7gen Bloc

You Win Some and You Lose Some
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By Inspired Protagonist - July 1, 2009

Greenpeace LogoAfter three years of service I was not reelected to the Greenpeace Board of Directors for another term. This is the wisdom of Greenpeace's 70 odd "voting members." Voting members include former staff, current staff, and others friends of the organization. I will never know where they perceived me to fall short; that dialogue is not part of the process. Like many aspects of the international organization, the election process represents a mixture of democracy and arcane practice. I was deeply saddened by the outcome since I love the organization and am deeply passionate about its work.

I am, however, optimistic both about the health of Greenpeace as an organization as well as its ability to fulfill its unique role within the environmental community. While it is true that there is a gap between where the organization is today and what it must achieve, I know Greenpeace will continue to be a bold, fierce, focused, and strategic force.

In life you win some and you lose some. Sometimes you can't understand why. But life is too short to be bitter and I am committed to continue to find new opportunities to contribute to creating the future we owe coming generations.

Comments
question
Posted by Jensen | Wed, Jul. 1, 2009

Do you feel like Greenpeace's objectives and your company's have diverged in the past year or two? This seems like a possibility to me, as Seventh Generation has grown larger and Greenpeace has continued fairly extreme anti-establishment practices.

Response to question
Posted by Inspired Protagonist | Thu, Jul. 2, 2009

Thanks for your question. I actually don't feel like the objectives of Greenpeace and Seventh Generation have diverged in the past year or two, though we clearly didn't align on our support of the global climate change legislation. My sense is that the idea of having a business person on the Greenpeace board was not one that was universally embraced. It's hard for some to accept that progressive business can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I still wholeheartedly support Greenpeace and will continue to support their work.