IMAGINE

Introduction

Imagination is a powerful thing. Not as effective as action, and no utopian end exists without the movement of the many, but inevitably everything first starts with an imagined outcome; either by an individual, by the few, or in rare cases, by the majority.

For example, Senator Gaylord Nelson, inspired by the student anti-war movement and the growing public consciousness regarding environmental issues, envisioned a “day of action” that would bring ecological matters into the national spotlight and encourage large scale collaborative efforts to positively affect them. His imagination led him to partner with activist Denis Hayes to organize the first Earth Day in 1970. An initiative that would lead to widespread impacts including the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Clean Air Act and a number of other environmental legislation. (Lewis, J. Jan/Feb 1990,  The Spirit of the First Earth Day, https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/aboutepa/spirit-first-earth-day.html)

Today, Earth Day is a globally acknowledged event, observed in over 190 countries. This day of teaching and volunteerism has expanded far beyond Arill 22nd with any organizations, including numerous corporate enterprises, recognizing an “Earth Week”, and April is now officially Earth Month.

Its obviously incredibly appropriate to celebrate the achievement that is Earth Day and all the subsequent and ever-expanding possibilities in which it enabled. However, as a species that depends on the planet we live on for our very existence, why must we treat the care and upkeep of planet Earth as a mere holiday? Holiday, by definition, is a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event; a one-time annual recognition.

Now, there are numerous organizations and even business that subscribe to a slogan stating that “every day is Earth Day”, and while these enterprises should be credited for their values and culture, it’s an interesting concept. What would it actually look like if that mantra was the common stance across the entire globe; and not just for corporations, non-profits, committees etc, but for every living person on the planet.

So, let’s go back to where we began in this article, and imagine.

Lillian’s Morning

The alarm goes off, and Lillian’s eyes slowly open to welcome in the morning sunlight. She smiles, with the knowledge that this same sunlight is delivering essential photons to the solar panels spread across the exterior surfaces of her home, powering the very alarm that is frustratingly pulling her from her comfortable bed.

As she rises, Lillian hears the familiar creaking of the old bed, composing its morning sonnet of creaking wood as it releases here from its embrace to take on another day. She knows it’s almost time for a new bed and makes a mental note to file a request through apartment’s app to request the maintenance tech take all available actions to fix or refurbish the piece of furniture before she considers an actual new purchase. If, however, the bed has reached a state of condition beyond repair, she knows she’ll need to contact the manufacturer to provide her with the available contact information for their recycling partners.  Luckily, the Extended Producer Responsibility regulations in place, enable quick and easy resources to either take the bed to an aftermarket remanufacturing facility, or recycle the bed’s components into repurposed materials for placement back into their circular society.

Lillian groggily utters the work “lights” which activates the automatic light sensors throughout her home, ensuring illumination is only activated when she moves room to room, and only whenever the sensors register that the sunlight isn’t providing enough natural light to navigate by. Although only in her early twenties, she wonders if she’’ need to recalibrate them sometime in the next few years, as her eyes age.

With the sleep now leaving her eyes as she enters the restroom, she turns on the shower. The geothermal and sunlight systems begin warming the rain-captured water as it passes through the filtration built into her shower head, and Lillian knows this same water that has existed in various forms on our planet for millennia inevitably makes its way back to the city’s treatment facility for continuous reuse elsewhere.  She scans the shelf containing her various makeups and skincare treatments, smiling slightly with the knowledge that these items were created using green chemicals, and responsible use of natural resources. With a focus on conservation and regeneration they are all products that are part of a larger circular economy dynamic that is the norm in today’s modern society.

Lillian picks out her clothes for the day, and as a subscriber to a national clothing circularity program, she’s excited to step into a few newer outfits, recently added to her wardrobe. Both the refurbished sundress and the recently mended pantsuit stand out to her, and she’s already thinking about jumping back into the app later this week to schedule both a repair request for a sweater and ordering a donation pickup for several of her older blouses.

