3p Contributor: Tori Okner
Recent Articles
Insight into Innovation Courtesy of Ron Gonen- CEO and Cofounder of RecycleBank
If you haven’t heard of RecycleBank, it’s only a matter of time. The company bills itself as a “premier rewards and loyalty program that motivates people to recycle” and the New York Times calls the premise, “elegantly simple.” In brief, RecycleBank partners with municipalities or private haulers to measure household recycling via a smart computer chip in each recycling bin. They then compensate participants based on the quantity of their recyclables.
Founded in 2004, RecyleBank is already active in 18 states. According to Marketing and Communications Director Lisa Pomerantz, Recycle Bank is on pace for exponential growth and projects that by the end of 2009 “We’ll be servicing millions of people as we launch across the states and into the United Kingdom.”
Winner of the World Economic Forum as a 2009 Technology Pioneer, the company won its seed money via the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship award from Columbia Business school. Ron Gonen, CEO and cofounder of RecycleBank, made some time to reflect on scaling the company from his New York City apartment to a growing global enterprise.
Growing a Green Business- with a Box
As the industry icons of the old economic order crumble, TriplePundit offers you an inspiring example of a new, highly-promising business model. Through a conversation with the founder of Rentagreenbox.com, we look at how one young company is winning green awards and turning a profit.
Rentagreenbox bills itself as “the first, zero-waste pack and move solution in America.” The California based company converts post-consumer trash to an array of moving products and offers a sustainable solution for both residential and commercial moves. In brief, the company offers a moving assessment, delivers the rented moving supplies in trucks powered by biodiesel or vegetable oil, and then returns to pick up the boxes. The material comes from local landfills, a key supply source for their sustainable operation. The recopack [recycled ecological packing solution], a stackable plastic bin, is the cornerstone of their business.
A successful product designer before launching Rentagreenbox (formerly Earth Friendly Moving), founder Spencer Brown’s environmental awareness extended to beach cleanups and frequent trips to the farmers market. Today, he says simply, “I’ve evolved.”
Pitching Reusable Packing – Is the RPA Missing the Point?
Obama-mania is sweeping the nation and concern for the environment, seeping into our collective conscience, is increasingly less likely to be perceived as the hobbyhorse of the liberal elite. As this surge of enthusiasm converges with recession it presents an opportunity for savvy marketing.
The reusable packaging industry, as represented by the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA), is doing just that. RPA Board Chairman Bob Klimko claims, “The time is ripe for businesses to embrace the concept of reuse and to realize its potential to help them reach their sustainability objectives while strengthening their own companies through cost savings and improved efficiencies.”
We introduced you to the RPA when they hosted an educational forum on the corporate benefits of reusable packaging. The RPA is primarily focused on packaging that “moves product from manufacturer to retailer.” With a new president at the helm, Jerry Welcome, we’re taking another look at the RPA and their efforts to promote sustainability.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: Harbinger of Sustainability or Ho-Hum?
As Vilsack said in an interview earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture affects every American. The Secretary of Agriculture oversees several departments including the Forest Service, the Food Service and Inspection Service, and the Food Stamp Program. Primary responsibilities include the direction of farm subsidies, food exports, soil and water preservation, national forest preservation, food aid, organic standards, animal disease, and pest control. After considerable lobbying and speculation, at a press conference earlier today, the president-elect announced his selection.
If confirmed by the Senate, Vilsack will take the reigns during a “period of intense volatility in the agriculture industry,” observed Clayton Yeutter, former Secretary of Agriculture under George H.W. Bush. Commodities and agriculture analysts are calling for expediency in addressing farm subsidies and crop prices. Details of subsidy allocation in the farm bill remain unanswered while corn, wheat, and soybean prices fall. Vilsack will also be tasked with balancing the growth of biofuel with food needs and the environmental impact of increased production-a debate at the center of any comprehensive renewable energy initiative.
Farm Forward: Setting an Example for Corporate Engagement
Public concern over the appointment of the next Secretary of Agriculture highlights the dismal state of the American food industry. Last month, we introduced you to Farm Forward, the non-profit advocacy group that aims to transform the way our nation eats and farms. Conversations with CEO Dr. Steven Gross, and Director Ben Goldsmith revealed a robust model for inter-sector success and corporate evolution.
Farm Forward brings food retailers, nonprofit animal advocacy organizations, scholars, small farmers, and community leaders into conversation with one another. They leverage this expertise and employ the several strategies to fight factory farm practices, including:
-Lobbying for auditing practices to improve animal welfare
-Pro-bono consulting for family farms working towards humane and sustainable production
-Promoting conscientious consumption and discussion of the social issues that underlie agribusiness through publications, social media marketing, and community campaigns
-Advancing scholarship and undergraduate teaching that promotes critical reflection on the farming industry
Business Advocates for Government Leadership on Climate Change
Tuesday is Poznan Business Day at the ongoing COP14 Climate Talks. According to host organizations, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) the global economic crisis underscores the need for strong government leadership and the urgency of agreement on the road to Copenhagen.
