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For those of us involved with the small business, not-for-profit, and startup world, the future of sustainability is here, whether we realize it or not.  Here are three ways that sustainability is changing for the business world — small, medium and large companies alike.

1. Affordable renewable energy and business

Woman-owned businesses are statistically more sustainable than those owned by men, according to a recent sustainability survey conducted by Cox Enterprises: “Seventy percent of women are committed to increasing sustainable business activities and are more likely to offer recycling programs, material efficiency initiatives and telecommuting options, compared to 62 percent of men.”  

Since October is also National Women’s Small Business Month, you might be inspired to take a cue from one of the 10 women cited in this article as inspiration for your own business.  Of course, you likely don’t have the same buying power as large companies like MGM Resorts International.  

However, the good news is that solar panels are soon to be produced and sold at an affordable price for small- and medium-sized businesses — which is quite a feat, since 99 percent of businesses in the United States are classified as small- or medium-sized.  This new development in solar panels will make greener building and renovation possible in the very near future, whereas it was previously considered impossible, budget-wise, for the majority of businesses.  Hopefully this new technology will prove to be a game-changer for our collective use of renewable energy and allow us to begin the migration away from non-renewables like coal, electricity and gas.

In a recent pair of essays, Roger Platt observes that green building has proven itself invaluable in business investment terms.  These trends can be summed up in two phrases: “our investors require it” and “our lender values it.”  

Platt was basically pointing out the viability and wisdom of taking the environmental movement seriously, in terms of giving business leaders and investors impetus to put stock — literally and figuratively — into green and renewable energy initiatives and building renovations.  In other words, let the naysayers naysay. Those in the know realize that sustainable building and business practices, such as LEED certification and investment in renewable energy sources for existing and future company headquarters, is not an idealistic pipe dream but the way of the future.

2. Video games and virtual reality

In terms of preparing the next generation of green pioneers, there’s an extension of the newly fashionable immersive game environment customized for college students majoring in environmental science.   At Arizona State University, environmental science students will play an interactive, online video game as part of their coursework in which their game character is presented with a number of choices in how to deal with a given problem or situation.  As a result of being immersed in the possible virtual scenarios, students experience a virtual simulation of reality that prepares them for dealing with similar situations in their future careers as business leaders who specialize in sustainability.  

If you’re wondering how interactive games and virtual reality are tied to environmental causes, think about the possibilities of visualization.  Video games and simulated worlds are ideally suited to environmental learning because, as author Tom Chatfield stresses, “Perhaps the most exciting thing that could come of this type of technology is students themselves getting excited about [it], and using it to create things — and learn via the act of creating.”  In other words, in a field that is still developing ideal ways to conserve resources, students being encouraged to create ideal realities will allow those virtual realities to get closer to becoming actual realities.

3. Interactive marketing and consumer choice

This use of interactive, online games also applies to the idea of interactive marketing, which is gaining popularity and fast-becoming preferred to traditional advertisements in which the consumer takes a passive role.  With blogging, email marketing, and social networking-based marketing, the online audience actively chooses to participate and give feedback, rendering customers more integral to the product-creation and ideation process.  Because there is no right or wrong answer, necessarily, products are likely to be seen in a more favorable light rather than possibly presented in a way that is unappealing to potential customers.  Marketing, social networking and sustainability are inherently connected — especially if you target eco-conscious consumers.  

One viable, up-and-coming market to target is the youth market — especially since young people tend to lean more to the left, politically and environmentally-speaking.  For example, let’s take the ability to utilize used cooking oil for fueling purposes through the use of biofuel.  Back in 2003, students at Ohio University developed a sustainable business program that not only utilized the vegetable oil that had been previously shipped off campus at a price, but it also calculated the price savings of keeping the oil on campus and utilizing it to make biodiesel to power campus vehicles.

The use of biofuel is a marketable business strategy that is sure to gain customers — as is the use of local products and ingredients at local restaurants, cafes, and retail stores. There’s a large contingent of the population who supports the ‘Buy Local’ movement specifically because it’s more sustainable: In supporting local business, you’re not supporting the oil industry to such a great extent — and the oil industry is a major source of environmental stress and pollution — remember the BP oil spill, anyone?  Marketing your use of biofuel or the sourcing of local products benefits of your business.  In doing so, you harness the power of a large subset of the population who wants your business because of the values you espouse through supporting sustainable sources.

