Looking for Brown Lawns Instead of Greener Grass

When your community is facing a literal or figurative drought, how can your company show its support?

Utah is currently in the trenches of its worst drought since 1956, or maybe ever, depending on what metrics are used. It’s scary; however, instead of moping through a “greener grass” mentality, many residents are finding hope in brown lawns.

A brown lawn may serve as a symbol. It shows that those who own the property are striving to conserve water, that they are thinking about their neighbors and not just themselves. They are willing to be part of something bigger. They are working to create and contribute to a community.

Integrated in the fabric of society and businesses is community, which values both individuals and the collective. Organizations reaching for real success intentionally work to play an integral role in their communities.

Figuratively, they cultivate “brown lawns,” to show they stand with and up for their various stakeholders.

Over the past few months, we have interviewed 100 companies about their social impact and community engagement efforts. We have heard from organizations that sacrifice time and money, engaging company minds and hearts in meaningful and creative ways to become a part of the people with brown lawns. Through our research, we admirably observed that many company leaders and employees choose to involve their workplace in social impact because of a personal desire to make a difference in the world. They are making that difference in a variety of ways, unique to their company and their mission. We invite you to ask yourselves, what value does my organization provide to my community? What unique value can my organization provide to my community? When those around me are in a drought, am I willing to join them and maintain a brown lawn?