The Next Generation of Sustainable Capital

The Investors’ Circle spring conference attempted to answer that question during a lively breakout session entitled “Slow Money: New Strategies for Investing in Local Food Systems.” Attended by reps from next generation investors such as SJF Ventures, Transformative Capital, and Renewal Partners, the conference blended a business pitch competition, philosophical discussions, an entrepreneur showcase, and community education in an effort to jump start the transition to a sustainable economy. Ecopreneurist writers were out in full force at the conference, with Leah Edwards blogging the “Is Organic the Next Clean Tech?” breakout session and joining in the networking events.

Slow Money: New Strategies for Investing in Local Food Systems

As part of the larger Slow Movement sweeping the cultures of food, travel, cities, and schools, Slow Money proponents seek investments and returns at the pace of sustainable business development. Slow Money panelist Greg Steltenpohl, former CEO of Odwalla and self-confessed “fast money sinner testifying before you,” advocated for the creation of new metaphors for economic growth. In the Slow Money movement, organic phrases replace academic terminology and new financial vehicles arise to form the “compost of the slow money economy.” Investors’ Circle chairman Woody Tasch expressed this transition as a study in contrasts between old and new ways of thinking:

Read more of this story »

The two largest pension funds in the US, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, with some $246.7 billion under its management, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, $168.8 billion strong, were both on board with the institutional investor coalition. These two large and incredibly wealthy pension funds tend to be leaders in the institutional investor arena. George McPherson, senior managing director of the DC-based private equity firm Global Environment Fund said he expects other pension funds to create more programs geared towards clean technology over the next year.

Read more of this story »

After looking forward to it for several months, the Opportunity Green Conference is now just around the corner. To be held November 17 at UCLA, the conference’s organizers are asking a question that seems to be on everyone’s lips: “Is green the new gold?”

The conference will bring together those involved in all aspects of green business, from visionaries and entrepreneurs to executives and investors, all of whom are dedicated to building socially conscious, sustainable, and profitable enterprises.

Organizers have put together an impressive list of speakers, all well-known in the socially-conscious world of business, including

• Kevin Wall, Founder of Live Earth
• Jonathan Greenblatt, Co-founder of Ethos Water
• Josh Dorfman, Author/Producer of “The Lazy Environmentalist”
• Max Schorr, Publisher and Founding Editor of GOOD Magazine
• Graham Hill, Founder of TreeHugger.com
• Gunther Lie, Director of Interactive Media for Method Products
• Ellen Strickland, Founder/Owner of Livingreen

The agenda features a panel discussion entitled, “Real World Green Business: Challenges, Mistakes and Opportunities” moderated by sustainability consultant and visionary John Picard. In addition, the schedule provides many options for break-out sessions, including Green 2.0: Connecting to Our Community, The End of Cars: The Future of Mobility as We Know It, and Venture Capital in the Green Marketplace.

There are also significant opportunities for networking, most notably before the event even starts. Through EventVue, registrants receive a login that allows you to upload a short bio, picture, etc. Once in, you can see who else will be at the event, including their areas of expertise and what they are “seeking”. A bit like a personal ad, but perfect for networking – you can even contact other registrants through the system before the event.

With more than 500 expected to attend, this conference is certain to help business people learn how to make gold from their green.

GreenTech.fM, a podcast series with entrepreneur & co-founder of iRent2u.com, Tim McCormack, and renowned green architect Robert Mechielsen, is now available online. So far 3 shows have been published (shows zero, one and two), with new shows to be announced every second Tuesday.

The series focuses on current and future environmentally friendly technologies that have the potential to correct and prevent issues created by pollution, overpopulation and energy dependency.

When asked why he was doing a podcast on green technologies, at the same time he was starting an ecommerce site for rentals, Tim McCormack said “We all have to pay attention to what is happening in the world. At iRent2u.com we believe strongly in creating systems that support positive environmental stewardship. Our business model at iRent2u is focused on helping people be more efficient, save money, and reduce waste; but we are far from the only company doing this. I wanted to help everyone become aware of all the incredible things entrepreneurs are doing to make the world a better, safer, & cleaner place.”