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Sustainability is here to stay, and it’s no longer out of reach.  Now that greener options are finally becoming more affordable and connected to the virtual and online realms, more possibilities are within reach than ever before.  The more we embrace technological change and growth, the more we stand to profit from said technologies.  They’re the way of the future, and the future is finally here.  The more of us take advantage of it, the faster it will become less unbelievable and more integral to our daily lives.

Image credit: Flickr/Ken Bosma

Daphne Stanford grew up near the ocean, and she loves taking pictures of the mountains and rivers in Idaho, where she now lives. She believes in the power of writing, education, and radio to change the world. She hosts "The Poetry Show!" Sundays on Radio Boise.  Find her on Twitter @daphne_stanford.

By Peter Figueredo

Great companies succeed because they understand the people they serve. When you begin working with a new client, you don’t sit across the table from balance sheets and industry numbers; you meet with people — all of whom have unique personalities, ambitions and challenges. Getting to know those people can be the difference between a lasting partnership and a failed sales pitch.

On one hand, you have each client’s personal side. Who is this person in front of you? Why did he pursue this job? What are his passions, hobbies and interests? As in any relationship, your connection with your client begins by feeling out each other’s personalities and establishing common ground.

On the other hand, you have your client’s professional side. What is this person’s role in the company? What are her responsibilities within her department? What are her career goals and ambitions? Understanding the challenges your client faces at the office helps you tailor your services to meet her specific needs.

While you can serve your clients adequately with an okay relationship, you can do much more with a great one. When you truly understand your clients, you can anticipate needs before they happen, navigate moments of crisis as a trusted partner, and establish a connection so your clients stop thinking of you as a vendor and start thinking of you as a part of the team.

These seven strategies will help you foster trust with your clients and put them in the best position to succeed — personally and professionally.

1. Give before you take

Offer up some information about yourself before you start asking the same of your client. Start the conversation with more honesty and openness than you normally would. For instance, before asking your client about his weekend, provide a little information about yours. Maybe it wasn’t great because you broke your toe doing housework. Maybe you took the kids to a birthday party. Share a slice of your life so your client feels more comfortable sharing his.

2. Don’t be afraid

Your client isn’t going to bite; don’t be afraid to ask about her life. Start with basic questions. Don’t get too personal, especially in the beginning. Keep it light, and try to leave the first meeting knowing at least one interest you share with your client.

3. Reach out on social media

Many people love to make new connections on LinkedIn, so make that your first step. Establishing that public, formal connection shows your client that you want to work together and have nothing in your public presence to hide. As your relationship with your client deepens, consider reaching out on more personal sites such as Facebook, but judge whether to make this request on a person-to-person basis.

4. Research your client

Everyone has an online footprint these days. Research your client to see what’s out there. Whether it’s a sports blog or a Pinterest page full of Italian recipes, you can learn a lot about people by what they share online. This is especially helpful for clients who are reluctant to connect on social media. But exercise caution; if you bring up things in conversation that your client hasn’t shared with you, he might be put off or feel like you’ve invaded his privacy.

5. Know bonus and promotional requirements

Nothing makes clients trust you more than helping them achieve their individual goals. If your client’s company’s objective is to increase sales numbers in one category by 5 percent, but you know your client will receive a bonus at 7 percent, focus on that goal. Not only can that strengthen your relationship with your client, but it can also give you an ally within the company if he gets promoted to a higher position.

6. Keep an updated organizational chart

You need to know more than the names of VPs and directors. Understand which members of your client’s organization are your champions (those who appreciate what your business does and understand its value) and which are your challengers (those who disagree with funding your services or mistrust you). Prepare to speak with anyone in the organization so you won’t be caught off-guard if your point of contact shifts suddenly.

7. Understand your client’s workflow

Know whom your client has to work with for certain projects so you can tailor the best plan for each situation. If your strategy would normally involve mass website changes but your client’s company has miles of red tape surrounding online makeovers, you need to know that so you can budget your time properly and ensure your proposal explains why changes are necessary.

Remember, your clients’ companies might look like unified, faceless entities on the surface, but behind the brands are ordinary people who want to be understood and treated like individuals. Meet those needs and strengthen lines of communication to separate your company from the pack, and improve mutual production as your relationships with your clients grow personally and professionally.

