20 ideas final web

8/3/2019 20 Ideas FINAL Web

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2/28SVN co-founders Josh Mailman and Wayne Silby

Overthepast20years,themembersofSocialVenture

Networkhaveturnedtheirvaluesintoactionand,inthe

process,changedthewaytheworlddoesbusiness.We

hopethislistandtheindividualsbehindtheideas

inspiresyoutokeepinnovatingwhileputtingyourvalues

andspiritatthecenterofallyoudo.

Herestothenext20yearsofchangeandgrowth!

OS


3/28

Today, the concept behind SVN might seem

commonplace, but its genesis two decades

ago was the result o a revelation. The idea

or SVN came rom realizing that there

was a generation o people involved in the

business community that had progressive

social values, Mailman says. We decided

that it was imperative or us to use our

resources to create a new paradigm: one

in which business operates to add value to

societywithout compromising the well-

being o uture generations.

SVN started in 1987 as a small group o

values-driven entrepreneurs and leaders whogathered or a meeting in Boulder, Colorado.

Today, SVN is a support system or a diverse

community o more than 400 members,

including company ounders, social

entrepreneurs, investors and key inuencers.

PIONEERINGANEWPATH

JOSHMAILMANWAYNESILBY

Since SVN began, the attitudes o its

ounding members have been increasingly

embraced not only by businesses and

nonprofts, but also by the public at large.

The way that people think about business

and social change is merging, Mailman

explains. SVN helped innovate that shit

through its ocus on values.

Indeed, thanks to the visions and

actions o Silby, Mailman and thousands

o other pioneers and innovators who

have participated in the network, SVN has

catalyzed undamental social change during

its 20-year history. Because o connections

orged amongst like-minded members,

SVN has helped launch organizations

like Investors Circle, Business or Social

Responsibility (BSR), Net Impact, Business

Alliance or Local Living Economies

(BALLE), SVN Europe and Social Impact

Leadership Coalition (SILC).

Rebbe Chuck Blitz once said, There are

no big people, remarks Mailman. Were it.

Lets get something done.

Co-ounded by Wayne Silby

and Josh Mailman in 1987,Social Venture Networkconnects, leverages andpromotes a global communityo leaders working to createa more just and sustainableeconomy.


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Domini, who ounded Domini Social Investments in 1991,

began questioning investment practices while working

as a stockbroker in the 1970s. When I was asked to

recommend a company that was on the verge o getting

a big military contract, I realized I didnt want to ask the

caring people who were my clients to invest in killing

machines, she says.

Joan Bavaria had a similar experience, leading her to

create Trillium Asset Management Corporation, the frst

investment management frm solely dedicated to socially

responsible investing. Since ounding the frm in 1982,

shes seen SRI change not only the way people invest,

but also the way companies run their businesses.

SRI has also emerged as an important vehicle or

consumers to demand that corporations operate ethically.

Since 1987 Trillium has fled or co-fled over 200

shareholder resolutions. Domini has fled more than 140

shareholder resolutions since 1994, convincing companies

like Apple and JPMorgan Chase to adopt more air andsustainable policies. We ask companies the questions that

no one else is asking, putting important issues on the table

or discussion, says Domini.

In 2003, another SRI pioneer, SVN co-ounder Wayne

Silby and his frm Calvert Fund, fled 20 shareholder

JOANBAVARIA

SOCIALLYRESPONSIBLEINVESTING

The fnancial industry isnt known or being especiallycaring, but ater years o working with investors, AmyDomini and Joan Bavaria ound that they cared about a lotmore than just money. Socially responsible investing (SRI)is based on the idea that the way you invest your money

matters, and that investments should be in line with thevalues o the individual or corporation that makes them.

resolutions with major U.S. corporations. Seven were

immediately withdrawn ater the companies agreed either

to the terms o the resolutions or to enter into discussion

with shareholders. These strong results, and similar ones

in the ollowing years, indicate a sea change; corporations

today are becoming more receptive to consumer demands

in the orm o shareholder resolutions.

Organizations like Responsible Wealth, a network o

socially conscious high-income individuals, are also using

shareholder resolutions to advocate or more equitable

wealth distribution and to ensure that issues like air

corporate taxation, living wages, employee ownership,

and greater corporate accountability are being addressed

by todays companies.

As the number o SRI unds continues to grow, SVNmembers are at the oreront o change, leading the way

at renowned organizations like Calvert, PaxWorld Funds

Portolio 21, Winslow Management, and Progressive

Asset Management.

I didnt want to ask the caring people who were

my clients to invest in killing machines. AMY DOM


5/28Domini Social Investments founder Amy Domin

CO


6/28

Co-ounder Ben Cohen is nationally

known as a leader and pioneer in socially

responsible business, both rom his work

with Ben & Jerrys and Business Leaders or

Sensible Priorities. From the beginning, heunderstood the potential o using business

as a medium or social change. We realized

one o our major assets was packaging,

Cohen says. It could be used as a orm o

alternative media.

