Green Options

There’s just too much emphasis on “getting a job” these days.

Okay, so we’re at nearly 10 percent unemployment nationally (if you believe the Federal numbers), so many people are without a steady stream of bi-monthly paychecks. Yet, 90 percent of Americans who had a job when the economy tanked, still do. But for some that means being a wage serf, cubicle clone or working in the Dilbert world of dysfunctional corporate America – working hard to make someone else richer (and often, with ecological impacts). There’s too many CEO bonuses and none for the employees who clean the counters, work on the assembly lines (ideally making hybrid vehicles), or take care of customers. The vast majority of education system continues to be committed to helping people find jobs, not make a sustainble life, especially one that doesn’t destroy the planet or exploit people (though more are starting “sustainability curricula”).

What we need is less of an emphasis on transforming less-green jobs to more-green jobs for the plethora of job seekers. There’s nothing wrong with getting a job (there are a few great companies, some that even offer employee ownership and stock, in addition to addressing the development needs of their workforce).

But if you want to gain an upper hand on life, more self-employed or self-owned enterprises are discovered that you can keep more of your hard-earned money by working for yourself. As I write about in ECOpreneuring, doing so allows you to also reinvest our profits in ways that either restore the planet and/or improve the well being of people living in our community, nation and planet. These businesses have a triple bottom line and many have ditched the commute to some office, working, instead, from a home office.

I’ve heard this conversation a number of times at the small-to-medium sized enterprises (SME) I work with:

Green Vendor: “So Mr. CEO, how many of my carbon neutral, biodegradable, BPA-free whoozamacallits would you like to purchase?”

A Green Printer interview with Carmen Spagnola, entrepreneur and owner of m.

1. What made you want to start m?
I started m because I was a frustrated consumer.  I decided that  if I want to have access to smarter, more beautifully designed, more  responsible products and amenities for my home and family, I was going
to have to create more demand.  Markets are a bit of a chicken-and-egg  relationship.  Many retailers will tell you that they only provide  what their customers want.  That is only part of my modus operandi.
I want to showcase the possibility of a better performing future, so  much of what I sell and promote is currently considered ahead of the market.  But how will the market know what it wants if we don’t inspire it to want more?

Alaskan frontiersman Bernie Karl keeps his ice hotel frozen all summer long with the energy of hot springs. For a hundred years, Chena Hot Springs has attracted tourists who come to soak in its healing waters. But Karl — bearded and bursting with can-do spirit — saw the springs as a natural source of untapped energy. “I always knew that the value was in the hot water; I knew I would make electricity,” says Karl, in an original one-hour Discovery Channel TV special premiering Wednesday, March 11 at 10 pm (ET - check your local listings).  Though not your typical energy guru, today Karl is considered a pioneer of geothermal energy.

Karl is just one of the many entrepreneurs and inventors profiled in the Discovery special who are creating new ways to power our planet — tapping sunlight, wind and water, and heat embedded in the Earth. Based on the companion book, The New York Times bestseller Earth: The Sequel, the show details the tremendous strides being made across the nation to solve the energy crisis and curb carbon emissions through new technologies.  From start-ups harnessing hydro-power from New York’s East River to solar power in New Mexico’s high desert, the show chronicles dazzling ingenuity and possibility.

alex\’s lemonade standEngineers will tell you that marketing is not necessary. They will say that it doesn’t matter what you call it - functional products that fill a need will sell themselves. In fact Microsoft takes that concept to a whole new level by professing smart technology - via virtue of its functionality - will sell itself (and in Microsoft’s case, despite the marketing!)

“We need solutions at the speed of business,” says Hunter Lovins, author, speaker and founder of Natural Capital Solutions in the Naturally Successful DVD, produced by Arnold Creek Productions, Inc., known for its award-winning videos on sustainability used by organizations around the world.

Naturally Successful is an expertly assembled compilation of inspiring interviews of the leading visionaries giving a voice to the emerging green ECOnomy and the businesses that are in the business of remaking the world for the better. The release of this video couldn’t be better timed as millions of Americans explore ways to prosper despite the economic downturn.

“Build your business around your calling,” continues Lovins, who like the many leaders featured in the DVD, recognize opportunities for enterprising ecopreneurs to solve the most pressing problems now facing us, turning some profits in the process while achieving a happier, more fulfilling life. “We’re not in a sprint. We’re in a marathon to save the world…What is it that you love to do? How do you make a business of it?” asks Lovins.

To grasp the scale of the sustainability movement afoot and harness ideas to guide your green business, this 78 minute DVD offers insights on what being an ecopreneur is all about with a focus on building a values-driven business, providing meaningful leadership, achieving results beyond profits, serving customers, thinking long-term, seizing opportunities in new and existing markets, creating a thriving business and embracing a new type of commerce that seeks to make the world a better place. Interviews are woven together like a well-made life raft for anyone setting out to launch a green business that thrives with a triple bottom line.

If you think you have an idea that could change the world, or the reality for many people, Google wants to hear about it. And, if they like it, they might pay you up to $10 million.

Project “10 to the 100th”, in honour of Google’s 10th anniversary of helping you surf the web (and email and calendar and who knows what else these days), the internet behemoth is asking people to submit their ideas that will have broad impacts on people’s lives.

When I had the chance to interview Beth Gerstein, co-founder of Brilliant Earth, I first wanted to ask her how they raised the money to start the company. I figured that retailing gold, platinum and diamond jewelry had to be a capital-intensive business and thought Beth could shed light on how a green entrepreneur can convince investors that there is a large market for products that are sustainably produced.

However, I got a very different story. Brilliant Earth has been entirely boot-strapped, although that adjective doesn’t seem apt for a company that sells beautiful products, has an elegant identity system, and does business via a beautiful website.

Brilliant Earth sells conflict-free diamonds, which are mined in Canada in accordance with environmental laws as well as jewelry made of “renewed” gold and platinum, i.e., recycled metals.