Image credit: Pixabay 

As a partner at House of Kaizen, Peter Figueredo focuses on strengthening relationships with and growing results for clients. Figueredo is head of client services, and his New York City-based team is responsible for client happiness and meeting client goals to achieve long-term engagements and organic growth. House of Kaizen provides end-to-end digital performance marketing services to clients such as Avis Budget Group, Tiffany & Co., Audible, Red Roof Inn, Businessweek, and Total Gym.

Nine months after achieving zero non-hazardous waste to landfill across its global network of 242 factories – believed to be a world first - Unilever has now become a zero landfill company in Europe. This means that in addition to manufacturing facilities, no waste from Unilever owned or fully operated premises, logistic operations, distribution centres or offices goes to landfill in Europe.

Unilever’s Chief Supply Chain Officer, Pier Luigi Sigismondi said: “Our zero waste to landfill goal is essential to Unilever’s sustainable growth ambitions and we aspire to see an industry wide movement here. In June this year we partnered with peer companies, experts and key stakeholders to get people personally connected with this environmental and social issue.

"We are convinced that only together we can eliminate waste on an unprecedented scale across the globe. Our European teams have reached an important new milestone and proven that the model and mind-set that drove our factory achievements is repeatable outside of a manufacturing environment.

?As the world focuses on the United Nations Global Goals - an ambitious set of goals to end extreme poverty, fix inequality and tackle climate change by 2030 – the time for us all to drive more action on waste is now.”

Unilever is aiming to become a zero waste company globally around the end of the year and is also continuing to work towards a zero waste value chain.

Picture credit: Dreamstime.com
 

A campaign to promote good working conditions in the cleaning industry has been launched by an industry-led taskforce set up by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

The taskforce, chaired by EHRC Deputy Chair Caroline Waters, includes leading businesses, trade associations and trade unions. The Commission convened the taskforce following publication of its report, The Invisible Workforce: employment practices in the cleaning sector. 

The report found many examples of good practice such as policies to promote equality but also found that some employers did not provide contracts to staff. Further, some failed to pay their employees in full, or to pay sickness or holiday leave entitlements. Many cleaning operatives are female migrants, who spoke of being ‘invisible’, of being treated badly compared to other employees, and said they did not understand their rights.

To solve these problems the taskforce developed principles for responsible procurement. The taskforce also developed a poster to highlight the value of cleaning operatives, and Your Rights at Work postcards for cleaning firms to send to their employees explaining their employment rights.

Caroline Waters, EHRC and taskforce Chair commented: “The Commission’s role is to promote and enforce the laws that protect our rights to fairness, dignity and respect. It has been a great privilege to have worked over the past year or so with so many people who are committed to improving the working conditions of cleaning operatives.

“We very much hope the tools we have now produced will help to bring real and lasting change for commercial cleaning operatives.”

All of the materials are available to download on the Commission’s website here.
 

The good news for Volkswagen is that it delivered almost 7.5 million vehicles to customers during the first three quarters of 2015. The bad news is that 8.5 million of VW’s cars will most likely be subject to a mandatory recall -- and that's just in Europe.

The fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal continues to reverberate, four weeks after revelations about the installation of “defeat device” software in diesel-powered cars slammed the newswires. Now, the world’s largest automaker is facing a global public relations crisis. This includes its home base: 2.8 million of the recalled vehicles were sold in Germany.

With about 2.4 million of those cars still within Germany’s borders, the company is spinning its wheels to deliver a plan to retrofit the cars. German authorities demanded a mandatory recall, rejecting any suggestion that car owners take their vehicles in for inspection at their own discretion.

Such a directive, instead of a voluntary recall, adds to the company’s costs since Volkswagen is required to contact customers directly and make arrangements for necessary repairs to all cars in question. Notices will start going out in January 2016, and the recall in Germany is expected to last longer than six months. Adding to the company’s financial pain is the possibility that more cars than originally believed will require more than a software reconfiguration. Some diesel cars with 1.6-liter engines, for example, will require actual hardware modifications in the engine. By the time Volkswagen completes the entire global recall, the total price-tag could soar as high as $40 billion (or 35 million euros).

Volkswagen’s executives are doing what they can to present the image of a company that is still operating normally. The company’s new CEO, Matthias Mueller, has been widely quoted as saying Volkswagen can rebound in two to three years. But cuts in research and development are also underway, with over $1 billion slashed from annual budgets through at least 2019. Meanwhile, the automaker promises to focus on how it could introduce more hybrid and electric vehicles in the coming years.