In 1988 Ben and co-ounder Jerry

Greenfeld helped establish 1% For Peace,

a nonproft initiative that worked to

redirect 1% o the national deense budget

to und peace-promoting projects and

activities. Their Peace Pops, introduced that

same year, served as a marketing tool or

the oundation, providing inormation on

the campaign and encouraging action.

By the 1990s, Ben & Jerrys had become

one o the most popular ice cream brands

in the United States. With their success, Ben

and Jerry had proven that consumers are

eager to purchase products that are aligned

with their values. From strict recycling rules

to the employee-driven Green Team, Ben

and Jerrys earned the respect o consumers

by walking their talk. Business is the most

powerul orce in society, Cohen says. It

has the highest potential or solving social

problems. Once consumers saw examples

o prosperous companies integrating social

concerns into their business practices, they

were emboldened to demand the same

o other businesses. Businesses could no

longer say it was impossible.

Michael Kieschnick, co-ounder o

Working Assets, is using similar tactics

to leverage business or social change.

Working Assets, a wireless long distance,

publishing and credit card company,

donates a portion o its top-line revenues

to progressive nonproft groups. In a twist,

the company allows their customers to

drive these philanthropic decisions. Each

year, customers choose the organizations

the company supports based on issues that

matter most to them.

For Kieschnick, SVN has been a place to

brainstorm and get eedback rom others

who understood what he was trying to

do. From the beginning, SVN has been

a hothouse o ideas, says Kieschnick.

We can share successes and learn rom

the critiques o riends who want us to

succeed. Cohen adds, When SVN wascreated, the concept o socially responsible

business didnt even have a name. It was

good to come into contact with people

who elt the same wayto inspire and

learn rom each other.

LEVERAGINGBUSINESSFORSOCIALCHANGE

Once consumers saw examples of

prosperous companies integrating

social concerns into their business

practices, they were emboldened

to demand the same of other

businesses. BEN COHEN

BENCOHEN

Ben & Jerrys Homemade isa quintessential example o acompany that paved the way

in using business to eectpositive social change apoint they make on every pinto their now 40-plus avors oice cream.


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SEEDINGTHEORGANICREVOLUTION

Beginning in 1983, when Stonyfeld was a 7-cow arming school, Hirshberg and his

partner Samuel Kaymen operated the yogurt company using core values o environmental

sustainability. We were children o the 60s and had no choice but to question the

conventional models and try to integrate these values, Hirshberg says.

By putting values frst and marketing second, consumers became passionately loyal to

the brand, driving the companys growth into the largest organic yogurt company in the

world. And there was another side eect: Our net profts were actually better than our

competitors, Hirshberg says. What began as a set o practical steps to change the way

we did business resulted in a better business and a model or other companies to ollow.

Stonyfeld continues to set an example through socially responsible practices like donating

10% o profts each year to eorts that help protect or restore the Earth and using yogurtlids to educate consumers about environmental issues and motivate them to take action.

Based on his experience with Stonyfeld, Hirshberg worked with SVN to ound the

Social Venture Institute to educate other values-driven entrepreneurs. And as the organic

ood market continues to grow, other companies like Organic Valley, SPUD, Kopali and the

Vermont Bread Company continue to thrive.

Ultimately, the power behind the idea o organic ood lies in the beauty and balance o

interconnected lie. Our real mission is not about organics, Hirshberg says. It is about

connectivity. We are trying to oster connections with the earth, with our bodies, with

the plants and other animals.

GARYHIRSHBERG

As Gary Hirshberg, President and CEO o Stonyfeld Farm, sawthe demand or organic products grow steadily over the past 20

years, it was clear that the organic revolution was well underway. But as more and more consumers began to see organicoods as the natural choice, Hirshberg knew the revolutionneeded to grow to scale.

Our real mission is not about organics. It is about connectivity. We are

trying to foster connections with the earth, with our bodies, with the

plants and other animals. GARY HIRSHBERG


8/28

The only solution was to reinvent the

MBA, Libba says. First by doing it and

then by helping other schools.

On 9/11/2001, Libba was in Ecuador

when she heard the devastating reports o

the terrorist attacks back home. Overcome

by the news, she decided she should pursue

her dream o a business school ocused

on sustainability. On that same day,

Giord was in Connecticut acilitating an

investment discussion, along with many

SVN members. Ater hearing news o the

traumatic attacks, the group took the next

our days to esh out Giord and Libbas

idea or a sustainable business school.

In 2002, Bainbridge Graduate Institute(BGI) opened, oering the frst MBA

program in the U.S. that ocuses on leading

socially and environmentally responsible

businesses. Unlike other schools that

oer concentrations in sustainability, BGI

incorporates social and environmental

responsibility into every class, including

fnance, marketing and organizational

systems.

GREENMBA

As Libba explains, BGI is an incubator

or business education so other schools can

teach these principles. Many aculty rom

other institutions immerse themselves in

our monthly residential program and many

schools are asking BGI or help in designing

sustainable MBA programs.

BGIs network model or social

responsibility and sustainability education

is inspired by the practices o SVN.

Without SVN there would be no BGI, says

Libba. SVN inspired us to believe in the

possibility o a socially responsible business

school, and instilled the network model

that makes BGIs work high-impact.

