Surfing my email this morning, I read "Climate Change is a challenge to the field of organization development (or insert your profession here) What can we do?", on a listserv from Organization Development Network. It was uttered by Bill Gellerman. Yep, I agree with Bill.
I think there are different levels that we can work at, and all are valuable and a difference that makes a difference.
1. practical – When engaging a social system (society, organization, community, network) , encourage the inclusion of the environment as a stakeholder – To give you an example, some dreamfishies are doing an Appreciative Inquiry for Sustainability project, in which we use the arts as processes to interview organizational members (humans being fundamentally interconnected and part of our larger ecosystem) about how Dreamfish's vision and strategy should include the environment. The project serves also as research into how to include environment as stakeholder and as a service learning project, for fifteen consultants to learn by doing.
2. personal – Learn and do. There are over 1300 climate change events in the U.S. on April 14th and Earth Day on April 22. Lower your personal ecological footprint. Calculate your footprint at Myfootprint.org. You can offset the carbons produced from your car.
3. professional – If you are self-employed or manage an operational unit or you have work expenses, lower the ecological footprint of your own business, become carbon-neutral (see examples below), and then teach your client groups or other people how you do it.
4. theoretical – Social researchers, let's roll up our sleeves! The models and theories that inform the professions are human-centered, and need some serious rehauling at the level of what is reality and knowledge. I find that researching the linkeage between subjectivity, knowledge-creation and social environmental justice is a powerful leverage point to then work out new ways of practice.
So, how do you answer this question, What can I do about climate change?
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