Riverkeeper Names Arnold Fisherman Of The Year

At Riverkeeper's Annual Fisherman's Ball in New York City last night, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California accepted the organization's 2010 Environmental Advocacy Award.

Governor Schwarzenegger Is Honored With Riverkeeper's 2010 Environmental Advocacy Award, NYC, April 14, 2010

Award Acceptance was staged as a parody of Inside The Actor's Studio, with host James Lipton offering a relatively relaxed Q&A format with the Governor that event hosts dubbed Inside The Hudson River.

Inside The Hudson River, Lipton Interviews Arnold, April 14, 2010, NYC, Fisherman's Ball

Lipton prompted Arnold to talk freely about his farmboy roots, growing up milking cows on his parents' Austrian farm as a kid where there was "no running hot water and very little money," which Arnold attributed to motivating him to dream big and succeed in becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe by the age of 20.  He confided that body building had always, for him, been a stepping stone, "a stepping stone to what, I didn't know at the time," but that soon enough he turned his efforts to acting once he immigrated to the U.S., a country he calls "the greatest country in the world."

The Austrian native earned loud chuckles from the gathered guests when he regaled of taking classes at both Santa Monica College and UCLA Extension for accent reduction.  He said he hadn't wanted to be perceived as intimidating because of his accent. He also acknowledged his belief in the importance of maintaining a healthy sense of humor whether holding down a career in show business or in public office. He said one of his fondest movie roles was the making of Kindergarten Cop.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger honored at Riverkeeper's Annual Fisherman's Ball, NYC 4-14-2010.

Awarding him the Environmental Advocacy honor was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is founder and sr. legal counsel for Riverkeeper.  We here at GBN really don't think nepotism had anything to do with the Governor's being honored as Fisherman of The Year by his cousin-in-law but rather that it's due to his tireless efforts towards furthering environmental initiatives in state, national and global arenas.

In a related story, regarding Los Angeles's Carbon Reduction Surcharge, Governor Schwarzenegger issued this statement in March:

"California has long been a leader in policies that protect the environment, promote energy efficiency and boost the economy. And it is leaders like Mayor Villaraigosa and policies like his new Renewable Energy and Efficiency Trust Fund that help make California a leader. This new proposal is great news for Los Angeles and California, it will promote the growth of clean, reliable energy in our communities while creating jobs in the clean-tech industry when we need them most."

This week, when LA City Council saw the issue hotly debated, Villaraigosa reiterated, "For Los Angeles to be the cleanest, greenest city, we need participation from every Angeleno."  Read More HERE>>

About the Carbon Reduction Surcharge


The Carbon Reduction Surcharge was approved by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners on March 18, 2010 as part of the Department of Water and Power's Energy Cost Adjustment Factor (ECAF). It serves as both a financial incentive and an investment tool that will incentivize stakeholders to use alternative energy, and therefore reduce Los Angeles’ dependence on fossil fuels. However, it will not drastically affect the average rate-payer; with expected average monthly bill increases to be between $2.50 and $3.50.

The funds from the Surcharge will be deposited into a Renewable Energy and Efficiency Trust Fund that will be used to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. It is expected to generate 18,000 jobs over the next ten years and help lay the foundation for a local green economy.

Mayor Villaraigosa Awarded Humanitarian Environmental Award March 2010;  photo courtesy Siel

Said Mayor Villaraigosa. “We can choose to put ourselves on a path away from coal; we can choose to create a lock-box for clean and green energy; we can choose to protect our businesses and ratepayers; or we can choose to raise rates on the hardworking people of Los Angeles while doing NOTHING to invest in green power and green jobs. I think the choice is clear and the right choice is the Green Energy Compromise Plan.”

For more information its groundbreaking clean water initiatives and accomplishments for Riverkeeper, Here's Some Basics.

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Greetings Green People! Fun For Earth Weekend And Earth Week


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A Responsibility Revolution Excerpt - Part Two

Q&A with B Corporation Co-Founder Jay Coen Gilbert
A Responsibility Revolution Extra
From authors Jeffrey Hollender & Bill Breen

During the two years they spent writing The Responsibility Revolution, authors Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen conducted an intensive series of interviews at key companies on the leading edge of the corporate responsibility movement. In this bonus excerpt from Bill’s conversations with Timberland CEO Jeffrey Swartz and Timberland CSR Strategy Manager Beth Holzman, they share some of the additional insights and perspectives these encounters provided.