Robert Mechielsen, a “green” architect from Holland who now lives in Topanga, CA. had this to say. “This is so exciting. Every day we find new companies and technologies that are breaking all the rules. From the zero emission Tesla motor car, to the enormous growth in wind energy, and the incredible breakthroughs in construction that create homes with 80% to 90% less energy use, it is truly a revolution. As I have dedicated the last 25 years of my life towards building homes that are both beautiful and have low emissions, this is a topic that is very important to me. I love looking at all the new technologies, and can’t wait to start interviewing all the wonderful people who are making these breakthroughs.”

What is a podcast?

A podcast is like a radio show, except instead of turning on your radio, you go to a website and download it (for free). Many people then put these shows onto their iPods (hence the name “pod”cast) and listen to them when convenient. One nice feature of podcasts is that you can subscribe, using programs like iTunes (free from apple.com). Once you subscribe they download automatically to your computer, making it easy to stay current.

“On this show we focus 100% on the heroic efforts of inventors, engineers and investors to create technologies that will counter Global Warming,” Tim also mentioned. ” Many green publications spend all their time trying to scare people. Of course informing people of the dangers is important, but this is not our focus. We start the show with the assumption that people know something needs to be done, and then go from there. We see such incredible potential, and are truly excited to share that with the world. It is a very different message.”

To this Robert added “the Green movement is no longer just for hippies and extremists. Finally green has gone mainstream. Millions of entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors all over the world now realize there is big money to be made in efficiency, cleanliness, and in sustainable economic systems. It is a very exciting time!”

The Shows:

The first 11 shows are conversational style between Tim and Robert, with Robert the expert on current green technologies and Tim asking the questions that anyone new to the field would ask. From show #11 on, there will be interviews with leading scientists, entrepreneurs, & investors regarding the current trends and advances.

The first show, show zero, gives an introduction of the hosts and the show. The following ten shows cover such topics as:

0001 – What are Green Technologies?
0002 – 20 Emerging Green Technologies (the Rapid 20 Show)
0003 – Sustainability, Issues and Progress
0004 – Solar Power, How Does it Work?
0005 – SCIP Construction, A Revolution in Building Technology
0006 – Toxicity in Everyday Living
0007 – Using Nature to Reduce Energy Consumption
0008 – Bio Mimicry, What is it & Why?
0009 – Ecotourism, How Sexy is Green?
0010 – Land Restoration & Preservation Techniques

Don’t get left behind. Find out what is happening in the Green revolution.

GreenTech.fM is committed to quality and studies every topic before publication. The site lists links to show notes and the topics discussed for verification and further research. GreenTech.fM is dedicated to bringing green technologies to the forefront of future development.

Listen for free at www.GreenTech.fM today!

Two weeks ago

• They’re sustainable. Instead of making petrol-based products (which would be a poor economic decision right about now), they’ve opted to use things like corn sugar, sugar cane, and vegetable oil. They currently hold over 90 patents.
• A national survey recently found that 72% of Americans DO NOT know that plastic is actually made from oil (a fact that isn’t very comforting to packaging companies and just about every consumer product known to man). Even more concerning, 10% of all that oil we import…is to make plastic! In the US alone, we’re spending over $300 billion a year….with only a tiny percentage being sustainable.
• The Economist wrote an article about them. Perhaps this isn’t on everyone’s list of indicators, but I put it on mine because those guys, simply put, don’t mess around. I look at it like this: typically if a company is praised in The Economist, odds are that actual economists and business leaders see it as making “business sense.” Other appearances: Fortune Magazine, The Boston Globe, Forbes
• Metabolix partnered with Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM), the largest ethanol producer in North America, to commericialize the production of the first ever bio-based “natural plastic” called “Mirel.” Construction on the world’s first “green” biorefinery, specifically for natural plastic production in Iowa is just about complete.
• ADM is in the process of expanding to Brazil, the world’s #1 sugar and ethanol producer. I’m a fan of global expansion.
• Metabolix’s “Mirel” is also completely bio-degradable…in every environment. This product doesn’t just reduce the overall waste of consumers (you can do home composting with their products too), but Mirel can also be used in industrial composting, septic systems, rivers, and oceans, and all types of soil. Translation? They’ll be cutting the amount of waste production per person if some of the “big boys” that make consumer products and foodstuffs catch on. Imagine if 1.3 billion people in Asia started using Metabolix’s biodegradable paper cups ( made from switchgrass). With increasing environmental regulations by the second, this doesn’t seem so outlandish anymore.
• Apparently the Target Corporation caught on. Yep, that’s right, your Target Gift Card…will now be made from fermented sugar. Metabolix is currently working with 50 other companies to develop more bio-degradable plastic products.
• Solid management team. In May, Metabolix got itself a new president, who, ironically, had been a staple on the petro-chemical scene at BP for years. The head honcho of Metabolix aside, supporting board members are stocked full of people from who used to run companies like Pepsi Co. and Frito-Lay. Scientists. Plastic geniuses. Even the economic advisor to the Commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration is on board. And, needless to say, with no shortage of financial gurus either, the company appears to be moving in the right direction.
• They make it easy to switch. Metabolix has made it so they’re products can be made on ANY type of plastic processing machine. So, those companies out there who are saying “going green” (in terms of plastic) “isn’t economically feasible right now” can kiss that excuse goodbye.

