3p Contributor: Nick Aster
Recent Articles
Coming Up: Sustainable Industries Economic Forum with Paul Hawken
If you haven’t heard Paul Hawken speak lately, and you happen to be in the Bay Area this week, now is a good time to put it on your to-do list.
Our friends at Sustainable Industries are putting together another phenomenal breakfast forum on Thursday the 19th at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. It’s a $75 event, and having been to the last one I can tell you it’s more than worth it for the speeches as well as the panel that follows. In addition to the legendary Paul Hawken, Colin Wiel will moderate a panel featuring Lisa Michelle Galley of Galley Eco Capital, Phil Williams from Webcor, Matt Cheney from Renewable Ventures, and Peter Rumsey of Rumsey Engineers. Register online here.
If you’re not in the Bay Area, consider some other upcoming locations here. Or stay tuned to 3p for a write-up later in the week.
Sustainable Brands Boot Camp Kicks Off: Interview With Founder, Koann Vikoren Skrzyniarz
The first online Sustainable Brands Boot Camp produced by the folks at Sustainable Life Media who convene the annual Sustainable Brands Conference kicked off yesterday.
CEO KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz recently spoke to one of the SB community members, Diane MacEachern, Founder and CEO of Big Green Purse about what drove the launch. We’ve published the whole interview below. The Boot Camp, which continues weekly for 13 weeks, pulls together many of the top sustainable business consultants and teachers in the US to provide an inexpensive, convenient 360 overview of the principles and current best practices of building a sustainable brand. 3P readers looking to boost their career would do well to consider participating.
Will GM Declare “Environmental Bankruptcy”?
One of the nice things about bankruptcy is that certain debts are forgiven and you get something of a clean slate. That may be fine in a strictly financial sense but when environmental externalities are concerned it may be playing fast and loose. General Motors, long criticized for being a laggard on many fronts, agreed some time ago to be a primary participant in a voluntary resource recovery program known as End-of-Life Vehicle Solutions (ELVS). One of the primary purposes of ELVS is to recover Mercury from automotive switches when vehicles are scrapped. A massive 39,000 pounds of the substance remains to be collected according to activist group Mercury Policy Project.
ELVS Has Not Left the Building, But He’s at the Door…
DripTech Offers Dirt Cheap, Scalable Irrigation for Developing World
The Net Impact conference is as much about great speakers as it is about fortuitous encounters. Today at lunch I had the pleasure of sitting next to Peter Fyrkman of DripTech, a startup company aiming to tackle poverty by providing very cheap, easily scalable drip irrigation technology to small farmers around the world. Ever since I saw Paul Polak speak last year, the apparent ease by which one can bring a family out of poverty to something approaching a middle class lifestyle where education and other opportunities become reachable really struck me. With a small investment in better irrigation, a family can double or triple their agricultural output, feeding themselves and having enough left over to sell at a modest profit. In fact, Paul Polak is on the board of DripTech, inspiring Frykman to refer to the project as “Polak 2.0″.
Frykman told me: “There are 100s of Millions of small farmers suffering from the scarcity that need appropriate drip irrigation to thrive, current commercial products are too large and too expensive for them, it just can’t scale down…”
How does DripTech create a more affordable solution?
ColdWater Tide: Provoking the Ah-Ha Moment at Procter & Gamble
Big brands move slowly. There’s a certain inevitability to that, as unfortunate as it sounds.
In the cleaning products arena we’ve often heaped well-deserved praise on our friends at Ecover, Seventh Generation, and Method. Larger companies, like Procter & Gamble get more reserved recognition but as most of our readers know, have the potential to make a much larger impact on reducing society’s overall footprint on the earth – if only they’d get moving. I had a chance to talk to Len Sauers, Vice President of Global Sustainability at P&G at last weekend’s Opportunity Green conference and the evidence of motion is stronger than I’d assumed.
Len was proud to tell me that P&G has been thinking about sustainability, at least in principal, for a long time. The company made corporate responsibility a core value as early as the 1860s and employs a staggering 700 people in its product safety department, many of whom have doctrine degrees in toxicology, as well as other impressive credentials. These folks have been focused largely on compliance, keeping the worst chemicals out of peoples’ bodies and the ecosystem, and looking at ways for the company to lower resource use and cost.
But things changed in late 2007 which led to a surge in innovation, the creation of new corporate roles focused on sustainability (Len’s job, in fact) and some big product changes resulting in substantial and measurable decreases in the corporate footprint. The prime catalyst – an energy audit leading to the introduction of Coldwater Tide.
