[written for CSRwire.com]
The Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) conference held June 23-25, in Boulder, Co., was a model blend of authenticity, strategy and progress. It’s billed on the web site as “Businesses Coming Together To Help Change The World“ but that’s not quite right. In fact, that billing does the conference a disservice.
The conference Director, Ted Ning, set the stage on day one. He asked the 500+ attendees to close our eyes, relax and to open up to one another. He encouraged us to experience the conference as humans, rather than through the familiar shield of “business-person” so common at business conferences. LOHAS – as an experience – is not just about companies talking to consumers or businesses learning from other businesses. In so much as professional conferences can have a flat hierarchical structure, this one does. And, while Ning makes it look effortless, we have to acknowledge that it is no easy feat. Cajoling attendees into a relaxed and open state of mind takes frequent reminders, a comfortable environment (despite the 100 degree temperatures outside) and carefully crafted content designed to simultaneously remind and inspire. LOHAS is a space and moment that looks backward and forward simultaneously through its content.
We heard from veterans in the LOHAS space. Joel Makower from GreenBiz.com took us beyond the sales power (read as: size) of the LOHAS marketplace ($200 Billion+) and reminded us that our job is to lead by “moving the needle” towards sustainability – not just sell more sustainable products. Hunter Lovins, President & Founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions, was on hand to help us understand the new carbon economy. As Cultural Theorist Marshall McCluhan said, “that which is current creates currency,” and carbon is a new business currency. Gwynn Rogers and Steve French, from the Natural Marketing Institute took a chance presenting their LOHAS research in classic “Myth Buster” character. It came of as part skit, part strategic research, and remained true to the character of the conference as a safe place to try new things. It’s doubtful that their presentation approach would have been debuted at any other conference but LOHAS. It is a safe place to experiment. Bryan Welch, Publisher and Editorial Director of Ogden Publications reminded us that goats are beautiful and that inspiration requires a bold new thought process.
And while the veterans were holding down the fort, there was a new energy fueling the movement as best captured by Alec Loorz in his keynote speech (more of a rally call, really) on Friday morning. Loorz is the 16-year old founder of Kids Vs. Global Warming. Before he received his standing ovation, Alec reminded us that the average age of the crew at Mission Control during the Apollo moon landing in 1969 was 26. That means that when President Kennedy put the stake in the ground that man would walk on the moon in a decade, those engineers were only 18 years old (we beat Kennedy’s goal by two years). Echoing Whitney Houston’s popular sentiment, Loorz agrees at kids are the future, but he quickly reframes it for us: The future is today, and kids are ready for the challenge.
So for three days in Boulder we opened up, let down our guard and had genuine dialogues. We got energized to head back to our offices (shields at the ready) to push the conversation, our spirits and our businesses deeper into the heart of sustainability and social justice. That’s what LOHAS does. It provides a forum for the old conversation to happen and the inspiration to push it forward. LOHAS moves us.
