With Sustainia we breathe new life into sustainable development. We paint a comprehensive picture of what is possible. And thus we create a brand new narrative - one that appeals to people instead of scaring them off. One that stresses benefit to the individual, and talks less about environmental challenges; more about potential and opportunities. Let me give you some examples: using renewable energy to heat our homes lowers our bills and can make us money (it also eliminates pollution); lining the roofs of our businesses with vegetation saves air-conditioning and repair costs (it also replenishes our air); retrofitting our cities and making them smart creates thousands of jobs, makes them more livable and saves companies billions (it also does more to reduce our carbon footprint than any other single project).A BUZZING VIRTUAL CONSTRUCTION SITESoon you will be able to visit Sustainia online. We are working with state-of-the-art technology to create a virtual world - a living, breathing Sustainia. This is to share our ideas, engage and inspire, make collaboration easier, and even attend Sustainia University.Until then you can read the Guide to Sustainia. It is simple, clear, and colorful. It can be ordered through our website as well as read on our website.Sustainia homes. Sustainia businesses. Super trees and vertical farms. You will be able to walk around with thousands of others to see the possibilities. Join courses and workshops at Sustainia University and meet in real-time with like-minded individuals from around the world. It will be a virtual construction site, where you can get a taste of what is possible, experiment with today's solutions, and build your own Sustainia home. We want to engage people from all walks of life and make developments in sustainable solutions relevant and important for the individual. C OLLABORATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS: JOIN US To reach Sustainia one word is imperative: collaboration. Sustainia was built on collaboration, and collaboration is taking us forward.Sustainia was created with close collaboration between companies, organizations, and experts. International organisations such as the UN Global Compact; sustainability leaders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Connie Hedegaard, Dr Pachauri, and Gro Harlem Brundtland; world-leading companies like Microsoft, Cisco, GE, DNV, Novo Nordisk, DONG Energy, Philips, IKEA, Realdania; and many more. This was a team that meant action.And the same kind of collaboration is taking Sustainia forward. We are enlisting major corporations; large and small NGOs; the best in social media; communication experts; universities; business developers, leaders in the fashion industry; prominent politicians; pop-culture icons; and leaders from all sectors. If this is you, consider yourself invited.We want everyone with ideas, solutions, research, and technologies, to get involved. We are after the best minds, the most creative ideas, the leading companies, and the innovative small businesses. You are all representing an important piece to the puzzle. Building blocks that will help build Sustainia. Sustainia is possible. Join us now in our efforts to build Sustainia further. nFor more information about Sustainia please visitwww.sustainia.meSUSTAINIA'S MISSIONn Identify the solutions already out there and communicate their potential;n Develop principles for building sustainable societies based on best practices;n Engage civil society and make the model for sustainable societies relevant and important;n Inspire political decision makers and business leaders;n Make sustainable solutions and products fashionable, desirable, inspiring;n Help provide a new positive and inspiring momentum around global leadership on sustainabilityReferences1 Including Cisco, DONG Energy, DNV, GE, IKEA, Microsoft, Novo Nordisk, Philips, Realdania, SAS, Vestas, and more.Above: There are sustainable solutions for all aspects of life - Sustainia aims to be the world's one-stop toolbox.sustainable business 119

Collective Heroics: The Next Phase of the Sustainability RevolutionDr Kevin J. Dooley, Academic Director, The Sustainability ConsortiumProfessor of Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University If you are reading this article, it probably means you are interested or even passionate about sustainability. Now get ready, because it is time for the next phase of the Sustainability Revolution.The sustainability revolution in business has made great strides over the last decade. Many organisations have implemented processes and technologies that have reduced environmental impacts, improved the well being of workers and communities, and have reduced operating costs. Many have discovered green consumers who use their pocketbook to demand more sustainable products and services, and others have been inspired by leaders who have personally embraced the values of sustainability.These heroic individual efforts have taken many forms. For example, the university where I work, Arizona State University, has implemented a wide variety of sustainability practices over the last decade. We have created the largest solar installation of any US university, implemented rigorous green purchasing standards, involved students in recycling programmes, and created courses and degrees in sustainability - all leading to a better experience for students and more efficient operations.The world has also made progress, albeit slower than desired, on many critical sustainability issues. Many businesses are keenly aware of the risks associated with climate change and water scarcity, especially those with supply chains that have been disrupted by their effects already. NGOs have brought attention to issues such as deforestation, over-fishing, biodiversity, land use, worker safety and rights, and community health, and many companies have responded by working with NGOs on interventions and investments.In sum, this past decade's progress has been driven by individual heroics on individual issues. This has brought quick wins because there are a lot of "low hanging fruit" to address. We live in a complex system, however, and in order to improve a complex system you have to deal with the interdependencies in the system and seek synergies. The Decade Ahead - A Time for Collective HeroicsImagine that you and twenty of your neighbours decide you want to go to the beach together. There is a big bus available that could take all of you comfortably there at the same time, but instead you and everyone else decide to drive to the park alone. You get to take your own route and listen to your own music, but think of the collective waste of time and energy caused by the group going its own way - even though they were all going to the same place.As silly as the scenario seems, it describes the state of many sustainability efforts today, with individual organisations going their own way, and issues being addressed one at a time. Emerging, however, is the recognition that since we are all heading in the same direction, there is reason to get on the same bus and go there together. Progress in this decade will come because of this collectivism, because collectives that have a shared purpose can be smarter, act quicker, be more adaptive, and achieve more with fewer resources. It is swarm intelligence.Collective heroics are starting. Organisations are reaching out to their supply chain partners to collaborate on sustainable innovations, and collaborating with NGOs and government stakeholders "Even competitors are beginning to work together on certain pre-competitive issues where their collective efforts can bring standardisation and thus higher quality and lower costs"120 sustainable business