The BetterWorld team was out in force this past weekend to visit with friends, customers and partners at the 6th Annual D.C. GreenFest – there were over 120 speakers, 350 exhibitors and tens of thousands in attendance again! We saw so many great folks, including our friends from Theo Chocolate (see pic of Dana from Theo, Ali and Asya to the left)....

This past week, BetterWorld joined over 150 companies, 250 CEOs and leaders to storm the Senate and White House – – all united in a common voice pushing for speedy passage of comprehensive climate legislation this year. Organized by the Clean Economy Network and CERES, entrepreneurs and leaders from all sectors and 37 states descended on D....

West Coast Green was the place to be last Thursday through Saturday, and Matt and I were sure to be there. We connect with many current and met many new friends, partners, and customers at the largest conference on green innovation for the built environment. Held at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, 14,000 thought leaders and forward thinkers convened to engage in dynamic, big-picture, systems-thinking to reinvent business, laugh, make connections, affect policy, and create meaningful and lasting positive change....

Late last week, Matt and I had a couple great meetings of note in the Bay Area, with a couple organizations doing amazing work in their own right to advance sustainability. Sun Light & Power First off we met with Sun Light & Power, headquartered in Berkeley, thanks to Mark Mumm for the tour and great discussion around how our BetterWork framework could advance Sun Light & Power’s mission....

The BetterWorld train pulled into Sebastopol, CA earlier this week to visit and spend time with our long time customer, Guayakí, at their home base about an hour north of San Francisco. About 1/2 the BetterWorld team drinks Guayakí on a daily basis and we have been feeling the health and wellness benefits of their incredible products for many years....

In a word, wow – we are so fortunate to visit every day with organizations that are affecting positive change in the world, but every once in awhile, our perception of what can be is shifted for sure. Our visit with the the Seattle Lighthouse for the Blind last week was a lesson in what is possible if a community and some really committed people come together to help others in need....

We had another successful forum last week with Cecilia Jensen, Sacramento County’s Sustainability Program Manager, as our speaker. We’re continuing to grow our supporter base and bring in lots of new faces, agencies, businesses, and organizations. The venue this month was wild! We held it at Jon Affonzo’s Railbridge Cellars, and his second daughter had just been born that morning....

As he usually does, Paul Hawken captivated another packed house this past Thursday at the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum held at the beautiful Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Most that we talked to afterward agreed that it was one of the best events we had been to in recent memory. Paul Hawken is an expert at knowing and speaking to his audiences, and was spot on with his long and detailed speech geared towards an advanced group of sustainability professionals – who came out in force to hear his latest take on developments in social and environmental progress....

Fresh off a great meeting with EcoTextiles this afternoon, the BetterWorld train is tonight at Seattle’s eco-friendly indoor venue, Sodo Park — It’s a party, a fashion show and a B2B event sharing local resources for greening events. We’ve been sampling great organic, local food and wine from the Seattle and western WA area – all with the main goal of kicking off the necessary conversations to produce the greenest events in the United States....

California has been feeling the BetterWorld wave in a big way as we launched two new monthly community forums back-to-back in August. The Sacramento Sustainability Forum is a monthly venue for connecting businesses, non-profits, government and interested citizens in the Sacramento region in order to promote sustainability, share insights and resources, and support movement towards a more sustainable future....

We were fortunate this week to visit the amazing HQ/Brewery/Restaurant in Escondido, CA of the Stone Brewing Company. Stone brews arguably some of the best beers in the U.S. (favorite of many on the BetterWorld team, alongside some New Belgium brews), but the story just starts there. Stone maintains a huge commitment to local agriculture as the largest purchaser of local ag in San Diego county, something near and dear to the BetterWorld team through our local and national support of BALLE....

BetterWorld Telecom President Matt Bauer presented at a workshop on Smart Grid, Broadband, and Climate Change at the FCC recently. The goal of the workshop was to identify potential impacts of a National Broadband Plan on energy, the environment, and transportation. The workshop panelists explored how the broadband and communications infrastructure can play a transformative role in meeting national energy, environmental, and transportation goals, including energy independence, greenhouse gas emissions reductions and clean energy generation....

