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Corporate Social Responsibility
'Our Pick'
10.02.2007 - 09:30am ET
Social Venture Network Announces SVN Innovation Award Winners
Organization Rewards Innovation and Social Change Among Leaders of Emerging Enterprises
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - October 1, 2007 - Social Venture Network (SVN), the
country's leading network of socially responsible business leaders, today
announced the recipients of the SVN Innovation Awards. The winners were
selected though the "Imagine What's Next: Ideas that Will Change the Way
the World Does Business" contest that SVN launched earlier this year as
part of its 20-Year Anniversary celebration. Through the Innovation
Awards, SVN will recognize and support the next generation of socially
responsible business and nonprofit leaders who are creating positive
social change in the business sector. SVN is a member organization
comprised of over 430 CEOs, investors and nonprofit leaders committed to
creating a more just and sustainable world.
"SVN has been at the heart of the sustainable business conversation for
decades; our members and their businesses continually challenge the
socially responsible business platform by taking things to the next level.
In keeping this momentum going, we are thrilled to announce the winners of
our Imagine What's Next contest," said Deborah Nelson, Executive Director
of Social Venture Network. "In its first 20 years, SVN has built a
community of entrepreneurs who have proven time and time again that
businesses can thrive financially while taking care of both their
communities and the environment. This contest gave us the opportunity to
discover and honor the next generation of leaders whose ideas will
continue to transform the way the world does business."
From nearly 100 applicants nationwide, SVN has selected ten winners and
given five honorable mentions to leaders of emerging enterprises that have
demonstrated both innovation and progress by harnessing the power of
business to effect positive social change. Winners receive a one-year
membership to Social Venture Network, recognition at the invitation-only
SVN Fall 2007 Conference and will be partnered with SVN mentors who will
provide advice and connections through 2008.
Winners include:
Design that Matters, Timothy Prestero, CEO (Cambridge, MA):
Design that Matters (DtM) was founded to help social enterprises in
developing countries scale more quickly by providing them access to better
products designed specifically for their needs. DtM’s design work and
business analysis is performed by volunteers from academia and industry,
using the infrastructure available at their host institutions. Academic
contributors include MIT, Stanford and the Rhode Island School of Design,
and corporate partners include IDEO and Fisher Price, SolidWorks and
Optikos.
Nau, Chris Van Dyke, CEO (Portland, OR): Nau is an
eco-friendly clothing company started by former senior executives from
Nike and Patagonia. Nau blends profitability with philanthropy—what they
see as the new measure of success. Their high standards for sustainability
inspired Nau to create 28 new fabrics that are "open source" to encourage
industry peers to achieve the same level of sustainability. Nau donates
5% of gross revenues to nonprofit "partners for change," and they involve
customers by having them select the nonprofit to receive their 5%.
New Resource Bank, Peter Liu, Initial Founder and Vice
Chairman (San Francisco, CA): New Resource Bank is the first bank to use
depositors’ dollars to fund sustainability projects. New Resource Bank
innovated in the area of solar power loans for homeowners and also
provides incentives for green construction lending. They strive to attain
the highest standards for sustainability in the way they run all of their
business operations, including having an office that received Gold LEED CI
certification for green building.
No Sweat Apparel, Adam Neiman and Natalia Muina, Co-Founders
(Boston, MA): No Sweat is a pioneer of fair trade fashion and footwear,
setting an empowered, unionized workforce as the gold standard for fair
trade clothing. The Company's products are produced by independent trade
union members in the US, Canada, and the developing world. Inspired by
the belief that more good jobs for Palestinians in Palestine can help the
peace process, No Sweat Apparel's latest product line is organic cotton
t-shirts produced at a Palestinian-owned, unionized, sweatshop-free
factory in Bethlehem on the West Bank.
RecycleBank, Ron Gonen, CEO (Philadelphia, PA): RecycleBank
is a rewards program giving people incentives to recycle. Anticipated to
be in 100,000 households by the end of 2007, RecycleBank works with
municipalities to collect and measure the amount of materials recycled by
individual households and awarding points that can be used at hundreds of
corporate partners around the country, including Starbucks, Whole Foods
and Target, and many local retailers as well. Often RecycleBank works in
communities with no existing recycling program, thereby raising awareness
and generating enthusiasm for recycling.