In August 2003, the Presidio School

o Management in San Francisco

began oering an MBA in Sustainable

Management. The Presidio MBA provides

students the opportunity to work with a

variety o companies and organizations

solving real-time challenges while

theyre learning how to think like

sustainable managers. Presidio Provost

Ron Nahser says, Through our project-

oriented curriculum, the Presidio MBA

program prepares proessionals to lead

organizationsprivate, public or non-

proftin ways that are more socially and

environmentally responsible as well as

fnancially successul.

GIFFORDPINCHOTELIZABETHPINCHOT

SVN inspired us to believe in the

possibility of a socially responsible

business school, and instilled the

network model that makes BGIs

work high-impact.

ELIZABETH (LIBBA) PINCHOT

In the 20 years that Giordand Elizabeth (Libba)Pinchot spent as consultantsor Fortune 100 businesses,they ound that manyexecutives trained in businessschools held belies counter-productive to a healthyenvironment and a justsociety. They realized that i

business leaders were ignoringtheir broader responsibility tosociety and the environment,something about the businessschool system had to change.


9/28

Hollender knew something needed to be done. He took action by beginning a mail order

catalog business selling environmental solutions. As we grew and explored issues, he

says, we saw that toxic chemicals and the products that use them were hugely important

yet were things that ew people knew about.

Now the nations leading brand o non-toxic and environmentally sae household

products, Seventh Generation is making a dierence by saving natural resources, reducing

pollution and keeping toxic chemicals out o the environment. Every consumer who

buys a Seventh Generation product is making sure that the world their children are

growing up in will be that much less contaminated, Hollender says.

SVN has connected us to a big storehouse o wisdom as we explore a brave new

business territory thats largely uncharted, Hollender says. The vision behind our idea is

a world where people dont carry hazardous chemicals in their bodies, the environment

is ree o toxic pollutants, and the economy diligently conserves its natural resources or

consumers and uture generations. We want to make it easier or consumers to create this

world through their purchasing decisions and everyday activities.Other SVN member companies like Cli Bar and New Lea Paper are revolutionizing

their sector by serving as examples o how companies can tread lightly. Since launching

a dedicated environmental program in 2001, Cli Bar is working to reduce its ecological

ootprint in everything it does, rom purchasing carbon osets to sustainable

manuacturing and shipping. Similarly, New Lea Paper is driving the entire paper industry

to higher environmental standards.

The recent ocus on treading lightly has also resulted in the creation o companies

ocused on reducing carbon ootprint. SVN member organizations like Ecologic and

Carbonund.org are dedicated to educating consumers about the dangers o climate change

and making it simple or individuals and organizations to reduce their climate impact.

TREADLIGHTLY

JEFFREYHOLLENDER

Jerey Hollender witnessedthe eects o an unhealthy

environment when hisson was hospitalized ater

suering an asthma attackin their home. An asthma

specialist confrmed the causewas 100% environmental

and part o the cure included

using non-toxic cleaners.

The vision behind our idea is a world where people dont carry

hazardous chemicals in their bodies, the environment is free of toxic

pollutants, and the economy diligently conserves its natural resources

for consumers and future generations. JEFFREY HOLLENDER


10/28

Greyston brings togetheror-profts,non-profts and spiritual centers to help

low-income communities transorm

themselves. I honor businesses or what

they do, I honor nonprofts or what they

do, I honor government or what it does,

and then I invite everyone to the table

so that together we can come up with

innovative and broad-based solutions

that can serve as many people as possible,

Glassman says. The ewer or less diverse

voices you invite to the table, the smaller

and narrower your solution will be and the

ewer people it will serve.

The Greyston Foundation has become

a national model or inclusive community

development. An important element othe oundations model is the Greyston

Bakery, a company that lives its values

by prioritizing both profts and social

contributions. Their tagline, Great desserts

by great people doing great things, reects

the essence o the company. Led by CEO

Julius Walls, Jr., Greyston Bakery uses

profts to und the community development

programs o the Greyston Foundation,

such as job training or adults, ater-school

programs or children, and building

aordable housing or low-income amilies.

They also have an open hiring policy that

provides jobs and training or individuals

who have struggled to fnd employment.

As a ounding board member o SVN,

Glassman credits the network with directly

supporting his Greyston initiatives. He

met Ben Cohen, co-ounder o Ben &

Jerrys, at the ounding meeting o SVN in

Boulderbeore it was even called SVN.Sharing similar values, Ben helped Greyston

Bakery become the sole supplier o cookies

and brownies or Ben & Jerrys popular

ice cream. This partnership signifcantly

expanded the bakerys business, making

more resources available to the work o the

oundation. Their ongoing partnership is

one o many collaborations that grew rom

SVN connections.

Other SVN members like Tami

Simon o Sounds True, Tom Chappello Toms o Maine and Zen business

expert Marc Lesser are prime examples

o entrepreneurs working to integrate

spirituality and business.

SPIRITINBUSINESS

JULIUSWALLS,JR.BERNIEGLASSMAN

A student o Zen Buddhism, Bernie Glassman elt he neededto bring the essence o Zen, which is the realization o theinterdependence o lie, to everyone rom the poor andhomeless to business people and political leaders. He realizedhis vision by creating the Greyston Mandala, a network obusinesses and nonprofts engaged in community development

in Yonkers, New York.

