The Green Revolution is Being Televised

Dialing-in the Triple Bottom Line Network  

Think of sustainability as an old fashioned antennae-driven TV network with many different channels and shows. "Green TV" interconnects and educates us on the Triple Bottom Line - we need to account for the environmental and social impacts of a service or product in addition to its financial performance.

Have you spoken with anyone lately who is connecting safety with the green movement? Many sustainability principles mirror and connect safety and green and include prevention or risk reduction and emergency preparedness. Home and commercial safety / emergency plans are examples of sustainability. Green building is increasingly more common now after natural disasters.

Some long-running Green TV shows include "The Environmental Policy Hour," "Your Environmental Health and Safety," "Stewardship is Fun!" and "Safety in Numbers." What are these programs teaching us? These shows are translating everyday ideas from the old world to a new green world - extending available resources to do more things. Shifting the complex to the simple: like your neighbor's new black plastic compost bin or that new natural lemon-based soap at the coop.

So check out some of the old favorites on Green TV:

The Environment Policy Hour looks at many themes that cross disciplines and government mandates, including subjects like: Protection of the biosphere, sustainable use of natural resources, reduction and safe disposal of waste, efficient use of energy, risk reduction, marketing of safe products and services, and damage compensation. Grab the popcorn.

Safety in Numbers is a game show that starts at 6:30 PM weeknights that educates and empowers citizens. The show actively engages citizens with informative and interactive training on self-reliance and neighborhood organizing skills. In addition to teaching the basic emergency preparedness and response curriculum, Safety in Numbers reaches out to the special needs of the elderly or disabled; residents of apartments, condominiums and co-housing complexes and public or private sector employees.

Stewardship is Fun!

On Saturday mornings in most TV markets, this show challenges the viewer with environmental education: watch to learn how to use products safely; to minimize waste through reuse and recycling; and how to participate in public policy. Sponsored by the EcoCenter.

Your Environmental Health and Safety deals with how humans build and interact with their environment. What's on? Protecting the health and safety of all workers; creating safe workplaces; encouraging employees to report hazards and provide information and safeguards for all workers.

In my view, the fledging sustainability movement via Green TV, the web and sustainable organizations needs to expand and connect with more traditional businesses - more trickle-up from our mom and pop roots. Interconnection between business sectors, products and principles is important because being green needs a wider impact that channel what we know at this time in history. We must practice and forge a deeper and more meaningful set of green channels in our living room lives. Indeed, the proliferation of climate assessment dot coms and toxic waste movies are limited in their impact; back at home, green safety could help make being sustainable a re-run.

Isn't first aid one of the oldest examples of sustainability? Stay tuned.

William Paul is a proactive business development partner and innovator for his clients and community – integrating full life cycle impact analysis, green values and sustainable outcomes through Green/sustainable services and civic participation. Find out more about William at Sustainable Business Strategies

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