Partners
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BetterWorld at N2Y4
We just finished an incredible two days at TechSoup’s Netsquared event N2Y4. The conference at Cisco in San Jose boasted numerous creative social entrepeneurs and visionaries who are using mobile technology to tackle the world’s most challenging problems. The main event was a competition for 50 thousand in grant prizes, between 14 amazing projects tackling issues from getting appropriate and timely info via SMS text on phones for rural farmers in Cameroon (AMISProject ) to empowering everyday citizens to report and fix the problems in their local community – like pot holes and graffiti (SeeClickFix).... -
BetterWorld Brings BetterWork to GreenCities Orlando
Orlando was green in more than one way today as the BetterWorld Train rolled into town. In addition the spring monsoon passing through central Florida, GreenCities Orlando is the first installment in the GreenCities Tour (www.greencities.com), orchestrated by BetterWorld friend, customer and partner, Seven Star Productions. There was a great turnout and the kickoff event set the tone for sure as it turns to Huntsville, AL and New York City later in the year.... -
Sustainable in Seattle
The BetterWorld train stopped off in Seattle yesterday and its always a pleasure to get together with the amazing team from Climate Solutions. They have a couple HUGE events coming up next week, check ‘em out if you are in or around the Emerald City: EPA Rally: On May 21 at noon, the EPA will be holding a day-long hearing in Seattle – one of only two in the nation – on their recent proposed finding that global warming pollution is a threat to public health and the environment.... -
Full Circle Fund
Matt and I recently became members of Full Circle Fund, an engaged philanthropy organization cultivating the next generation of community leaders and driving lasting social change in the Bay Area and beyond. I attended their annual member retreat in Monterey last weekend to dive right in. It was a wonderful retreat with an incredibly dynamic and talented group of motivated individuals.... -
Our Visit with Dolphin Blue
We were fortunate this week to meet with Tom Kemper, founder at President of Dolphin Blue, at their offices in the Deep Ellum area of downtown Dallas. Tom is a visionary, having started Dolphin Blue way ahead of the curve in 1993 in Dallas on the belief that we all can all be responsible in what we use.... -
BALLE Conference 2009 – Be There, Be Local
The excitement is growing for this year’s upcoming annual conference for the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) May 21st-23rd, with Denver being the lucky host city for 2009. If you are one of the millions of regular readers to the BetterBlog, you know how passionate we are about BALLE and everything it stands for, and it all started at the 2006 Annual Conference in Burlington, VT!... -
SBNOW Raises the Bar for Sustainability in D.C.
The Sustainable Business Network of Washington (D.C.) keeeps on growing and growing its impact in the Washington, D.C. area and beyond. Formed a number of years ago (BetterWorld participated at the board level early on), SBNOW and its truly fearless leader Pamela Skarda, have now amassed hundreds of businesses, organizations and individuals as members and most recently, as part of Earth Week’s celebration, SB NOW announced that two companies; WGL Holdings, Inc.... -
Democracy + Workplace = WorldBlu
We are excited for BetterWorld to make the WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2009 list for the third year running! This year, forty companies are the annual winners of the WorldBlu List sponsored by WorldBlu, an Austin-based non-profit specializing in organizational democracy. The announcement came as part of the third annual Democracy in the Workplace Day on April 14th, sponsored by the WorldBlu organization.... -
Bionavitas – Bringing Photons to the Biomass
Thanks so much to the team at Bionavitas for the great tour of their facility late last week in Redmond, WA – – it was truly an eye-opening and huge learning experience. What Bionavitas is accomplishing, to the layman (me), is nothing short of miraculous – developing a way that algae (the foundation of life on our planet) can be effectively grown and harvested for a number of applications, including biofuels, nutraceuticals, and bio-remediation.... -
What’s Going on at TechSoup Global?
