Chapter 34 - Sustaining “Green Consumption”

Rahul Mitra

Synopsis

Danielle heads one of three nonprofit organizations that partnered together to establish the Green Festival, one of America’s largest “sustainable consumption” exhibitions. The Festival has thrived under Dominic’s leadership since it was founded, but now, as he prepares to depart for another job, Danielle muses about its long-term viability. Chiefly, she muses what “sustainable consumption” means, both for the nonprofit partners and external stakeholders, whether the unconventional organizing structure of the Festival can survive without Dominic leading it, and how the event can better improve its messaging. Has the Green Festival “sold out,” or can it be an effective organizing framework for environmental responsibility?

Keywords: Sustainability, Consumption, Business Ethics, Leader Dependence, Core Messaging, Audience Engagement

Key Takeaways and Take a Stand Form

Key Takeaways

  1. As sustainable consumption has increased in popularity, there is a very real danger that its original goals might have become diluted by too much focus on consumerist messages.
  2. The Green Festival is torn among its different stakeholders and areas of work, so that it might be stretching itself too thin, eroding its credibility over time.
  3. The Green Festival has overly depended on personal charisma and contacts of its leader to accomplish its work till date, and is in danger of letting its good work go to waste now that its leader is departing.
  4. The Green Festival’s main tasks ahead are: to streamline its offerings, to reach out effectively to new audiences without diluting its core messages, and to employ the right leader to spearhead these changes in a sustainable manner.

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