Dressed for the day and grabbing a quick breakfast, Lillian heads out the door, first stopping to bring out her segregated recycling and organics bins for pickup later that day. With a small organic surplus remaining from her composting bin, she wants to ensure anything extra makes its way back into the most sustainable avenues available.

Although she is empowered to work from home when appropriate, Lillian has scheduled today as an in-person collaboration day with her colleagues. She allows her eyes to rollover the electric vehicle in her solar-panel roofed carport but opts to join the company-orchestrated EV carpool group since they had an opening.

Shortly thereafter, her carpool drives by her community’s local refillery and she starts to actively transition her mental space from the tasks of home to those of work…

Harry’s Day Off

Harry walks into the local refillery as Lillian’s carpool ride carries her further into her own day. For Harry, however, it’s a much-needed day off, and he’s using it to take care of a few much-needed errands.

His reusable bags hang loosely from his hand as he enters the store, and the familiar sights and smells bombard his senses and bring a sense of familiarity and odd relaxation. He pauses briefly at the display of reusable aluminum water bottles, attracted to the shining exteriors and contemplates taking one home. The urge lasts only a moment though, as he decides this impulse buy is more of a “want” than a “need” though and opts not to add an unnecessary extra bottle to his already adequate home collection; an act of discipline he takes pride in, knowing that his refrain will not create unnecessary consumption of resources, energy and time.

On the way through the establishment’s main entrance Harry stops to drop off both an antique step stool and a home speaker, both of which need repaired. This particular refillery also houses a repair shop for miscellaneous home items, with carpenters, electricians and other skilled professionals on staff.

Harrison stocks up on the locally grown produce he needs, opting to design his meals for the week based upon what’s available naturally in his area, and in season. Considering the early autumn months, he’s particularly encouraged to see two of his favorites, winter squash and pumpkin, ready and waiting sooner than was expected.

From within one of his bags, Harry starts to remove the reusable household containers he’s brought with him, one by one, as he passes the appropriate stations. He refills his shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash before heading over to the consumables such as salt and coffee grounds.

His purchases made, Harry walks from the store and out into the sun, now making its way closer to directly overhead. He takes a moment to take in the beauty of the green space to the east of the refillery, remembering back to his childhood when it was once a parking lot. Although not yet in middle-age, it seems like a lifetime ago when asphalt outweighed grass downtown.  He recalls when the wind changed and it became status quo for city planners to design and build cities that are compact, walkable, and resilient to climate change, with green spaces and efficient infrastructure. Given the reduction in automobiles and the related necessary infrastructure due to these changes, the parking lot for the refillery (although then, it was a more conventional big box store) was transformed into a green space complete with community garden and pollinator habitats a decade ago.

The air is also much cleaner than he remembers as a child given the transition to 100% renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and hydro in during his college years. This eventual transition phased out fossil fuels and their associated pollution, allowing for a crisp autumn day like this one to be even more enjoyable and refreshing now.

Harry breaks away from his reminiscing long enough to remember his errand list for the day and starts making his way towards the community donation center. He’s finally admitted he’s outgrown some of his old shirts and is using that as an excuse to bring in both those and some of his son’s toys he’s outgrown. Hopefully, a man of a younger age and perhaps his children can make use of the items he no longer needs.

He tries not to let his mind wander further as he strolls along the streets but can’t help but think about how the winter squash he purchased will pair nicely with the strawberries from his garden at home, and the bottle of locally produced salad dressing.

As Harry turns left toward the donation center, his eyes briefly pass over the glass windows of the office building across the street, and to the shadowed outlines of the people standing within. It reminds him, he may need to add one more item to his growing to-do list for the day. He needs to remember to check his stock and investment performances before settling in for the evening; something he does at the beginning and the end of each week, in tandem with reviewing the green rating reports for each company in which he holds shares…

Julianna’s Meeting

Julianna stares out the office window and casually watches the passers-by. A sea of people, each in their own world, living their own lives, but also so critical to her livelihood. Whether consumers for their company’s products and services, stock-owning shareholders, neither or both, she knows that their interaction with the enterprise she works for is a two-way street.