With a mission to tech up non-profits around the world, TechSoup is clearly delivering: From June 2007 to June 2008 the retail value of their technology product donations distributed came to a whopping $312M, while saving social benefit organizations $296M through the distribution of 901,000 products. That my friends’s IMPACT.... -
Brotherly Love
The BetterWorld train passed through Philly this week and we were fortunate to meet with some of our customers and partners, plus one exciting new company on the horizon, here’s some highlights: e3bank We met with the management team at e3bank outside of Philadelphia, e3bank will be doing for the banking industrywhat BetterWorld is to the telecoms industry – providing a bottoms up sustainable model for the future.... -
D.C. Takes Center Stage, Enter Mr. Obama
After living in D.C. for almost 20 years (Christine and I since moved to Charleston, SC), it was just magical to be there this week and feel the energy and anticipation of the coming inauguration. Never in my time in D.C. was energy level this high, the hope, the expectation. As BetterWorld was founded and continues to be based in the D.... -
Our Visit with the Ella Baker Center
A few days ago, we stopped by to see our customers and friends at the Ella Baker Center in Oakland – – their impact is being felt not only in the East Bay area where they are based but all over the country and world now as Ella Baker co-founder Van Jones has now created their sister organization Green For All, which is leading the charge for the Green Job movement.... -
Sustainability in San Francisco’s East Bay
Jay, Jacob and I were fortunate late last week to attend our first Sustainable Business Alliance monthly luncheon in Oakland and get to see some old friends and meet many new ones as well. BetterWorld is now a member of SBA and is exploring more ways we can become involved in the coming months with this great organization.... -
The Miracle on Delancey Street
Every so often, your sense of reality is turned on its head – – well, that happened to us this past week upon our first visit to the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. Situated in the heart of the revitalized Embarcadero waterfront is a massive 400,00 sq. foot facility (pictured above), with a restaurant, cafe, housing, community rooms, courtyards, movie theater, event facility – all completely self sufficient, run by the residents of the Delancey Street Foundation.... -
The Best Companies on Earth
Congratulations to our long time customer and partner, Seventh Generation on being ranked the “Number One Best Company on Earth” by the Better World Shopping Guide (no relation to BetterWorld Telecom). Other BetterWorld Telecom customers making the top ten list include Honest Tea and Patagonia and we second the enthusiasm for these three great companies and all the contributions they have made towards the betterment of business, the environment and society.... -
Eco Build Expo – Boston 2008
Betterworld Telecom wrapped up the week in attendance at the Eco Build Expo in Boston this past Friday who’s theme for 2008 was “Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability”. Attendees included vendors from the green building space who showcased their goods and services. Majora Carter, Executive Director of Sustainable South Bronx in New York, was just one of the many talented speakers that discussed how the economy and green-collar jobs are becoming more popular in today’s society and she urges businesses to get back to their local roots.... -
A Weekend in the Woods with BGI
This past weekend, I was most fortunate to spend a weekend in residence at Island Wood on Bainbridge Island, WA with the Bainbridge Graduate Institute during one of their student intensives. It is hard to put into words what an amazing place Island Wood is, but equally difficult is trying to describe in a few words the powerful engine for change and sustainability that has been created at BGI.... -
2008 SF Green Business Conference
Out in San Francisco, the Mecca of sustainable business and progressive thinking, I just finished up with Green America’s (Co-Op America’s new name) Green Business Conference. It was an opportunity to strengthen connections with folks we know and develop new relationships with many new wonderful companies and organizations. Amidst the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Green community remains optimistic about the exponential growth of responsible business and public awareness.... -
1Sky and Climate Leadership NOW
On Tuesday November 11th members of the Betterworld team joined with 1Sky to help prepare for the November 18th Climate Leadership NOW rally that will take place in Washington DC. Volunteers, members and socially minded people from across the 50 states will gather on November 18th to welcome the president elect and the new congress by calling on them to make climate an immediate priority in 2009.... -
Building our Third Habitat House
The Christmas season is almost upon us, but for one family in Manning, SC, their holiday gift should be delivered a week early. Drenita and her 4 year old daughter Aniya are anxiously awaiting moving day in December when they finally get to move into their brand new home. For months, Drenita has been working right along side area volunteers, friends and family to achieve her dream.... -
SVN Conference Report: The New Apollo Program
The 2008 SVN fall conference is off and running and the energy level is higher than ever – – just saw a great presentation from Phil Angelides and Jerome Ringo, leaders of the Apollo Alliance. What an amazing organization with a great vision! The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers.... -
Be Green Now!
Over the past few months, BetterWorld’s carbon footprint has been audited by BeGreen (www.begreennow.com), and we are pleased to report that we have moved our carbon footprint certification to BeGreen. BeGreen Carbon Offsets are the latest sustainable product offered by BetterWorld Telecom customer and partner, Green Mountain Energy — BeGreen’s parent company.... -
BetterWorld Launches Green Telecom Initiative
Many companies and industries have taken up the cause of sustainability and are helping to lead us into our next phase of evolution. Out front is the building/construction/design industry, behind the work of the UG Green Building Council and the LEED standard, successful, pioneering companies such as Patagonia and REI, as well as Clean Tech, alternative power and alternative fuels.... -
The Green Collar Economy
The Green Collar Economy On October 7, Green For All founder and president Van Jones will release his first book: The Green Collar Economy. The book is a powerful argument for a national commitment to green economic development as a way to address our environmental and economic crises at once. On the heels of sky-high fuel prices this summer, a massive financial crisis has sent the economy into a tailspin this fall....
