When Is a Board a Board? When Is It Not a Board?

What we commonly refer to as a nonprofit “board” is the governing board of a nonprofit corporation. This board is charged by law with the oversight of the nonprofit organization. Board members have a fiduciary duty and risk legal liability if they fail in their duties of care, loyalty, and obedience. The legal organization and responsibility is what makes a “board” a “board.” Only the governing board has decision-making authority related to organizational strategy, budget, and the hiring of the CEO.

A board is not a board when the nonprofit organization forms another body of people who are passionate about supporting the mission by providing business counsel and various means of service, and potentially giving and raising money. These non-governing boards are often referred to as Friends Boards, Advisory Boards, or Associate Boards; they can provide extraordinary value to nonprofits in serving regional, national, and global communities.

What this means for you is that there are a plethora of opportunities for business people of all stages–from corporate CEOs to young professionals–to engage in productive roles to advance meaningful causes.

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Korngold Consulting LLC assists corporations in building fully integrated, high-impact CSR strategies, including leadership development through nonprofit board service.  Korngold Consulting trains and places business executives on nonprofit boards, and consults to nonprofit boards and leaders to strengthen governance for financial and strategic success.

Compostable Bioplastic Cups vs. Plastic Cups: Impact and Sustainability

For the average person facing a busy life and balancing a hectic schedule, convenience is king. It’s no surprise that consumer’s turn to whatever is fastest, easiest or cheapest. We all know that some of these choices are having a significant and immediate impact on our environment, which will lead to even greater problems in the future, unless we start changing.

Take for example, the commonly used item, the plastic cup. The human body needs a fairly continuous level of hydration to function at an optimum rate, so we need to drink a lot. Plastic cups are a staple at restaurants, coffee shops, the workplace kitchen, picnics, parties- it’s hard to think of an everyday or social setting where you wouldn’t find a plastic product. However, here’s the scary part- research shows that almost every piece of plastic ever made exists today. With the prevalence of the green movement, we might assume that almost everyone is recycling, but of the nearly 30 MILLION TONS of plastic waste that’s generated per year, only 6.8% of it is recycled.[i] Unfortunately, plastic is not compostable. A plastic cup can take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill, so that picnic cup your grandfather may have left at the park in the litterbug happy fifties is probably still there.

Also plastic is petroleum based, and it’s estimated that about 4% of the world’s oil production is used to create plastic products.[ii] With our dependence on fossil fuel being questioned and plastic’s significant effect on our environment; a viable alternative is a must.

However, today there are alternatives to plastic. The sustainable choice is to use a reusable cup.  If you can’t use a reusable cup, the best alternative is a compostable bioplastic cup. Compostable bioplastic cups are made from annually renewable raw materials such as corn, tapioca, are non-toxic and take 30% less total energy to produce. They’ll degrade in a commercial composting facility in 180 days, or in approximately 1-2 years in a home composting bin. Compared to hundreds of years for plastic cups, that’s phenomenal.

Compostable cups, offer the same benefits of plastic with a reduced environmental impact. They are as light and strong as regular plastic and just as convenient.

Many companies are offering environmentally friendly food packaging alternatives with World Centric at the forefront. World Centric has been in business since 2004 and manufactures its own high quality food service disposables and packaging products, including compostable cold cups. World Centric thinks of itself as a for-profit social enterprise. By selling sustainable products, World Centric serves as a model for fair labor and sustainable business practices, all the while educating consumers about living greener. World Centric offsets all its carbon emissions from raw materials to delivery and gives a large percentage (25%) of profits to grass roots organizations dedicated towards making the world a better place.

World Centric is a great example of the slew of new companies promoting sustainability through and through. Not only should products be conscientious, so should businesses and consumers.

[i] http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/plastics.htm

[ii] http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Plastics.htm

Is There a “Right” Definition for Business Sustainability?

Criticism: the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything; censure; faultfinding.  We all know what criticism is and we all know the limiting effects of halting actions as a result of it.

 A recent Gallup shows that 94% of Americans are aware of climate change issues, and of that segment 75% feel that action needs to be taken.  So what percentage of Americans is transferring this awareness into action?  

