Have you ever heard of a book called Eats, Shoots and Leaves?

The premise of the book, by author Lynne Truss, is to “remind readers of the importance of punctuation.”

The book’s title comes from a (potentially bad) joke on punctuation:

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

‘Why?’ asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

‘Well, I’m a panda,’ he says, at the door. ‘Look it up.’

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. ‘Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.’

I have to admit I’ve never read Ms. Truss’ book, but I do often think of its title whenever I’m writing.

Clearly it’s meant to serve as a reminder of the importance of punctuation. But more than that, I think of this book when I need a good reminder of the importance of language itself.

Here’s an example:

Since moving back to the Bay Area, I have been very pleased to see so many options to recycle and compost. After living in the Northeast for a couple of years, it’s almost shocking to be able to recycle as much as I can in California, not to mention the number of restaurants, businesses and events that offer the option to compost.

While my enthusiasm remains high, I’ve now been given the option to compost often enough that I have one major request:

Keep it simple.

How many times have you been at an event and needed to throw away a plastic cup? You head toward the garbage area and realize you actually have three options: throw it away, recycle it, or compost.

Most likely you’ve seen a sign that looks a lot like this:

You could just toss the cup in the garbage, but you have a feeling that it goes somewhere else. What kind of plastic is it? Can it be recycled? Or is it made out of a plant-based material, for instance, that can be composted?

If you’re like me, you stand there – practically paralyzed – knowing that whatever decision you make could be the wrong one.

Eventually, you peek into the depths of each bin, see where other people have left their cups, and dump yours in there too.

To make matters worse, at each event, or each restaurant, the rules seem to change! What’s recyclable at one place can be composted at another – or can’t be recycled at all.

What’s a concerned recycler supposed to do?

Of course some of the confusion comes down to a lack of coordinated standards across cities and towns. Whether it’s local government policy, or the ability of your local waste management company to recycle various items, some of it really is geography-specific.

Still, let’s pause a moment and think about Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

At the end of the day, how you choose to communicate your message – literally, the words, punctuation, and images you use – influences how people understand and respond to the point you’re trying to make.

I’ve found a couple of real-life examples that I think really drive the point home.

A few weeks ago I was at Fairfax Scoop, an ice cream shop in Fairfax, CA, when I spotted this sign on the trash can:

The message here is clear and understandable: “Lift this lid, and you’re sending stuff to the landfill.” And, for the folks who want to know more, they’ve included a few short and sweet ways that everyone can make more sustainable ice cream choices (Idea #2, the edible waffle bowl instead of a paper cup, was by far my favorite).

Still, leave it to well-known design firm IDEO to make the best signage I’ve seen so far. I had the chance to visit their San Francisco office last week, and at one point I needed a trip to the ladies room.

I repeat: this sign was in the bathroom.

And yet, I was so taken aback by its simplicity that I just had to take a picture.

Imagine a normal trash bin (aka: Landfill), with another silver bin labeled Compost standing next to it (not pictured).

In between both bins was this sign:

This was a no brainer. I had two options: put my paper towels in the garbage (and send it straight to landfill) or compost instead. The sign, placed directly above the compost bin, gave me clear instructions so I knew just what to do. For practically the first time ever, I knew exactly where to put my hand towel.

Just to make sure, I peeked into the compost bin – and sure enough, it was filled with paper towels. For comparison I looked into the trash can – and it was empty.

I walked out of the ladies room feeling unusually pleased that I had made the right choice (not to mention having even more respect for IDEO’s communication and design skills).

Now ok, you can argue that hand towel signage is not the same thing as trying to get thousands of event-goers to put their biodegradable utensils in the compost bin.

But imagine if every business, every cafeteria, and every concert found a way to communicate more thoughtfully and clearly with people?

At the end of the day, I really believe that people want to do the right thing. They want to recycle, they want to divert waste from the landfill, and they want to make smart consumption choices. But they need guidance.

