July 15, 2009
Role of Social Media in Sustainability Evolves
As twitter, Facebook and other social networks continue to grab share of consumers’ time spent online – whether at a computer or via mobilephone – companies would do well to consider how to tap into the broad reach of these platforms in communicating their progress on sustainability and the environment.
An estimated 110 million Americans, more than a third of the population, regularly use online social networks, reports MediaPost, citing data from Anderson Analytics. Males are more likely to use social networks for business and their career, with 32….
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Reader Comments
I believe that social networking is just as important, if not more so, for building ‘virtual’ teams and communities to develop & implement programs both within and outside of organizations / industries. When one considers the extent and reach of a sustainability program; the range of skills required across multiple business processes; and nascent stage of sustainability solution development, it seems logical that social networking platforms and tools fill a critical need to bring disparate groups / individuals together.
How are sustainability professionals interacting, sharing knowledge, and organizing for solution development and deployment? Here are some current approaches:
- Discipline – related: civil / environmental engineering (ACEC, ASCE, AWWA), Sustainable MBAs, etc
- Business process – related: supply chain management, process optimization, procurement, product management
Industry groups: LEED, AIA, AGC, buildSMART, and other buildings initiatives for architects and engineering design professionals
- Regional groups: such as those in NY, Boston, India, and Silicon Valley; where there is an abundance of educated professionals with significant interest and expertise in relevant business processes
- On – line networks, such as groups set up in Plaxo, Ning, LinkedIn, Virid.us, Facebook, and Yahoo.
I have written articles on “Why the Sustainability Community needs Social Networking” on Environmental News Network (ENN) and TriplePundit; check out the following link:
http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/commentary/37849
I also post on my blog about business models for social networking sites in this space; please see my website link.
Scott Boutwell | July 18th, 2009
Social media also has some great opportunities to help break down the barriers for organizations in developing countries and all small business to be more sustainable. We are developing a collaborative sustainability standard for how companies develop an integrated sustainability program. As its being developed with open source software it’s free to download and use. Some standards can be costly for organizations so we hope to develop a quality one accessible for all.
Angela McClowry | July 22nd, 2009
Wow I totally agree thats so true when you think about it cuz why not use something that promotes messages so quickly and actually be able to portray waht you want to say…..does anyone know where to find an article about this stuff?
Crosby luver | October 5th, 2010