The saying “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain” is one I had in the front of my mind when I read two recent reports on how best to use campaigning to achieve clear outcomes.  In this case around the need for action on climate change, but the same principles could apply to many aspects of sustainability within the business context.  And interestingly enough in how the various civil society campaigns against government cuts are going to play out in the coming months and years.

I thought I’d return to the subject of my last blog, the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.  My reason is that I think it is worth commenting on a number of other topics that were raised during the discussion of the plan.

Despite all of Unilever’s fine words are there still those who will find it difficult to believe that such a large, and powerful, multinational business can be serious about sustainability.  They will question their power, their ability to dominate markets and squeeze out smaller players.  They will question the inherent inequalities in the supply chain and the unbalanced power relationships that exist between a giant like Unilever and small farmers, producers and suppliers.  They will question the current system of global trade and the injustices contained within the drive for a neoliberal free trade regime.

E.F. Schumacher coined the phrase “small is beautiful”.  This morning (Monday) I attended the launch of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. Here was an example of “big is beautiful.

Unilever have set themselves some ambitious goals on how as a business they are going to deliver sustainability between now and 2020. This is an interesting date, 10 years hence is either long enough to have started to make a difference, or long enough to have forgotten the commitment was made in the first place.

This blog entry is adapted from a post I have published on my client's, the Rainforest Alliance’s blog, the Frog Blog UK.

Whether you’re a local charity, a small business, a large multi-national company or a global conservation organisation like the Rainforest Alliance there is one common challenge that has to be faced by all.  In this age of mass communications – at least here in the developed world – where people are used to receiving thousands of messages almost every hour of every day how do you make sure your voice is being heard?  There is much talk about communications overload, but almost in the spirit of evolution many of us have learnt to become experts at dealing this in bombardment of facts, opinions, advertising, marketing and yes propaganda.  We have simply learnt how to be selective and how to filter.  Our selection is often based upon our values and what it is that interests us.  In many ways this makes in even more difficult for many organisations to get their messages across.  This is particularly true for those who have limited or no resources to throw at communications.

Issue of corporate social responsibility and sustainability remains a much discussed issue on the seminar circuit, in the blog sphere and via twitter.  There is clear evidence that it is an issue consumers are concerned about, though for many that concern does not always translate into actual purchasing decisions.  But it is still difficult to detect whether it has really become part of the standard thinking among our most senior managers and directors throughout the UK, in businesses large and small.  In this time of economic sluggishness and financial constraint will the concept of the “triple bottom line” fare well?

Last week was an interesting one for any watchers of global environmental politics and the role business, large and small, can play in delivering planet saving solutions.  In Nagoya, Japan the 10^th Conference of the Parties (COP10) of the Conventions of Biological Diversity came to a close.  Grand words for a grand event that can easily be viewed as a huge talking shop.  In the 10 years since the treaty came into being global species and habitat loss has continued apace.  So good intentions maybe, but little by way of concerted action.

Environmental and ethical claims on products are becoming more and more common.  Everything from the coffee we drink to the car we drive makes some claim about some aspect of environmental sustainability.  But are they worth anything and do we understand them?

There have already been forests of news print and millions of words written and spoken about the UK fiscal deficit, and no doubt they’ll be yet more in the coming days, weeks and months as people pour over the fine detail of the cuts announced by George Osborne and they begin to take effect.  But who is talking about the resource deficit the planet currently faces and what we need to do about it?

It has been an interesting week for bloggers and the role of blogging as a legitimate form of journalism, comment and communication.  As I write this first entry for The Message Hub’s new blog I have the words of Andrew Marr ringing in my ears.  According to Andrew, when he spoke at the Cheltenham Literature Festival this week, blogs are often the result of 'spewings and rantings of very drunk people late at night”.  I can see his point.