But regulators across Europe and the world are hardly focused on Volkswagen’s promises, including the purported shift away from diesel. With reports that as many as 30 VW executives may have been involved in the emissions cheating scheme, more of the company’s regional offices have been subjected to investigations. Authorities in Verona have searched VW’s Italian headquarters in order to gauge any local involvement, and French officials have conducted similar raids in offices outside of Paris. Furthermore, in the wake of reports Volkswagen cars released 40 times more emissions than originally estimated, transportation officials are pondering an end to tax credits for diesel car owners.

Employees in Volkswagen’s finance department will long be preoccupied tallying up losses from the poorly thought-out decision to tamper with several models of diesel vehicles. The price to Volkswagen’s reputation, however, will cause the company to suffer for a long time -- at a cost far more than the $40 billion disclosed on balance sheets.

Image credit: Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz via Wiki Commons

Editor’s Note: This post is part of TriplePundit’s ongoing coverage of SXSW Eco 2015. You can read all of our coverage here.

Corporate responsibility programs are on autopilot. Donate to the local nonprofit. Fill up backpacks for school kids. Assemble bicycles for Christmas gifts. Those are good deeds but … they're about as exciting as the 2-year-old PB&J sandwich you found under the seat of your car.

Sometimes your community engagement program needs a dose of the novel, exciting and adventurous. You want to shoot fireworks into the sky and let the community sit in their lawn chairs and experience beauty and awe. You want to be memorable. Inspirational. Different. You want to make giving back a rainbows and sparkles experience. In other words, you want it to be fun. When people have fun, they talk; they listen; they’re open to new ideas and are often moved to take action. Mission accomplished.

Creating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project that makes all that magic happen is easier said than done. Often our creativity is packed away in a little box in a storage unit; we’ve moved on and forgotten we even own it. How do we pull it out, dust it off and bring it home to spend every day with us?

A great way to dust off your imagination is to see what novel ideas are out there. If you regularly expose yourself to creative approaches, you’ll soon generate your own creative ideas.

Here are three brilliant projects to jump-start your imagination. These were Art + Interaction finalists at the recent SXSW Eco Place by Design competition curated by the talented Julie Yost. Each one would be a fabulous way for a company to create social impact in an original magical way.

1. Swings that compose music

We rarely interact with strangers in public (New Yorkers, I’m looking at you). We also have a hard time agreeing and working together. Cue broken relationships, crime and war. One Canadian company, Daily tous les jours, decided to help people work together. Naturally, the first thing it did was hire an expert scientist on animal cooperation. It also hired a musician.

Then the idea went from concept to implementation. The team installed 21 musical swings in an unvisited public space in Montréal. There’s some sort of undiscovered magnetic field that draws people to swings. All ages, races and backgrounds climbed on the swings. They soon discovered that the higher you swing, the higher the musical notes. But there’s a catch. When people synchronize their movements to swing together, they create more complex melodies. It doesn’t take long before strangers start working together to morph into one giant musical instrument to compose music.

The swings were a smash hit. Every day each swing was swung about 8,500 times. Soon, the company began to receive calls from cities around the world requesting the swings. So, it created a travel kit of swings to traverse the globe and help promote cooperation in a variety of communities, including underprivileged ones, such as a refugee camp in Gaza.

The swings are becoming an international icon of peace and cooperation. If we really want to put them to the test, though, maybe we should send the swings to Congress. Better yet, let Obama, Putin, Kim Jong-un, Netanyahu and Malala Yousafzai go for a swing together.

2. The Mothership

The North End in Detroit, Michigan, has rich cultural and art heritage of funk and blues music. Sadly, that has all but disappeared. Bryce Detroit and Anya Sirota believed that they could revive the community’s rich heritage by designing an object that could be an icon for the era of funk and blues music. They went to work creating the Mothership, a mobile DJ booth decked out in Afro futuristic bling.

When the Mothership landed in the community, it was one night in an unmarked neighborhood garage. Despite not having any publicity, 700 people wearing outfits from the period showed up to celebrate and dance the night away.

The Mothership is now used to transport community artists and local living legends to various music events around the city. Every time it’s moved, it breaks down into panel pieces (think IKEA) and is rebuilt by the local community. All it takes is a wrench and a bucket of screws. When the Mothership is not at an event, people visit, take photos, and even get married in it.

