Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home within, under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out at the door… – Hesiod. “Works and Days”. Translated by H.G. Evelyn-White
Our planet is changing. Summer’s baking heat radiates outward, replacing spring and autumn’s temperate days. Summer’s nights are darker as fewer fireflies twinkle through the air. Winter’s chill creeps deeper into our homes, yet a white Christmas feels as distant as the film’s release. Smoke in the air shifts our thoughts to year-round wildfires instead of summer’s campfire songs or winter’s cozy fireplaces. We feel the consequences of Pandora’s curiosity and search for solutions to prevent catastrophe.
Sustainability requires both audacity and patience, not sudden impacts and big results. Sustainability needs time to manifest into discernible differences. It’s deliberate, like Nature herself. Soil and sun and water on a seed don’t become a towering redwood in a week – but after a dozen decades or so, a titan gives life, shelter, and shade to all around it. What we do today is not for tomorrow, but tomorrow’s tomorrow. We start by making the ground ready. We start by planting seeds.
Sustainability is not a new conversation for our industry. Sixty million annual attendees create over a billion pounds of garbage – brochures left behind and tchotchkes that didn’t fit in the suitcase. Acres of flooring and shale oil turned into shag carpet are used briefly before finding the dumpsters still full after the previous event. Trucks and planes, idling on docks and flying across the country, move people and exhibits over great distances at great cost to the environment. All of this has been known for decades. But now, our commitment to it and our clients’ commitment is pressing and real.
It’s time to answer the calls to make changes, to be bold in our steps to innovate, and to be stewards of the environment. How? We address our materials, suppliers, processes, and facilities for sustainable solutions. We change our behaviors and company cultures to be more conscious and inclusive. We reach into our communities to build relationships, preparing the next generation to be the leaders they will need to be. We do this because we can. We do this because we must. The next generation has already been saddled with the consequences of our changing world, but it’s not their sole responsibility. The steps we take now are for future generations, our hopes for them, and their hopes for those who follow.
When we build within our communities, we build trust in the future. When we belong to companies that earn that trust, we foster the indomitable spirit that comes from belonging to something greater than ourselves. When we create spaces for diverse discussion and inclusive thought, we produce solutions that will stand the tests to come. When we become mentors, we build on the knowledge of the past with innovation towards the future. When we build these cultures and relationships, we shape leaders who have value in their voices and a readiness to use them. We build hope when we inspire leaders within the next generation and the new workforce.
The ancient Greek proverb reads, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” Why do they do it? Hope.
Go plant some trees.
This blog is part of Sam Ogren’s “Workforce Solutions” series. To follow along, be sure to check out the Workforce Solutions category on our blog menu.