2007 Conference Presentations

Summaries of selected presentations from our 2007 conferences.

Chicago

Making It Happen –
How One Green Business Did It

Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, shared the ups and downs of founding this wildly successful green business. He shared insights on how to take the plunge, find the money, jump-start sales and grow a green business in today’s marketplace.
View Seth Goldman's presentation (PDF, 1.5MB) »

Sustainability from the Inside Out

Dominique Conseil, President of Aveda shared examples of “co-evolution” on Aveda’s journey to sustainability. He then shared how his company’s culture and passion for their work is what keeps the business true to their ethical standards. He demonstrates how developing a green business requires passion, new systems and results in a cultural evolution. During this evolution, Conseil challenges us to reach our to our supply chains as a way to progress on our sustainable business agenda.

The Role of Green Business in Climate Change

Alisa Gravitz, Executive Director of Co-op America, and a nationally known expert on climate change, solar energy and economic solutions to social and environmental problems, discussed how green businesses are an integral part of the climate solution.  She stressed the importance of bringing solar to scale to meet the global climate crisis, create good paying jobs in every community and for addressing poverty worldwide. Alisa also outlined the ways companies are thinking big and creating opportunity for all.
View Alisa Gravitz's presentation on climate change (PDF, 1.16MB) »

San Francisco

Current Green Consumer Trends

Laurie Demeritt of The Hartman Group presented their recent research, The Hartman Report on Sustainability: Understanding the Consumer Perspective, which documents current green consumer trends. The findings illustrate the strong desire of consumers to shop responsibly, with varying understandings of what that means. Her suggestions for green businesses include focusing on one target group of consumers, discovering and employing the language of these customers, and creating narratives to connect consumers to their products.
View Laurie Demerritt's presentation (PDF, 1.9 MB)»

An Update on Green Business and Climate Change

Co-op America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz, an expert on climate change, provided specific examples of how green businesses are part of the climate solution. She outlined a twelve step plan crafted by Co-op America to cut emissions, steps of which included driving hybrids, phasing out coal, increased reliance on wind and solar power and a larger use of biofuels. She encouraged all in attendance to begin by signing up with The Carbon Concierge to offset their carbon impact.
Alisa Gravitz's presentation (PDF, 1.8 MB) »

Moving toward Sustainability at Sun Microsystems

In a case study, Lori Duvall of Sun Microsystems explained their company’s path to sustainability and going green. She insisted on the importance of involving management and spoke of the small steps a company can take to limit their carbon footprint—from allowing employees to telecommute, to using energy efficient light bulbs. She encouraged all companies to compare and share their energy efficiency practices with others on openeco.org, an online community dedicated to energy efficiency.
Lori Duvall's presentation (PDF, 86 KB) »

Sustainability at Organic Valley

Organic Valley Family of Farms' Project Coordinator Erin Ford reported on the sustainability practices at Organic Valley and with the family farms they work with. From a group of seven farmers in 1988, Organic Valley has grown to over 1,280 farmers nationwide. It has doubled the size of its office, yet manages to use a mere 25% of the energy. OV uses bio-diesel in their fleets, performs routine ecological audits, established the Farm Renewable Energy and Construction Program and does bio-mass collection.

Erin Ford's presentation (PDF, 636 KB) »

The Carbon Concierge™

A special feature of the conference was The Carbon Concierge, a project of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute and Social Venture Network created to help businesses reduce their carbon footprint. Directors Mickey Lee and Lorinda Rowledge were at the conference to help attendees make the pledge to go carbon neutral. They were available throughout the conference and we achieved an impressive 56% participation. A follow-up process will ensure that all businesses are successful.

Lorinda Rowledge, PhD’s presentation (PDF, 505 KB) »

Mickey Lee's presentation (PDF, 1.4 MB) »

Accountability and Results

“Think like a man of action, act like a man of action.” James Kenefick challenged company leaders to make plans and stick to them. He also brought attention to the people who you surround yourself with: “Just as great students have great teachers, great companies have great boards of directors.” Business boards must value accountability over popularity and results over status: they should help business owners focus and create the company they desire.

James Kenefick's presentation, part 1 (PDF, 486 KB)»

James Kenefick's presentation, part 2 (PDF, 617 KB)»

Marketing that Matters

To advance your vision of a socially just world, Eric Friedenwald-Fishman emphasized the necessity of effective marketing. Drawing examples from his book Marketing that Matters, written with Chip Conley, he stressed the importance of being aggressively ‘customer centered’ by dedicating yourself to understanding the ins and outs of your clientele, and working intensely to bring the best possible product to market.
Eric Friedenwald-Fishman's presentation (PDF, 822 KB) »