The next time you’re planning a call to action – even if it’s just in the bathroom – think about Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

What message are you trying to communicate? To whom are you talking? And how can you keep it simple?

Last week The New York Times published an article called “But Will it Make You Happy?” and it quickly made the rounds among my friends and family. 

The article centers on the idea that “Conspicuous Consumption” – or the idea of buying “without regard” – is out.

Instead, Americans today are not only consuming (and spending) less, but also changing how they do it.

Rather than spending on material goods like couches and cars, people these days are focusing on “experience” spending; that is, on weekend getaways, nice dinners, or basically anything that can create memories.

Interestingly enough, this shift in where and how people consume doesn’t just mean they’re saving money in a tough economy. In fact, it’s more than that: “Current research suggests that, unlike consumption of material goods, spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds, which in turn helps amplify happiness.”

That’s right – as people are choosing to shift their spending habits away from material goods and towards memory-making experiences, they’re actually happier!

The article goes on to say: “People are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses.”

For me, the idea of trying to outdo the Joneses especially resonated. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest “must-have” gadget, the newest electronics, or the most stylish outfit. I’ll admit it: this is definitely something I struggle with sometimes.

But, like the people profiled in the article, these days I’m really trying to be more thoughtful and present when I make purchases. Whether it’s deciding not to go shopping for new clothes (when I already have a full closet) or choosing to go out to a nice dinner rather than buy a new ipod, I’ve definitely seen my own personal shift in spending.

And like the article says, I feel better about my life, my health and my relationships because of it.

That said, one thing The New York Times article fails to mention – and that for me personally has been crucially important in my spending shift – is the rising awareness among consumers relating to the environmental impact of their consumption.

Instead of conspicuous consumption, you might say we’ve entered a time of Conscious Consumption. These days, many American consumers are thinking carefully about the products they buy, the food they eat, the cars they drive and the homes they live in – not just because of their desire to spend less, but because of the waste and excess that come with these purchases.

I mean, seriously – if Oprah’s talking about conscious consumption, you know the American public is too!

In this way, I believe The New York Times article missed one important piece in the puzzle. Yes, we’re changing the way we spend and what we spend on – and it’s partly because of the economy, that’s true. But I believe we’re also consuming differently because we know that our choice to buy bigger and live bigger just isn’t sustainable.

The good news is, whether you shift your consumption habits for Mother Earth, or for your wallet, I do agree with The New York Times on one point: it will definitely make you happier. Give it a try!

One of many scenic views on our cross country drive.

This time last year I was just starting a week-long intensive MBA course on Global Sustainability.

The class – which covered everything from green technology innovation to social entrepreneurship – really focused on three distinct environmental challenges: Food, Water and Energy.

If there was one major takeaway from that week of class, it’s that these three issues are inextricably linked. You can’t solve our water scarcity issues, for instance, without taking a hard look at American meat consumption.

When it comes down to it, food, water and energy are the building blocks of sustainability.

A year later, the ideas and questions from that class popped into my head – this time on our two week drive cross country from Boston to San Francisco. Over the course of 16 days, my husband Dan and I traveled through 19 states, making stops in the following cities:

• Berkeley Heights, NJ
• Nags Head, NC
• Charleston, SC
• Savannah, GA
• New Orleans, LA
• Abilene, TX
• Alamogordo, NM
• Santa Fe, NM
• Moab, UT
• Bryce Canyon, UT
• Ely, NV
• Lake Tahoe, CA
• San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

Needless to say, we saw a lot of America in just over two weeks!

Our goal for the trip was to say off the Interstate wherever we could; thankfully, outside of an incredibly long drive across I-20 in Texas, we managed to stick to smaller, two-lane roads for most of the trip.

Choosing this “off the beaten path” route served a couple of purposes. First (and perhaps selfishly), the drive seemed a lot more pleasant when we weren’t staring at concrete overpasses or stuck in commuter traffic. But secondly, and more importantly, getting off the main roads helped us get a better sense of what the United States actually looks like.