This weekend, after Pepperdine university so kindly sent out the survey to a bunch of our old graduating classes, the survey blasted by 500 all the way up to hitting 544 responses. Once again the responses have been great. Here are a few fun statistics that we have taken out of it.

But for anyone who hasn’t taken it yet, here is the link. Don’t peak at what other people said, take the survey yourself first! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0S3pPYxkR6S0eGbiQVlZ7A_3d_3d

Now On to the results. I don’t want to give away the whole survey here, but I will give you five of some of the more interesting statistics we pulled from it.

• 86.2% would be willing to lend their personal items to their neighbors
• 82.3% would be willing to rent items from their neighbors
• 85.1% feel comfortable paying to borrow items they need
• 52.1% would be willing to lend items even if they were only rented once or twice a year
• For most items questioned, between 5 and 6 times as many people were willing to borrow items than lend them, which provides an excellent value proposition to lenders
• 94.8% of our respondents would be willing to either lend or borrow items. Out of 500 people surveyed, only 26 said they would not be willing to do one of the two options

So as you can tell, we have been getting very positive responses. This of course bodes very well for our business model, and we look forward to getting everyone on the site and giving them a chance to prove their bold statements. =^)

Speaking of the site, it is coming along very well. We have made tremendous project, in part thanks to some great effort on our web development team, A Small Orange. We are very very excited to give you a chance to run amok on the site, but first we want to work out some of the little bugs.

We will be posting new screen shots soon though, so make sure to keep checking back. It is looking great, working well, and getting us all pumped to launch as soon as possible. I can’t wait to show you have far it has come.

Look for new shots to be up within the week. For now, thanks for visiting, thanks for taking the survey, and thanks to all our die hard fans who voted for us on the Eventful box below. We appreciate it.

To find out the answers to these and other key questions, listen in when Linda Feinholz of Feinholz & Associates interviews green business expert Jeff Hayes, Principal of The Vector Group, on Thursday, May 17th at 10am (PDT). It's a free conference call, but you do need to register in advance (registration link is at the bottom of the page).

They will spend the hour discussing topics of importance to this growing segment, including the "gotchas" for emerging green businesses, such as how to seek the right kind of investors. They will also talk about how business service providers like CPAs and attorneys can intentionally attract a green clientele. One tip: green clients expect you to walk-the-walk. Just being able to spout the latest green catch phrases won’t cut it.

Having served small businesses since 1968, The Vector Group now helps their clients improve all three elements of the triple bottom line: profit, people, and planet. The company boasts experience in many varied industries, from a skateboard manufacturer to a beer producer to an exotic surf travel business.

Some of The Vector Group’s clients have seen revenues jump 40% in less than 12 months, and are now singing the company’s praises. Tony Guido of the industrial design firm grow-design calls Hayes "a personal trainer for green business" and Caroline Duell of Elemental Herbs just calls Hayes "my boss". If these testimonials are any indication, one hour of your time might just make a big difference in the success of your green business.