Martin Wolf, Chief Economic Commentator for the Financial Times, suggests, “businesses will respond – or, in the technical jargon, “internalise” externalities [such as climate change] – only if it is in their interests to do so.”
The joint ICC and WBCSD presence in Poznan proves that’s not so, Bj√∂rn Stigson, President of the WBCSD, argues in a letter to the editor. Together the two organizations represent a diverse membership of thousands of companies worldwide. Clearly though, voluntary effort on the part of industry has proven an inadequate tool for fighting climate change. Effective regulation and incentives (read: subsidies) are imperative to systematize an impact on corporate culture.
The Business of Truly Sustainable Turkey Farming
As you read this, someone close to you may be cleaning, stuffing, or slicing a turkey. Over 45 million turkeys were purchased for Thanksgiving out of the 265 million raised this year alone. The vast majority of these birds were grown on industrial farms. Perhaps your bird is organic, free range, or locally grown, but odds are you won’t be dining on a heritage turkey this holiday. You may be surprised to learn just how much healthier these birds are, how crucial they are for the future of our food system, and why its hard for this niche to turn a profit.
Heritage turkeys – birds with genetic lines that predate the engineering that defines the current poultry market – are bred and raised in a traditional, humane, and sustainable manner. To meet the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy standard, they must mate naturally, live productively outdoors, and grow slowly in order to develop strong bodies. In contrast, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, 99% of American turkeys are Broad Breasted Whites. These turkeys are the product of the 1960′s shift to industrial farming and have been bred to grow the maximum quantity of white meat. Such genetic selection is inhumane, dangerous to human health, and ultimately not commercially viable.
Expanding the Global Compact: the World’s Largest Corporate Citizenship Initiative
A group of 52 high profile investors announced the beginning of a massive letter writing campaign to urge businesses to sign on to the UN’s Global Compact. “Amid the current financial crisis, this underscores the importance of universal principles and the long-term management of environmental, social and governance issues,” said Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Georg Kell, “We applaud this effort, which represents the largest recruitment drive ever undertaken with respect to the UN Global Compact.”
The investor group manages approximately $4.4 trillion in assets and they’re using that leverage to assert the relevance of the Global Compact to 9,000 CEO’s worldwide. Target companies are in the MSCI World, FTSE All-World and IFC Emerging Markets Indices. A sample of U.S. target companies runs the gamut from 1-800 Flowers and Abbot Labs to Marathon Oil and the Zale Corporation.
All of investors are signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment, a framework for corporate citizenship launched at the second Global Compact Leaders Summit in 2007, in partnership with the UN Global Compact and the UNEP Finance Initiative. Chair of the PRI initiative and Trustee of the BT Pension Scheme, Donald MacDonald, explained the impetus behind the letter writing initiative from the shareholder perspective, saying, “We believe investee companies that take account of environmental, social and governance issues are more likely to offer… [good, long-term] returns.”
World Conservation Congress
Last week marked the 60th anniversary of the World Conservation Congress. The Congress is a ten-day forum for leaders in academia, business, government, NGO’s and the UN. Led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this year’s event in Barcelona drew over 8,000 participants. Julia Marton-Lef√®vre, Director General of the IUCN, declared, “The clear message coming out of this meeting is that biodiversity underpins the well-being of human societies and their economies.”
The World Conservation Congress has played a historic role in shaping global environmental treaties, the substance of which are first considered before the Congress. The ICUN often continues by working on draft materials, contributing to treaty law, including the International Covenant on Environment and Development. Accordingly, private sector participation is crucial at the early stages and business is playing an increasing role in the Congress, with over 70 companies now represented.
E+Co; Leading Innovation in Energy
As part of Blog Action Day, we introduced you to the public purpose investment company, E+Co. To recap, E+Co is a non-profit that provides local energy entrepreneurs in developing countries with business development services as well as investment capital. Active in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, it has fostered the growth of 180 enterprises, offering an additional 4.3 million people access to clean energy, and offsetting 3 million tons of carbon.
E+Co is a renowned expert in program development: it was recently awarded 2008 Sustainable Investor of the Year by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group, and is a member of the Aspen Network for Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). With a successful model in place, the organization is now in a position to shift gears and focus on scaling up. E+Co’s membership commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative reflects that decision. Its current business plan sets three target goals for 2012: create partnerships and generate the necessary funding to invest $190 million of services and capital in local energy businesses, bring clean, modern energy to an additional 17 million people, and offset over 15 million tons of carbon.
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