While we might have ended each day’s drive in a bigger city or town, we spent most of our days exploring roadside villages and small towns intersected by a tiny highway. And while it’s perhaps cliche to say how big our country really is – I have to admit, the U.S. really is huge!

Beyond size, though, spending two weeks on the road is a sure way to better understand just how economically, politically, and culturally diverse the U.S. really is.

Diversity of opinion in Ely, NV.

The people, the food, the social issues – each small town and each big city clearly had its own priorities and culture, which made our trip incredibly eye-opening.

(Honestly, it’s no wonder people have trouble finding common ground on big picture issues like government, politics, and immigration – our country is simply filled with too many people who believe in too many different things!)

Yet at the same time, since our trip ended it’s actually been pretty easy to look back and identify some commonalities among all of those differences.

While I can’t back up any of the following assertions with hard facts, census data, or research studies, I can say that, in my heart of hearts, I believe there are some very clear and very common issues that our country is facing.

Once again, it all comes down to Food, Water and Energy.

A dollar store on Main Street.

Access to Fresh Food: A while back I saw a PBS news segment on Food Deserts – that is, locations throughout the U.S. where 50% or more of the population has low access to supermarkets. After driving through some of the most rural and economically depressed areas in the country, I can now say I’ve seen these Food Deserts with my own eyes.

For those of you with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s on practically every corner, you might be surprised (as I was) to visit places with absolutely no grocery stores in sight. Yet this was the reality we observed in many of the towns we visited on our trip.

We went in expecting “Main Street USA” to be filled with Mom and Pop retail stores, pharmacies and restaurants – a local flavor, if you will. Instead, what we found were Hardees, McDonalds, Sonic Burger, and Dollar General stores (not to mention the Pay Day Lending agents offering outrageous interest rates, but that’s for another post).

This got us thinking: We managed to do ok on the road with our cooler in the backseat filled with bread and cold cuts (sourced from the occasional Walmart when we were lucky to find one). But we were just “passing through”. What about the people who actually live – and try to feed their families – in these small communities? Where do they get fresh food? What are their options beyond fast food, or even dollar stores selling pre-packaged dinners?

Needless to say, the potential answers to these questions were very troubling.

Water: While water-scarcity was a common theme (especially in the hotels we visited in New Mexico and the Utah desert), what worried me the most was actually access to clean, filtered water.

As road trippers with reusable water bottles, we were always on the lookout for places to fill up our water supplies – which means we got to sample quite a bit of local water.

As we made our way through the country, and especially through Texas and into New Mexico, we started noticing an odd taste in our drinking water. Soon, what started out as a bit “earthy” actually became so dirty and foul-tasting that we opted to buy a couple of bottles.

Now I can’t say for sure that this water wasn’t drinkable, but it certainly made me pause, especially after having made it through our own recent boil water order in Boston.

Water is something we often don’t pay attention to – until we can’t find any.

As someone used to being able to chug freely from the tap, I was reminded on this trip just how precious – and tenuous – our relationship with clean water in this country really is.

Energy: Energy was also top of mind for me, especially as we drove through Texas and saw countless wind farms (exciting) and oil wells (ick) dotting the landscape. Not to mention having to fill up our gas tank everyday. Nothing like a cross country drive to remind you how reliant we all are on oil!

Speaking of oil, there was simply no way to drive through the Gulf Coast and not think about the recent BP Oil Spill. While I think I will save my complete thoughts on the oil spill for a later post, I will say that being “on the ground” in the South reminded me of how complicated this issue is for people.

Yes, BP seriously screwed up – and as an environmentalist the whole situation makes me beyond angry.

But the side of the story that people don’t often consider is that oil is not just a big business – it’s a big employer for American workers, and a big supporter of local economies.

