern corporation – but also redefining the corporation itself...

The WORLD IS DEMANDING A LOT of the modern corporation.

 

I see this firsthand.  It has been my honor, at the Future 500, to work with the largest companies in the world, on behalf of Global Corporate Citizenship and Stakeholder Engagement.  To link the needs of business with the needs of the world....

There are two aspects about the term "Economy".

(1) Economy means "household management"---society's household or the household of earth. The basic building block of any strong state is a strong household, strong family.

(2) Sound economy includes the avoidance of waste and is built on a sense of frugality...

The green building industry is perhaps the MOST VIBRANT and MOST SUCCESSFUL element of the sustainability movement, and I am inspired by the example that you have set for those of us from around the world who are seeking to cultivate a sustainable economy...

If we wish to cultivate a sustainable economy, it is first important to separate the things we wish were true, from the things that are true.

For example, we wish that...

In August 2001, Fortune Magazine - famous for the Fortune 500 - invited what they called "the smartest people we know" to a private conference in Aspen, Colorado, to talk about the future of business.

At the top of their invitation list was the CEO of a major energy company - #7 on the Fortune 500; AND the #1 BEST MANAGED and #1 MOST INNOVATIVE among its Most Admired list.

That CEO was Ken Lay...

I am here to discuss "Smart Growth" - and the reasons we believe, at Future 500, that Smart Growth can be achieved in a way that maximizes return to the triple bottom line...

For the past three decades, Japan has been a world leader in Green Productivity. Many of you in this room have served as pioneers in the green productivity revolution, maybe without even knowing it...