Make more money doing good

Over the past 5 years I’ve been looking at what’s happening on earth and trying to understand what needs to be done most urgently. What kinds of issues are we really facing and what kinds of solutions really exist? I’ve been working with researchers, reading the scientific literature, building businesses, studying marketing and social media, and digging into powerful ecommerce systems looking for the most powerful tools to solve the most pressing issues we’re facing together. I went into it kind of hoping both that the problems were simple to identify and the solutions were being executed on some scale by someone else. I was not looking for a problem to solve, but rather was looking to see if there was a problem I could not in good conscience ignore.

What I’ve learned is a mixed blessing. On one hand, there are real solutions to massive, almost unimaginably large problems being executed to some extent by competent, dedicated people. On the other hand, there are massive, almost unimaginably large problems that need to be solved now. Right now. And, we have to do it not only for out own sake but for the sake of all generations to come. Dick Cheney said something that he stole from the 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal that’s particularly germane to this conversation, “even if there’s just a 1 percent chance of the unimaginable coming due, act as if it is a certainty”.

With that in mind, I’ve started looking at real, actionable and immediate solutions because by all accounts there’s a greater than 1% chance of the unimaginable coming true. The solutions I’ve found are not all simple and easy to implement but some are and are also powerful and effective. There are several that I’ve become passionate about but the most straightforward is simply planting trees.

We’re running a 1 trillion tree deficit right now on earth. That is, we’ve cut down about 1 trillion more trees than we should have to keep the planet operating optimally for human habitation. The task of replanting 1 trillion trees quickly shouldn’t be underestimated but should also not be over estimated. It’s a big job and will require leveraging business, government and massive consumer campaigns but the scope is not impossibly large.

As it turns out, I’ve also learned that a business can significantly improve it’s relationship with it’s customers by rewarding them for their loyalty with a simple good deed, like planting a tree. In fact, 86% of consumers will consider switching brands to support a cause they believe in.

The system I’ve come up with the plant 1 trillion trees involves you and your business. The outputs are both increased growth and profitability for your business, and a real, immediate mechanism for planting 1 trillion trees and slowing global climate change. Check out the “cause marketing” page to learn how it works, how you can benefit from it and how you can get started today.