Sustainability Summit – October 3, 2008
Leonardo Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
Opening: Welcome by Philippe Wyffles of the Leonardo Center
Introduction by Ben Mates of the Robert Hemingway Foundation and Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community; a neutral trusted convener of conversation as communities face challenges and work together.
Introduction by Jane Holt, Coordinator for the Sustainability Program within the Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community. Growth comes from the heart of community engagement. Gathering of the Summit represents a seed that has sprouted and our hope is that this meeting with help the seed set root.
Introduction by Tenneson Woolf of the Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community. The radical act of bringing people together in conversation.
Schedule:
Welcome
Exploration of what makes gathering important.
Lunch break
What wants/needs to be born here?
Work – Learn – Build Relationship “If you want a system to be healthy, connect it to more of itself.
World Café:
What is going on in the world that makes this gathering on sustainability important?
Group A ideas and conversation:
1. Survival
2. Too much expansion on one side takes something from somewhere else. There is a need for equilibrium.
3. Fundamental need – what kind of policies are needed for environmental refugees.
4. Diversity in community.
5. Reverse education – re-education. Opening of conversation from crisis.
6. Willingness to change through knowledge and mediation and change through force (i.e. policy).
7. Local advocates: Changing the stigma (of barter, purchasing used, buying local) of sustainable choices.
8. Simplifying life.
What are you learning about sustainability that helps our collective effort?
Group A ideas and conversation:
1. The basis of consumerism is misery.
2. Need to start telling the truth. “Wake up, freak out, get on with it.”
3. Need to be able to have a civil dialogue and community.
4. Recognition that we are too isolated. Not aware of what is going on around us.
5. How to communicate from a humble place. Going beyond the level of I am right and you are wrong to how/what can we do together.
6. Listen
Principles to support collective effort:
All
1. Be at least 50% sustainable
2. Feel empowered by the group.
3. Growing our own food, preserving it, therefore being sustainable.
4. Cross the religious divide.
5. Coordination of efforts.
6. Using crisis in existing model to create change.
7. Networking as a community with democratic emphasis.
8. Identifying political candidates that have emphasis of sustainability and pass it on through networking.
9. Use current economic situation to bring awareness to help people connect to place.
10.Education.
11.Using purchase power.
12.Be the change.
13.Working for the best and preparing for the worst.
14.Make it feel very real and personal
15.Connection of community.
16.How to communicate with those who have different languages (words mean different things to different people).
17.Working through religious communities.
18.Defining a vision for Salt Lake City – much like Envision Utah.
19.Broadening the definition of profit.
20.Instead of a bail out of Wall Street, have a bail in of venture capitalists.
21.Creating a market place for new ventures.
22.Living with respect, compassion and caring.
23.Do not need total agreement of the root of the problem to make change.
24.What really motivates people and how to work with what people oppose about change (i.e. It takes too long to take the bus).
25.What is sustainability – defining what it means?
Lunch (examples of sustainability by catering company). Using biodegradable cups, utensils, and bio-diesel in delivery fleet.
Rainmaking Exercise: Bringing it down to earth.
What wants/needs to grow? Seed – Sprout –Rain
Open Space Technology Process
1. Name topic
2. 10 groups
Principles
1. It starts when it starts.
2. Ends when it ends.
3. Whoever shows up are the right people.
4. What ever happens is the only thing that could happen.
5. Law of two feet – it is ok to move.
6. Need both passion and responsibility.
7. Cross pollinate.
What needs to grow from here to sustain the Salt Lake Valley’s sustainability?
Groups:
A. Benefit from the sun with Carl Clark.
B. Sustainability standards for business – Making business green.
C. Local ecology – Food garden/farms. Integrating grass roots conversation about localizing food and energy. Act now – integrate all in sustainable community – Paul.
D. Strengthening survival institutions – Tim. Creating process for political will.
E. Global warming urgency – speaking with united voice.
F. Sustainability in LDS Church – Ed Firmage.
G. Solar systems for your home. Encourage renewable energy by improving net metering – Public Service Commission – Jim.
H. Carbon credits – Jay. Creating a carbon and ecology footprint monthly report for small business and residences.
I. New incisive ways to talk about sustainability – Christopher.
J. Social justice and sustainability.
K. New movement in art and design through sustainability.
L. Learning center/model/prototype – Ben Mates.
M. Identify and resolve perceived barriers to sustainable behaviors in the Salt Lake Valley – Andy Hultgren.
Group Headlines
1. Laura Flowers/Andy: How to get people interested who don’t necessarily have any interest? Create surveys to identify barriers.