This nomadic urban marker is helping the North End community tell the cultural narrative about a place that was once forgotten. The community can now once again celebrate their heritage with this beautiful cultural marker.

3. Experience butterfly vision

Conversations about protecting pollinators like bees and butterflies from pesticides are crucial. It’s equally important for people to empathize with these insects in order to be moved to action to protect them. In order to help people relate to butterflies, the exceptionally talented Jenny Kendler, an artist in residence with the Natural Resources Defense Council, gives people the magical experience of seeing in butterfly vision.

Butterflies see colors that we can’t see. They’re able to see ultraviolet colors. That means they see flowers differently. Flowers guide butterflies to them based on whether the flower is producing nectar and is ready for pollination.

In Louisville, Kentucky, you can visit Kendler’s butterfly garden and see the way butterflies see… with ultraviolet light and florescent elements. You’ll learn how important butterfly pollinators are to nature and humans. When you leave the garden, you’ll be given a postcard that you can mail to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking for pesticide regulation to protect both butterfly pollinators and your own health. So far, 144,000 postcards have been sent to the EPA.

Kendler also gave the local art and science centers some adventure kits with UV flashlights and light filtering glasses to help people experience what a butterfly sees.

“When we see through the eyes of other species it enriches our minds as well. I really hope that this project can become a model for thinking about our built environment in totally new ways. When we design for ourselves we need to leave space for the beautiful others with which we share our fragile and biodiverse earth,” Kendler said.

Your turn now

Each of these public art projects show that there are unlimited creative ways to connect with your community and give back. Novel and fun social good messages get amplified because they stand apart from the typical drone of information that people have tuned out. You’ll capture people’s interest, excite and inspire them to take action to create a better world. Let creativity and interactive art help you broadcast the message you want the world to hear and create the change you want to see. “If you build it, they will come.”

Image credits: SXSW Eco and the contestants' websites and presentation decks

There are many ways that a company can show its support for proactive environmental policies these days. Organizations like the Institute for Marketology, SA8000, the Forestry Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative provide mechanisms by which consumers can verify that a company's sustainable business practices live up to the claims it makes. But how do consumers determine the climate change policies of a corporation?

How do they know, for example, what a given corporation's stand is on statements made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or policies of the Environmental Protection Agency? And how do they know what a corporation's affiliations are when it comes to lobbying organizations or trade organizations that take positions on climate change and future policies?

A U.K.-based organization has taken the first steps toward answering that question, with an online assessment tool that rates companies on their policies and actions toward climate change. InfluenceMap categorized 100 top global companies by looking at the actions they have taken in the past concerning climate change (business practices they have instituted, statements they have made, etc.) as well as their affiliation to other organizations that lobby against climate change legislation, such as ALEC, National Association of Manufacturers or the American Petroleum Institute.

Developed by Dylan Tanner, the former CEO of Ekobai, and Thomas O'Neill, a researcher with experience tracking the influential behavior of companies when it comes to climate change, InfluenceMap also has the support of the Union of Concerned Scientists, which helped develop the metrics for this rating system.

The authors point out that their goal wasn't just to rate a company's behavior when it came to lobbying in Washington and state capitols, but their public and private efforts to influence climate change policies and legislation.

"We use the term "influence" rather than lobbying for good reason. The capture of climate change policy by corporations extends beyond formal and financial interactions between lawmakers and corporations and their representatives," explain the authors in the summary.

Since the rise of social media in the 1990s, companies' methods for getting their views heard when it comes to climate change have diversified. On topics that they may feel directly impact their businesses, they often take steps to ensure that "the appropriate policy response are heard loudly at multiple levels." That may include phone calls to politicians as well as press releases opposing or countering a policy. The InfluenceMap takes all of these direct and indirect actions into account and uses them to rate companies' proactive stance toward climate change.

Its three key areas of assessment -- organization, relationship and engagement -- examine the corporation's performance and position when it comes to its public stance, the transparency of its policies, and its approach toward climate change legislation, carbon tax, emissions trading and other constructive approaches.

While companies like Google and Unilever are at the top of the list for their positive, outspoken efforts to address climate change, the Koch Industries and Phillips 66 share the bottom as those who have the worst track-record when it comes to supporting changes that will address global warming. Companies like Verizon and Dupont, were noted as having mixed positions on climate change and didn't fair that much better, either. While Dupont gained points for "climate science transparency," it lost points for social media statements and other disclosures it made that didn't clearly define its position on greenhouse gas standards.

