Today we get to know Danielle Carruthers.
She is the founder of Global Social Entrepreneurs Lab and TheSedge.org. The great thing about what Danielle does is bring people together. She knows how to tap the wisdom of crowds to find great solutions to world changing problems.
Indiewire Magazine has called it "The Sundance of Independent Television."
Although it has only been in Vermont for a few years, the ITVFest is changing the face of Dover and growing the credibility of southern Vermont as a national leader of indpendent art.
The social good mission of the festival is to help those without connections and big budgets get on the radar of big studios like HBO, CBS and STARZ network.
The story behind ITVFest moving to Vermont is a real life example of "The Little Engine That Could."
Grab a beverage and hear how Philip Gilpin transformed this from a "cute idea that nobody thought could work" into an industry powerhouse.
We put so much attention on what goes into our body and yet so little to what goes on it.
Good Body Products in Guilford Vermont has built an amazing business that uses only locally grown ingredients to create wonderful items that go on your body.
Just as importantly the business provides a great life for the founders, a wonderful couple, and thier family. Listen to Trish Thomas tell how she and her husband Chris balance work, life and family.
Here is my latest project, helping social entrepreneurs increase their impact. I am working on with some really cool people.
Energy reduction is not as difficult as we initially believe it will be. Our mental models are a bigger problem than getting it done.
As part of the part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Save Energy Now LEADER Initiative, Volvo Truck's New River Valley plant set a 10 year goal to reduce energy intensity by 25% over ten years.
Not only did they exceed the target in a just one year, but they did it in a way that pays huge financial dividends.
The investment in energy efficiency cost about $850,000 and will save approximately $2 million per year according to the Department of Energy. Assuming a very conservative 5 year lifespan of the improvements they will see a total of $10 million in savings over that period. That is an annualized ROI of 215% and a total project ROI of 1,077%. Those are numbers any CFO can be happy with.
According an energy.gov blog post "The NRV plant also initiated a contest to promote employee engagement in identifying and suggesting ways for the facility to improve its energy efficiency. From late 2009 to early 2010, the implementation of employee-suggested projects saved the NRV plant more than 546,543 kilowatt hours per month, which translates to approximately $33,000 in monthly cost savings."
Significant energy risk and cost reduction are closer than you think. The sooner we take off the blinders of our embedded mental models the sooner we can start enjoying the benefits.
Companies striving for sustainable outcomes outperform their competition in nearly every financial measure. And most importantly in this case, stock performance. Canadian publisher Corporate Knights recently published its 8th annual list of "100 Most Sustainable Companies." According to the Corporate Knights Global 100 website:
The graph below measures the monthly total return of the Global 100 and the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) in USD from February 1, 2005 to November 30, 2011. Over this period, the Global 100 returned 42.54% compared to 29.52% for the MSCI ACWI.
There are a host of activities and decisions that lead to a company becoming more sustainable. They are embedded in the culture and the inner workings of every organization on this path. However, a commitment to long term thinking and a passion for efficiency are critical. The same tools that are used in quality management systems and Lean Six Sigma are the ones that are used in achieving greater sustainability.
In the end, sustainability is about eliminating waste (whether that is wasted human potential or wasted natural resources) while meeting all stakeholder needs and expectations. By being ever more efficient in meeting needs we eliminate waste as a by product. If we combine that discipline with an eye towards sustainability, the two are a killer combination.
Better products, better communities, better planet, and better financial performance.
To see a great summary of the index you can read an excellent article by journalist Marc Gunther here. To see a how the number one ranked company, Novo Nordisk achieved such great results go here.
To see the entire methodology and listing, go to the website of the Global 100 Index here: http://global100.org/index.php
Again, proof by the biggest capitalists that sustainability pays big ROI.
Bloomberg just produced its third sustainability report. This is the first one to be made public.
My favorite highlight is that for every $1 spent on sustainability they have seen $2 in savings in operating costs, which goes directly to the bottom line profit.
Bloomberg is reporting using the Global Reporting Initiative standard. I congratulate them on their transparency as a leader in the business community.
According to the website "Sustainability combines corporate citizenship, risk management and strategic opportunity – driving our operating costs down, our revenues up, and influencing wider adoption of sustainable practices across the business community."
I don't care what school of business you went to, costs down and revenues up is a good thing.
To see the full report go here: http://www.bloomberg.com/about/sustainability/#report_1
Business estimates to comply with the clean air act of 1990 to reduce acid rain put the prospective compliance cost at up to $1,500 per ton. Over the first 10 years the price per ton NEVER went above $200 and the mean and average costs were significantly less*
The laggards in the US Chamber of Commerce have been beating the governmental pavement for years creating a false relationship between GHG and carbon emissions and economic recovery. Cleaning up our act will create more jobs, not less. That's why all the clean tech jobs are in Europe and China and not here.
See how this socially conscious company is bringing IT jobs back to the US.
Doing well while doing good.
In 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.
For entrepreneurs and funders that want to make a difference.
Greater Good Entrepreneur is a video podcast where I interview entrepreneurs that are making a difference in the world.
Feel free to reach out to me with success stories or for help.
Jim Verzino
617-669-2125
jim@jimverzino.com
