2006 Conference Presentations

Summaries of selected presentations from our 2006 conference.

Paul Ray and Dixon de Leña of Integral Partnerships in Strategies for the Future of Green Business, stressed the importance of green businesses speaking authentically to customers about the values and visions that drive their work.

“Those that distinguish themselves through deep commitments to sustainability and social justice are defining what business will be in a ‘new wisdom’ society. Corporations will try to copy us but they’re going to have a hard time. Business models that reflect true and deep commitment to social justice are hard to duplicate or replicate.” Their recommendation, “ Keep innovating and you’re stay ahead of the competition.”

Their marketing advice summed up, “Your best sales and marketing proposition is to show who you are…use your web sites to tell about the company behind the products…the cultural creative customer wants to know HOW companies do what they do and love to hear stories about process and how you’re creating a positive future.”

Paul Ray and Dixon deLeña's Presentation (PDF, 340KB) »

Jill Bamburg, author of Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business Without Selling Out, described her research on 30 values-driven companies that have grown to scale.

Bamburg, professor and dean at Bainbridge Graduate Institute, saw a powerful relationship between strategy and mission in the companies she studied. She offers nine key lessons that can be applied by businesses in any industry. One such approach was looking at strategic planning…

“The traditional business approach distinguishes heavily between strategy and opportunism—the old advice was to work that plan and stay focused, but the companies I studies realized that opportunities are always arising. By staying focused on the companies’ core mission, these companies were able to stay on top of rapid changes in the marketplace.”

She also noted another interesting similarity, in these companies, was their emphasis on hiring. “Hiring is a critical component for mission-driven companies, people are highly invested in these businesses and you must hire the right person who is most invested in making the company successful.”

Jill Bamburg's Presentation (PDF, 1.1 MB) »

Mark Davis from The Organic Center reviewed the current organics research and their work to generate credible, peer reviewed scientific information and communicate the benefits of organic farming and products in this ever growing sector.

Mark Davis's Presentation (PDF, 2.8 MB) »

Information on the 2007 Green Business Conferences »