Back from six months in Asia, Junxion Strategy’s Peter ter Weeme will share experiences and insights from Asia for a B.C. business audience. A discussion will follow.

Date: October 19, 2010 Time: 5:00 pm to 6:15 pm Location: UBC Robson Square, Plaza Level

Click here for more information on this thought-provoking event.

Junxion Strategy principals, David Kuefler and Peter ter Weeme, are back. They’ve returned to Canada following a six-month sabbatical in Asia. During their sojourn they visited several countries including two of the world’s fastest growing economies, China and India.

David and Peter are sharing what they’ve learned through blog postings and a highly-visual presentation they’ve developed for interested audiences. They look forward to bringing their insights to clients and colleagues alike over the coming months.

After spending 15 years working to advance sustainability in a North American context, my partner and I are on sabbatical exploring Asia for six months. Why Asia?

Because it is home to 60 percent of the world’s population and two of the fastest growing economies on the planet: China and India. And, as sustainable brand practitioners, we believe it’s important to understand where these countries are now, and where they are headed. After all, the paths they choose present a host of opportunities and impacts that will affect your brand’s success and the health of the planet.

Even before the halfway point of our journey, we’ve learned some profound lessons that provide new ways to support the shift to sustainability while deepening the meaning of your brand, positioning it with emerging consumers, and fueling growth and innovation in a competitive marketplace.

Having already toured countries like India, Laos and Vietnam (China is on the itinerary in June), I’m astounded at the gravity of the environmental and social conditions here. Yes, incomes are rising as Asian economies grow at 7 to 10 percent per year, but not everyone is benefiting equally from that growth. Poorer citizens are experiencing proportionately higher environmental impacts while the gap between rich and poor grows ever wider. For example, Mumbai is home to Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum and an environmental disaster, just a stone’s throw from glittering hotels and malls that could be found in any North American city.

In the face of this explosive growth, here are just some of the challenges and consequences Asia is grappling with:

> Transportation / Energy
Rising incomes and rapidly growing industrial capacity are driving demand for cars, ships, aircraft and energy. For example, China opens two new power plants every week and is now the world’s largest car market. All this growth is increasing the world’s demand for fossil fuels and raw materials at unprecedented rates.

> Pollution
Growth in transportation and industrial infrastructure is polluting land, air and water. Excessive fertilizer use, contaminated water, heavy metals and solid wastes have polluted more than 10 percent of China’s arable land. In India, up to 50 percent of children in urban areas have asthma. Frequent haze over the Arctic, and even on the west coast of North America, originates in Asia. It’s also fueling global climate change.

> Water
Water is one of Asia’s largest environmental issues. Water quality is abysmal in many areas. In China, 90 percent of river water and half of underground water polluted. In some parts of India, the water table is dropping by up to 6 meters (20 feet) per year. This lack of water is already creating significant social and economic upheaval across the continent. Add this to water constraints in North America and the era of cheap, abundant water is ending.

> Social Equity and Attitudes
As Asia develops, the gap between rich and poor is growing significantly. A report issued by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) indicates that this gap has widened to a threatening level in many Asian countries like China and India. According to the Sunday Times, bankruptcies, unemployment and social unrest are spreading more widely in China than officially reported, and is “painting an ominous picture for the world economy.”

Aside from these impacts, as you plan for the long-term, it’s also important to acknowledge that Asia is not necessarily seeking to emulate the western capitalist and democratic model. The dizzying rate of change is turning some countries, like China, inward and making them more nationalistic. In other countries, many blame democracy for the global economic downturn, and are growing disillusioned with western democratic values.

What does this mean for sustainable brands?
What do all of these developments mean for sustainable brands? Quite simply, what’s happening in Asia already impacts your business today and will continue to do so well into the future. So, as your map your future strategies, here are some key considerations to build further meaning and value into your brand:

> Acknowledge your brand is connected to events in Asia and that your brand’s success will depend on how Asia develops
Despite “buy local” campaigns, globalization shows little signs of slowing down. Everything local is global, and global is local. Shrinking glaciers in the Himalayas, dying bee colonies on Bhutan, respiratory ailments in China and striking workers in India are as much our problem as Asia’s. At the same time, if Asia is an emerging market for your brand, how well do you understand its consumers’ values?

