Review: NATURE'S FORTUNE by Mark Tercek and Jonathan Adams

I remember when I first learned that some guy from Goldman Sachs was taking the helm at The Nature Conservancy.

I had left TNC already and was meeting a former colleague and friend who has also since moved on from TNC.

"Hank Paulson?" I asked, assuming the former TNC board chair was unhappy at Treasury and that the CEO spot at TNC would have been a nice swap.

"No, Mark Tercek," my friend informed me. "He used to run some environmental unit at Goldman."

"That's a bold move," I answered, thinking it complemented the trajectory that John Sawhill started back in the 1990s. "In some ways it legitimizes what John was saying that companies had to be part of the solution."

My friend was more worried about how it would impact management of the organization, which had long operated more like a Fortune 500 company than a non-profit, but we agreed the new guy would have to adapt as much as the organization.

Then I met Mark in Aspen where we were both speaking at the Aspen Institute's Environment Forum, and heard him speak about his journey and what he saw as the challenges for the environmental movement. I was impressed by his humility, candor, and sense of purpose.

In his short tenure at the Conservancy, Tercek's taken some bold steps to build on Sawhill's legacy of corporate engagement, developed new financing mechanisms for conservation, and brought transparency and authenticity to his role through social media.

While there are still grumblings in the ranks at TNC that things haven't changed all that much or that there is still a disconnect between the field and the "Home Office," from my view, Tercek seems to be making the tough choices, living with the consequences, and course-correcting where need be.

Now, with science writer Jonathan Adams, Tercek has published his thoughts on the new direction TNC and other environmental groups must take to achieve real, lasting results in conservation.

Not everything in Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature is new -- the writers trot out some old saws like the protection of the NYC watershed, the water funds in Ecuador, and the concept of accounting for "natural capital” that have been around for over a decade -- but Tercek's banking imprimatur, a different kind of green roots, may legitimize to the business community that business can be a beneficial environmental partner.

More activist oriented greenies may not like this approach. There have been a number of attacks on the organization for its work with Dow Chemical, taking money from Monsanto, and some of its management of specific projects over the years.

Tercek and Adams are careful to thank the activist organizations for their role in calling attention to issues and keeping TNC and its corporate partners honest.

It is refreshing to see the Conservancy turning its attention to urban conservation in New York City and elsewhere, which it has traditionally shied away from preferring to view cities as “major markets” for philanthropy and marketing purposes.

More radical perhaps is Tercek's assertion that more basic business thinking familiar to corporate analysts should be part of the environmental organization's toolkit, such as maximizing returns, investing in assets, managing risk, diversifying portfolios, and promoting innovation.

Nature's Fortune is not a perfect book. I'd prefer a little more poetry, which Tercek studied in college and continues to be involved with as a reader, in the mix.

But the book is a good primer for business readers and will sit nicely on a shelf next to Ray Anderson’s Mid-Course Correction and Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist, Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce, and other books about the relationship between ecology, economics, and how the two are increasingly interdependent.

Marathon Men (and Women): TNC Running for Nature

TNC protects places like Raja Ampat, Indonesia

I was twice reminded of my old pals at The Nature Conservancy this week.

The first was when the host of a panel I was moderating told me of the passing of a Conservancy legend, Dennis Wolkoff, and the second was when I learned about a group of dedicated Conservancy staff and friends, including CEO Mark Tercek, who were running the New York City Marathon next weekend.

Dennis passed away last Spring, and yet I was only just now hearing about it -- and from a total stranger. How did that happen? I wasn't close to Dennis, but we both shared a passion for the Boston Red Sox and I got to use his Fenway seats on several occasions.

Still, it stung that I'd gotten so far away over the years that I had to hear about his passing seven months after it happened.

My fondest memory of Dennis was beating him in a negotiations workshop a decade ago. Dennis very graciously acknowledged his defeat and, although it was only a game, I could never forget my victory over a master deal maker. His generosity of spirit was in strong evidence that day, as it was every day with his colleagues and with anyone with whom he came in contact.

That's the spirit of the Conservancy; it's a giving spirit.

Which is why it is no surprise that a group of Conservancy staff and friends, including CEO Mark Tercek, are giving of themselves by running to raise funds for the Conservancy's critical work protecting the world's most important lands and waters.

I hope you'll join me in supporting their efforts and cheer them on as they hit the wilds of New York City's streets on November 7th.  My support is in memory of Dennis Wolkoff.

You can donate to the team at nature.org.

Conservation: A Farewell to TNC's Stephanie Meeks

I've crashed a few parties in my day. But tonight I found my way into an invitation-only special event, thanks to my old TNC-pal David Whitehead.

The occasion? Saying farewell to Stephanie Meeks, the acting president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, who will step down at the end of the month. I was glad I went.

I've known Stephanie for a long time; we came into the Conservancy around the same time, and we each contributed in our own ways to the organization's tremendous success over the past decade and change.

Over the past eighteen years, Stephanie rose in the ranks from a humble start in the Tennessee chapter to acting CEO. She took over the top spot last October, when Steve McCormick left to run the Moore Foundation.

