Conscious Business Leadership: David Yeung (Green Monday)

(This is one in a series of articles and interviews about conscious business leadership, which is about leaders creating and promoting workplaces of understanding, honesty, and compassion, for the betterment of their employees, their community, their organization and world.)

How does one individual make a true impact on a critical issue like global warming and the dangers it presents to our world? Well, one man from Hong Kong, David Yeung, is taking the lead by tackling one of the largest, and not most well-known threats to the planet: the lifestock industry.

In addition to the many hats he wears as an investor, philanthropist, best-selling author, columnist, and media host, David is the co-founder of Green Monday (http://www.greenmonday.org.hk/), a Hong Kong-based social enterprise group whose purpose is “to tackle climate change and global food insecurity by making low-carbon and sustainable living simple, viral and actionable.”

When he spoke at the recent Wisdom 2.0 Asia conference, which promotes conscious business leadership by bringing together top leaders in business, society and wisdom practices to explore how to lead most effectively in the digital age, David moved the crowd with a simple commitment: You don’t have to stop eating meat, just eat much less. Meat consumption has a higher form of ecological impact than any other behaviour of the modern world. So we can make a difference to the global warming issue, simply by our choice of food.

Making vegetables sexy and a call to action among the population takes not just a moral stance, it needs to be supported by a strong business proposition and a media savvy-ness, David has all three.

Marion: David, why did you start Green Monday?

Green Monday is a social enterprise that aims to combat climate change and global food insecurity issues with a platform that is simple, viral and actionable. I founded Green Monday because I find that most people lack direction on how to help the environment, and don’t know that the choice is food is a simple yet impactful way to help the world.

Marion: What is the business case for Mindfulness in Green Monday. Why does Hong Kong need mindfulness?

HK people are among the most stressed people in the world. Despite the material wealth, many people are suffering and are constantly discontented. Mindfulness would be a great tool for them to rediscover their inner peace and happiness.

Marion: Green Monday should be for everyone – why?

Green Monday is for everyone because we all agree it is important to protect our planet and for the environment to be sustainable. We simply create a platform that every corporation, academic institution and individual can join!

The Green Monday group includes a charitable organization to raise green awareness among restaurants, companies, academic institutions, and individuals; a consulting firm for providing custom green solutions to corporations; and a venture capital arm to invest in and promote green businesses and investors.

Want to help bring Green Monday to your country? Or have your own version of a Conscious Business Leadership Movement? Email us. We want to hear from you.

For more information about Green Monday, please see http://www.greenmonday.org.hk/

For more information about Wisdom 2.0 and upcoming events, please see http://www.wisdom2summit.com/

Marion Neubronner Member since April 28, 2015

Marion is a leadership and development coach, entrepreneur, writer, and angel investor. She has over 20 years of experience in coaching, teaching, mentoring, training, and investing. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University.

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