The Next Environmental Revolution - It’s Much More Than Carbon

The biggest barrier to progress can be success.

I do declare, on this here virtual soapbox, that the environmental progress made in the last few years is in danger. That danger, despite intense and positive environmental activity, is stagnancy. The biggest barrier to progress can be success.

It is not uncommon for leaders in a field make strides ahead of the competition, whether it be technology, consumer products, social impact, environmentalism, etc., get recognition for their efforts, and then rest on their proverbial laurels.

After decades of struggle trying to make an easy case, environmentalists found a much needed beacon of hope- an easy to measure and communicate metric of progress: tons of carbon equivalent (CO2e). Carbon reductions are critical and the fact that there is an easy to evaluate metric of success in CO2e has been hugely beneficial in helping companies, governments and other organizations manage carbon and provide a focal point for addressing climate change. But… it should not stop there.

The risk, which may already becoming a reality, is that environmental activity is managed to simply lower CO2e. Yes, it’s the old ‘what gets measured gets managed’ axiom. What lacks in mainstream environmentalism, ironically, is an ecosystem approach that a) considers effects of climate-related activities in multiple areas ranging from biodiversity to environment-based economic development for communities and b) allows for the development and emphasis of non carbon-related projects in critical areas including water, biodiversity and agriculture, among others.

A holistic approach to environmental thinking will open the doors to a new generation of work that not only address critical climate change concerns, but that also put environmental protection and restoration into the context. To do this requires an easy means of managing progress and communicating results. While it may not be possible that all of these areas can be boiled down to an easy to use metric, we can work to do a better job of measuring and managing environmental programs that meet the multiple needs of the planet and its people together, cohesively, in a way that dynamic and mutually beneficial way. Organizations such as Ciudad Saludable and Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda have excelled in this. The answer is not yet clear, but CO2e has given us a model to follow, both positive and negative.

It is imperative, now more than ever with pending legislation in the US, global climate action and general momentum, that CO2e be the first step on the road, not the last. For the first time in decades, environmental activity is at risk of being a victim of its own success. CO2e provides a great starting point. Now, to move from minimizing damage to maximizing benefit.

This entry was originally published on the Skoll Foundation’s SocialEdge.org website on our other blog - SVT on Impact.