Because they are thought leaders, associations are ideally positioned to inspire environmental action among their members and their peers, famous environmental advocate Robert Swan told a group of association leaders in Washington, D.C., last week at a special roundtable discussion.
Co-sponsored by 2041, an organization that Swan founded to fight development in Antarctica, and the Convene Green Alliance, a consortium of environmentally concerned associations, the roundtable was organized as a forum in which eco-conscious associations could share experiences and find inspiration.
"It's not rocket science to get people inspired, but the key is sustaining it," Swan said during last week's discussion. "We need to find champions like you. We need to amplify and sustain the message. The issue of the environment has become more popular because the price of gas has gone up. That's OK, because it motivates people to action. But we have to make it easy—people get paralyzed by fear. It is our job to inspire them and let them know it is not too complicated to do something and there is something in it for you."
Swan, who is the first person in history to walk both the North and South Poles, survived two weeks in Antarctica using only renewable energy and is in the midst of taking his environmental message around the world as part of his "Voyage for Cleaner Energy," a five-year lecture series and sailing expedition that he hopes will draw further attention to the need for alternative energy sources.
Washington, D.C., was the last American stop on Swan's tour. Next, he will visit Europe, Russia, India and China—all aboard his 67-foot sailboat, "2041," which is powered using sustainable and renewable technologies.
"A world leader on the environment like Robert Swan provides incredible inspritation to all of us," Scott Lindley, vice president of development for the Convene Green Alliance, said in a statement. "The technologies he uses on his boat provide real-life examples that can be expanded and applied in hundreds of ways in a wide range of industries and professions. Associations are the catalysts to carry these ideas and applications to their members."
Among the associations and groups who participated in Swan's roundtable—and shared stories about their own environmental efforts—were the National Science Teachers Association, the American Council on Renewable Energy, the National Recycling Coalition, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Barrack Association Management, the Association and Non-Profit Group of Transwestern and Beyond Excellent.
For more information about Swan and 2041, visit www.2041.com. And for more information about the Convene Green Alliance, visit www.convenegreen.com.