As our host in New Orleans explained to us, if BP pulls out of the Gulf, “what will happen to all of local restaurants and businesses – and their employees – that exist simply to support BP?”

A tough question, indeed.

While Food, Water and Energy were big questions for me throughout our trip, I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful our country is – and how welcoming, resilient and friendly people are.

We may not agree on everything – and we may approach sustainability in different ways – but we are one amazing country.

If you haven’t yet driven cross country – what are you waiting for?!

The Jablows on the road.

Hello everyone!

I am back from my cross country road trip and happy to report I am officially based in the San Francisco Bay Area again.

I have many stories to share from the road, but before I recap my trip, I wanted to give a quick plug for my friend and fellow Twitterer Aman Singh Das, Corporate Responsibility Editor of Vault.com.

For anyone who participates in the CSR community on Twitter, Aman’s name and her work on Vault.com and the In Good Company blog will definitely ring a bell. I first met Aman a few months ago when she was interested in publishing one of my CSR job search posts.

Our paths crossed again a few weeks later when she reached out to me for an interview. Curious about how MBA graduates are faring in their CSR job search, Aman decided to write what she called an “intergenerational study” of MBAs who want to create change in business.

Included in my interview cohort were MBAs from Case Western, Marlboro College and UC Irvine (including my friend Geetanjali Singh). The unifying theme for all of the interview subjects was our interest in finding a job in corporate social responsibility.

Here’s what Aman had to say about her report:

Over the next two weeks, I will be publishing interviews with each of the graduates, providing you with in depth insights into their worlds and their progress—or lack of it—in finding employment in their chosen field. Each of the graduates left behind stable, well-paid careers—ranging from IT, programming, and nonprofit fund raising—to strike out in a field they feel truly passionate about. Will they sacrifice that passion for CSR in favor of employment? And if not, how long are they willing to search for that perfect job, and what alternatives exist in the marketplace?

I am so thrilled to have taken part in such an interesting inside look into how MBAs are finding their way in the field of corporate social responsibility. Thanks Aman for including me in your study!

Since I thought this content would be of interest to readers of The Changebase, I’ve provided links to all of Aman’s great reports, including the full transcript from her interview with me.

I hope you enjoy!

-Ashley

• Job Hunting in CSR: What’s Next for These MBA Graduates?
• Part 1: Will the Recession Serve as a Tipping Point for Corporate Responsibility?
• Part 2: Connecting Corporate Responsibility with Career Objectives.
• Part 3: After All is Said and Done, Where Are the Jobs?
• Career Change: Leveraging Business School to Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Corporate Sustainability (My Full Interview with Aman)
• Readers Respond: The Evolution of CSR and What Might Be Next.

To get there, we’ve decided to take two weeks and drive cross country. After all, after two years of business school, I think we’re both in need of a little vacation!

For anyone who’s curious, here’s our proposed route:

Although it’s definitely going to be nice to unplug and take a break, that doesn’t mean The Changebase will go silent. My hope is to blog from the road – and I’m sure that there will be plenty of inspiration along the way.

I’m especially curious to see how areas along the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans, are faring in the wake of the BP Oil Spill. While that might be my most obvious story, I’m generally just curious to see how local communities throughout the U.S. are approaching issues like recycling, local food, education and public transportation.

Should be an incredibly fun and eye-opening trip! In the meantime, I hope you had a great Fourth of July and that you’re enjoying the summer.

See you from the road,

-Ashley and Dan

Our first road trip picture!

Things have been a little light on The Changebase recently, as I’ve traded my school books and CSR projects for cardboard boxes and packing tape.

Yep, the Jablows are leaving Boston and heading back to the San Francisco Bay Area, where we’ll both be based while we look for jobs and get settled again on the West Coast.

As my husband Dan and I prepare to pack up our apartment, we’re trying to be as discerning as possible with what we keep and ship back West. If it hasn’t been worn, used or enjoyed in the last few months, we’re getting rid of it.