The Greening of Health: Sustainability and Health Converge
One of the subject matters that we’ve been working on covering more often is that of healthcare. Never mind the politics, the working of hospitals, health insurers, company health programs and so-on should be deeply entwined into the conversation on sustainability.
On December 3rd, The Learning Forum is bringing together employee benefits experts, healthcare providers, health insurance executives and others who are focusing on long-term health strategies. The purpose of the meeting is to share ideas and experience on the emerging trends that link sustainability, wellness and productive workplaces.
The all day event will be held at the Institute For the Future in Palo Alto, CA and is limited in size to 20 firms to ensure a private, collegial and candid set of meetings. Attendees will include folks from Humana, the CDC, Burger King, Stanford University Hospitals, Nokia, Ascension Health, Steelcase.
Homemade Harvey: “This Package Is Landfill Friendly”
Opportunity Green’s been brimming with great speakers and quality products to talk about. But occasionally there’s a lemon. I was puzzled to see what looked like flattened toothpaste tubes in a bucket of ice on the patio today. They turned out to be a crushed fruit product called “Homemade Harvey” – an all organic fruit paste that squeezes out of a pouch.
Now, there’s nothing un-green about selling fresh crushed fruit. In fact, the product is probably good for you if you can stomach the aesthetic of squirting goo into your mouth. But Harvey’s stated claim of “100% Crushed Fruit, 0% Bad Stuff” overlooks a rather obvious element of the big picture: Non-recyclable, heavy and probably unnecessary packaging. What really cracks me up is the claim on the bottom of the pouch, and I quote, “This Package is Landfill Friendly“. Uh huh. And so is the chair I’m sitting in. At least we can’t accuse them of greenwashing….
Opportunity Green Swag Report: Bamboo Utensils, Billboard Bags & Kor Water
Opportunity Green is off to a roaring start with some of the most thoughtful and engaging speakers in green business today. We’ll have an interview with Proctor & Gamble’s Len Sauers, thoughts on Hopenhagen, the LED revolution, a host of other reports soon.
But first things first: Most conferences come with a bag full of useless trinkets and paper which almost immediately winds up in the trash. This being a green-thinking conference, real effort was made to ensure this was not the case, and today’s sponsored goody bags are a great showcase of innovation.
The bags themselves, by Sue Rigler’s new company, AdVinylize, are made of upcycled advertisements and other promotional material. I got a chance to talk to Sue during our epic 500 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles this week…
Sue’s product offers outdoor advertisers a responsible post-life alternative to ad campaigns at the end of their life. AdVinylize diverts waste to create bags and other products for trade shows and other large-scale purposes. What’s especially nice about today’s bag is that it’s tough enough and big enough to work great for future grocery missions, which is exactly what this one’s going to wind up being used for.
Inside the bag was a lot of notable material, but Kor water’s sexy no-BPA bottle was one of the bigger hits. The last thing I need is another water bottle, so I actually declined to take one, but what’s interesting about Kor is twofold: First the company is actively trying to reintroduce the long lost art of filling your “hydration vessel” at a (gasp!) tap and carrying your water with you. Why this is something that has to be re-taught to people is outside the scope of this post, but suffice it to say, sexy marketing and a host of (coming soon) social media promotion – including an iphone app that locates and rates fresh water sources will do wonders for a population at large who still buys water in bottles imported from Fiji.
Last but not least, the conference included a nice little set of bamboo utensils from To Go Ware in a handy pouch you can carry with you. Significantly, no utensils were provided at lunch – bring your pouch or you’re out of luck.
Thanks to Triple Pundit’s Sponsors
As November rolls along, we’re happy to see our community of readers, contributors, and sponsors growing. Our sponsors in particular are what make it possible to continue to publish great content and continue to build the 3p movement. Please take some time to check out what they’re doing and if you’re in a position to do so, thank them for their support of TriplePundit. If your company is interested in getting involved with 3p in any way, please get in touch with us!
The Bard Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College is an interdisciplinary curriculum which closely echos the founding principals of Triple Pundit – the idea that economy, ecology, and society are inherently intertwined and cannot be looked at as silos in addressing issues of sustainability. In the case of the Bard CEP, faculty from the school’s science, law, policy, and economics disciplines coordinate an integrated curriculum to address environmental matters. We’re excited to announce Bard CEP as our newest sponsor and will be periodically publishing interesting developments from the program.
