I`ve been working in the green industry for the past eight years. As a participant, I’ve attended, and also held dozens of green events, seminars, conferences in key industries. I helplessly watched both solar and LED industries have been striving toward bubbles in just few years. Nearly everyone I`ve known in the industry shares the same characteristics, confident and mission-based. Every time when events come to an end, people encourage each other with passion, “Taiwan would definitely be better if we keep pushing forward.” These people truly believe they are doing the right thing.
Despite the never-give-up attitude, the green industry is still struggling. No one really cares about green, people would rather spend time on PokemonGo, or find jobs in gaming industry, than in green industry.
Why is that? If we are really doing the right thing, why is green industry, as a whole, so irrelevant?
Some senior professionals in the green industry told me that it is due to the restrictions of policies and regulations that are stopping the industry from moving forward. Some environmentalists told me that most companies only care about profit. They produce hazardous products to the environment and care nothing about sustainability. Some environmental educators told me that it is due to the lack of environmental education, people are simply not aware of the consequences of their actions.
Rome is not built in one day, these issues are all sticky and fundamental. However, if we, the pioneers insist on doing what we do now, and we are convinced that the green industry is one of the key industrial transformation for Taiwan for the next decades, we should reflect what we have done wrong, correct them, and expand our vision. The really change can only start with ourselves.
Where should we start from? There are three basic starting points,
1. a brand new way to do green marketing,
2. invest in a strong team full of green talents,
3. friend with investors
You might think, this is so simple, there are just about marketing, human resources, and finance, everyone knows it, let alone to say you are not in my position.
There is an upside for “not in your position”, I can see things that you can’t see. And to avoid selective perception, we, Green Impact Academy, recruit experienced mentors from a variety of sectors to contribute their views and aspirations. Some are experts with solid experiences, some are entrepreneurs, executives, or initiators. They will share their systematic insights regarding three topics, green marketing, green talent, and green finance. We would specifically emphasize on global trend, business opportunities, tools and roadmap which can be helpful to green start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. We would cover a whole range of green sectors like, green buildings, energy, renewable energies, energy information and communication technology, recycling and renewable resources, green vehicles, organic farming, organic foods, water resource, and green services.
It has only been a decade since we started to reflect the purpose of a business, and to improve their environmental performance toward their sustainability objectives. It is probably not a place where you can find a panacea for all green industry development problems, but if you follow the steps of mentors of Green Impact Academy, move forward with an open mind, you will waste no time on making the same mistakes. Through efforts from generations to generations, all companies will become green companies, all industries will become green industries. We are born to participate and shape the change, to make economic growth environmentally sustainable. This is the future we should invest in.