It's noteworthy that only three companies received the top mark of "B" -- Google, Unilever and Cisco Systems. The lion's share, 64 companies, received lower than "C-." No corporation received an "A."

It's interesting that in many cases, corporation didn't receive the same grade for its stance on a given topic when it came to published material on its website, as it did for statements published say, on social media. Toyota Motor Corp.  for example, received a positive score for its support for energy efficiency standards that it published on its website, but received negative grading for media reports suggesting it would take legal action against the government's efforts to enact those same standards.

InfluenceMap offers another more comprehensive way of assessing a corporation's statement when it comes to its position on climate change. But just importantly, it sets the benchmarks that corporations can strive toward to clarify their positions on topics that increasingly are becoming the drivers to the economy as well as the health of the planet.

Images: Anthony Quintano; InfluenceMap

Here’s the new reality of the modern economy: Freelancers are an increasingly powerful part of the American workforce.

How powerful? More than 1 in 3 U.S. workers — nearly 54 million Americans — are freelancing, according to the second annual Freelancing in America survey compiled by the Freelancers Union and Upwork. The number represents an astonishing 34 percent of U.S. workers, and it’s an increase of 700,000 over total freelancers in 2014.

“People are increasingly building flexible careers on their own terms, based on their passions, desired lifestyle and access to a much broader pool of opportunities than ever before in history,” said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, in a prepared statement. “While we are still relatively early in the rise of the freelance workforce, there’s no doubt its growth will continue. Professionals are not only turning away from traditional employment, once they do most have no desire to go back.”

Income is a big reason why many opt to freelance to begin with, the study says. “The majority of freelancers earn more than they did at their old, traditional job, with 3 in 4 earning more within the first year of leaving.”

And more workers are freelancing by choice, according to the study. Key findings include:

• 60 percent of freelancers said they started freelancing by choice, an increase of 7 percentage points from 2014.


• Half of all freelancers say they wouldn’t stop freelancing for any amount of money


• 3 in 4 non-freelancers are open to doing additional work outside their primary jobs to earn more money, if it was available


• 73 percent of freelancers agree that technology has made it easier to find freelance work, compared to 69 percent in 2014


• Two-thirds of freelancers agree that freelancing provides the opportunity to work from anywhere, and more than a third have been able to move thanks to the flexibility freelancing provides


• More than a third of freelancers report that demand for their services increased in the past year, and nearly half expect their income from freelancing to increase in the coming year


• The vast majority (83 percent) of freelancers believe their brightest days are ahead, and 82 percent believe that increased opportunities for freelancers are a positive step for the economy

“Freelancers are pioneering a new approach to work and life – one that prioritizes family, friends and life experiences over the 9-to-5 rat race,” said Sara Horowitz, Freelancers Union founder and executive director.

The study illustrates that the flexibility and opportunity associated with freelancing is increasingly appealing, she added. “That is why we’ve seen such dramatic growth in the number of people choosing to freelance.”

For the study, more than 7,100 U.S. working adults over the age of 18 were surveyed online between July 30 and August 14. Of those, 2,429 were freelancers and 4,678 were non-freelancers. Results are weighted to ensure demographic representation in line with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2015 Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey. The study has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 1.16 percent at the 95 percent level of confidence.

This is remarkable stuff regarding a segment of the workforce that, until very recently, has gone largely unexamined. It is a new era in terms of the way we work, as well as the impact of freelancing on the economy and as a “cultural and social change on par with the Industrial Revolution.”

Image credit: Pixabay

Some people in my Christian faith tradition like to distort biblical passages to suit their political agenda. And sometimes when they do, they really show how distorted and twisted their worldview is and how it differs from some in their own faith tradition.

Take former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a current host on Fox News, who recently spoke on an Iowa radio program called Mickelson in the Morning. The show is hosted by Jan Mickelson, who began to discuss the criminal justice system with Huckabee, claiming it “has been taken over by progressives.” The Fix? Take it back to a literal reading of the Old Testament's book of Exodus.

Mickelson called for criminals to be indentured servants. Calling prisons a “pagan invention,” he suggested, “We indenture them and they have to spend their time not sitting on their stump in a jail cell; they’re supposed to be working off the debt.” He asked Huckabee if that would be a better choice, and the former governor replied: “Well, it really would be. Sometimes the best way to deal with a nonviolent criminal behavior is what you just suggested.”