If you have been lucky enough to see Food, Inc. at the movie theaters, then you need look no further for a solution to the myriad of problems affecting our national food system than Seattle-based PCC Natural Food Markets. We were fortunate to visit yesterday with PCC, truly one of Seattle’s great treasures for over 55 years....

BetterWorld’s upcoming Sacramento Sustainability Forum was featured in the Sacramento Press yesterday. About 50 people are expected to attend the first forum, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane in Sacramento. They include local residents, environmentally friendly business owners, museum staff, architects, environmental engineers, developers and government employees....

Yesterday we had great meetings with both the Federal Communications Commission and The Wilderness Society, discussing BetterWork concepts and benefits for both the greater good and for individual organizations. We have been invited to participate in the FCC’s ongoing Workshop Series , which is bringing forward information and specific areas of focus, culminating in the National Broadband Plan....

We had the pleasure of visiting our friends over at Hanson Bridgett LLP for one of their on-going Sustainable Business Leadership Forums this past Thursday to hear BetterWorld customer Adam Werbach, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, talk about the future of sustainability. Hanson Bridgett is a fellow Founding B Corporation and green certified firm providing legal counsel to purpose-driven businesses....

We have been spending more time and energy in Sacramento lately, and are particularly excited about the Sacramento Sustainability Forum that we have put together with Rick Noss of Greenvision and Sacramento Green Drinks. We’ve got a great line up of speakers for the next four months, with David Mogavero, Senior Principal Mogavero Notestine Associates kicking it off for us....

When you walk in the Easter Seals’ Chicago headquarters, you are greeted with an amazing quote from Easter Seals’ founder Edgar Allen – “ Your life and mine shall be valued not by what we take…but by what we give.” With roots back to the early 1900s, Easter Seals has been giving and giving, helping individuals with disabilities and special needs, and their families, live better lives....

Late last week, we were fortunate to visit with ShoreBank Corp. in Chicago – where the roots of the ShoreBank collective of organizations date back to the late 1960s in the South Shore area of Chicago. ShoreBank Corporation is America’s first community development and environmental bank holding company. Headquartered in Chicago, ShoreBank is a $2....

We were fortunate to meet a few days ago with Seattle-based Theo Chocolate, the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the United States. Truly a slice of heaven, Theo’s main location in Seattle’s Fairmont neighborhood is literally a pilgrimage for thousands of people every year, as tours of the facility and Theo’s special processes are held multiple times per day throughout the year....

BetterWorld’s own Gloria Costa was out giving back to the community this week. Reading “Arthur Writes a Story” to children and parents at the local library in South Carolina. Joe Londaree was also in attendance to help out and support the event. The Story Time program takes place on Wednesdays and lasts for 5 weeks every summer....

BetterWorld was up at Reno’s Silver Legacy hotel and casino at the 2009 AIRS Conference. The Alliance of Information and Referral Systems is the driving force behind the development of clear and consistent professional standards that benchmark every aspect of quality I&R. I was there to learn more about 2-1-1, a partner of AIRS and United Way that provides free and confidential information and referrals for help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling and more....

President Matt Bauer at Light Reading BetterWorld President Matt Bauer gives key note presentation at Light Reading event: Green Telecom East- Transition to a Conference, reinforcing the opportunity and responsibility of Telecom to pave the way towards greater sustainability. Touching on the various industries that will be affected by a true shift towards sustainabililty and effective implementation of telecom technologies, Matt reinforces this necessity for a shift by everyone, with the Telecom industry leading the way....

BetterWorld gives back to the community at The Harvin Clarendon County Library, in Manning, South Carolina. The library provides both education and recreational activities for kids of all ages. During the summer school break, youth can attend “Story Time” sessions, take art lessons, and make use of the many free library services offered (including DVD’s, Videos, Internet training, and others)....

“Imagine 1500 passionate people gathering together to change the world. That’s Boot Camp – a fun, intensive one day gathering where people learn how to bring their ideas for stronger communities into reality.” Salem and I had the great pleasure to serve as volunteers at Craigslist Foundation’s Boot Camp last Saturday....