I have been called to serve my

people. It is a privilege leading a

company that invests in people

and community. Greyston puts

good values rst. I would not have

it any other way. JULIUS WALLS, JR.


11/28Greyston Bakery CEO Julius Walls, Jr


12/28

The National Center or Employee

Ownership, ounded by Corey Rosen in

1980, helps encourage more companies to

explore employee ownership by providing

accurate, unbiased inormation and

research on ESOP s, equity compensation

plans such as stock options, and ownership

culture. As a U.S. Senate staer in the

1970s, Rosen helped drat legislation on

ESOPs at a time when very ew companies

even knew what an ESOP was.

Successul clothing designer and

entrepreneur Eileen Fisher developed a

successul ESOP that put nearly a third

o the company in the hands o her 624

employees. King Arthur FlourAmericasoldest our companyhas benefted

enormously rom employee ownership.

EMPLOYEEOWNERSHIP In 1996, owners Frank and Brinna Sands

were looking at how best to propagate the

company or the next 200 years. Seeing

their employees as amily and wanting to

give something back to them, the Sands

began to transition to an ESOP structure

under the leadership o CEO Steve Voigt. In

the ten years since, King Arthur Flournow

100% employee-ownedhas grown rom

60 to nearly 200 employees and generates

$55 million in annual sales. Voigt attributes

much o this growth to the entrepreneurial

employee-ownership culture.

Rosen believes employee ownership

has the capacity to create drastic changein the way wealth is distributed. Around

the world, the gap between rich and poor

has become increasingly wide, he says.

Employee ownership is a means to harness

the market to provide or greater equity, in

the literal and airness sense, or everyday

employees. Today, 25 million employees

are owners in the companies they work or,

including SVN member organizations like

VATEX and Mal Warwick Associates.

COREYROSEN

Employee ownership is apowerul way or businessleaders to create a more justeconomy. From employeestock ownership at EILEENFISHER to 100% employeeownership at King Arthur

Flour, smart companies areembracing this practice orthe values it represents andthe added beneft o increasedproductivity.

Employee ownership is a means

to harness the market to provide

for greater equity, in the literal

and fairness sense, for everyday

employees. COREY ROSEN


13/28

In 1986 Mason and her husband Roger Brown ormed Bright Horizons Family Solutions,

which is now the worlds leading provider o employer-sponsored child-care, early

education and work/lie solutions. Our goals were to create an organization that would

simultaneously honor and respect early childhood educators, be a great place to work, and

be an environment that would allow employees to ourish, Mason says.

Bright Horizons now manages more than 600 child-care centers or many o the

worlds leading corporations, hospitals, universities, and government agencies. WhenBright Horizons started, it was difcult to get major corporations involved, says Mason.

But now most corporations realize their bottom line is tied to being amily-riendly and

respectul o amilies.

Masons company lives its values by working with homeless children through two

nonprofts, oering proft sharing within the company, and providing a amily-riendly

work environment or its own employees. Mason joined SVN when starting Bright

Horizons and sees it as an essential actor in the companys success. The riendships

developed and discussions with other entrepreneurs dramatically inuenced the way I

developed Bright Horizons, Mason says. SVN was a great source o riendship, support,

ideas, and a great place to really explore challenges and fnd tremendous community.

Mason and Browns innovative business ollowed the path set by Arnold Hiatt at Stride

Rite, who pioneered child-care at the work place. In response to amilies encountering

problems fnding both child and elder care, Hiatt opened Stride Rites frst company-

run day care center in the U.S. in 1971 and then opened its Intergenerational Day-Care

Center in 1990.

FAMILY-FRIENDLYWORKPLACE

LINDAMASON

Our goals were to create an organization that would simultaneously hon

and respect early childhood educators, be a great place to work, and beenvironment that would allow employees to ourish. LINDA MASON

While working or Save the Children in the Sudan in the mid-1980s, Linda Mason raised $15 million and served over 400,000

amine and war victims. Upon returning to the U.S., Mason sawthat the United States had its own crisispoor-quality childcare.The number o mothers in the workorce was rapidly increasing,and the supply and quality o existing child-care was inadequate


14/28

For Wicks, this vision grew rom the

business she ounded in 1983, White Dog

Ca, and its mission to serve customers,

community, employees and nature. Food is

purchased rom local arms where animals

are raised on sustainably grown pasture

and produce. Long distance purchasing

is limited to what is not available locally.

Operations are powered by electricity rom

wind power generated in Pennsylvania.

Ater achieving success with the ca,

Wicks had an epiphany. It wasnt enough

to have good business practices within ones

own company, Wicks says. We had to

work cooperatively with other businesses

to build a whole local economy based on

these values. Taking what she learned to a

higher level, Wicks started the White Dog

Foundation, which uses 20% o the Cas

profts to build a local living economy,

including connecting local armers with

other restaurants.

