Inspired Business

Social Entrepreneurship

Cover for The Future of ValueIn today’s podcast we hear a great story from Eric Lowitt about how he is following his dreams and helping move sustainability forward in the business sector. I can’t wait to get my hands on his new book “The Future of Value” when it comes out in late September.

Eric has a passion for sustainability that is unstoppable. He also has that rare set of business experience and real world school of hard knocks that makes his story great. We’ll hear what seperates his book from the others and what his clients are doing to become more sustainable.

Eric has done what so many entrepreneurs would love to do. He has taken his passion, written a book, and is now out there doing the work he loves. It is good for his customers, good for the economy and good for Eric. A true win-win-win. Best of all, he is just a great personable guy.

Please pardon the poor editing and less than perfect sound quality. I was trying some new equipment. Regardless, the content is top notch.

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Jim Boyle shares an inspirational story of how he put his vision of a sustainable society into action by creating the Progressive Business Leadership Network, and then went on to create the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (www.sustainround.com).

The Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. provides a new model of sharing that allows companies and governments to reach sustainability goals faster and at less cost through collaboration.

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Chris Fowler, Founder and Executive Director at SyracuseFirst

My first podcast of the new series “Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship” is up on iTunes. The series will consist of interviews with social entrepreneurs and sustainability leaders that are doing real work in the real world. Today we interview social entrepreneur Chris Fowler, Founder and Executive Director of SyracuseFirst. Chris was on the fast track [...]

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Employees forego pay for carbon neutrality

Think employees only care about money and time-off. Think again. New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins Colorado is most famous for its wonderful Fat Tire Amber beer. But it is also one of the leading companies in the world for creating a sustainable business. But the story of how it went to clean renewable energy [...]

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Taking Green Business to the Bank

Want to make your company more profitable with each transaction AND worth more during your exit? Then make it truly green and the money will follow. As of January 2008, a 0.15 oz tube of Burt’s Bee’s lip balm cost $3.00. The same size tube of Chapstick cost 1.69. Sure, Burt’s production costs were about [...]

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Hard Proof: Social Responsibility Adds to Bottom Line

Are you still stuck in the old paradigm that acting ethically might hurt your bottom line? Think again. “Between 1995 and 2007, socially responsible investmanet assets expanded by 324 percent, sharply outpacing growth in the broader universe of investments, which increase by less than 260 percent over the same period. Social Investing is thriving as [...]

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Green Business or Not, Wise Advice

I found this a great guide for starting any venture; green, high-tech or low-tech. Brand new or spin-off. Rock band, green business or non-profit venture. Key Points: Get a great team Get committed partners Offer something unique that meets a need Build slowly with low risk tests/installations/engagements Continue to improve Scale when ready Thanks to [...]

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There’s a movement afoot!

No matter what you call it, there is momentum for a new kind of capitalism… a sustainable economy that is not dependent on depleting non-renewable resources and exploiting our fellow man. It goes by many names: Social entrepreneurship Sustainable economics Conscious capitalism Green economics Green business Sustainable business Corporate Social Responsibility Socially Conscious business B [...]

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Barriers to Green Building Go Beyond Cost

I spend lots of time in the green building world. In my role as Executive Director at the Institute for Building Systems I talk to all kinds of people in the field and see it myself day to day. Existing regulations and inertia are as big a barrier as price. Check out the article I [...]

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What a long strange trip its been….

From conventional to social entrepreneur I just got off the phone with Michael Strong, owner of Greenhaus Builders, Houston’s leading green builder. Michael has been in the building and remodeling industry for over 20 years. Several years ago he decided to make the move from a standard remodeler to a green builder. This is no [...]

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