I would like to focus today on the human side of climate change, and specifically water- Clean, flowing, accessible water.

I was a guest on a radio show recently, and was asked ” Does climate change really exist?”  It was followed by the question…..can each person really make a difference.  I was surprised that people are still asking these questions. I told the listeners that I am not a scientist, but I believe there are a lot of credible scientists and reports that confirm that yes…..climate change is happening.

I get personal confirmation from my friend Mary, who lives in Alaska. A documentary film maker and photographer, Mary is always documenting the world. The photos I receive regularly are both beautiful and haunting. Dry areas that used to be wet… icebergs melting….. Water……..

Back to the radio show…as I was formulating an answer, I got a visual image of john doe, regular citizen driving to get coffee every morning, which gets served in a paper cup; I then imagine him finishing the last sip of coffee and tossing his empty paper cups into the backseat of his car. Imagine what his car looks like at the end of the year…..now multiply that by all the things he [and you] consume………….. Car overflowing with junk….no room for the driver…leaving a trail of junk…….that is infringing on neighbors…

I ask anyone who isn’t convinced to Act As If…..isn’t it better to take restorative and preventive measures than not? I invite you to design your life and your work to Act As If.

According to 28 leading scientists…..

A recent post on Discover blogs entitled 9 Eco Rules Humans Shouldn’t Break if We Want To Survive, “28 leading scientists have drawn up a list of nine “planetary boundaries” that must not be crossed if we want to avoid drastically changing the global environment and imperiling our own existence. The only problem is, we’ve already crossed three of those thresholds.”  Read the rest of the post

Water – One billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s one in six of us.

I recently attended a great marketing seminar that had participants donate money to charity: water to help build wells in 3rd world countries that have limited/no access to clean water. We raised enough money by the end of the conference to build 2 wells! We all left feeling very proud!

Charity: Water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years.

I invite you to join me and build another well, or two or three…. together. Please donate here

To find out more about Blog Action Day

For sustainable organizations, the website is even more critical to your business; it holds the key to your reputation.

Take for example the company running an advertising campaign that touts their green product line. In an effort to get more information about the company and products you visit their website. There is little or no information to support their ad campaign. Your conclusion could easily be that the company is greenwashing. This may not in fact be the case, but the perception of greenwash or even just a suspicion, can be as damaging to your reputation as the act of intentionally misleading the public.

Take the “Good Green Website Survey” and let us know if this has happened to you.

The good green website has to do better than most companies are doing. Even those businesses with firm environmental or 3BL commitments, policies and products fail to provide appropriate supporting information online. Or if it is online, it is not easy to find. I think of it as the great green scavenger hunt. Most visitors are going to leave your site before finding the information they are seeking, never to return.

Here are the keys to a “good green website”:

• Easy to find information
• Multiple ways to find the information [home page, about us, product pages….]
• Varying degrees of detail – appropriate for specific audience [architects and consumers may need different levels of information]
• Data supporting claims
• Contact information for further details [human answered is best]
• 3rd party verification wherever possible

The Green Challenges concurs that companies are falling short on their websites and need to do better stating: “There is a breakdown in communication of sustainability programs and policies from leadership to employees, stakeholders and consumers.”

A large part of the success of sustainability programs is in the corporate communications both internally and externally. The website, therefore is the perfect and necessary tool to be the epicenter of company’s sustainability programs and success.
Note: our StandForGreen™ marketing tool makes is easy for your website to communicate your green message.

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This post originally appeared as a Guest Blog on The Green Challenges http://www.thegreenchallenges.com