The Environmental Defense Fund Innovation Exchange is continuing to evolve into an invaluable resource for businesses. You’d swear that there was a catch, since you rarely expect great resources like the Innovation Exchange without someone trying to sell you something, right? But the EDF partners with businesses, doesn’t take a dime in return, then open-sources the IP for all to share. You’ll also notice that the content on the Innovation Exchange is Creative Commons licensed, so share it all you want, as long as you share the credit with them. Check out the EDF Innovation Exchange Blog and their Twitter for more. Thanks EDF!
Opportunity Green Rides on to Los Angeles
It’s not often that we can post something just for fun, but TriplePundit’s Nick Aster was honored to be a part of the “Tour de OG” 2009 – the first annual bike ride in support and anticipation of Opportunity Green, coming up this weekend in Los Angeles.
Pictured above is the batch of intrepid cyclists who’ve made it to Pismo Beach from San Francisco in a mere 3 days covering almost 300 miles. We’ll keep the updates coming as time and bandwidth allow, but first, a shout out to our fantastic ride sponsors – Red Bull, New Belgium Brewery, Rickshaw Bagworks, Mike’s Bikes, Peleton Wine Celars, Urban X Renewables, and of course the fantastic folks at Opportunity Green who made it all happen.
Incidentally, it’s not too late to register for the conference – you can still get 30% off by using the discount code “TripleP30” when you register here.
We’ll see you in Los Angeles!
Opportunity Green: Last Chance for 30% Discount, and Epic Bike Ride…
It’s less than one week from the biggest green business event to hit Southern California since this time last year – and Opportunity Green still has space available for you. 3p readers can get a generous 30% discount on admission by using the code “TripleP30” when you register here. We’ll be excited to see you there!
In the mood for a bike ride?
The Tour d’OG is rolling down the california coast as you read this. Currently camped out near Santa Cruz, we roll to Big Sur tomorrow… internet connections depending, we’ll update this post with some pictures and notes from the road. See you at Opportunity Green!
Coming Up: 350.org Day of Action, Is Business Aboard?
Bill McKibben’s climate action group, 350.org has rallied together an astonishing 4600+ events of all shapes and sizes in close to 200 countries to raise awareness of climate change tomorrow – October 24 – in a globally staged call to action. I’ve been riding the California coast with my colleagues and will be rolling into San Francisco just in time to catch the main event.
What’s the point? To imprint the number “350″ into the cultural consciousness – according to scientists it’s the right parts-per-million that we need in our atmosphere in order to retain a stable climate, avoiding the worst aspects of climate change. Right now we’re at 387ppm.
MBA Students at the Presidio Graduate School get wet for climate change
Important Readers Poll: On Sponsorship and Guest Authoring
Readers: As you know, we’re in the wild West of new media, where the definition of journalism is blurry; where barriers to entry are delightfully low; and where ways to make a living are fleeting. We love what we (with your help) have created at 3P and want to keep it growing in the most transparent and useful fashion for everyone in our community.
We want to ask your opinions on a couple things concerning the future of this site: sponsorship and guest authorship. Read on to answer our 2 quick poll questions:
Coming Up: Opportunity Green Los Angeles
One of the few complaints I’ve had this conference season is the relatively small number of conferences taking place outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Though it’s nice to be at the center of the action, it sometimes feels a little like the choir is preaching to itself. Karen Solomon, the mastermind behind Opportunity Green agrees, and has put together what will be arguably one of this year’s most exciting events – November 7-8 at UCLA in Los Angeles.
LA is the center of the world’s popular culture and a global trend setter in business, communications and entertainment. So, getting forward thinking business people together there to talk about making business greener on a larger scale not only makes sense, it’s critical. The attendee list is a who’s who of business large and small, those you might think of as having green at their soul and many you might identify as newcomers to the conversation. Most importantly, in it’s third year, the conference aims to make a larger splash than ever this year bringing new media attention to sustainable efforts by companies, entrepreneurs, and change agents of all stripes.
Two special things this year: First, 3p is proud to be able to offer you a 30% discount on admission by using the code “TripleP30“. Just REGISTER HERE. Second, yours truly will be helping to rally a group of about 30 green business leaders in cycling the California Coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles over 5 days leading up to the conference. The ride will be a high profile opportunity to network with some of the most devoted conference participants, get some great media coverage (right here on Triple Pundit) and have some fun while we’re at it. If you’re interested in the ride, you can register here or get in touch with me personally. More to come!
Recent Comments