This past weekend, we had the great fortune to help sponsor and attend the latest installment of the annual William James Foundation (WJF) Sustainable Business Plan Competition. Right out front we want to give out props to Ian Fisk who has been the driver and organizer of this competition as it has grown up over the past 7 years....

This week, First Lady Obama held the first ever Workplace Flexibility Forum at the White House – with an array of speakers and corporate leadership in attendance, it is clear that there is a great deal of steam building behind this movement. If you have been following the BetterBlog and/or BetterWorld for long, you know that we have been advocating the same workplace change (less commuting, travel, more flexibility, less building/space specific activity) through our BetterWork framework, which we developed in concert with the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in 2008/2009....

Last Thursday, we were able to work with a couple of our Northwest partners on the same evening as we hosted the monthly NBIS EcoHour at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute’s downtown Seattle campus. Towards the end of the evening, it was clear that many in the room had affiliations with both organizations and a great discussion was had by all....

The Social Enterprise Networks of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) announced the winners of the 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Award, recognizing YPO members and graduates for their contributions toward making a difference through their companies and charitable organizations. Awardees were recognized in the categories of Economic Justice/Community Impact, Leadership, Employee Impact, Sustainability, and Philanthropic/Non-Profit Organization....

Late last week BetterWorld and the Tides Foundation sponsored the west coast launch of the Nonprofit Guide to Going Green – a two year project with over 20 authors, and edited/co-authored by yours truly alongside Ted Hart and Adrienne Capps. With more launch events on the way, including April in Berkeley and Toronto....

The Mondavi Center A huge shout out to publisher Jeff vonKaenel, Morelle Ellison and the Sacramento News and Review (SN&R) team who were a major force in organizing and holding the eighth-annual JAMMIES Awards in Sacramento this past weekend. The Crest Theatre in Sacramento was the site for young contemporary musicians on Friday night and the beautiful UC Davis Mondavi Center played host on Saturday for the young classical musicians competing for the annual award & what has become a major launch pad for young musicians emerging from the Sacramento scene....

Last week we had a great opportunity to speak to the Sustainable Business Leadership class at Evergreen State College in Olympia. To say that Evergreen is a special place is a true understatement, an icon of free thinking and creativity in education, Evergreen has a storied history that we were able to take part in for almost three hours....

We were fortunate to catch the Art in Action – Oakland Green Youth Art and Media Center Dream is Alive fundraiser at the BetterWorld East Bay home, the Brower Center in Berkeley, a few days back. The turnout was amazing and the event raised over $20,000 for the new Oakland center....

Yes, we can lead. BetterWorld was fortunate this past week to be invited and, attend for the second time in the past six months, the Business Advocacy Day for Jobs, Climate & New Energy Leadership. The advocacy day was hosted by a number of organizations including our partner and customer, the Clean Economy Network (CEN)....

Wow. This past Sunday in Sonoma, Jeremy Rifkin had a packed house organized by the Praxis Peace Institute in the palm of his hand, providing a summary of his new book, The Empathetic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World Crisis. I have rarely, if ever, seen someone put all the social and environmental pieces together in such a concise and achievable framework....

This past week, the BetterWorld team was fortunate to attend some great events and meetings up and down the west coast, seeing many familiar faces as well as many new ones. Here are some quick highlights of all the great customers, partners and new orgs that we met and saw: B Corp Portland and San Francisco Events: PremGroup’s hip HQ office was the scene last week where many existing Portland-area B Corp companies and some prospective B Corps gathered to share their own stories and learn more about the history and foundation of B Corp from co-founder, Jay Coen Gilbert....

BetterWorld customer and friend, Dr. Joy Anderson, was the featured speaker at the latest Hanson Bridgett Sustainable Business Leadership Forum, held this past Thursday in San Francisco. Joy is President and Founder of Criterion Ventures and a co-founder of Good Capital and had a full room considering the process and dynamics on how firms/organizations can move and shape markets, from a historical, modern and post-modern perspective....

