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 Sustainable Development International
Corporation (SDIC) grew out of the Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies, a sole proprietorship founded by Dr. Amy Townsend in
1993. Incorporated in 1997, SDIC was created to help businesses and other organizations improve their environmental practices. SDIC is committed to being as green as possible in its own practices, which include telecommuting, greener purchasing, recycling, environmentally and socially responsible investing, native landscaping, and other activities. Mission: To change the way that the world works by helping organizations to become ecologically sustainable Vision: A healthy planet and ecologically literate human organizations. Goals: SDIC's primary goals are to
Activities: SDIC carries out a broad range of activities to achieve its mission, vision, and goals. Some of these are discussed below. Greening the Workplace Problem: The building industry increasingly relies on hi-tech, polluting materials and resource-intensive construction methods. As a result, most commercial and residential buildings that are constructed or renovated in the developed world are unhealthy and expensive to build, maintain, and operate. Individuals pay in high rent or mortgages, expensive maintenance, and increased health problems. Companies pay through decreased productivity, costly operations, and increased employee sick leave and medical expenses. Ecosystems pay in reduced biological diversity and diminished ecosystem and species integrity. What SDIC is Doing: SDIC conducts research, publishes, and presents on the benefits and characteristics of greener building. That is because the impacts of the building sector are enormous, and there is an urgent need for significant improvement. In 1997, Dr. Townsend published the book The Smart Office. This book explains how to create a green workplace – from the renovation or construction of a building to its furnishing and operations. The Smart Office was the first comprehensive book examining how to green commercial buildings. Dr. Townsend also has published several articles related to green buildings and workplaces. Greening Business Problem: Today's businesses - both for-profit and not-for-profit - often discover that their facilities, products, andactivities are environmentally unhealthy and inefficient. Not only do pollution and inefficient resource use result in resource depletion, environmental degradation, and pollution, but it also costs companies an enormous amount of money, or potential profits, each year. This can be deadly for a company since it dramatically reduces its competitive edge. What SDIC is Doing: SDIC works with organizations and governments to help develop greening strategies. For several years, SDIC has conducted research into business and ecological systems to understand how they work and how they might interact in a way that is mutually beneficial to both. Dr. Townsend wrote the book Green Business: A Five-Part Model for Creating an Environmentally Responsible Company (Schiffer Books, Fall 2006). This is the first of two books dedicated to establishing a new model for greening business. Green Business outlines the current state of green business and explores the reasons why businesses are choosing to improve their environmental performances. Then, it suggests that businesses that wish to be green will need to include five elements in their greening activities: their missions, employees, operations, facilities and sites, and products and services. It provides numerous case studies of businesses that have benefitted from becoming more environmentally friendly... and suggests that green business best practices have a long way to go result in companies that are ecologically sustainable. Currently, Dr. Townsend is writing a sequel to Green Business with the working title Business Ecology. Business Ecology is a field that she is working to develop in the hope that it will help to provide a new and effective paradigm for business-ecological sustainability. In 2007, SDIC will introduce a Business Ecology & Systems Training (BEST) ProgramforCEOs,productdesigners,andothersinterestedinsynchronizingtheirbusinesses with ecological systems. Greening Government Problem: Just as businesses are suffering from the costs of inefficiency, so are local and national governments. Often in spite of their best intentions, governments around the world are finding that they adversely affect Earth's ecosystems. What SDIC is Doing: SDIC works with governments to identify areas for improvement and find ways to increase employee environmental awareness and implement greening activities. SDIC provides training and workshops as needed. The Company's Founder Dr. Amy Townsend is Founder and President of Sustainable Development International Corporation (SDIC). With degrees in cultural anthropology, marine studies, and environmental studies, her career has focused on the interface between humans and their environments. Her doctoral research involved the study and critique of current green business best practices and the creation of a five-part model for helping companies to green in their entirety.For over 13 years, Dr. Townsend has researched, written, taught, lectured, and consulted in the United States and abroad on a variety of issues related to sustainable development, including workplace greening, green building, and green business. In addition to writing numerous articles and a weekly newspaper column, she has authored two books The Smart Office (1997) and; Green Business (2006), which detail workplace greening and company greening, respectively. Currently, Dr. Townsend is writing her third book, which defines and outlines a methodology for the emerging field of business ecology. She also serves as an adjunct assistant professor in James Madison University's Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) program. |
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