This week, for the first time in many years, I felt encouraged about the challenges we face in regard to carbon emissions, climate change and other 
major environmental issues, and about the behavioral changes that meeting them will require. As odd as it might sound, I credit my exposure to the amazing advancements now taking place in game mechanics for this new surge of hope and optimism. Discovering what’s being accomplished in this phenomenal industry has convinced me that by wrapping our heads around its potentials, we can make a huge difference – and the prospects are right in front of all of us.
Of course, Greenopolis and Recyclebank have been circling these issues and closing in on them for a while now. But I can’t help feeling that there is a really “big score” (pun intended) coming down the pike. So thinking about solutions that involve positive reinforcement – or, as I like to characterize it, fun and fame instead of guilt and shame — is making me feel a lot more upbeat than I have in quite a while about our chances of actually succeeding in doing what’s necessary to preserve our environment.
That’s why I have just agreed to co-host the Environmental Salon at the Corporate Responsibility Commit Forum in New York City next week. I firmly believe that if we can convey some of our enthusiasm about this new paradigm to corporate America (as represented here by corporate responsibility managers), we will get positive results and a much bigger share of the marketing pie – enough to enable us to become winners in the game of bringing our planet back from the brink.