 With climate change and the business case for sustainable business strategies still hotly debated, is it a wonder why more businesses and individuals aren’t boldly communicating business sustainability programs and results.  As the sustainability space evolves with emerging labels, guidelines, definitions, and reporting structures (not to mention domestic legislation and global agreements), it’s accompanied by critics internal and external to the space.  Granted, the contrasting conversations provide clarity and best practices but the real kudos are to those businesses engaged in the actual pursuit of sustainability.  The gap between awareness and action may represent the single largest opportunity for global sustainability progress.

 Noted in our business sustainability consulting practice, getting started can often be the most difficult step in your business sustainability journey.  However, actions speak louder than words and true business sustainability value capture will come from individuals and organizational action.  Sustainability principals are universal, but their application in your business and specific circumstances yields unique results.  Communicating the “right” definition of sustainability defined by your business accelerates the adoption of sustainable business strategies mainstream.  The post, Positive Peer Pressure: A Powerful Ally to Change, the authors’ note, “Peer to peer interactions may be the single most neglected lever of change. When enlisted, they are change’s most powerful ally; when resisted, they are its most stubborn foe. Peers in large organizations are invaluable in spreading behavior change across an enterprise. In that respect, they constitute a woefully underused set of resources, mostly accessible within the “informal elements” of our organizations.  Whenever significant numbers of peers interact formally or informally, they constitute a force to be reckoned with. When they share mutual respect, they will listen to, learn from, and secretly support one another in ways that can shape opinions, create resistance, or generate energy.”  Expand the peer relationship to industry verticals, associations, contortions and innovative, sustainable best practices emerge.

 While we may not have the “right” answers to the complex problems of global warming, climate change, and other environmental issues, the conversation is heating up.  As Theodore Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic that counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” 

Walmart and Seventh Generation Join Forces to Bring Sustainable Products to the Masses

Indeed, sustainable business makes for strange bedfellows. Just this week, Seventh Generation announced it will soon offer its environmentally-friendly products in more than 1500 Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com. And according to Treehugger, this is a complete about-face for the “esteemed nontoxic, enviro-friendly household product maker”.

Not so long ago, Seventh Generation refused to play nice with the big retailer, because it believed Walmart’s practices were “unsustainable and worker-unfriendly”. So why the change of heart? Did Seventh Generation sell out? Say it isn’t so Jeffrey Hollender! Or is Walmart trying to boost its green cred with a little greenwashing? The questions keep piling up and the debate continues…

Whenever Walmart and sustainability are used in the same sentence, two distinct camps of opinion emerge – corporate greenwashing and corporate social responsibility. I tend to join the happy campers in corporate social responsibility.

Yes, Walmart is a symbol of our wasteful, consumer-driven culture, but the mega-retailer isn’t going away any time soon… at least not in our lifetime. So why not applaud Walmart’s efforts – no matter how small – to become more environmentally-friendly and socially-conscious? One small change by Walmart can have a huge impact on the world’s supply chain in general.

As for Seventh Generation, it appears the company is eager to get its products and message in front of perhaps a more economically and socially diverse demographic. And that’s a good thing. Also, I find it hard to believe that Seventh Generation and Jeffrey Hollender, the company’s Chief Inspired Protagonist (love the title), do not have a more strategic plan for this partnership. According to their press release…

“Seventh Generation will extend its influence in the industry by partnering with Walmart on several key initiatives, including participation in Walmart’s Chemical Intensive Products Sustainable Network, which has developed an ingredient screening program for household and personal care products sold at Walmart. The partnership also allows Seventh Generation to extend its leadership in transparency and consumer education on the environmental footprints of its products, where Seventh Generation will engage with Walmart and other retailers and companies working to develop the science to support a sustainability index through The Sustainability Consortium.”

So I ask… what’s wrong with one sustainable business trying to help another business become more sustainable?

Follow Cindy Tickle on Twitter @ethicalbiz

Build Sustainability Leadership in Your Business

We all know that executive management plays a critical role in a company’s success.  While management is ultimately responsible for creating corporate direction, business sustainability minded executives now realize that their stakeholders have an equally important leadership role to play.