 

Ambiguity is not an option. For any company that seriously intends to harness the power of the marketplace to crack society’s biggest challenges, authenticity—the capacity to do what you say you’ll do—is a core, non-negotiable attribute.

And that presents a problem.

Given the rise in greenwashing and cause-related marketing, how is a consumer or investor to know whether a “responsible” company’s bona fides are credible or counterfeit? The short answer is to dare to be a  B Corp. As we suggest in our book, The Responsibility Revolution, B Corporation’s certification system amounts to an irrefutable benchmark against which a company’s social and environmental performance can now be judged in its entirety. (That’s why Seventh Generation is a proud founding member.)

And yet, B Corporation is more than an acid test for authenticity. It’s also a support system for an emerging category of hybrid companies that are driven by social as well as financial goals. Here, in excerpts from Bill’s interview, B Corporation co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert delivers a report from the future of corporate responsibility 2.0. 

Q: What’s the problem that B Corporation seeks to solve?

Coen Gilbert: As important as the government and non-profit sectors are in addressing the social and environmental challenges that confront society, they're insufficient. More than three-quarters of economic activity consists of for-profit businesses, as measured by GDP. Business has the scale and speed to address the challenges of our time, whether its climate change, global poverty, or strengthening communities.

You really have to acknowledge that business is in the driver's seat—and then figure which direction you want it to go in. Our aim is to support the power of markets and entrepreneurship to solve social and environmental problems.

Q: Skeptics would argue that companies are responsible for shareholders, not society. Aren’t activist groups and non-governmental organizations better equipped to confront society’s challenges?

Coen Gilbert: The non-profit sector has a hugely important role to play, because there are plenty of places where the marketplace can’t reach. The problem is that structurally, 501(c)(3) organizations, or non-profits, are legally precluded from attracting the kind of capital that’s commensurate with the size of the need. So we're seeing non-profit innovators try to push their organizations to look and act more businesslike, in terms of their accountability, impact, and scale.  And we're seeing more and more for-profit entrepreneurs moving their purely market-driven businesses to incorporate mission.

Both ends of the spectrum are pushing towards a middle path, where you marry the power of markets with the purpose and mission of non-profits.

Q: So what’s preventing those two trends from accelerating?

Coen Gilbert: Non-profits’ legal structure makes it really difficult for them to attract the kind of capital that can scale their good ideas. And the legal structure for a business requires it to have a single fiduciary duty, which is to achieve a maximum return to shareholders.  That legal framework can have a huge chilling effect on the potential for for-profit social entrepreneurs to use their business to drive social value.

Q: How does B Corp attempt to reconcile those two impediments? 

Coen Gilbert: It allows you to raise capital and create some personal wealth out of all your efforts, but it also ensures that you maintain your mission over time. The “B” stands for the benefits that are created for all of the stakeholders engaged in your business, not just your shareholders. And it ensures that there's a balanced set of interests that are considered in your boardroom, rather than just the one dominant interest of shareholders.

In a B Corp, you can do what is required to grow your business and increase your impact, and if that requires relinquishing financial control [through a merger or acquisition], you can do that without relinquishing mission control.

Q: Why not simply advocate for legislation that encourages companies to consider the needs of their stakeholders as well as their shareholders? 

Coen Gilbert: We are totally not about regulatory solutions. We are a market-based solution, which says, "Empower those entrepreneurs and those investors with the tools they need to create the change they seek.” We want to have an evolved corporate form that meets the needs of an evolved set of entrepreneurs and investors.

Q:When you were designing the B Corporation template, were you also reacting to the rise in greenwashing? 

Coen Gilbert: That was a huge piece of it. Any company can put out ads with windmills and pretty flowers. But only certain companies can actually say that they've been certified as meeting a higher standard of corporate purpose, accountability, performance, and transparency. That's the new bar. The new bar is not a slick marketing campaign.

Q: How are companies using the B Corp certification to re-orient their strategy or goals? 

