business consulting

COVID-19 and the Bankrupting of Nature

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor March 25, 2020 Leave a comment

We were warned, by Bill Gates and others, that we were unprepared for the next pandemic. Why did we fail to heed these prophetic warnings? Hubris: in this case, the presumption that humans control nature and not the other way around.

The response to this crisis makes it clear that countries, sufficiently motivated, can unleash the full range of human knowledge and expertise to solve problems. The trick that has eluded us is convincing lawmakers and citizens that the climate emergency rivals that of this pandemic.

Close is Good…and Not Just in Horseshoes!

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor March 11, 2020 Leave a comment

‘Close’ is – famously – only good in horseshoes. However, I’ve done enough valuation to know that hitting close to the mark on the right target – to paraphrase the late mathematician John Tukey – is better than a bullseye on the wrong one. There is value in approximate answers, as long as they’re answering the right questions.

Blame! The Worm Will Turn in 2020

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor February 29, 2020 Leave a comment

In a world where many live in scarcity, one commodity – blame – is always in available in abundance. We expect climate-change blame to be in overdrive before 2020 is done, with activists, governments, and deniers alike howling for relief.

Science Based Targets: The Consequences of Delay

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor February 28, 2020 Leave a comment

We’ve developed a tool to help companies select science-based targets and plan for their achievement. It also demonstrates the value of starting quickly. Every year of delay comes with significant cost. You’ll have to go faster and may run into the organizational equivalent of getting pulled over for speeding.

Sand for Our Castles

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor February 18, 2020 Leave a comment

Our roads and cities rise as our sand levels fall with 50 billion tons of sand harvested annually – not from deserts but from vulnerable riverbeds and beaches – all so we can make the most ubiquitous mixed material in the world: concrete.

A Forest on the Corner: Moss, CO2 and City Trees

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor February 14, 2020 Leave a comment

A simple, compact, and low-maintenance living agent that can do the work of a small forest – harvest CO2, fix nitrogen, pull many other toxins from the air and, crucially, give off oxygen – could transform the air quality in cities right where the worst pollution is found. As it happens, moss is does all of that and more.

Davos Declarations

VROIBy R.O.I. Editor February 14, 2020 Leave a comment

Prior to the 2020 WEF meeting, a letter from the chairman to his members read, in part, “We look forward to the Annual Meeting being a breakthrough moment for business action on climate change.” Many seem to have taken that seriously. Here are some of the commitments that struck us most forcibly.

“…I’m Glad I Know You, George Bailey!”

VROIBy Managing Editor January 3, 2020 Leave a comment

Happily, many of us just had a short break, a breather, a catnap away from the fretting and the struggling and the urgency and foreboding that comes with working on sustainability.
As you rise and turn to your overcoats and galoshes once more, take stock of your own impact, of what your contributions mean to us all.

How? We suggest the George Bailey method: what would the world have been like if you had never been born?

Tag Archives: business consulting