Out of the Labyrinth

Just got to read the first page of this excerpt from Carl Frankel’s new book Out of the Labyrinth: Who We Are, How We Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It. The introductory blurb on SustainableBusiness.com describes the book as a combination of “a visionary framework, a personal narrative, and cultural criticism into a story about where we have gone wrong as a culture and what we must do — and become — to set course toward a sustainable future,” and there’s also an excerpt from a glowing review by Interface’s Ray Anderson.

I’m interested, though the opening section excerpted here brings up a question I’ve considered numerous times — why so much focus on big corporations? I know they’re the ones that could bring about momentous changes quickly if they chose to do so, but that’s the catch, isn’t it? The Coca-Colas and Exxon-Mobils have gained their stature through non-sustainable methods, and essentially institutionalized those methods. Doesn’t that create an awful lot of inertia to overcome? I’m wondering why more of the big names in sustainability aren’t putting more focus on start-ups, small businesses, etc., which can make changes without having to overcome a huge institutional mindset. Perhaps that’s happening and I’ve missed it — if so, please tell me…