Coen Gilbert: There’s a consulting company in Philadelphia called Strategy Arts that went through the B-rating system. Because you get a higher score by serving customers that are delivering a social or environmental impact, Strategy Arts dramatically shifted its focus to working with sustainable businesses, rather than just any client who could pay the bill.

King Arthur Flour has talked about using the rating system to assess the companies in its supply chain. Private equity firms like  TBL Capital are starting to use B Corp standards to help ensure that they’re investing in triple-bottom line businesses.

In fact, more than 5,000 organizations and investors that aren’t B Corps have nevertheless used the rating system to asses the underlying social-environmental performances of other businesses. It helps them move from investing in mainstream companies that are simply trying to avoid doing harm, to enterprises that are actively creating some form of positive social impact.

When you direct the flow of capital towards impact investing, you begin to influence the marketplace in a way that far exceeds the effect of any one individual company.

Q: What’s the long-range potential for this “middle path” you’ve described, where mission and markets connect?  

Coen Gilbert: Fifty years ago, there was no such thing as a non-profit sector. Now it’s an entire ecosystem. In a generation, we believe this new sector will be at least as big as the non-profit sector is today, which is around five to seven percent of U.S. GDP.  And unlike the non-profit sector, the B Corp sector isn’t capped, in terms of its growth potential.

The 20th century was the century of shareholder capitalism. The 21st century, over time, will be the century of stakeholder capitalism, comprised of B corporations whose job is to create both shareholder and societal value.


Jeffrey Hollender and Bill Breen are co-authors of the recently published book, The Responsibility Revolution . Bill Breen is the Editorial Director, and Jeffrey Hollender is the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Seventh Generation. Jeffrey is also the author of The Inspired Protagonist, a leading blog on corporate responsibility.

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NBA Players Keep On Keepin' Green

NBA and WNBA teams are working with local government and non-profit green organizations to host creative programs and events geared to encourage environmentally friendly behaviors.

TOP TEN THINGS TEAMS ARE DOING TO “GO GREEN”

1. As part of NBA Green Week 2010, adidas will outfit all players with 50 percent organic polyester adidas shooting shirts featuring the NBA Green logo. Players will also wear NBA Green headbands, wristbands, and socks made from 45 percent organic cotton during games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness.

Additionally, several NBA teams are encouraging fans and providing them with incentives to take public transportation to and from their respective games.               The league is auctioning off

                                                                                                                    autographed Spalding basketballs

                                                                                                                      made of 40% recycled material.

2. The Celtics are organizing a clean up day with local 8th graders throughout the city of Boston.

3. The Chicago Bulls will honor its All Star Green Team comprised of students who excel at getting others to participate in recycling and improving environmental issues at their schools on 'Go Green Night'.

4. The Golden State Warriors and Esurance will team up with the non-profit organization 'Urban Releaf' to plant trees in West Oakland to beautify the area and combat pollutants naturally.

5. The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking part in a trash pick-up at a local Boys & Girls Club with the Mayor and City Council.

6. The Orlando Magic is partnering with NBA Toyota Project Rebound and "No Fault" on resurfacing two basketball courts using recycled tires.

7. New Orleans Hornets staff members will work with 'Save the Wetlands' to plant trees along the Gulf Coast and in the marsh areas.

8. The Dallas Mavericks are planning to give away eco-friendly grocery bags in exchange for fans bringing in their plastic bags.


9. The Portland Trail Blazers are rolling out hundreds of new recycling/compost stations at the Rose Garden to eliminate waste, collect compostable materials and keep recyclables from reaching landfills.

10. The Phoenix Suns will provide fans with energy efficient light bulbs upon exit, reusable grocery/tote bags, green wristbands, and magnets with recycling tips.

For More INFO on Last Week's NBA Green Week Click HERE

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Earth Day Photo Contest. Win Eco Tote by Shepard Fairey!

Right now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, CafePress and iVillage are celebrating all things green with their Earth Day Photo Contest. Enter your photo, share your green dreams and inspiration.  You could win an Eco Vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

In addition, you can get a FREE special edition eco-tote, designed by Studio Number One (founded by Shepard Fairey). The bag is made from three plastic bottles spun into 100% polyester, which is pretty cool! There is only a $1.25 shipping fee for each eco-bag.

For more information about the CafePress/iVillage Earth Day Photo Contest and FREE eco-tote Click Here: Earth Day

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