But in reality, Stephanie was capably running much of the organization by the time she stepped into the acting president and CEO role. Since the late 90s, Stephanie oversaw the fundraising, marketing, and operations functions and later became chief operating officer.

Her able leadership, decisiveness, and laser focus fueled the dizzying growth and, ultimately, navigated the ship through unchartered waters: enabling her team to mobilize billions of dollars in support of conservation outcomes.

A colleague told me that when Stephanie stepped up to the plate last Fall, the organization let out a huge exhale. Such was the confidence the staff and board had in her abilities and leadership.

She was an inspiring and tireless leader; in part because she understood the real value in shared leadership and trusting her team. This was a lesson she -- and all of us -- learned from the late John Sawhill, and from Stephanie's former boss, the late Mike Coda.

The Conservancy ultimately decided to go in a different direction, bringing in Mark Tercek to lead its next chapter. This was not a reflection on Stephanie's promise as a leader; most of us who worked under her believed in her capabilities.

As with any leader, we didn't always agree with particular decisions she made. (In the last few years a wall seemed to be building between the staff and executive team, and staff and board, for instance. That was disconcerting, but it never hampered TNC's growth.)

We all understood, however, that Stephanie always lived the Conservancy's values, and her decisions were driven by an insatiable desire to advance the Conservancy's mission.

Some smart group -- non-profit or for-profit -- will snap her up. They will not be disappointed.

Stephanie Meeks will go on to lead another organization of committed individuals to great growth and new heights. She will also learn a lesson a number of us have learned: there is life after TNC.

Thank you, Stephanie, and good luck in your future endeavors. I won't say goodbye, hoping our paths will cross again down the road.

(Blogging by BlackBerry; updated with links and photo courtesy of TNC on 6/20/08)

Conservation: What's Ahead for Nature Conservancy with New CEO Mark Tercek?

The announcement last Friday that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has hired Goldman Sachs' Mark Tercek as CEO came as a surprise.

Many familiar with TNC expected longtime employee and acting CEO and current COO Stephanie Meeks to get tapped for the job. Others felt it was time to look outside of the organizations ranks and bring in a global player.

But Mark Tercek, currently a managing director at Goldman Sachs and head of the Goldman Sachs Center for Environmental Markets as well as the firm’s Environmental Strategy Group, was a candidate from left field. That could be a good thing. (I speculated earlier in the year that another Goldman alum, Henry Paulson, might be considering the post, but alas, he has his hands full at present.)

Mr. Tercek, according to TNC, "combines global business experience, experience working effectively in different cultures and recognized leadership on climate change and other environmental issues."

"Building on our 57 years of conservation results, The Nature Conservancy is working with partners to expand our global reach to achieve our challenging 2015 Goal of effectively conserving 10 percent of all natural habitats on Earth," said John P. Morgridge, chairman of the Conservancy’s board of directors.

"At this important time for conservation and for our organization, Mark's knowledge of global cultures and governments, his passion for conservation and his experience as a decisive consensus builder in an intensely results-oriented organization positions him to lead the Conservancy to accelerate our work around the globe.”

"To ensure a smooth transition of leadership," according to a TNC press release. "Ms. Meeks, who has served as the Conservancy's acting president and CEO since October and as its chief operating officer since January 2007, has agreed to continue in those capacities through the beginning of Mr. Tercek's tenure."

"I have long admired The Nature Conservancy and have an enormous amount of respect for its global mission," said Mr. Tercek. "As climate change, habitat loss and other global trends continue to threaten our planet's biodiversity, the world needs the Conservancy's effective, practical solutions now more than ever."

"Mr. Tercek is currently collaborating with Resources for the Future, the World Resources Institute and the Woods Hole Research Center on projects concerning climate change.

"He serves on the Council on Foreign Relations' independent task force on climate change and the Wildlife Conservation Society's Chilean Advisory Council. He is a member of the Steering Group on the Prince of Wales' Princes' Rainforest Project.

"In addition, Mr. Tercek has worked with Nature Conservancy board member Dr. Gretchen Daily, professor of biology at Stanford University, and Conservancy chief scientist Peter Kareiva on advancing finance and policy mechanisms for valuing forest ecosystems for the vital roles they play in supporting human well-being, thereby creating alternatives to rainforest destruction."

"Mark is opening innovative possibilities for aligning economic forces with conservation," Dr. Daily said. "His vision is central to taking conservation to scale, incorporating the values of nature into real decisions and engaging leaders globally."

With his background at Goldman and focus on market-based solutions, this could be a new era for TNC as it wrestles with threats to its mission from climate change and the undervaluing of the benefits provided to people by natural capital.

It will be interesting to watch how new blood influences the organization, specifically in terms of how it plays in the carbon market-generation space, where it could have a huge role.

Some of the more immediate impacts of climate change are already being felt at Conservancy sites around the globe. Will the new CEO marshal the resources necessary to assess and address climate-based threats to its portfolio of places and risk to its land-rich asset base?

An interesting move. We'll keep an eye on how this plays out over the coming months.

(Disclosure: The author was an employee of The Nature Conservancy until August of 2007.)