This has been a tough challenge to give ourselves (and not just because it means parting with my “favorite” clothes that I, ahem, never wear anymore).

No, it’s been tough because it’s hard to know how best to dispose of everything we no longer want.

As cliché as it might sound, I care about protecting our environment. I fret over trees being cut down to make my notebook paper; I’m vigilant about turning off my lights when not in use; and when it comes to this move, I worry that every single scrap I throw out is going to end up in a landfill (or worse, someplace like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch).

What’s amazing is just how much stuff we seem to have collected – not just since we moved to Boston two years ago, but since who knows when! The amount of paper, trinkets, clothing and other items we’ve managed to accumulate is staggering.

In an effort to be responsible movers, we’ve taken a proactive approach to ensuring that as little as possible actually ends up as trash. Here’s how:

First, we were lucky to have access to basement storage where we could save all of our cardboard boxes from our last move. So, no new boxes – which is great.

Next, when it comes to determining what goes in those boxes, we sorted everything into three categories: “Keep, Donate, or Sell.”

For donations, our main go-to is the Goodwill. As you probably know, all new or gently used items donated to Goodwill are sold in their retail stores to support community initiatives that help people in need.

Beyond Goodwill, Dan and I recently discovered Buffalo Exchange as another place to donate and sell our clothes. We brought in a bunch of stuff to our local Buffalo Exchange the other day – some of it got bought by the store (which earned us a store credit and some cash) but most of it got donated, in this case to a local epilepsy society. The coolest part? When we used our store credit but said no to a plastic bag for our new items, the store gave us 5c to donate to a local charity of our choosing. Might not seem like a whole lot, but it turns out this “Tokens for Bags” program has led to almost $358,000 donated to local nonprofits since 1994 and saved 7.2 million plastic bags. And it definitely left us feeling the warm fuzzies.

For other donated items beyond clothes and accessories, we’re just starting to try out Freecycle. Started in 2003 in Arizona, Freecycle keeps everyday items out of landfills and puts them into the hands of happy freecyclers. Simply sign up for your local chapter, browse current listings to see what people are giving away, or put up an ad for something you no longer want. In just one day, I’ve seen postings for TVs, tennis rackets, baby toys, even couches! By their estimates, the Freecycle program is keeping 500 tons a day out of landfills.

Besides donations, we’re making good use of for-sale sites like Craigslist and eBay for our furniture, electronics, and other household goods. After all, why not make a little money to pay for our upcoming cross country road trip?

While we’re trying to be smart about finding new homes for our things here in Boston, I still deal with a nagging uneasiness around what happens when we get to California. Selling our couch in Boston means it won’t go to a landfill, but eventually we will need something to sit on in our new apartment out West. Which leaves me wondering:

How can we not only responsibly dispose of things now, but also responsibly consume in the future?

I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that question because, in many ways, consumption is a necessary evil. We all need beds to sleep on, clothes to wear, and food to eat. That said, how much more do we need?

At the end of the day, I do think it’s about being conscious with our purchases and not just blindly handing over our credit cards. It’s about understanding our options for buying new versus used, and making use of sites like Freecycle or eBay to help us find hidden gems.

Ultimately, it’s about prioritizing what we really need over what we really want.

This doesn’t have to mean sacrificing our comfort for the sake of sustainability. But it does mean putting in a little extra effort and research to make smarter purchase decisions.

I’m very aware of the irony of donating or selling everything now, only to go out and buy it again later. And yes, some of that may happen. But I’m also going to do my best to be more of a conscious consumer going forward and make smarter, more responsible choices.

I encourage you to take a look around your home or apartment sometime and ask yourself: how much of your stuff is really necessary? Maybe it’s time for a little spring cleaning?

One of the best things about being in grad school and conducting a job search is getting to do informational interviews.

