Editor's Note: With this post we say "welcome" to Leslie Berliant! Leslie is a partner at BLU MOON Group, a marketing communications firm that specializes in cause marketing and facilitating connections between corporations, nonprofits and public agencies around issues and causes that serve the public interest. She is a volunteer Regional Coordinator for MoveOn.org, an organization that focuses on education and advocacy on national issues and mobilizes people across the U.S. to help elect candidates with progressive values and advance progressive causes, including peace, healthcare, environmental stewardship and election reform.

LOHAS, Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, refers to the broad category of businesses that serve the socially, environmentally and health conscious consumer. The LOHAS market segment includes health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living, and social justice. LOHAS companies are known for practicing responsible capitalism, with a focus on environmentally and economically sustainable business practices.

The LOHAS Forum is an annual conference that brings together businesses in the sector to focus on how business, media and entertainment can be leveraged to influence business practices, consumer behavior and purchasing decisions while promoting lifestyles of health and sustainability. The LOHAS journal is a resource for research, trends and opportunities in the LOHAS marketplace and is published annually.

Having worked with the LOHAS team on the latest confrerence, LOHAS 11, I spoke recently with Ted about his own LOHAS experiences and what new and exciting changes to expect with LOHAS 12.

Leslie Berliant: What first drew you to the idea of sustainability?

Ted Ning: It was by default, not design. I have always lived this lifestyle, but unintentionally. I grew up in the foothills just outside Denver, Colorado where my parents were very active and involved in community and social giving. We were a large family which included three adopted sisters and I was always enthralled with nature.

When I was a student at Colorado University, where I was an International Relations and Chinese major, I adopted the ‘Boulder lifestyle’. I rode my bike instead of driving, shopped at organic markets, recycled and became more aware of environmental and political issues. Really though, I was just doing what my peers were doing, I wasn’t making a conscious decision to live a more sustainable lifestyle. In those days, you really sacrificed if you went the sustainability route. Those were the folks who wore patchouli, didn’t bathe, wore their hair in dreadlocks and listened to the Grateful Dead. I wasn’t that guy, but I was taking advantage of what was available to me in Boulder.

LB: How did you first get involved with the LOHAS forum?

TN: Again, it was by default and not design. I had been living over seas in Japan and Taiwan and I was trying to find something that connected with me. There was an ad in the paper to do data entry for a company that was working in the sustainability movement and I answered it. The rest is history!

LB: How has being involved with LOHAS affected your own life?

TN: I am keenly aware that I am now considered an ambassador to understanding this lifestyle and I take that role very seriously. Just like when I was a ski coach at Colorado University, I am in a leadership position with LOHAS, and that means I can have a tremendous impact on others through my own actions. I live in a home that is built green. It’s powered by solar, insulated with recycled newspaper, has energy efficient appliances, compact fluorescent lights and an organic garden. I belong to a community supported agricultural farm, drive a diesel vehicle and invest in SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) funds.

To be honest, these things aren’t always easy. I was lucky to live in a place where there was a green model home to choose, but sustainable living takes a lot of leg work. I believe, though, that with the technology, we can learn from each other how to make it more consumer friendly. Solar, for example, is tricky. You have to understand wattage, voltage, kilowatt hours, etc. If this is not your area of expertise, it can by very complex and sometimes dull. It takes commitment to understand it and people don’t want to take the time, necessarily. We need to find ways to make it easier for consumers to make the greener choices.

LB: What’s it like to be quoted in magazines like the New Yorker and other media outlets as an expert in this area?

TN: It’s exciting and scary. Sometimes I can’t believe that I have this opportunity to influence people. It’s very exciting to see people gravitating toward learning about sustainable living and purchasing, and to realize how much information is out there. There is so much consumer interest right now. The opportunity is to help companies understand that it’s not just about selling product but about embodying the overall understanding of sustainable products and business practices and embedding that into the corporate culture. To have corporate executives understand that this is the key to maintaining their competitive edge is really exciting.

LB: What has been your favorite part of the LOHAS Forum?

TN: I love that it is international. In fact, LOHAS is much more international than the green movement overall. In Asia, for example, LOHAS is like Open Source, it is publicly owned. There are LOHAS magazines, department stores, in fact, the term LOHAS is used to market products and 65% of Japanese consumers are familiar with the term LOHAS.

Personally, I have always wanted to work more in Asia, in a capacity other than teaching English. LOHAS has allowed me to go back and bring my expertise there, while learning new ideas from them. Last summer, the Taiwanese Trade Commission brought me over to do presentations on LOHAS and that was really exciting.

LB: Who are some of your sustainability heroes?

TN: There are so many of them, First, I would have to say, the visionaries who take their vision to action like architect, designer and author Bill McDonough; Interface Chairman, Ray Anderson; CEO of Clif Bar, Gary Erickson and many others.

And then there are those that stuck with their ideas regardless of the challenges and the young innovators like 25 year old Terracycle CEO, Tom Szaky.

Finally those people that help humanity identify with ecology and the environment like Jane Goodall, Jacques Cousteau and environmental bioneer, Paul Stamitz

LB: What’s going to be new with LOHAS 12?

TN: We are bringing LOHAS back home to its origins. After 3 years of being held in Los Angeles, we will be in Boulder this year, June 18 – 20. LOHAS 12 will also be paired with a film festival over the weekend, focusing on films that incorporate LOHAS principles. And most exciting, we are going to mirror what is happening with user based news and information by making LOHAS 12 far more interactive. We know that much of what people come for are the incredible conversations that take place in the hallways in between panels. We will be developing innovative ways to bring those conversations into the ballrooms where we meet, which will be really exciting.

LB: What do you think the LOHAS community needs to focus on next?

TN: Consumers need to have access to as much information as possible so that they can make educated choices on purchasing. Businesses need to evaluate their role and determine their position of innovation in their industry. There is tremendous opportunity for business and consumers to be catalysts for change and to look at the big picture. For example, gas and oil companies ought to become energy companies and take advantage of all of the alternative energy sources we have now, while developing new ones. Companies need to have bigger vision and a long term view rather than focusing just on quarterly profits. And then they need to be the ones going out and lobbying for sound environmental and sustainable policies at the government level. When that starts happening, then we will really see huge change.