How green are you and your city?

Alex Steffen, founder of www.worldchanging.com - one of the leading websites on green issues, including the built environment - coined the concept ’bright green’ a couple of years ago. According to Steffen, ‘bright green’ signifies a way of thinking that gives priority to technological solutions, design, entrepreneurial spirit and the emergence of a ‘green economy’, growth and continued prosperity.

‘Bright green’ is a strategy that sees the major challenges climate changes bring about as opportunities for new endeavours. In Denmark, this way of thinking has been adopted by The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI). The organisation also uses Alex Steffen as a ‘guru’ of their climate strategy. ‘Bright Green’ is the title of the major COP15 side event in Copenhagen organised by DI right now (December 2009) where Danish industries present climate friendly technology.

The Copenhagen Climate Council, the international business think tank organised by Monday Morning also follows a ’bright green’ way of thinking. ”Turning risks into opportunities” is one of the slogans of CCC. The NGO MS Actionaid Denmark (Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke) is going bright green as well and makes projects in cooperation with a company like Danfoss to promote its mission. Sønderborg is a Danish municipality that explicitly has adopted a bright green strategy and launched Project Zero, a strategic development frame that includes business and training initiatives of various kind, local transport solutions, low-energy construction and urban planning. Cradle 2 Cradle design also belongs to bright green thinking.

Following Alex Steffen, there are three other ideal-typical ways of thinking green:

’Light green’: Important here is our way of living, lifestyle and how we as individuals can change our consumption patterns. This is regarded as the most important way to protect the climate. Think and be aware of your responsibility. Then things may change if we all do something – as individuals. Cities can try to make their inhabitants take small steps in order to change their behaviour. The core belief in ‘light green’ is the fundamental good in individuals.

Of course, when a household decides to install a geothermal heating system, you would call that a combination of ‘bright green’ and ‘light green’. The household takes a responsibility and new technological solutions are used. Buying an electric vehicle would be the same. ‘Light green’ also covers that green is the new hip thing and that you as a consumer can show your values to others by buying green products. The danger here is if green consumerism is only temporarily en vogue.

’Dark green’: The need for a fundamental change in the way we live and a reduction in consumption and to some extent in production, as well as a priority to local solutions, are key thoughts in ‘dark green’. A new green growth paradigm and free market forces are definitely not the solutions here. The chance of an ecological and economic collapse is regarded as highly possible. To a large extent, the environmental social movement based in the 1970’s and 1980’s and small eco-communities like Torup in North Sealand, are rooted in this way of thinking (today light green and bright green­ is widespread in Torup, by the way).  

’Grey’: Thinking ‘grey’ is when trying to respond actively to the challenges of climate change is considered useless or when the fact of human created climate change is regarded as nonsense. The Danish environmental sceptic Bjørn Lomborg belongs to this category. Those who haven’t read the writings on the wall – that climate change is high on the agenda – also belong to this category, according to Alex Steffen. In this category, you will find conservatives and last-paradigm industrial lobbyist as well.

What about yourself - and your city?