I’ve recently noticed a real gulf in the way top sustainability practitioners talk about environmental legislation and the way everybody else does.

When you read the press or listen to many business executives, these laws are said to be stifling growth, raising prices and putting people out of business (ignoring the fact that most of the energy price rise has been due to stubbornly high oil prices). Legislation = bad.

But when we touch on legislation in, say, my Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group, there is a completely different tone to the conversation. These guys believe that legislation is their ally – driving innovation, getting the attention of senior management and punishing those who don’t invest in sustainability. Legislation = good.

As always it comes down to mindset. Do you want to surf the waves or let them knock you over in the shallows?