David Korten, author oWhen

Corporations Rule the World, came to SVN

as a Visionary Advisor ater meeting Wicks

at a conerence sponsored byYes! magazine

and the Positive Futures Network, which

Korten co-ounded to actively engage

people in creating a just, sustainable andcompassionate world.

LOCALLIVINGECONOMIES

At SVN, Wicks and Korten teamed up

with Michael Shuman, author oGoing

Local, and Laury Hammel, owner o the

Longellow Clubs and a longtime activist

in ounding business organizations, such

as BSR and its New England predecessor.

Wicks and Hammel co-ounded the

Business Alliance or Local Living

Economies (BALLE) at the 2001 SVN

Fall Conerence, and currently serve as its

co-chairs. Says Korten, who serves on the

BALLE board along with Shuman, with

over 50 local networks and more than

15,000 members across North America,BALLE is starting to change the economic

story that shapes business and consumer

behavior, as well as government policy,

by building awareness o the implications

o each choice we make between a global

corporation and a local business.

JUDYWICKS

The solution is clear we must

decentralize business ownership,

food production, and energy

production into self-reliant local

economies. JUDY WICKS

As a pioneer o the local livingeconomy movement, JudyWicks believes communitysel-reliance isnt just autopian vision, but our very

survival. The corporate-controlled global economicsystem, based on the continualgrowth o large corporationsand long distance shipping,is using up more naturalresources than the earth canrestore and contributing toglobal warming, Wicks says.The solution is clear wemust decentralize businessownership, ood production,and energy production intosel-reliant local economies.


15/28White Dog Caf owner Judy Wicks


16/28

Investors are now agreeing. Green energy got $71 billion o global investment in 2006,

while central power plants won less than hal the world marketbeaten by cheaper, aster

micropower and negawatts (saved electricity). Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), which

Lovins co-ounded in 1982, continues to lead this and other business transormations that

create abundance by design.

An independent, entrepreneurial, nonproft think-and-do tank, RMI osters the efcient

and restorative use o resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and lie

sustaining. RMIs 60 sta members have helped corporations design $30 billion worth o

super-efcient acilities in 29 sectors.

One o RMIs our or-proft spin-os is E SOURCE, an electric-efciency inormation

service that laid the oundation or the multi-billion-dollar negawatt industry. Another,

spun o in 1999 to promote the tripled- to quintupled-efciency Hypercar vehicles

that Lovins invented in 1991, now does business as Fiberorge. Its commercializing a

manuacturing process or near-aerospace-grade advanced-composite structures at

automotive cost and speed. Such ultralight cars will halve their weight and uel use, be

saer, yet cost the same to makeand save U.S. oil equivalent to fnding a Saudi Arabiaunder Detroit. Such innovations underlie RMIs Pentagon-cosponsored Winning the Oil

Endgamea roadmap or an oil-ree America by the 2040s, led by business or proft.

Examples o other great companies working on clean technologies include Verdant Power,

Expansion Capital Partners, and Bion Environmental Technologies.

CLEANTECHNOLOGY

AMORYLOVINS

In 1976, physicist Amory Lovins wrote a amously controversial

paper suggesting that more power plants were unnecessary andunaordable. A sot energy path that emphasized efcientuse, less-centralized supplies, and renewable sources would, heargued, work better and cost less.


17/28

William McDonough has been a leader in

the sustainable development movement

since its inception, designing and building

the frst solar-heated house in Ireland in

1977 and the frst green ofce or the

U.S. Environmental Deense Fund in 1985.

Time magazine recognized him as a Hero

or the Planet, stating that his utopianism

is grounded in a unifed philosophy that

in demonstrable and practical waysis

changing the design o the world.

McDonoughs product and process

design frm, McDonough Braungart Design

Chemistry (MBDC), oers a unique

Cradle to Cradle Certifcation. This stamp

o approval provides companies with a

means to tangibly and credibly measure

achievement in environmentally intelligent

design and helps customers identiy

products that are sustainable. SVN member

company IceStone, manuacturer o

durable building materials made o recycled

glass and concrete, was recently awardedthe certifcation.

The phrase cradle to cradle, a play on

the phrase cradle to grave, reers to the

new industrial revolution that McDonough

GREENBUILDING

is championing. In his book Cradle to

Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,

he and co-author Michael Braungart argue

that we should eliminate the concept

o waste altogether, while preserving

commerce and allowing or human nature.

In the book, they promote upcycling, a

method o recycling in which the products

o recycling are as good or better quality

than the original product. Downcycling,

in contrast, reers to recycling in which

the recycled product loses some o its

original quality.

McDonoughs work has inspired other

frms to ollow in his ootsteps. Bazzani

Associates was ounded in 1983 by Guy

Bazzani with the goal o improving the

economic, social, and environmental

health o the communities they serve. Weuse proven sustainable building practices

because our clients want us to and because

its the right thing to do, Bazzani says. The

Triple Bottom Line guides every decision we

make rom how we design a building to the

fnal fnishes we select. Its not only good or

the environment; its good or business.

