Why Ethics is at the Core of Everything in Business and Life.

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The LOHAS Forum in Boulder is reminding us of what we already know: To live a meaningful life we need a compass that informs our behavior. I listened to the panel discussion on "Incorporating Socially Responsible Ethics in Your Supply Chain." AVEDA, Eileen Fisher and the Endangered Species Chocolate Foundation sent representatives to engage with Forum participants. Scott Leonard the Co-Founder ofIndigenous Designs moderated the panel and set the tone by asking all of us to think about what "Ethics" really means to us.

: Standing as a Green Business Person

What would you do if your title for LIFE was "Vice President, Earth and Community Care." That's quite a responsibility. Can one person in one company truly care for our communities and the Earth? Well, that's Chuck Bennett's position at AVEDA. Ultimately we're being challenged to green our businesses at the same time we green our communities and our planet. The old idea that business is business and somehow separate from life is no longer acceptable to a growing segment of our culture we now call conscious consumers.

That's the point of the whole forum, suggesting that each one of us can step into that job description. After the panel I had a chance to talk with Scott the panel facilitator and we came up with this shared perspective: "As business leaders, we are integrating ethical principles, shifting the status quo economy. We are the care givers co-creating an entirely new ecology of commerce ."

: Green Business Now

Through the course of the conversation, it became evident that the power of our consumer choices will drive companies to raise the bar on supply chain standards of behavior and performance. Ethical businessleaders are onto this trend and doing their best to keep up with the growing awareness that human behavior and "business as usual" is affecting all life on Earth. A favorite phrase is to Vote with your dollars in the marketplace of change! This is the core of ethical behavior, knowing that we impact ecological systems that support a healthy, balanced and harmonious life!

Bud Wilson was a student-athlete-activist during the tumultuous era at Harvard University and emerged with an interdisciplinary degree combining, child development, innovative education and urban social policy. He the Global Director of Bio-Regional Leadership and an awareness instructor and wilderness guide for Sacred Passage and The Way of Nature. Bud has devoted his passion and energy to raising awareness (including his own) and shifting human consciousness to appreciate that we are all living in an interdependent, interconnected world where there is more than enough for all of humanity to live in peace and harmony. A proud dad of 2 wonderful grown children!