Page 031 - THE PRIUS EFFECT
Source section: Section 2 - Sustainable Thinking PDF page: 31 Guide page: 24 OCR quality: high (440 words)
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THE PRIUS EFFECT Delivering real-time energy information in a convenient way by installing meters where operators can act on the information and make changes to use energy more efficiently Inaddition to elements, their relationships, and the feedback loops among them, systems theory explores the emergent properties of a system—patterns that emerge from the system as a whole and are more than the sum of the parts. For example, the pattern of waves crashing along the beach is an emergent property: the pattern is more than the water molecules that make up the ocean, more than the surface of the shore, more than the gravitational pull of the moon or the influence of the wind. The waves emerge as a result of the interactions and relationships among the elements. Similarly, the culture of a company emerges from the people who work there, the buildings in which they work, the services or products they provide, the way they receive and process information, the management and power structure, and the financial structure. These elements and flows combine in both predictable and unpredictable ways to form a unique and individual organization. The elements of the system (people, buildings), the flows within the system (of materials, money, and information), the rules that govern those flows (management and structures), and the functions of the system (providing goods or services, generating a profit) determine whether the company is a good place to work and will be sustainable over time. To influence the behavior of a system, it is important to find the leverage points—places where a small intervention can yield large changes. Providing building occupants with real-time energy information is an example of using a leverage point to alter behavior. Rather than changing the elements of the system—the envelope of the structure, the mechanical system, the building occupants, the electricity grid—the change focuses merely on delivering available data to a point where it can be acted on appropriately. This minor tweak can dramatically raise the efficiency of the system. Donella Meadows’s essay “Leverage Points: Places to Intervene ina System” provides an excellent summary of how to find and use leverage points to make meaningful change.” 4 fe) In Natural Capitalism, Hawkens, Lovins, and Lovins explore how capital markets can be used for—rather
8 than against—sustainability, not by eliminating them or adding intensive regulation, but by using leverage 9 points within the system. One leverage point they examine is the goals that govern the system. By valuing z not only financial capital but also natural capital and human capital, existing systems and structures can lead | to sustainability. a 5 oO w
a Ww 1e) Zz fe) O Ww a fe) .s) a 17 D. Meadows, Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System (1999), sustainer.org/pubs/Leverage Points.pdf. Ww a 24