Product and service quality and affordability are obviously paramount, along with speed to delivery. However, Julianna also knows that shareholder engagement, social feedback and other consumer decisions don’t boil down to just the financial bottom line and delivery integrity. With that in mind she turns her attention from the sunny day outside to the sunlight brightening the conference room, itself. Complimented by minimal artificial lighting, and only as necessary, she makes her way to one of the chairs and brings out her phone as she waits for her colleagues to join her.

The most recent green rating reports have been released, and the organization is still sitting high within the rankings, although she knows they still have room to grow. It both amazes and pleases her how critical these reports have come over the years – now released automatically along with company earning reports and stock performances – in demonstrating the overall value proposition of a company. As Chief Sustainability Officer, she takes pride in the work she does but understands the responsibility on her shoulders has never been greater.

As the CEO and CFO enter the room to join her for this week’s Friday leadership debrief, She pulls up her notes on her phone. She has exciting news to report out on regarding the organizations circularity system (former waste program), as the company has recently brokered a green-incentive-based indirect supplier contract that will enable aggressive reductions in what remains of their scope three greenhouse gas emissions and save costs across the next five years.

Although Julianna is most excited this item on the agenda, she knows that the CEO will be heavily focused on the final planning of their new product line, so tempers her emotions for the time being to concentrate on “old business” first. Her role in this new product launch has been to ensure that all internal stakeholders are dropping a sustainability lens in front of all decisions and planning. Despite the heavy collaboration amongst herself and finance, research and development, marketing and operations, there remain a few key points that need polishing before they can officially “go-live”. The most pressing being the confirmation that the company providing the primary feedstock material for their manufacturing process will have enough recycled content to meet the internal quotas set by the company to meet projected market demand. She also needs to check to see where the contract stands with the transporter for their expired consumer products but is optimistic they’ll gain execution before their deadline.

As the room starts to fill with the standard professional pleasantries that signal the meeting has officially begun, Julianna makes herself comfortable and prepares to begin…

Closing

As we snap back into reality, it’s important to recognize a few glaring issues with the imagined experience above. First, it’s crucial that we acknowledge the scores of underprivileged individuals, impoverished communities and resource-scarce areas in the world that would currently prohibit in many cases, from this type of utopia to be realistic today .

Second, the enablement of such local, national or global collaboration across vast system-based ecological, economical and political systems is a challenge to say the least. Convincing all stakeholders involved to align on the same endgame, while making concessions and in some cases, even sacrifices, to achieve long term sustainability for our planet and its inhabitants (human, plant and animal alike) may seem like an impossible task today.

Change starts small though, and even small change can’t first start unless it’s imagined by those with the passion and tenacity to see it through; and perhaps, even more so by those able to inspire the same sort of action in others. As I learned during my post-graduate education, initial, often simple incremental change, and telling those stories, is what leads to long-term transformational change in the sustainability space. Sometimes, all that’s necessary is to start somewhere, even if you need to narrow your focus and tackle a single-issue head on.

Organizations like Circular Indiana have chosen to specifically advocate at the state and local level for policies and investments to advance equitable access to the circular economy, educate individuals to empower a ripple effect of behavior change that results in both personal actions and advocacy that lead to community changes for a more circular economy in Indiana, and to inspire our members individuals in ways that create the necessary information, resources, and policy conditions to embed resilience in their supply chain and be pioneers in the circular economy. (https://www.circularin.org/our-impact)

But advocation, education and inspiration, like all things, must first start with imagination.

So, imagine, if you will, a global community of change agents, imagining a brighter, more sustainable future. Imagine a reality where there is no dedicated Earth Day, but instead just another day…every day…just Earth.