A NEW CHAUTAUQUA

 

To dare something worthy and find joy along the way defines our success.  There is nothing more exact or demanding.  Each of us has different goals and aspirations, and we all love and benefit from doing something big, that inspires us to reach our potential, and that often takes us outside our comfort zone, with the ability to transform us into a better, more capable version of ourselves.  Working with others, we believe we can become the people it takes to actually deliver on our dare.  Along the way, the traits and skills we develop in the dare will be much more important than the nature of the dare itself.

 

Our collective efforts will serve to teach our children well for generations to come.
 

 

As an organization, we will commit to:

 

1. Distribute the wealth we create equitably among those who contribute to its creation.

2. Operate in a participatory, radically transparent, ethical, and accountable manner.

3. Earn reasonable profits only by fulfilling long-term objectives, not by externalizing their costs or using their power at the expense of other stakeholders, which include employees, customers, the community, its supply chains, and the environment.

 

The Sustainable Business Model:

 

1. The organization will aim to make a positive impact in its key material areas. 

2. The positive impacts will be clearly demonstrable if not measurable.

3. The organization will exhibit best practice in corporate responsibility and sustainability across the spectrum of social, environmental, and economic impact areas, in line with globally accepted standards.

4. The organization will invest in innovation in the products we use and the services we provide

5. Challenge the business model for ongoing improvements.

6. Strive for a net positive impact which often requires a big shift in approach and outcomes, and cannot be achieved by business-as-usual.

7. Report on progress in a transparent, consistent, authentic manner and independently verified where possible. Boundaries and scope are clearly defined and take account of both positive and negative impacts with trade-offs explained.

8. Net positive will be delivered in a robust way and no aspect of a net positive approach will compensate for unacceptable or irreplaceable natural losses or ill-treatment of individuals and communities.  

9. Opportunities and sectors, to create a competitive advantage and increases commercial returns, and to help identify current investments, products, and markets that are not fit for the future.

10. The organization understands that the scale of a net positive commitment means it cannot be achieved by a sustainability team alone. Integration of sustainability into core business functions delivers the most effective coherence and focus, which can help improve overall collaboration in the business. 

11. The organization will strive to look beyond its own operations to work on shaping the context that it operates in. That means working with supply chains, customers, and the private, public and third sectors, allowing it to make step-change reductions in its impact. 

12. The organization understands that working toward outcomes that are positive for the environment and society, as well as members & shareholders, helps the organization develop new relationships with policymakers, customers, staff, and suppliers.

13. The organization is committed to a public net positive model to move the organization into a leadership space, sending a clear message that it takes sustainability seriously.

14. The organization will enter into wider partnerships and networks to create bigger positive impacts.

15. The organization will investigate and invest in radical innovations that generate benefits for customers and/or suppliers. 

16. The organization will take a systemic view and look further into the future, to opens up space for innovative new products, propositions, business. 

17. Every opportunity will be used to deliver positive impacts across value chains, sectors, systems, and throughput to the natural world and society.

18. The organization will publicly engage in influencing policy for positive change.

19. Robust environmentally restorative and socially inclusive methods will be applied where key material areas are ecological.

20. An inclusive approach will be adopted at every opportunity, ensuring affected communities are involved in the process of creating positive social and/or environmental impacts. 

21. The organization will strive to do less harm and seek positive impacts on key natural assets instead to enhance 

22. The organization will seek to do business with those who live in the markets served and to identify the assets already available there.

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Source: http://ssir.org/articles/entry/net_positive_the_future_of_sustainable_business