Responsible Endowments Coalition, Morgan Simon, co-founder and
Executive Director (Oakland, CA): The Responsible Endowments Coalition
works to foster social and environmental change through university
endowments by educating and empowering a diverse community of university
members on over 50 campuses nationwide with collective assets of $ 150
billion. By working with colleges and universities to invest responsibly
and proactively, students and other university members have the power to
support corporate reform in areas such as human rights, environmental
responsibility and equal opportunity.
Sweet Beginnings, Brenda Palms Barber, CEO (Chicago, IL):
Sweet Beginnings is a project of the North Lawndale Employment Network
(NLEN), a community-based nonprofit helping ex-offenders fully reenter
society by providing assistance in securing and retaining employment and
developing a career path. Under the Beeline label, Sweet Beginnings
produces natural honey and honey-based products, thereby promoting
environmentally sustainable business practices while helping to create
green collar jobs for people at all income levels, but especially for
people of color.
Taproot Foundation, Aaron Hurst, President and Founder (San
Francisco, CA): The Taproot Foundation is changing the way business
invests in the community while bridging the gap between nonprofits and the
operational resources they need to thrive. By creating a new form of
philanthropy whereby professionals volunteer their unique skills through
"Service Grants," Taproot has already supported 500 nonprofits and
provided 250,000 hours of volunteer time, collectively valued at $25
million worth of professional services.
TerraCycle, Tom Szaky, CEO and Co-Founder (Trenton, NJ):
TerraCycle manufactures affordable, organic fertilizer that is not only
made from garbage—organic waste composted naturally by worms—but also
packaged entirely in garbage—reused soda bottles. Szaky dropped out of
Princeton to pursue this idea. TerraCycle started selling its fertilizer
through Home Depot in 2004 and collected more than 2 million plastic
bottles in its first 18 months through a recycling program called the
Bottle Brigade, which generates enthusiasm for recycling among children by
allowing them to fundraise for special projects.
World of Good, Priya Haji, Co-founder and CEO (Emeryville,
CA): World of Good seeks to lift thousands of women in the developing
world out of poverty. It creates opportunities for hundreds of artisan
cooperatives around the world by serving as a bridge to the U.S. retail
market and providing access to fair wages, safe working conditions and
long-term economic sustainability. ProjectGood.com is the newest venture
launched in partnership with eBay to create a people positive shopping
experience designed to help millions of consumers connect with producers
around the world.
Honorable mentions go to Bentley Hall, CEO and Co-Founder,
Bee Well LLC; Alicia Polak, Founder, Khaya Cookie Company; Caryl and Tom
Levine, Founders and co-owners, Lotus Foods; Anupreet Sethi, Co-CEO,
Profits for People; and Trey Taylor, Co-Founder and President, Verdant
Power.
"When we set out to design the company that is Nau, we were especially
inspired by the pioneers and visionaries that made up SVN," says Chris Van
Dyke, CEO, Nau. "We feel particularly honored to be chosen as Innovation
Award winners."
Since 1987, SVN has inspired a community of business and social leaders by
nurturing the growth and prevalence of socially responsible investing,
sustainable economies, fair trade, and organic/eco living. The late Anita
Roddick, a longtime member of the SVN community, was a pioneer who helped
pave the way for business and activism to go hand-in-hand. Other SVN
members include Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Gary Hirshberg of
Stonyfield Farm, Amy Domini of Domini Social Investments, and Julius Walls
of Greyston Bakery, entrepreneurs who have prioritized both social concerns
and profitability to create successful businesses.
About Imagine What's Next: Ideas that Will Change the Way the World
Does Business
The contest, launched in June 2007, evaluated the founders, CEOs and
executive directors of businesses or nonprofit organizations that are
having a noticeable positive impact on the business sector. The
application process involved a series of essay questions and required
relevant metrics describing the organization’s impact. The winners will
be honored at the coveted SVN Fall Conference in San Diego, CA, October
11-14, 2007. For additional information, please visit www.svn.org.
About Social Venture Network
Founded in 1987 by Josh Mailman and Wayne Silby, Social Venture Network
(SVN) is a nonprofit network committed to building a just and sustainable
world through business. SVN members are part of an expanding global
network of pioneering entrepreneurs who are helping to transform the way
the world does business.
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