Happiness in the Workplace: An Imperative for Sustainable Business

While happy employees are beneficial to all types of businesses, they are particularly important for sustainable enterprises. Happiness is an often overlooked corollary of sustainability. It is closely associated with productivity and corporate social responsibility (CSR). In fact happiness contributes to the three pillars of sustainable business (people, planet and profits). Some bottom line business people may be tempted to dismiss employee happiness as ancillary to success or even altogether irrelevant, however, these people could not be more wrong. A growing pool of data corroborates the contention that happiness is a critical component of a successful enterprise.

Video - It is No Coincidence that Costa Rica is both Happy and Green

Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the greenest country in the world according to the New Economics Foundation. The HPI measures how much of the Earth's resources nations use and how long and happy a life their citizens enjoy. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index, ranking 50th in 2006. The country is ranked 5th in the world, and 1st among the Americas, in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index. In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral country by 2021. According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the greenest country in the world. The HPI measures how much of the Earth's resources nations use and how long and happy a life their citizens enjoy as a result.

Video - Bhutan is Both Happy and Sustainable

Bhutan, a small country enshrined in the Himalaya's leads the way in the pursuit of holistic, inclusive and truly environmentally sustainable development.

Video - The Happy Planet Index

In this Ted Talk video, statistician Nic Marks asks why we measure a nation's success by its productivity -- instead of by the happiness and well-being of its people. He introduces the Happy Planet Index, which tracks national well-being against resource use (because a happy life doesn't have to cost the earth). Which countries rank highest in the HPI? You might be surprised.

Video - The Economics of Happiness (Trailer)

The Economics of Happiness - Trailer from The Economics of Happiness on Vimeo.

The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people around the world are resisting those policies – and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

Seven Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving Greener

To help make this holiday greener a growing number of people are looking at better more ecologically sensitive alternatives. Thanksgiving takes a tremdous toll on the environment. Here are seven ways that people are enjoying the Thanksgiving Holiday while lessening their impacts on the Earth:

1) Reduce Food Waste: To help minimize waste create a detailed, organized plan to reduce waste and eliminate excess. Make what you need and no more. The Love Food Hate Waste organization, offers convenient tips for reducing food waste, they even provide a handy "Perfect portions" planner to calculate meal sizes for parties as well as everyday meals. Use leftovers by storing them safely. Make sure to compost all vegetable waste. Donate excess to food banks and shelters. To find a food bank near you, visit Feeding America's Food Bank Locator.

The Environmental Toll of Thanksgiving

The amount of waste and emissions generated during the holidays is staggering and shameful. Being conscious of the ways that we are wasteful can help us to seek more environmentally responsible solutions. Here is a brief summary of the waste and carbon emissions generated during the holdiay period.

Non-Food Waste

According to the EPA, the period from Thanksgiving to New Years Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent in the US. That amounts to an extra 5 million tons of household waste each year. Shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons create an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills.

A Thanksgiving Infused with Environmental Gratitude

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States and people across the nation are celebrating by coming together to give thanks. Traditionally Thanksgiving is the holiday long weekend when people get together to celebrate the bounty of the fall harvest. The Thanksgiving tradition takes us back to the early days when European settlers were first making North America home. They were welcomed by Native peoples who showed them how to live in harmony with the Earth.

With our environment in crisis we need to cultivate the spirit of thankfulness that helps us to rekindle a harmonious relationship to nature. Gratitude of this kind may be difficult but it is essential if we are to find the motivation and the courage to advance ecological action.