As an MBA student I had the opportunity to connect with and ask questions of professionals in CSR, philanthropy, social enterprise and sustainable business. Luckily, even though business school is over, I’m still able to call on friends and others in my network for in-person coffees, lunch dates and phone calls.

In total I’ve met with probably 80 people over the last year and a half – definitely a good sample size! Why do I do it?

First and foremost, these conversations are a lot of fun – I enjoy talking to people and hearing their own stories about the career choices, successes, and even mistakes they’ve made along the way.

But more than that, it’s a great learning opportunity. As someone trying to carve out my own path and figure out my next steps, I find it incredibly helpful to get other people’s perspectives and advice.

What’s funny is that even though I talk to someone different each time, the advice I receive is often similar from conversation to conversation.

For example, I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times people have told me: “If you want to work “in-house” in a corporate responsibility team, get a functional job first (ie: marketing, strategy etc) and work your way in to a CSR job later.” (Seriously – if you also want to work in CSR, I can’t stress enough how often this bit of wisdom has come up in conversation!)

Sometimes I get frustrated hearing the same thing over and over again. Yet other times the messenger relays the advice in a way that’s just different enough to make it stick.

The best and most recent example was a phone call I had last week with a woman who previously worked in CSR communications and reporting at a major consumer products company. As is customary for most of my conversations, I ended our talk by asking what advice she might have for me as someone who wants to get into the field.

Her response: “Think about what you love.”

Now ok, I’ll admit it: at first I rolled my eyes a little. I have definitely heard this one before! Still, she pressed on: “Don’t think about what brand you want to work for,” she cautioned, “or what function you want to work in. Instead, think about what you love to do, what you love to talk about – and find a job doing that.”

What’s funny is that even though this idea wasn’t new, the way in which this woman said it really resonated.

Since our talk last week I have challenged myself to identify what I really love. And to be honest, it’s not a simple question to answer!

Think about it this way – how often do you ever give yourself the freedom and the space to actually stop and think through what you love to do, what you love to learn about, or what you love to share with others? And how often to you actually bring what you love to work?

Some people know right out of the gate what it is they love. For me, I’ll admit it – I’m still working on it. But I guess, in the end, that’s the point.

People like us – that is, people who are motivated to make change in our communities and have an impact on the world – have to follow our hearts. That’s really, in my opinion, the only way we’ll actually be sure that we successfully accomplish what we set out to do!

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the importance that enthusiasm and passion can play in our jobs. Instead, we focus on salary, title, or prestige. I know as a recent graduate it’s been easy for me to get hung up on these issues.

At the end of the day, though, I think we’re all actually motivated by questions of greater value:

• Do we feel satisfied at work?
• Are we having the impact we wanted or hoped for?
• Do we need to explore something new?

Ultimately, it comes down to figuring out your passions – that is, the things that make you feel complete and fulfilled – and finding ways to make them your life’s work.

And yes, often this is easier said than done. Many of us have family or other commitments that make it tough to simply “follow our bliss” all of the time. But my hope is that you will take just a moment to sit quietly, listen to your heart, and figure out what you love. I know that’s my goal right now and I’ll be sure to update you when I have some answers.

In the meantime, my job is to find a job. And hopefully that job will touch upon those things I love – once I know what they are!

Well folks – I’m all done with business school!

After a whirlwind week of celebrations – and just a little pomp and circumstance – the dust is finally settling and life is returning to normal (although, one quick plug, I’m still looking for a job!)

But before we close this chapter completely, I wanted to share a quick story.

My mom was in town for graduation, and practically as soon as her plane touched down, she told me she needed to go to a book store. She wouldn’t tell me why.

After a day or two of being reminded regularly of her need to get to a book store, I finally gave in and took her to the closest one I could find. Once there, she bolted away on her quest – leaving me to hang out in the New Releases section and wait for her.

A few minutes later she came bounding back toward me with a bright red book in her hand. In big black letters, striking on the red background, it read: The MBA Oath.