> Consider your supply chain and its impacts both in Asia and on your business
The environmental and social stresses in Asia are already generating impacts across global supply chains. Products that rely on cheap labor, clean air, arable land or abundant water will increasingly face new constraints. Begin now to develop strategies that can overcome these challenges.

> Address those impacts in creative ways that help differentiate your brand
Does your community investment strategy consider your supply chain and relevant consumer markets in Asia? Can your brand help inspire others in Asia to adopt CSR and sustainability practices? How can you support the education and economic development of women, a powerful and often disenfranchised constituency in Asian countries? In the face of Asian competition for natural and human resources, how can you strengthen and deepen relationships in your global supply chain? Even if your product or service trades locally, how might the sea changes in Asia affect the future health of your brand?

> Explore potential of markets in Asia
Europe and Japan have shrinking populations, and are seeing stagnating economies and incomes. Meanwhile, Asia is growing quickly and seeing the emergence of hundreds of millions of middle-class consumers. So, where do you think you should invest for the long-term? If Asia holds promise for your brand, be sure to adapt your product for the Asian market where space is at a premium and different cultural values reign supreme. Plus, don’t just appeal to the wealthy; the real opportunity lies with the wide swath of consumers of modest means.

> Engage the talents of the Asian continent
Asia offers so much more than cheap consumer goods. China is innovating in solar, wind and electric vehicle technology. India is an IT powerhouse with strong English language skills. Asia is a multicultural, pluralistic, melting pot of religions and cultures that is home to the world’s oldest civilizations. And they are on the ascendency again. What can we learn from them, and how can we engage them, to fuel our, and their, business success?

We’ve all played a role in the significant shifts western companies are making to address issues of sustainability. We know that our consumptive, wasteful and disposable economic model is unsustainable. It certainly can’t be sustained with the rise of hundreds of millions of middle-class people in Asia. Companies that explore the interconnectedness of our economy and environment with Asia’s will realize great rewards. Your brand’s success and the future of our world depend on it.

~ Peter ter Weeme

(Originally published in Sustainable Life Media)

Is the inexorable decline of these tigers an omen for the future of India? Not necessarily. But, it provides some lessons for how the country can manage its affairs more sustainably as it continues its relentless pace of growth and development.

If you’ve never visited India, you probably associate the country with things like call centers, spicy food, colorful festivals, chaotic traffic, grinding poverty and Gandhi. The reality is that India is all of these things, and so much more. For example, it’s a leader in information technology; it’s the world’s largest producer of movies; and, it’s a leading center for “health care” tourism.

India is also on track to eclipse China as the largest country in the world in terms head count. Its 31 distinct states share 1,600 languages, six major religious groups, and 6,400 castes all mashed up into one fiercely proud and doggedly democratic country.

And if you think we have environmental and social equity issues at home, imagine the impact of one billion people. Think in terms of solid and liquid waste, water use, transportation and air pollution. Imagine too the challenges of creating social cohesion in a land with all that religious and cultural diversity and the ingrained inequality of the caste system. As one lady we met here said, “For too many Indians, life is hard and short.”

By the way, if you want a candid, business-oriented narrative on India’s future, check out India Express, a book by Daniel Lak, an international journalist, writer and broadcaster. It’s a fresh, incisive look at India’s rise on the world stage.

I’ll admit that I have no crystal ball for India’s future but having had the chance to speak with dozens of Indians – particularly those in the emerging middle class – they all agree that India is:

• On a sustained growth curve for the foreseeable future
• Becoming increasingly urbanized at a rate of 1% per year
• Liberalizing its economy and social attitudes, breaking along generational and socio-economic lines
• Beginning to develop a culture of environmental awareness, at least among educated, urban Indians.