2. Christopher Thomas: How to talk about sustainability. Definitions of sustainability and judgments (impediments). Using words like thriving and respect. Are we using the correct words for sustainability?
3. ?? Social justice. Living on less. Changing the mental framework around sustainability (having less) means you are impoverished. Changing the image that going green is only accessible to the wealthy. Engaging at risk communities in finding solutions to sustainability.
4. Jim French – Solar power and net metering. Solar furnace, access to solar power at a retail level, lobbying.
5. Carl Clark. Solar power creation by using mirrors to make steam to create usable energy for both commercial and residential and to power electric cars.
6. Kathy – Creating community and neighborhood gardens and gardens in schools. How to connect those who have land with those who garden. Explore issues around volunteering land and water issues. Formed a potential networking community to further exploration.
7. Ed Firmage – LDS Church and sustainability. Plan of action – leveraging Utah moms through the Relief Society. Having them engaged at a grassroots and institutional level.
8. Ben Mates – Learning Center Model. Need a place to demonstrate how to live sustainability and teach classes, etc. Create an association that can bring all interested under one umbrella and create a calendar of events to prevent overlap and inform those interested.
9. Hans – Global warming. Rebel with a cause. Group expressed frustration. Too much overlap. Need organization to pull together an association of sustainable service. Work together on a few issues and at time. Coordinate – Concentrate - Mobilize.
10.Movement Design Center – create exhibits for sustainability.
11.Carbon credits – create a budget/expense report for carbon footprint. Create a blog and email a) expense report b) link to useful information.
12.Green Business – what do consumers want; how to promote green in business, multiple certification levels and the problem that creates in consistency, green washing. Education is the key. Suggested working with E2Business and the Salt Lake City Library who is already teaching classes on sustainability.
End of Summit:
Principal of a living system: “Start anywhere and follow it everywhere.”
What is working? What is possible? And follow the spark of Yes!
Final question: What is alive for me now that wasn’t present before this Summit?
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Delete This Article
Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Remove This Article
Sustainability Summit – October 3, 2008
Leonardo Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
Opening: Welcome by Philippe Wyffles of the Leonardo Center
Introduction by Ben Mates of the Robert Hemingway Foundation and Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community; a neutral trusted convener of conversation as communities face challenges and work together.
Introduction by Jane Holt, Coordinator for the Sustainability Program within the Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community. Growth comes from the heart of community engagement. Gathering of the Summit represents a seed that has sprouted and our hope is that this meeting with help the seed set root.
Introduction by Tenneson Woolf of the Salt Lake Center for Engaging Community. The radical act of bringing people together in conversation.
Schedule:
Welcome
Exploration of what makes gathering important.
Lunch break
What wants/needs to be born here?
Work – Learn – Build Relationship “If you want a system to be healthy, connect it to more of itself.
World Café:
What is going on in the world that makes this gathering on sustainability important?
Group A ideas and conversation:
1. Survival
2. Too much expansion on one side takes something from somewhere else. There is a need for equilibrium.
3. Fundamental need – what kind of policies are needed for environmental refugees.
4. Diversity in community.
5. Reverse education – re-education. Opening of conversation from crisis.
6. Willingness to change through knowledge and mediation and change through force (i.e. policy).
7. Local advocates: Changing the stigma (of barter, purchasing used, buying local) of sustainable choices.
8. Simplifying life.
What are you learning about sustainability that helps our collective effort?
Group A ideas and conversation:
1. The basis of consumerism is misery.
2. Need to start telling the truth. “Wake up, freak out, get on with it.”
3. Need to be able to have a civil dialogue and community.
4. Recognition that we are too isolated. Not aware of what is going on around us.
5. How to communicate from a humble place. Going beyond the level of I am right and you are wrong to how/what can we do together.
6. Listen
Principles to support collective effort:
All
1. Be at least 50% sustainable
2. Feel empowered by the group.
3. Growing our own food, preserving it, therefore being sustainable.
4. Cross the religious divide.
5. Coordination of efforts.
6. Using crisis in existing model to create change.
7. Networking as a community with democratic emphasis.
8. Identifying political candidates that have emphasis of sustainability and pass it on through networking.
9. Use current economic situation to bring awareness to help people connect to place.
10.Education.