Another landmark sustainable

development is underway in Loreto Bay in

Baja, Mexico. Conceived by the Trust or

Sustainable Development, the villages make

up the largest sustainable development

under construction in North America today

Our goal is to become an international

model or how a development can enrichan existing landscape and community while

remaining proftable and economically

viable, says David Butterfeld, Loreto Bay

Company Chair.

WILLIAMMcDONOUGH

Our goal is to become an

international model for how

a development can enrich

an existing landscape and

community while remaining

protable and economically

viable. DAVID BUTTERFIELD

Green building practices havecome a long way since theadvent o solar panels. Nowentire buildingsand thearchitecture frms that buildthemare operating witha ocus on sustainability.


18/28

Drayton ocused on one idea: provide

social entrepreneurs with an entire web o

resources to help them develop their visions

into enterprises that uel long-term social

change. Today, Ashoka provides fnancial

support to more than 2000 leading social

entrepreneurs in over 60 countries (known

as Ashoka Fellows) elected to join its

network. With that, it provides a strong

and lielong community o peers that oers

support and advice. Fueled by this powerul

mix, Ashoka Fellows bring their enterprises

to scale, and in the process, catalyzestructural changes in the communities in

which they operate and around the world.

The very small investment needed

to launch a powerul new idea and

entrepreneur sets in motion a long-

term change, Drayton says. Each social

entrepreneur is a role model, Drayton says.

His or her success will encourage many,

many others to stand up, care and organize.

SOCIALENTREPRENEURSHIP

BILLDRAYTON

As many o SVNs members were growing their companies, Bill Drayton wasormulating work around a dierent kind o entrepreneurial activitywhatis now called social entrepreneurship. By 1980, there was a new generationcoming up that was tired o the inefciencies o the older order, Draytonsays. We could see that the historical moment had come or transormation.With that, Drayton launched Ashoka: Innovators or the Public.

Now in operation or more than 25 years

Ashokas impact is ar-reaching. Upon

surveying Fellows fve years ater joining the

organization, Ashoka ound that 97 percent

continue to pursue their vision ull-time. 90

percent have seen independent institutions

copy their innovation, and over hal have

changed national policy.

Says Drayton, SVN has been

enormously helpul, especially in our

early years. Its belie in the integration o

social and business worlds is a view that is

quite central to Ashokas understanding o

history and the opportunities beore us.

Each social entrepreneur is a role

model. His or her success will

encourage many others to stand

up, care and organize.

BILL DRAYTON


19/28

NATURALCAPITALISM

The bookNatural Capitalism: Creating the

Next Industrial Revolution, written by Paul

Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter

Lovins in 1999, was praised by President

Bill Clinton as one o the fve most

important books in the world today. While

the philosophy behind natural capitalism

is frmly based in science and logic, itsinsights are visionary.

Somewhere along the way to ree-

market capitalism, the United States

became the most wasteul society on the

planet, Hawken said in an article he wrote

orMother Jones magazine. Until the

1970s, the concept o natural capital was

largely irrelevant to business planning, and

it still is in most companies. Decades rom

now, we may look back at the end o the

20th century and ponder why business and

society ignored these trends or so long.

Through his Natural Capital Institute,

Hawken works with institutions and

individuals to help them better understand

principles and practices leading to social

justice and environmental restoration. Asinterest in natural capitalism increases, he

sees nothing but positive outcomes.

Natural capitalism is not about making

sudden changes, uprooting institutions,

or omenting upheaval or a new social

order, Hawken says. Natural capitalism

is about making small, critical choices that

can tip economic and social actors

in positive ways.

PAULHAWKEN

Natural capitalism is about

making small, critical choices

that can tip economic and social

factors in positive ways.

PAUL HAWKEN

Its no secret that oureconomic activity is exceedingthe planets limits. As natural

capital is degraded by thewasteul use o resources like

energy, water, fber and soil, thevalue o these assets is rising.

Thats why a growing numbero natural capitalists are

seeking a change nothing shorto an industrial revolution,

toward a world in whichbusiness and environmental

interests overlap.

C


20/28

FAIRTRADE

The impact o Fair Trade goes ar beyond

money, Rice says. It is dignity, power,

and hope. U.S. consumers have become

unwilling accomplices because we enjoy

the cheap products brought to us by global

manuacturing chains. We must give

companies incentives and tools to take care

o workers and the environment without

sacrifcing proftability.

By building social responsibility,

environmental sustainability, supply chaintransparency and corporate accountability

into the new global business model,

TransFair has successully channeled

nearly $85 million in above-market pricing

to arm workers in some o the poorest

countries in Latin America, Asia and

Arica. Every dollar invested in TransFair

over the past six years has resulted in $7 o

additional income or Fair Trade armers.

Ashoka took notice o Rices extraordinary

progress by awarding him a ellowship

in 2000. In 2006, TransFair received Fast

Companys Social Capitalist Award or the

third year in a row in recognition o its

groundbreaking work.

According to Rice, SVN has provided

him with an opportunity to share his story

and encourage more business leaders

to embrace Fair Trade practices. SVN

members represent a highly inuential

community o people, he says. I eel

privileged to be able to inspire them to

make Fair Trade a part o their businesses

and everyday lives.

