An enlightened strategic leader has a lot to think about. Seriously changing how the organization can positively impact the health and well being of planet earth is often one priority that is on the “nice to think about but not critical” list. Thankfully, this mindset is changing rapidly. But it’s not easy.

Bridgett Luther, a founder of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, maintains that to be truly sustainable, you have to consider the full life cycle of your products. Every step in the process, including sourcing, manufacturing, and packaging, through to the waste a product leaves at the end of its useful life, has an environmental impact – and often it’s a negative one.

Listen in to my interview with Bridgett to learn how leading companies are examining their products to ensure that what they produce doesn’t harm their company’s employees, customers, or the world at large. She describes the five elements organizations should consider to create fully renewable, healthy products. When companies challenge traditional methods and bring new innovation to the process, the outcomes are very exciting!

A Note About Bridgett: Bridgett was the head of the Department of Conservation for the State of California and found that working through regulation was often too slow a method to change the way companies think about the environment and the impact their products and processes have on it. She joined forces with Bill McDonough, the co-author of Cradle to Cradle, to form the Cradle to Cradle Innovation Institute, done in partnership with Google, Stanford University, and others.