“This,” she said, “is what I wanted to get you.”

The MBA Class of 2010 was just beginning its first year of school when the Financial Crisis really started to accelerate in September 2008.

I remember sitting in finance class when, in the throes of the biggest crash since the Great Depression, my professor decided to skip the theory and formulas and instead devote big blocks of time to breaking down what exactly had happened. It was an engrossing and overwhelming conversation, to say the least.

As the magnitude of the Crisis became clearer, my classmates and I found ourselves faced with an uncomfortable truth: many of the people responsible for this financial collapse were also MBAs.   

Suddenly, everywhere I turned there seemed to be a debate over whether the MBA curriculum had anything to do with this. What role did business education play, people wondered, in churning out managers whose only motive was short-term (and short-sighted) gain?

And, by extension, many asked: Is the MBA a degree to be trusted?

As a fresh-faced first year student, this was a tough pill to swallow. I came to business school to put new tools in my tool kit, to strengthen my analytical and leadership skills – not so I could follow in the footsteps of those irresponsible managers. We all know the saying, “one bad apple spoils the bunch” – and I felt like a handful of bad apples had spoiled it for all of us.

Throughout that first year of school, the question of ethics in business decision making was a constant theme. As students we were challenged by our professors, and by each other, to consider what steps we could and would take to ensure we did not follow the example set by those “bad apples.”

Around the same time, Harvard Business School student Max Anderson and his classmates launched what they called the MBA Oath, a “voluntary pledge for graduating MBAs and current MBAs to create value responsibly and ethically.”

Considered “a Hippocratic oath for business,” the MBA Oath outlines principles and actions each signer must uphold, from accurate reporting to ensuring the health and dignity of employees. You can read the full language of the Oath here.

While it was originally started as a Harvard campus initiative, the MBA Oath has now reached students worldwide and claims over 3,000 signatures from schools and students. Which brings us back to my mom and the book store.

Max and co-author Peter Escher have just released an accompanying book – a guide that not only tells the story of the Oath, but that also takes a look at classic MBA case studies through the lens of business ethics.

It looks like a fascinating read, and you can bet it’s at the top of my summer reading list.

When I reflect back on the education I received over the last two years, I can see now to what extent my thinking and learning has been framed by the Financial Crisis – and ultimately by the short-sighted and dangerous decisions made by people who chose to put profit above all else.

As this year’s class of MBA graduates enters the workforce, we must prepare ourselves to face choices, scenarios and decisions that may seem to pull us in opposite directions. Charged with balancing short-term gain and long-term thinking, we’ll continually be asked to make tough decisions and weigh the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders.

Tools like the MBA Oath can help guide us in our choices – but in the end I believe they are only tools. Ultimately the decision to use both our heads and our hearts is ours alone.

As you go out in to the professional world – whether you’re a newly-minted MBA or a “gray-haired” professional – I ask you to remember to always pack your moral compass with you.

Milton Friedman might have said “the business of business is business” – but I argue it’s about much more than that.

Yes, the goal of business is to make money. But at what cost?

I’m incredibly pleased to announce that May marks the one year anniversary of The Changebase!

It’s amazing to think that what started out as just a small experiment has actually become one of the most fulfilling projects I’ve ever worked on.

The Changebase has not only been a great vehicle to learn and share ideas, but it has given me an incredible opportunity to meet and connect with people doing great work in our communities and around the world.

I have been overwhelmed by the interest people have shown in my writing and I so appreciate all of the feedback, advice and support each of you has given me.

I’m definitely looking forward to Year Two!

In the spirit of celebrating, I thought I’d create a “Top Ten” list for my most favorite* posts from the last year. Enjoy and thanks again!