Other companies like Equal Exchange,

ForesTrade, Guayak Organic Yerba Mate

and Indigenous Designs are leading the

charge by supporting Fair Trade practices.

PAULRICE

The impact of Fair Trade goes far

beyond money. It is dignity, power,

and hope. PAUL RICE

Ater spending 11 yearshelping develop cooperativesin Nicaragua, Paul Ricebelieved that something better

was possible or armersworldwide. In 1998, Ricelaunched TransFair USArom a converted warehousein downtown Oakland.Today, TransFair is the onlyUS certifer o Fair Tradeproducts, harnessing thepower o business to avoid

exploitation in the globalsupply chain. By auditingtransactions between licensedcompanies and Fair Tradeproducers, TransFair ensuresthat each product bearing theFair Trade Certifed label hasbeen produced according tointernational standards.


21/28Founder of TransFair USA Paul Rice (center


22/28

Founded by Horst Rechelbacher in 1978,

Aveda has been at the ore o natural

beauty care. As the son o an herbalist

and a naturalist, Rechelbacher was born

with a respect or nature and the amazing,

healthul properties o natural plant

ingredients. As a result, Aveda is one o

the worlds largest purchasers o organic

ingredients, all o which are traceable rom

soil to bottle.

But the natural beauty philosophy

behind Aveda goes beyond whats in the

bottle. Rechelbacher believes responsible

packaging, manuacturing and corporate

NATURALBEAUTYCARE

practices are equally important. He was

the frst to incorporate recycled content

in beauty packaging.

We support values that cultivate

a sustainable economy and culture,

Rechelbacher says. We fnd inspiration

or doing so in nature and believe that

nature is not merely something to be

cherished and protected, but emulated

as a model o sustainability.

Rechelbacher continues his mission

through Intelligent Nutrients, an online

store oering organic, highly nutritional

ood-based products and gits. He

continues to raise the bar on consumer

saety by using only organic, USDA-

approved grade ingredients, underscoring

his philosophy that what you put on your

body should be as sae as what you put in

your body. Rechelbachers vision is o a

new paradigm in beauty committed tohealth and saety.

HORSTRECHELBACHER

Nature is not merely something

to be cherished and protected,

but emulated as a model of

sustainability. HORST RECHELBACHER

As we learn more about theeects o chemicals ound inmakeup and beauty products,the benefts o natural beautycare seem exponential.Companies like Aveda, Dr.Hauschka Skin Care, Dr.Bronners and Warm Spiritrevolutionized the beautyindustry by oering productswith a health and socialmission.


23/28

ShoreBank was ounded in 1973 by our

small business loan experts who dreamed

o reversing the decline o Chicagos inner

city neighborhoods. They knew fxing the

entrenched problems o urban decay would

require a dierent approach and a new kind

o institution. In ShoreBank, they created a

development bankone that could make

a proft while transorming neighborhoods

through enterprise.

At frst they ocused on retaining and

rebuilding the physical environment

by providing loans to residents who

wanted to renovate the neighborhoods

deteriorating buildings. Later, they went

on to solicit Development Deposits

rom across the U.S., drawing on socially-

minded investors who wanted to support

community development and still earn

a competitive return.

Today, the ShoreBank amily consists otwo commercial banks, based in Chicago

and the Pacifc Northwest, and ShoreBank

International, a consulting company

that helps fnancial institutions and their

SOCIALFINANCE

SHOREBANK

What i a bank cared as much about improving the communityas maintaining proftability? Thats the thinking behind socialfnance. Today, companies like ShoreBank serve as exampleso fnancial institutions that have been able to build individual,amily, business and community strength and sustainabilitythrough loans and education.

unders, governments and communities

around the world provide credit or micro

enterprise, small and medium businesses

and housing. Starting with its partnership

with Nobel Prize winner Muhammad

Yunus o Grameen Bank in the 1970s,

ShoreBank International has worked with

more than 65 banks and development

fnance organizations in more than 40

countries, advancing more than $300

million in small business loans to date.

In recent years, SVN has inuenced

ShoreBank to ocus on environmental

as well as economic sustainability.

ShoreBank is living up to its bold tagline,Lets change the world, by proving

that the triple bottom line goals o

proftability, community development

and conservation are both compatible

and mutually reinorcing. Other great

organizations working to advance social

fnance include RSF Social Finance, UNC

Partners, Condor Ventures, MicroCredit

Enterprises, Underdog Ventures and

Renewal Partners.


24/28

FUNCTIONALFASHION

Ater two months o wearing the sandals,Frasers eet elt alive in a new way. Sensing

she was on to something big, Fraser wanted

to spread the word to women back home.

Unortunately, the Birkenstock design was

everything that ashion wasnt in the 1960s.

Tiny and dainty were the desired attributes

o eet, she says, Birkenstock certainly

didnt ft into that picture!

Convinced o the merits o Birkenstock

sandals, Fraser began importing and

selling them rom home. At frst, retailers

told her women would never wear theseshoes, but by the early seventies, a cultural

shit brought along a change in ashion

sense. The Birkenstock sandals ft right

into the health-conscious style o the new

generation. I knew that this was not a ad,

it was part o something bigger, a mind

shit that encompassed more than just

dress codes; a new, dierent way to look

at lie, to seek a connection with nature,

Fraser says. Birkenstock was part o this

movement; it opened peoples eyes to the

mind-body connection.