Even so, India still faces many challenges from issues with governance, corruption, education, infrastructure and growth. Its law enforcement is notoriously corrupt, its politics is a tangled web of religion and privilege, and its business community is intensely intertwined. It will have to put much more effort into addressing these issues if it’s to have any chance of meeting its economic, social and environmental goals.

What does this all mean for sustainable brands? There is great potential for a range of sectors to grow and prosper, and be an enterprising part of India’s drive to emerge as a global force. Here’s how:

• With dozens of stores in India and customers in 67 countries, Himalayan Herbal Health Care shows the potential in India for ethical retail chains as well as lifestyle and personal care brands. So does Nourish Organic Foods, makers of health bars and breakfast foods, and Organic India, another leading tea, food, spice and health supplement company. The ubiquity of English in India, particularly in urban centers, makes it easier to promote Western retail concepts and marketing creative. Experts agree that the potential LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) market here is enormous.

• Existing major centers are seeing frantic demand for housing. Meanwhile, India plans to build six brand new cities in the next five years. According to McKinsey, this works out to 700 – 900 million square meters per year of new residential and commercial space. Those cities will incorporate smart growth and energy efficiency principles. The country has already seen a massive increase in green building floor space from 20,000 to 20,000,000 square feet over the past seven years. There’s much more to come.

• There is also crushing work that needs to be done in existing cities and towns where infrastructure and energy sources are stretched. Developing waste management systems and building additional health care capacity alone holds enormous opportunities for sustainable brands involved in planning, technology transfer and construction.

• Delhi operates the world’s largest clear air fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles and is expanding its metro five-fold over the next decade. Tata, a major Indian conglomerate with progressive CSR practices, now offers the world’s most affordable (gasoline) car. Meanwhile, the need for mobility grows in tandem with the population and incomes in India. There’s great demand for transportation-based products, especially those operating with renewable or clean fuels.

• India’s installed wind capacity (fifth in the world) and its plans to produce 20 GW of solar power within 10 years are good signs for the clean tech sector. So is the fact that India actually has a Ministry of New and Renewable Energy . In short, there is political commitment and public financial support for companies in clean tech.

• As India works to realize its potential, there are also opportunities for a whole host of services firms in the areas of education, finance, management consulting, sustainability, legal services and more. Put that together with a national emphasis on education, and you’ve got the ingredients for positive change. Imagine the contribution you could make to the social side of sustainability here.

You might also be interested to know that India’s new Companies Bill considers providing various incentives, including tax breaks, to corporations that carry out corporate social responsibility programs. How’s that for progressive?

Let’s face it. We’re all in this sustainability journey together. Our global survival ultimately depends on how countries like China and India develop, the choices their consumers make, and the paths their industries follow. The progress we make in the developed world also depends on how well we make room for countries like India at the global decision-making table.

There is also the hard reality that the economic power of the world is shifting east. Some would argue that it already has and that we in the West are only starting to figure it out now. As progressive green businesspeople, we need to be part of the wave, for our companies’ success but also to help shape and influence that growth for the better.

Take the time now to consider how your business strategy and corporate citizenship efforts can include Asia. Do it before your competitors do. Their arrival here is just a matter of time.

~ Peter ter Weeme

(Originally published in Sustainable Life Media)

Putu, a local village guide in Keliki, Bali, stops to mop his brow and sighs, “It’s hotter than I can remember.” He takes another few steps and turns, “We’re just not used to it. The seasons seem to be all mixed up.”

It’s another steamy day in Bali and difficult to see where exactly the rice paddies end and the sky begins. The horizon is merely a blurry line lost in the haze of heat. As he tramps along a muddy path in the rice field, Putu carries a cloth to wipe his glistening face and neck. He’s used to the heat but  today is too much for him to bear.

Yes, it’s May, the so-called “dry season” in Bali, but it’s anything but dry this year. Rain has fallen almost everyday for the past three weeks. The island’s climate has been organized around the rhythm of wet months and dry ones, but this year it’s definitely topsy-turvy. Putu, 35, trudges along a muddy path in the rice field as he talks about how the weather has changed. He’s no scientist but he is in tune with his environment. Nature, he concludes, is confused.

