Well, that was a long time without writing! I’m finally back in Vancouver after traveling around the world for the past 2 months. Quite some lessons I’ve learned along my journey… The most important one? The environment is definitely not on everyone’s priority list.

During my stay in Angola, Africa, I noticed a lack of the most basic living conditions, such as housing and sanitation. When asked about their top concerns, most people would reply “food on my table tonight” or “not letting the mud waters stop me from going to work, so I can keep my job.” For an entrepreneur such as myself, I couldn’t stop thinking that there’s an enormous business opportunity here – with a great potential to actually make a difference. Read more…

Last week, I started reading The Sustainable MBA: The Manager’s Guide To Green Business, by Giselle Weybrecht. It’s been quite an interesting read, providing managers and business owners with a simple, easy to follow framework to implement sustainable business practices into their organization.

One of the chapters that stood out in this book was “Getting Started.” It’s now well known that businesses should implement environmentally and socially responsible business practices for ethical and economic reasons. But how do you actually get started? Read more…

Last week I was attending a networking event here in Vancouver and I got to meet the owner of a local small business. We were chatting about new, lasting trends in business, and I asked him what he was doing in order to become environmentally sustainable. He told me how they reduced their printing habits, and how they switched to recycled paper and started turning off their computers at the end of the day. “That’s a great start,” I said. “What’s next in your to-do list?”

Truth is, he didn’t know what else he could do. Being a small business owner, he feels that most sustainability programs out there are geared towards large corporations, and require investments that small businesses simply cannot afford Read more…

The 8th Annual CBSR Summit kicked-off this morning with a quick introduction from Adine Mees, CEO at CBSR. Themed Collaborating for Sustainable Change, this year’s summit promises to be one to be remembered. Read more…

Bringing Together Corporations And The Community

What do Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Nestlé, Mountain Equipment Co-op and The Natural Step have in common? More than what you’d expect. All these companies are heavily investing in social responsibility programs, with varying degrees of success. And they will all be attending the CBSR Summit this Thursday, to talk about the lessons learned throughout the years. With a mix of both do-good and large corporations, it’s with great excitement that we will hear what each company is doing for their community – and how they’re able to increase their profits while doing so. Read more…