-Ashley

The Changebase Top Ten

10. It’s Too Late to be a Pessimist

9. Diary of an Intern: My Summer in Corporate Giving

8. Defining Local

7. What Yoga Can Teach Us About Sustainability

6. Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

5. The Challenge of Translating Sustainability

4. High Risk, High Reward

3. Want a CSR Job? Read This First.

2. The Value of Storytelling

1. Request from a CSR Job Seeker 

*In this context “favorite” means: the posts I most enjoyed writing, as well as the ones that were most popular with readers and on Twitter.

Let’s face it: sustainability can be a challenging topic for many people to understand.

For example, when you hear someone on the news or in business talk about alternative energy or cap and trade policy, can you honestly say you understand it all?

I’ll go out on a limb and admit that when I hear the word “carbon,” I sometimes struggle to pay attention – let alone understand what’s being discussed. That’s why tools like Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff are so powerful – they take complicated subjects and translate them into everyday, actionable language.

This idea – the challenge of translating sustainability – was front and center for me at this week’s Ceres Conference: “Roadmap for a Sustainable Future.” Let me explain.

Ceres is a well-known and well-respected national network of investors, environmental organizations, companies, and other public interest groups working together to address issues of sustainability.

This year’s Conference included a number of interesting panels – covering topics like sustainability reporting, environmental policy, corporate governance, and energy. As a challenge, I decided to stay away from familiar topics (like social media for CSR) and instead really immerse myself in learning about issues I’m not as familiar with.

Over the course of the day, I sat in on two sessions:

• Tiers of influence: driving change throughout the supply chain, and
• The ripple effect: exploring financial risks along the water value chain.

When it comes to supply chain and water issues, I would call myself “an experienced novice” – so it was exciting to hear and learn about the work that companies, NGOs and investors are doing in these two areas.

And, I’m pleased to say, it’s clear that they really are doing work.

From the open source, apparel “eco-index” created by the Outdoor Industry Association, to the water management system implemented by Molson-Coors Brewery, I was pleased to learn that these organizations are truly digging into some very important sustainability challenges – and that they’re actually driving change in their business and in their communities.

Yet throughout the panels, I kept wondering about how these organizations communicate, and perhaps more importantly, translate the value and importance of this work to “everyday” people like you and me.

Transparency kept coming up as a central theme throughout the day. Apparel manufacturers talked about how the internet has transformed information sharing, while water utilities talked about the importance of explaining where water comes from and how we use it. (Seriously, if I could have collected $1 for every time “transparency” was used in conversation, I might not be rich, but I could certainly go out to nice dinner!)

Yet, in my opinion, talking about transparency just isn’t enough.

The way I see it, there’s a big empty space that exists on the spectrum between companies and consumers – and in theory, transparency is supposed to fill this gap. “Transparency,” after all, as it is used in a sustainability context, is meant as a proxy for information sharing, for education, and perhaps even engagement.

The issue, though, is that being transparent is really not the same thing as providing education. Disclosure of information doesn’t do any good if no one explains to me what I should do with that information.

What are companies doing, I asked myself, to educate and inform me and others about why I should care? This “next step” in transparency was missing from the conversation – and while some might argue that it’s beyond the scope of a conference like Ceres, I would disagree.

Companies clearly need to enlist the help of their stakeholders in order to achieve their sustainability goals – they simply cannot do it alone.

But if, for example, I’m not supposed to buy clothes made from cotton sourced in Uzbekistan (a country currently engaging in forced child labor in the cotton industry), I need companies to explain this to me in ways that are understandable, resonant, and actionable. In essence, I need companies to translate their sustainability programs and activities into language I can understand.

Transparency in theory is important – and it’s certainly a topic on everyone’s mind these days. But transparency without action, engagement, and most importantly translation, just won’t work.

I was encouraged to learn about a new website created by Anvil Knitwear that’s trying to close that gap I was talking about by providing education to children about organic cotton. Seeing the site made me wonder what other examples of powerful consumer education tools might exist.

What you have seen or used that has translated a company’s sustainability program into language that makes sense and moves you to act? I’d love to hear your ideas.