11.Using purchase power.
12.Be the change.
13.Working for the best and preparing for the worst.
14.Make it feel very real and personal
15.Connection of community.
16.How to communicate with those who have different languages (words mean different things to different people).
17.Working through religious communities.
18.Defining a vision for Salt Lake City – much like Envision Utah.
19.Broadening the definition of profit.
20.Instead of a bail out of Wall Street, have a bail in of venture capitalists.
21.Creating a market place for new ventures.
22.Living with respect, compassion and caring.
23.Do not need total agreement of the root of the problem to make change.
24.What really motivates people and how to work with what people oppose about change (i.e. It takes too long to take the bus).
25.What is sustainability – defining what it means?
Lunch (examples of sustainability by catering company). Using biodegradable cups, utensils, and bio-diesel in delivery fleet.
Rainmaking Exercise: Bringing it down to earth.
What wants/needs to grow? Seed – Sprout –Rain
Open Space Technology Process
1. Name topic
2. 10 groups
Principles
1. It starts when it starts.
2. Ends when it ends.
3. Whoever shows up are the right people.
4. What ever happens is the only thing that could happen.
5. Law of two feet – it is ok to move.
6. Need both passion and responsibility.
7. Cross pollinate.
What needs to grow from here to sustain the Salt Lake Valley’s sustainability?
Groups:
A. Benefit from the sun with Carl Clark.
B. Sustainability standards for business – Making business green.
C. Local ecology – Food garden/farms. Integrating grass roots conversation about localizing food and energy. Act now – integrate all in sustainable community – Paul.
D. Strengthening survival institutions – Tim. Creating process for political will.
E. Global warming urgency – speaking with united voice.
F. Sustainability in LDS Church – Ed Firmage.
G. Solar systems for your home. Encourage renewable energy by improving net metering – Public Service Commission – Jim.
H. Carbon credits – Jay. Creating a carbon and ecology footprint monthly report for small business and residences.
I. New incisive ways to talk about sustainability – Christopher.
J. Social justice and sustainability.
K. New movement in art and design through sustainability.
L. Learning center/model/prototype – Ben Mates.
M. Identify and resolve perceived barriers to sustainable behaviors in the Salt Lake Valley – Andy Hultgren.
Group Headlines
1. Laura Flowers/Andy: How to get people interested who don’t necessarily have any interest? Create surveys to identify barriers.
2. Christopher Thomas: How to talk about sustainability. Definitions of sustainability and judgments (impediments). Using words like thriving and respect. Are we using the correct words for sustainability?
3. ?? Social justice. Living on less. Changing the mental framework around sustainability (having less) means you are impoverished. Changing the image that going green is only accessible to the wealthy. Engaging at risk communities in finding solutions to sustainability.
4. Jim French – Solar power and net metering. Solar furnace, access to solar power at a retail level, lobbying.
5. Carl Clark. Solar power creation by using mirrors to make steam to create usable energy for both commercial and residential and to power electric cars.
6. Kathy – Creating community and neighborhood gardens and gardens in schools. How to connect those who have land with those who garden. Explore issues around volunteering land and water issues. Formed a potential networking community to further exploration.
7. Ed Firmage – LDS Church and sustainability. Plan of action – leveraging Utah moms through the Relief Society. Having them engaged at a grassroots and institutional level.
8. Ben Mates – Learning Center Model. Need a place to demonstrate how to live sustainability and teach classes, etc. Create an association that can bring all interested under one umbrella and create a calendar of events to prevent overlap and inform those interested.
9. Hans – Global warming. Rebel with a cause. Group expressed frustration. Too much overlap. Need organization to pull together an association of sustainable service. Work together on a few issues and at time. Coordinate – Concentrate - Mobilize.
10.Movement Design Center – create exhibits for sustainability.
11.Carbon credits – create a budget/expense report for carbon footprint. Create a blog and email a) expense report b) link to useful information.
12.Green Business – what do consumers want; how to promote green in business, multiple certification levels and the problem that creates in consistency, green washing. Education is the key. Suggested working with E2Business and the Salt Lake City Library who is already teaching classes on sustainability.
End of Summit:
Principal of a living system: “Start anywhere and follow it everywhere.”
What is working? What is possible? And follow the spark of Yes!
Final question: What is alive for me now that wasn’t present before this Summit?
Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Delete This Article
Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.
Yes, Remove This Article
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