“When I was a kid, we used to head into the rice fields for the day without sun tan lotion. Now, we can barely stand the sun in the afternoon. After a couple of hours, we go inside for a break because our skin hurts so much,” he says. His voice is steady but you can hear the fear. He talks about seedlings that die from the heat, about shortages of water and then flash floods that come from nowhere. Some of these patterns were always there but now they’re magnified and grotesque, like the muscles of a bodybuilder on steroids.

And while he doesn’t understand the intricacies of climate science, Putu’s observations are backed up by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Jakarta. According to their climate scientists, global warming has triggered several anomalies including rising sea levels and increased sea surface temperatures. It’s led to unpredictable rainfall that bears no resemblance to normal patterns.

All over Asia, the effects of climate change are being felt on the ground. After interviewing dozens locals in Vietnam, Laos, India, Bhutan and Indonesia, I’ve found no one who has refuted the fact that the climate is different than it was 20 short years ago. And none of them are disputing that humans are causing it.

Over in India, Delhi has just finished its hottest April in 52 years. May has been a record-breaker too. Throughout Rajasthan, the state southwest of Delhi, water issues are at critical levels. It’s not just a recent phenomenon either – drought has ravaged the state for the past 10 years, withering crops, drying up wells and virtually roasting cattle before they are even butchered.

One telling example of the drought is occurring in Udaipur, a beautiful, historical city that lies amongst centuries-old man-made lakes created by various maharajas. Udaipur has been called the City of Lakes. It’s a misnomer now.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Octopussy, you’ll remember James Bond speeding across a gorgeous blue lake with a wedding cake palace in the background. That was Lake Pichola in Udaipur. Shockingly, the lake is now almost dry and has been for a few years. The rains don’t come anymore, and under the searing sun and growing population, the demand for water is too great.

Today, instead of an azure lake set against the arid Rajasthani mountains, you’ll find a toxic concentration of green sludge and a faint ring around the shore to mark the former waterline. It looks like the residue left behind from after a good scrub in the bathtub. But it smells much worse.

Uday, a local guide, comments how the five lakes surrounding the city are all at record low levels. “The last big rain came in 2006 but now they grow vegetables on the lake bed with what moisture remains. We are all hopeful the rains will return. What tourist wants to come to see this?” he laments as he gestures at the empty lakebed. His voice is heavy with resignation.

Meanwhile, in Laos, boat traffic on the Lower Mekong River was suspended three months ago due to a dramatic drop in the water level. It is below 1993 levels, which followed the most extreme regional drought on record.

This year’s low water levels are the result of conditions in Northern Thailand and Laos, and are part of a wider regional drought being experienced upstream in Yunnan Province in China. The 2009 flood season was drier than normal with wet season river levels in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, among some of the lowest on record in the last 100 years.

This lack of water is creating regional tensions around water management. It’s also making life difficult for the subsistence farmers and fishers who rely on the water for their livelihood. Living on a knife-edge, just one bad season can generate devastating impacts and personal economic ruin. The people here don’t have the luxury of savings to cushion the losses and their governments lack cash and capacity to provide relief.

Tourism has frequently been fingered as an economic saviour. However, it too is not immune to the vagaries of a changing climate.

“One of the cruise boats that plies the upper Mekong broke up on the rocks earlier this season,” offers Myriam, a French hostess on a lower Mekong ship. “The captain hadn’t realized just how shallow the river had become. Passengers had to be evacuated but fortunately there were no casualties.” Immediately following the incident, all fast and slow boats on the river were suspended until further notice. More jobs were put in jeopardy.

These stories of climate change are but a drop in the proverbial bucket, and they have a sad irony to them. Our lifestyles, our privileged position, our arrogance has created climate change. Yet, it’s the poorest, least resilient people in developing countries that are bearing the most dramatic social, environmental and economic costs.

In dozens of conversations about changes in that region’s climate, the only suggestion that climate change is either imagined, trumped up or a hoax is voiced by European and American tourists. Whether it’s a Dutch executive at Shell or Republican seniors who live on a golf course in Pennsylvania, they’re enjoying Asian vacations made less threatening thanks to their comfortable blinders and convenient explanations.

