We all have our heroes. A particular superhero, an inspiring teacher or mentor, an intellectual, or politician who has shaped your thinking and championed the causes you care about—all of your heroes are an important part of who you are and who you want to become.
It’s time for you to add another hero to that list. In this blog, you’ll encounter Hunter Lovins, an author and renowned champion for sustainable business, whose book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution paved the way for a significant change in how businesses understand their role in environmental and sustainable efforts.
Keep reading for concrete advice about how to make the world a better place from this sustainability hero.
Lovins’ Childhood Experience Shaped Her Commitment to Sustainability
According to Lovins, a career championing sustainable causes was a life following in the footsteps of her two parents. She grew up in a household that was committed to making the world a better place.
“I'm not sure I had a great deal of choice in the work that I do. My mother used to work with John L. Lewis in the coal fields of West Virginia, my father helped mentor Cesar Chavez and Martin King. They were around the house when I was growing up so you might say I'm in the family business.”
Her book, Natural Capitalism (1999), “put together the argument that companies can be and must be a key part of the solution” to tackling environmental and social challenges. Because of her book, thousands of companies around the world beginning to implement more sustainable practices, recognizing that doing so made them better, more profitable, and offering employees and consumers a higher quality of life.
Lovins Offers Tips for Kick-Starting Sustainability Change
Lovins has practical advice for those who are interested in changing the world for the better.
“There are two ways that you can become a change maker within your own organization. One is do it, start. The second is to go online, the knowledge is all there and then gather a small group of people around you and begin talking about this. Have Lunch & Learn sessions where somebody reads an article or reads a book and then reports to the group on what they've learned. Then ask yourself how can I implement this here in my own business.”
What Lovins’ Example Means for Aspiring Environmental Leaders
Lovins’ common sense approach and her ability to think about the big picture of social and economic change have made her a powerful force for sustainability progress in the 21st century.
Like Lovins, aspiring environmental leaders should focus on changing the world from within, embracing business, law, education, and policy and working within these existing fields to transform how human beings and human activity takes place on our collective planet.
We’ll leave you with Lovins’ powerful closing words.
“We the people have the ability to solve all of these problems facing us if we just get about it.”
The time for sustainable leadership is now, and you are the changemaker the world needs.
Want to encounter Hunter Lovins and other sustainability heroes? View our upcoming events to learn more about how
you can lead the change through Bard’s Graduate Programs in Sustainability!