Frasers value-based approach to business

has brought Birkenstock Footprint Sandals,

Inc. rom a small home business to the

multi-million dollar company it is today.

Her company honors its belie in the powero community by sponsoring initiatives like

grants, product donations and an employee

volunteer program that contribute to the

well-being o the recipient communities.

We were the pioneers and made it easier

or other companies with similar products

and ideas to enter the feld; the whole

comort ootwear market exploded, helping

everybody to prosper.

MARGOTFRASER

I knew that this was not a fad, it

was part of something bigger,

a mind shift that encompassed

more than just dress codes; a new,

different way to look at life, to seek

a connection with nature.

MARGOT FRASER

When Margot Fraser traveledto Germany in 1966, she neverexpected to return homewith an answer to the worldsoot miseries. During a visitto Bavaria, a yoga instructorshowed her a pair o sandals,

suggesting they might alleviatesome o her oot pain. Thedesign made sense to me, theoutline asymmetrical, like aoot, the contoured ootbedit looked like something myeet might enjoy, Fraser says.This was Frasers introductionto Birkenstock sandals.


25/28Birkenstock Footprint Sandals founder Margot Fraser


26/28

Our publications show people ways to live

with social and environmental concerns

in mind. Our Green Festival events work

to support green businesses and increase

the ever-growing population o green

consumers, says Denise Hamler, Director

o Green Business Programs or Co-op

America and Green Festival.

EDUCATINGCONSUMERS

Co-op America uses a unique approach

that involves both consumers and

businesses. They educate people about how

to use their spending power to promote

social and environmental sustainability,

help socially and environmentally

responsible businesses emerge and thrive,and pressure irresponsible companies to

adopt responsible practices. Hamler says,

We need to create and educate a critical

mass o educated and environmental

consumers. SVN brings together the true

social change makers and leaders. These

are the people and organizations we want

to play with.

Co-op Americas programs have had

a signifcant impact on the world in

recent years. Their Community Investingprogram moved more than $1.5 billion

into disadvantaged communities in the

U.S. and abroad over the past our years;

their Fair Trade Alliance mobilized over

250,000 people to advance Fair Trade; and

their Climate Action program has rallied

businesses, consumers and investors to

address the issue with the speed and powerit requires and helped launch a solar

company to make it aordable.

Another SVN member organization,

ABC Carpet and Home, is educating

consumers on sustainability through a

variety o innovative initiatives. They help

customers assess their energy efciency

through ABC Real Goods Solar, and their

MISSIONmarket program connects

consumers with charities, helping them buy

Gits o Compassion in support o causes

like literacy, poverty and the environment.

Other organizations like Rugmark, Global

Exchange, Bioneers and the Rainorest

Action Network are among those at the

oreront o educating consumers aboutcrucial environmental and social issues.

-

Our publications show people way

to live with social and environment

concerns in mind. DENISE HAMLER

In 1982, a visionary groupo people joined togetherwith one common belie;that an economy that worksor the people and theplanet was possible. And soCo-op America was born,dedicated to creating a justand sustainable society by

harnessing economic poweror positive change.


27/28

SOCIALCHANGEMEDIA

WhenMother Jones magazine was

launched in 1976, the country was ready

or a publication that eatured investigative

reporting on the great unelected power

wielders o our timemultinational

corporations.Mother Jones reporters have

consistently broken stories well ahead

o the media pack, earning a substantial

readership and the respect o both

independents and the mainstream. The

steady support o the SVN community

continues to be enormously helpul

toMother Jones as it surs the waves o

change in media.

Utne Reader, ounded in 1984 by Eric

Utne, has also been a leading voice or the

alternative and independent press, bringing

readers the other side o the story on issues

rom the environment to the economy

and politics to pop culture. Utne provokes

thought and inspires action by oering

the best o the independent press as well

as original writing.

Utne is a Readers Digestor the next

generation, Eric Utne says, and its vision

is to help make the world a little greener

and a little kinder. Through Utne Salons,

in which readers connect with each other

or conversation and inspiration, Utne

has spurred the creation o businesses,

schools and cultural partnerships. Utne

credits SVN with keeping him inspired

and helping with practical concerns. SVNwas where I learned business rom my

ellow entrepreneurs, he says. Investors,

advertisers and some o our best story ideas

all came rom SVN.

Utneis a Readers Digestfor the

next generation, and its vision is to

help make the world a little greene

and a little kinder. ERIC UTNE

UTNE

Smart, thorough, probingmedia are an essentialingredient to a successuldemocracy, but in recent

years steady consolidationo the mainstream media,together with the recenttrend o slashing newsroomstafng and budgets, haveput corporate agendas arahead o the publics interest.To fght this, independentmedia organizations such

as Utne Reader,MotherJones, and The Nation areinspiring and inormingprogressive change by stayingdevoted to journalistic ideals,oten covering stories thattraditional media wont touch.


28/28

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