These travellers are resolute in their belief that this is all part of the planet’s natural climate variability. Indeed, they suggest that the fact that we’ve never had such high concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere is mere fear-mongering and has no relevance. Are they ignorant or is it just easier to deny responsibility? After all, who wants to be reminded that the carbon footprint of their flight is far greater than that of an entire Asian village?

The future impacts of climate change globally remain uncertain but each new piece of data confirms that it’s not likely to be pretty. That prognosis is all too evident to many Asians already. Just ask them.

~ Peter ter Weeme

(Originally published in Vancouver Observer)

According to the report, the good news is that the region is seeing better results in a number of sustainability indicators. The most positive of them include air quality, health, and business & sustainability. As well, the number of indicators rated as “poor or getting worse” dropped from 20 to 12.

Alongside these positive indicators, many areas are rated as “mixed results” (both fair and poor). Others are rated as “poor/getting worse”. The greatest areas for improvement are Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations, biodiversity, fish and fisheries, and housing.

Each session at the conference was designed to share a story of either personal, organizational or community transformation, as told by the engaged citizen or inspiring community or business leader who led that positive change. In addition to providing Fraser Basin Council with recommendations around conference content and speakers, Peter ter Weeme participated in the 2009 conference as a moderator for the “Stories of Community Transformation” session.

LEED Canada for Homes is Canada’s only national third party green building certification, and is now being delivered to Canadian homebuyers through seven providers across the country. Junxion supported the CaGBC with a communications strategy, messaging and media relations as this new rating system was launched in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. It also created a consumer-focused brochure, which clearly explains what makes a LEED home green, and the benefits to owning and living in one.

With the popularity of green building continuing to grow, the CaGBC will be launching two other LEED rating systems this year, LEED Canada for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance this summer, and LEED Canada for Neighbourhood Development later in the year.

Junxion continues to support the CaGBC’s efforts with communications strategy and implementation around all LEED green building rating systems, as well as its new building efficiency program, Green Up.

A green home is desirable for many reasons: it uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste, and is healthier and more comfortable for its occupants than a conventional home. Energy and water bills are lower in a green home, as are greenhouse gas emissions. There is less occupant exposure to mould and mildew as well. Considerations such as natural light, even temperature, location within the community and views are also taken into account in the levels of LEED certification.

Another long-term benefit of buying or building a LEED certified home is that the program is designed around durability; homes that do not need retrofitting or upgrades over the course of time. High quality is inherent in LEED rating systems, which may someday be deemed an industry standard, as green buildings and homes gain an even wider market acceptance.

The Junxion interactive and online marketing team is working with BC Housing to conceive, design and develop an employee website, intended to encourage and support BC Housing employees to become more sustainable at work, at home and within the community.

The new site is a versatile resource that allows employees to find information quickly, post articles and links about nutrition, sustainable travel and lifestyles, and share information and links on responsible businesses and green events in the community.

Bullfrog Power is an electricity provider offering low-impact, EcoLogo certified green electricity to residents and businesses across the province. By its official launch date, Bullfrog had signed on more than a dozen residential customers, and business customers including Junxion, as well as TD Financial Group, which announced at the event that it will ‘bullfrogpower’ all of its branches and ATMs in BC. Other organizations making the commitment to bullfrogpower their operations include Frogfile, Left Coast Naturals, The David Suzuki Foundation, The Lark Group and many more.

Junxion provided Bullfrog with strategic counsel as it planned its entry into the BC market, and continues to support the company with communications and media relations expertise.

Focusing on greenwashing, Mel delivered an engaging presentation to business and institutional leaders in the waste management and reduction sector. After giving an overview of the subject, including a series of do’s and don’ts, Mel presented several case studies of both good and bad examples of green marketing.

With green film festival organizers Lindsay Nahmiache and Brady Dahmer presenting as keynote speakers, this conference was an enlightening and informative event, developed on the premise of solutions-based thinking towards a more sustainable BC.