As featured in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, BetterWorld customer and donation recipient Art in Action will be opening the doors next Thursday the 14th in downtown Oakland on its latest project, the Green Youth Arts and Media Center. An excerpt from today’s Chronicle: “The walls are freshly painted in blues, browns and whites, the bamboo dance floor is polished, and the sound equipment has been tested again and again....

Saving Lives, Sustaining Livelihoods is the mantra and vision of Relief International (RI). We were fortunate this week to visit with the leadership of RI in Los Angeles and learn more about their progress and efforts towards helping those who typically have not or are not receiving due attention in crises around the world, focusing on long term developmental needs, goals and programs....

Late last week, we had the fortune to meet with Emily Malatesta Kelton (Director, Corporate Relations) and Sheri Willoughby (Senior Program Officer Business and Industry) at World Wildlife Fund headquarters in Washington, D.C. As one learns more about WWF, you can’t help be struck by the size and scope of their impact, which is truly felt in just about every corner of the world today....

Last Friday I had the honor of meeting with David Coffey, Executive Director of Recovery Cafe — an inspirational person who runs an amazing organization serving men and women who are homeless, addicted, and/or suffering from mental illness. Recovery Cafe is a Seattle-based non-profit recovery support center that utilizes an alternative therapeutic community model....

Last week we had the pleasure of catching up with Randy Paynter, CEO an founder of Care2, a long -time BetterWorld customer and fellow B Corp company. Care2 and Randy require little introduction but in case you have been trapped under a rock for the last 10 years, Care2 has over 12....

The BetterWorld team was out in force at the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum in San Francisco. JP, Jim, and Jacob represented at the BetterWorld sponsored table, alongside our guest representatives from Care2, Sun Light & Power, RSF Social Finance, Mother Jones Magazine, Social Venture Network, Give Something Back, and Hanson Bridgett....

This was my second year attending the Green Festival in San Francisco. As a fledgling in 2002, San Francisco started with only 50 speakers and a handful of special events. Last year, the San Francisco Green Festival boasted 3 days filled with the best in green, and continues to expand in size and scope....

We were fortunate this week to participate at the Nokia Siemens Networks'  Environment as Economic Engine Summit, which was held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. November 9-10. Speaking at the event were leading academics, trend analysts, as well as government and communications industry experts who were discuss and debating the wealth of opportunities offered by a sustainable business approach in the Information & Communications Technologies (ICT) sector....

The incredibly inspiring micro-loan organization Kiva celebrated 4 years and $100 million in donations this past week and BetterWorld was there to help celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments. Kiva “connects people through lending to help alleviate poverty” and has blazed a trail of widespread success for similar organizations with the micro-lending model....

What a great week of meetings in Sacramento. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know the riches of this region. Innovation: I took a tour of Ternion Bio Industries (www.ternionbio.com) space and learned about their Photo Bioreactors that provide a controlled, scalable environment in which harmful emissions, notably carbon dioxide, are used to “feed” any strain of algae, producing high-quality raw material for beneficial algae-based products....

Just taking a moment to observe a great signpost in the road: B Labs released its First Annual B Corporation Report in the past week and we congratulate them on their amazing progress in helping to define a new class of corporation. In less than five years years, B Corp (B = “For Benefit) has moved from idea, to concept, off the drawing board and now to the first annual report is a great testament to the progress that has been made....

Demonstrating the power of for profit and non profit partnerships, we were at a great event a few days back where Levi Strauss and BetterWorld Telecom customer Goodwill International announced their new initiative to lower the life cycle impacts of jeans by giving consumers advice on how to care for them and what to do with them when they are no longer wanted....

The BetterWorld train is making its way through beautiful San Rafael, CA today as the Bioneers 2009 is in full swing. With thousands here at the Marin Center and thousands more joining via live satellite from almost 20 sites across North America, from Anchorage to Portland, ME. Highlights so far have been talks from Amazonian Chief Almir, Brock Dolman, Kari Fulton, Jack Hidary, Sarah James, Jensine Larsen, Joanna Macy, Mari Margil, Jason McClennan, Michael Pollan, Jerome Ringo, Arturo Sandoval, Dr....