A lot of sustainable companies truly operate with conviction. They're buying better ingredients; exceeding industry standards for quality and safety; doing the right thing by employees; and spending more to reduce their impact on the environment.

Everyone has a strong opinion of California. Too much traffic, too wide economic disparity, too rich real estate, too high on itself, and "too perfect" are some of the divergent opinions on the Golden State. A recent announcement by Toyota gave this Canadian one more reason to be jealous and reverent of California at the same time.

There has been a paradigm shift and all signs are indicating that global consumer culture is changing. In this new consumer culture, there is a growing realization that consumption does not necessarily equal happiness. And happiness is now being linked more intrinsically to sustainability.

Every creature on earth, from the tiniest single-celled organism to the complex species that is mankind, is ultimately looking out for one thing: itself. So it shouldn't be any wonder why people still find it so hard to adopt a green lifestyle. A few weeks ago, over 1 billion people participated in Earth Day in one way or another. Sure, it's nice to know that people are willing to turn off their lights for an afternoon once a year, but how many of Mother Earth's children truly took any value away from that Sunday and brought it into Monday?

Can marketing create a culture of "enough?"