Last weekend, someone mentioned how difficult it is to supervise people if you don’t have the authority to impose consequences when they don’t their job. That reminded me how I often work in settings where I’m accountable for making things happen, but I don’t have any formal authority. I facilitate collaborative initiatives, or write […]
I am constantly challenging myself to find effective ways to leverage change in the world. Sometimes it’s minor, like how to reduce my yardwork responsibilities. Often it’s ambitious, like reducing apartment building utility consumption across Minnesota, or changing culture to make bicycling so normal people don’t even notice they’re doing it. I embed those efforts […]
In doing outreach for the EnergyScoreCards Minnesota pilot project, where we are able to offer free utility benchmarking services to apartment buildings, I’ve been frequently reminded of an important fact: something free which requires busy people to do something more is hard to give away. To be clear, I don’t think that the benchmarking we’re […]
https://flisrand.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/flisrand-consulting-logo-350x150-1-300x129.png00Janne Flisrandhttps://flisrand.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/flisrand-consulting-logo-350x150-1-300x129.pngJanne Flisrand2012-03-26 09:35:252020-05-04 13:21:54You Can’t Possibly Have Enough Work to Do…
Last week, I and 740 energy and building performance geeks went to my favorite conference, the Duluth Energy Design Conference. Minnesota Green Communities has participated in the session planning committee for six years, and I’ve presented many times. This year, I hosted almost two full days of sessions on a newly prominent theme: selling […]
Doing outreach for the EnergyScoreCards Minnesota pilot project, our team spent a lot of time developing language and materials to share with the hundreds of owners we were inviting to participate. Making follow-up phone calls to folks who received electronic outreach, a few comments have surprised me. One, in particular, stays with me. The company […]
Critiques of certification systems (for example, LEED, USDA’s organic, and ENERGY STAR) are old news. I won’t argue the critique of the label (see the Wikipedia critiques). Sure, there ARE problems. However, what struck me was how clearly the Food First writers just didn’t get it. The “look for the label” movement bet that people were simply “consumers” […]
The other day, an acquaintance asked me for advice on communicating about environmental issues. I had a speedy, rather negative reaction. “First, NEVER, ever use the word ‘environmental,’ or anything related to that word. Talk about the ISSUE – clean water, clean air, toxic chemicals, whatever.” The immediate response was skepticism, and “Why?” I guess […]
Every year, I head online to buy carbon offsets. Three times, actually – for Flisrand Consulting, for my 4-unit apartment building, and for my personal consumption. (For more background on my motivation, see my Greenwash Brigade post from two years ago.) I’m a demanding customer, and I want to know I’m getting what I am […]
Sustainability is often about making the invisible visible. It’s impossible to see which house is leaking energy in the winter. Or where a watershed starts and ends. I love when the invisible becomes visible. Third-party certification for coffee or buildings or cleaning products was created so customers can SEE that one choice is intentionally going […]
Supervising without Authority?
Last weekend, someone mentioned how difficult it is to supervise people if you don’t have the authority to impose consequences when they don’t their job. That reminded me how I often work in settings where I’m accountable for making things happen, but I don’t have any formal authority. I facilitate collaborative initiatives, or write […]
Silos
I’m puzzling out how public health and affordable housing developers coordinate their work.
Leverage => Change
I am constantly challenging myself to find effective ways to leverage change in the world. Sometimes it’s minor, like how to reduce my yardwork responsibilities. Often it’s ambitious, like reducing apartment building utility consumption across Minnesota, or changing culture to make bicycling so normal people don’t even notice they’re doing it. I embed those efforts […]
You Can’t Possibly Have Enough Work to Do…
In doing outreach for the EnergyScoreCards Minnesota pilot project, where we are able to offer free utility benchmarking services to apartment buildings, I’ve been frequently reminded of an important fact: something free which requires busy people to do something more is hard to give away. To be clear, I don’t think that the benchmarking we’re […]
Price: Relevant, Not Critical
Last week, I and 740 energy and building performance geeks went to my favorite conference, the Duluth Energy Design Conference. Minnesota Green Communities has participated in the session planning committee for six years, and I’ve presented many times. This year, I hosted almost two full days of sessions on a newly prominent theme: selling […]
Doing Outreach – What Gets Noticed?
Doing outreach for the EnergyScoreCards Minnesota pilot project, our team spent a lot of time developing language and materials to share with the hundreds of owners we were inviting to participate. Making follow-up phone calls to folks who received electronic outreach, a few comments have surprised me. One, in particular, stays with me. The company […]
Dislike FairTrade? What’s your alternative?
Critiques of certification systems (for example, LEED, USDA’s organic, and ENERGY STAR) are old news. I won’t argue the critique of the label (see the Wikipedia critiques). Sure, there ARE problems. However, what struck me was how clearly the Food First writers just didn’t get it. The “look for the label” movement bet that people were simply “consumers” […]
Talking “Environmentalism” – Real People React (badly)
The other day, an acquaintance asked me for advice on communicating about environmental issues. I had a speedy, rather negative reaction. “First, NEVER, ever use the word ‘environmental,’ or anything related to that word. Talk about the ISSUE – clean water, clean air, toxic chemicals, whatever.” The immediate response was skepticism, and “Why?” I guess […]
Certification Matters
Every year, I head online to buy carbon offsets. Three times, actually – for Flisrand Consulting, for my 4-unit apartment building, and for my personal consumption. (For more background on my motivation, see my Greenwash Brigade post from two years ago.) I’m a demanding customer, and I want to know I’m getting what I am […]
Making the Invisible Visible
Sustainability is often about making the invisible visible. It’s impossible to see which house is leaking energy in the winter. Or where a watershed starts and ends. I love when the invisible becomes visible. Third-party certification for coffee or buildings or cleaning products was created so customers can SEE that one choice is intentionally going […]