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.
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 to a challenging and wonderful career that was taking him all across the country. He had such a love for his hometown and its great local traditions though that it kept calling him back. He took the lessons learned from his travels and combined them with his passion for social justice and sustainability to create a great organization that is doing amazing things in this community.
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 deserves a page in HR manuals as well.
The owners of the business are committed to the environment and wanted to run on completely renewable clean energy. This is done through wind power and the on-site waste-water treatment operation.
In 1998 the 32% employee owned company brought the idea of going to wind power to a company vote. At the time it meant a 30% higher cost of electricity, most likely meaning the loss of significant end-of year bonuses for the employees. Despite knowing that their bonuses were going to suffer, the vote was unanimous to go to the clean energy solution. And not surprisingly, because of these high moral decisions, turnover is low and productivity is high because people feel like they are contributing to something bigger in the world.
To see how New Belgium produces some of its own power through it's waste-water treatment, check out this video.
New Belgium Brewing from whatis waste on Vimeo.
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 25% higher, but the cost at the cash register more than made up the difference.
At the time that Burt's had revenues of $164 million, the company sold to Clorox for $913 million. At a time when many businesses will sell for 2-3 times net profit, Burt's sold for nearly six times revenue.
The Body Shop was sold to L'Oreal for nearly $1.1 Billion in 2006. Far ahead of the market cap of similar companies.
The evidence is clear. Profits are higher while doing business and the exit strategy pays better to the founders if your company is truly green and responsible. And you are doing better for the world at the same time.
Starting a business? Make it truly green and socially responsible. You'll sleep better at night and make more money in the process.
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 never before"*
"Even during the bust of the great recession, investing in socially responsible funds grew at a higher rate than ever"**
If you are a business owner or executive decision maker at a larger organization, keep this in mind. Doing the right thing not only allows you to sleep better at night, it adds more to the bottom line!
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:
Thanks to the blog TelevisionSky for this great guide. For the entire article, go here:
http://www.televisionsky.org/2010/04/tech-startups-vs-rock-bands
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 Companies
Capitalism 3.0
Sustainable Consumption
There are more buzzwords and acronyms, and they do have slightly different meanings. If I am an executive at a large multinational company, social entreprenuership represents different things than corporate social responsibility. From a big picture perspective though, they are similar.
There is a critical mass of people in the world building now that can see that our planet and population simply cannot maintain unsustainable systems for much longer. And there are enough people in that camp now that things are starting to move.
Some evidence of this movement could be the abundance of conferences on the subject, the recognition at the world economic forum to make Sustainable Economics a key pillar, the many different blogs on the subject and the appointment of people in the executive suite at large multinationals that are focused on sustainability. One thing is for sure, there is now pressure from the top (the C-Suite and global economic initiatives) and the bottom (entrepreneurs and small businesses; individual choices making a difference in large economies).
That tells me it’s a movement and not a fad. And I am happy the movement is here. What will you do to move it forward faster?
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 just had published in Sustainable Living Magazine.
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 simple task. The market and societal forces were clearly against him at the time. This is long before building green was hip.
Even more difficult, in his area a semi-custom new built home can cost under $100 per square foot, and the work he is doing costs double that. What kind of challenges do you think a person committed to doing the right thing might have when the market is screaming at him to keep doing it the old way?
The answer stunned me.
The biggest problem in his conversion (which is still underway) has not been getting enough customers. It has been from resistance internally with his employees and subcontractors.
People are so entrenched in the old ways of doing things they simply resist any change. “People like the idea of going green when they just have to listen to stories and see product presentations. They are always right with me to drive me to the airport and see me off on my adventures. But when the rubber meets the road and they actually have to do something different than what they are used to, their enthusiasm quickly wanes.” Michael told me.
This to me is a classic problem faced by the new social entrepreneurs. These are the people taking big risks to do the right thing; the people sensing a change in consciousness that is moving markets and communities large and small and putting their money where their heart is.
For social entrepreneurs resistance can come from the most unexpected places, like our own employees and subcontractors that will actually benefit from the change. Support and good news can also shower the social entrepreneur with nice surprises. Like when legions of like-minded people are discovered and wanting to give support (and spend their money) that had never been heard. The feeling is as if there were thousand of people out there alone, and all of a sudden they are given a voice. Its those surprises that keep the fire burning.
There are signs that things are getting better for the social entrepreneur, even though being one can sometimes be a lonely and difficult struggle.
For all its good and bad points, the World Economic Forum is a place where the big decision makers on world issues in business and politics meet and trends are discussed. A few years ago sustainability was a fringe topic. Now it is one of the six formal “pillars” of the event.
It’s one more step on a very long but worthwhile trip. That and getting our subcontractors to do what the customer asks for.
"Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."— Bill Drayton, CEO, chair and founder of Ashoka, a global nonprofit organization devoted to developing the profession of social entrepreneurship
Whether by accident or some sort of greater design, more and more of my work activities have led me to work and interact with the new breed of social entrepreneurs.
Just this week I have interviewed a publisher in the green building industry, corresponded with two contractors that are taking their businesses from “standard” businesses to green businesses and have a meeting with a realtor that developed the first ever “Green MLS.” Now she’s helping other major cities do the same. My business development work at the Institute for Building Systems is keeping me knee deep in all of the aspects of starting a business based on green building practices.
But what is a social entrepreneur anyhow, compared to a “regular” entrepreneur?
According to Wikipedia, “A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change.”
Social entrepreneurs start organizations with a mission of more than just making money. They also have a mission of helping the greater society (local, regional or national). They will usually sacrifice a significant amount of money for the good of the cause of the organization. Social enterprises started by these entrepreneurs can be for profit or not for profit.
Entrepreneurs start enterprises and assume significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. No one person is big enough to drive even the smallest socially responsible organization on their own. Forming alliances with likeminded people and driving the business building process forward is critical.
The most famous of the for profit social entrepreneurs are people like Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms and Jeffery Hollander of Seventh Generation for instance. But the small guy is just as important.
Every electrician that has a family to feed and chooses to spend extra money for training and risk his meager marketing budget to re-work his business into a solar installation company at the early side of the market cycle is also participating. The legions of organic farmers across the country that know they could make more money by farming with standard practices also contributes to the social entrepreneurship landscape.
And of course, those that start non-profits fall into the same category. The key is that these people are the visionaries and risk takers, whether for profit or not-for-profit. They dive in with both feet when there is no safety net, and do it for the good of the community, not just the good of their wallets. They are balancing both kinds of green!
A great reference for more about social entrepreneurship can be found at http://www.skollfoundation.org/aboutsocialentrepreneurship/whatis.asp
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
