Hairshirts, Rattlesnakes, and Shoelaces: Toward A Net Positive Movement

Net Positive is an emerging concept and practice in corporate sustainability that is inspiring companies to transform their business models to design negative social and environmental impacts out of their products and processes, while simultaneously optimizing positive social and environmental impacts. As this movement burgeons globally, key players in the ecosystem convened a virtual dialogue over 5 days in early September 2015 to discuss key challenges and opportunities for further building the movement. As part of a new joint offering of Sustainable Brands and Convetit, Co-Curators Bill Baue and Ralph Thurm facilitated this dialogue in a digital ThinkTank and then distilled the key takeaways into this eBook.

"This weeklong virtual dialogue on Convetit helped connect that community across time and space in ways that are difficult if not impossible to achieve using traditional methods,” wrote Claudine Blamey, Head of Sustainability & Stewardship at The Crown Estate in the Foreword. "And the digital ThinkTank engendered a robust dialogue and healthy debate on how best to advance the concept and practice of Net Positive. This emerging practice of online engagement pulled together diverse players with passionate perspectives that resulted in synergistic learnings that fueled forward momentum of the Net Positive Movement.”

Key features of the eBook include:

• Foreword by eBook sponsors, Claudine Blamey of The Crown Estate and Luciana Villa Nova Silva of Natura
• Introduction by Bill Baue and Ralph Thurm
• Chapters covering
  • The Definition of Net Positive
  • Including concerns and encouragement to adopt Context-Based Net Positivity
  • Measuring Net Positive
  • Including Trade Offs, Experimentation, and Product-Level Net Positivity
  • Communicating Net Positive
  • Including “The Power of Positive” framing and Transparency
  • Building a Net Positive Movement
  • Conclusions & Synthesis
  • Resources