Mickelson based his views on Exodus 22:2-3, which states:

“If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.” (New American Standard Bible)

Huckabee is an ordained Baptist minister who served as a pastor before his political career. As Think Progress points out, he is “no doubt familiar with the Exodus 22:3 passage to which Mickelson referred.” And he is no doubt familiar with the fact that the passage is actually part of a law code followed by the ancient Jewish people. Like anything in the Bible, it needs to be put into its historical and cultural context. There just isn't any justification for applying an ancient law code from a time completely different than our own to today's problems.

The prison population in the U.S. is over 2 million, the highest of any nation in the world. The incarceration rate for countries comparable to the U.S. hovers around 100 prisoners per 100,000 people, according to statistics by the Population Reference Bureau. But in the U.S., it’s 500 prisoners to 100,000 people. Most of the prison population is male and they are young. The incarceration rates for men in their 20s and 30s are the highest. They tend to be less educated, with the average state prisoner having only a 10th grade education. A whopping 70 percent haven’t completed high school. And incarceration rates are “significantly higher” for African Americans and Latinos.

Clearly, there is a link between poverty and crime. Some in my faith tradition get that, including Jim Wallis, an ordained minister, founder of Sojourner’s and author of numerous books. In his 1994 book, "The Soul of Politics," he talks about the "general devastation" in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. 

In every city, Wallis says there are two tales. He refers to first and third worlds being separated “not by oceans, but by city streets.” He calls for a the “radical assertion of the image of God in every human being” which he rightfully points out “lies at the heart of our best religious traditions." This image is a path to closing that great divide that flourishes between blocks. It's an assertion that recognizes the intrinsic worth of every human being. If only Huckabee and Mickelson would take this view toward their fellow humans. 

They could actually have a positive impact on the criminal justice system.

Image credit: Flickr/John Pemble

You will still be able to order an overpriced burger and fries late at night at most Hyatt Hotel locations, but from now on the only porn in which Hyatt’s guests will be able to indulge is food porn.

Hyatt announced, in a statement released to numerous news sites last week, that it will no longer offer on-demand pornography at its 600-plus locations located in over 50 countries. The timing was certainly interesting as it came the same day the company touted itself as one of the the best global companies at which to work, according to a Fortune report.

Hyatt could try to spin this news as a way in which it listens to its stakeholders and grooms a more wholesome, family-friendly image. Anti-pornography organizations, including the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), have widely applauded the move. In fact, NCOSE has encouraged consumers to thank the company via Twitter for this shift in policy. But the reality is that the decision was based more on finances than a sudden discovery of morals.

The fact, not surprisingly, is that paid on-demand entertainment revenue at hotels is on a steady decline. The oft-mentioned statistic is that average movie-rental revenues was over $300 per room in 2000, but now that figure has dropped by about two-thirds.

Thank the Internet for that change in hotel room habits. Anyone with a (current) middle school education can figure out how to find porn, as there is plenty of it out there, whether it requires a subscription or is available for free. And as the NCOSE reminds its website visitors, plenty of this can be found on YouTube and other Internet sites. Even Instagram is marred by pornographic images, or offers copious amounts of it, depending on where you stand on this issue. It does not matter if a hotel charges for Wi-Fi access, as those that do are now in the minority. The ability to surf the Web on a laptop or smartphone is still a bargain, whether you have all those naughty sites, or sights, bookmarked or if you just want to binge on something more benign, as in yet another Netflix series.

Hyatt is hardly the first hotel chain to garner criticism for offering pornography to its guests. When Mitt Romney ran for president the first time in 2007-2008, many conservatives excoriated him for his silence on pornography during his tenure on Marriott’s board of directors. Bill Marriott, son of the chain’s founder, defended the distribution of porn as being a standard option of any hotel’s entertainment package (pardon the pun). But critics slammed Romney as speaking out against pornography while having ties to the hotel industry's nonchalance on the issue. Of course, those were the days when hotels worldwide generated an extra half a billion of dollars annually from such salacious content.

So, tack on a few corporate social responsibility (CSR) brownie points for Hyatt for nixing pornography from its in-room entertainment menu. But, as with many such announcements, pragmatism and market trends dictated this decision. And the odds are high that just as much, if not even more, porn is being streamed in hotel rooms, but on phones instead of TVs.

Image credit: Flickr/Sheila Scarborough