1. How does your department spread awareness of environmental sustainability issues within your company and to your customers? Because “stewardship” is part of REI’s core purpose, attention isn’t a problem; but we do have a challenge in changing stereotypes about what it means. We talk about the shift from “good green ideas” to “sustainable business solutions.” It’s not enough to find efficiency and call it green. And we can’t throw money at problems and call it “doing the right thing.” We have to redesign the way we do things so we deliver increasing environmental benefits and increasing bottom line returns at the same time.2. What do you think is the biggest opportunity today for retailers who want to become better stewards of the environment? Measure. Don’t trust intuition. We are finding that environmental and social metrics are indicators of business opportunity. Years of optimization in silos has created many systems where the parts are doing great but the whole is delivering a poor result. Understanding and measuring the environmental and social consequences of conventional ways of doing things and saying “that’s not OK” is the key to innovation. To paraphrase Einstein, we can’t solve problems with the thinking that created them. 3. How do you think corporate attitudes and action towards environmental sustainability will change in the next five years? The next 10 years? With so many companies now delivering business savvy innovation, we’re seeing sustainability move from a “green” marketing niche, to a core business competency. I think there is a good parallel with Total Quality Management (TQM). There was a time when it was an oxymoron to be able to deliver better quality and lower cost at the same time. Then Toyota demonstrated that with a different way of looking at things, it could be done. For a while we had Kaizen consultants and TQM implementation experts, but pretty soon, successful companies realized that the TQM specialist was called the COO. Within a decade, the managers and the companies that didn’t make TQM part of their way of doing things were out competed and out of business. Sustainability is the same kind of game changer. It might be a misunderstood fad in the early going but it will be fundamental business competency within the next decade. 4. What is the biggest challenge your department faces right now? Helping business owners all over the corporation see the need to measure non-traditional key performance indicators and use the results in their business decision process. Counting tons of CO2 or trash looks like non-value add CSR work until they get enough data from different trajectories to identify opportunities. Then it becomes obvious.5. If your department's budget for next year was doubled, how would you spend it? I would probably give it to business owners around the company to help overcome start-up barriers or inspire cross divisional collaboration. Many sustainable business solutions are counter-intuitive and most require more than one division to do something differently, that makes for a lot of moving pieces. Each time we can book a success it builds credibility and momentum for change.6. What led you to pursue a career in retail environmental sustainability? I’m an unlikely person for both sustainability and retail. I have a background in engineering and business development, so I got here backing up. I am a long-time REI co-op member and outdoor enthusiast so I appreciated the business. I was captivated by the personal and professional challenge of having a deep stewardship ethic and an expectation for top-notch business performance at the same time. I think that represents the conundrum of sustainability. What I didn’t count on was how much the solutions require outside help. One of the things exciting me about the retail industry today is collaboration. Working together helps us learn faster, create better solutions and we have impacts at a scale that can change the world.7. Who do you feel is today's most influential public figure regarding environmental issues? The thought leaders in sustainable business are not high profile public figures. I think that it is too often the case that the higher the profile the more politically polarizing and therefore counterproductive. A great example of someone who speaks with both corporate business credibility and a passion for stewardship is Ray Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface, the world’s largest manufacturer of carpet tile. An unlikely industry and an unlikely person to champion a whole new way of doing business.8. What is your favorite non-work pastime? Getting outside. My wife and I like to hike and camp. With snow coming in the mountains I need to get in better shape for backcountry ski season.9. What book are you reading now? I’m rereading Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawken, Amory and Hunter Lovins. I’m teaching a graduate class this fall and have to do the homework.10. What is one thing your co-workers don't know about you? My co-workers and colleagues would probably be surprised to learn what a conservative political tradition I come from.