‘Teaching Sustainability Has Benefits for Big Business’

Another good Miller-McCune.com report, this time by Carrie Madren, on the payoffs of teaching the science of sustainability to employees.  The focus is on HSBC’s savings.  But the real payoffs are to society.

Here are the first two ‘graphs:

Bill Thomas used to be a climate change skeptic, not believing that humans could have influenced the dramatic atmospheric shift, but two weeks in the woods — and chats with scientists — changed his mind.

 “I remember vividly that first day with Dr. Jess Parker; he showed us a chart of CO2 levels increasing about the time of the industrial revolution,” says Thomas, who works for HSBC bank and participated in a 2007 Climate Champions training program. There, a personal epiphany led to a job title change — the former relationship manager for HSBC Technical Services is now group head of HSBC Technology and Services Sustainability.

 In my opinion, one person at a time is the only way to win the environmental/climate debate.  And, the most important minds to change are miles away from the executive suite.