The new business environment presents a unique opportunity to increase company returns through a more proactive and response business model.  Today’s businesses are surrounded by an evolving set of market conditions and sustainable consumer expectations.  For some, the traditional top-down leadership models of the past just may not be the right fit.

Recognizing this shift, many companies are seeking to refine their business sustainability strategies, improve internal and external communication, and bring cohesiveness to their organization by promoting greater employee engagement.

As we move forward, the dynamic model seems to be a dominating theme.  Our sustainability consulting foresees a new age of sustainable business, one in which organizations recognize the value in leveraging their human capital and business stakeholder feedback.   Traditionally led by executive management, we see leveraged leadership cultures will be enabling every role in the organization to:

•    Create incentives and opportunities to lower costs, initiate process improvements, and stimulate innovation.

•    Establish expectations for redefining products and service attributes.

•    Align business sustainability expectations within the organization and across the entire value chain.

 The ability to drive new levels of sustainable business performance requires more than executive leadership.  Our sustainability consulting provides information and resources to companies seeking to redefine traditional business sustainability strategies by enabling sustainability leadership across all areas of their organization. 

Social Biz Rides Social Media

This is a BIG DAY for Elegant Roots. Maybe even a profound day.

Milyoni, Inc., (said like “million eye”), the leader in Social Commerce, announces a new social merchandising tool within its popular Conversational Commerce™ solution.  Its new Instant Showcase allows users to conveniently purchase select products right on the Facebook wall.

Elegant Roots is about connections. Connections between an artisan and a customer. Connections between cultures. Connections between a customer’s green values and a customer’s purchases.

And Facebook is maybe the biggest way to connect, person-to-person, that has come along since the telephone. Facebook enables communities. Though they exist only on line, nonetheless, they are communities with interactions no less personal than the telephone, some partyline, some direct. And remember the Six Degrees of Separation?

Well, a study by Microsoft based on 30 billion instant messages among 180 million people worldwide in one month in 2006 concluded that “it takes just under seven steps to link every one in the world…on average, any two people are linked by fewer than seven acquaintances” (actually 6.6). Redorbit.com.

Facebook is a vehicle for unlimited connections and community creation.

Why is this so big for ElegantRoots.com? Because that’s where we connect.

Elegant Roots exists only online — in our dotcom store and in a facebook iFan shop. And ElegRoo exists only because of the “long tail” of the internet — that enough people browse to make it practical to offer products that only a slim percentage of people might want.

A little background is in order.

Elegant Roots, as an online boutique, exists to:

    Bring hot, design-forward items that use artisan, traditional techniques on designs that appeal to the American market;

    Promote eco-consciousness and social justice by carrying only “green” products (eco-friendly and fair trade/fair labor);

    Promote traditional arts and preserve traditional lifestyles by creating a market for jewelry, accessories and home decor;

    Foster connections — making Personal through Story a direct connection between artisan and consumer, throughout the world, eliminating “middlemen” whenever possible; and

    Promote transparency, so consumers will increasingly ask Who made this, Where it was made; Of What it is made and under what conditions; and Why, beyond it’s beauty and function it aligns with the consumer’s values.

ElegRoo currently has somewhere over 4000 Facebook fans (or “likes”) from all around the world, (though we can presently ship only within the US). That’s 4000 people who connect with us nearly every day. And the growth is astonishing.

Now, through Milyoni’s Instant Showcase, we can highlight to our facebook community a few of our wonderful, meaningful, artisan-made products. Our fans need not leave the Wall to buy. Connection remains intact.

First up on ElegRoo’s Showcase are a few pieces of jewelry from [wired] designer Melissa Kolbusz — Hot earrings from repurposed Effen Vodka labels, Cool cuffs of repurposed rubber washers, and Design-Forward earrings of repurposed neoprene.

Check out our Facebook community. “Like” us. You’re invited. Bring a friend.

UPS Welcomes Home the Treaudos

Dozens of UPS volunteers spent their Saturday with St. Bernard Project working on five homes in the New Orleans region. More than 50 UPS volunteers installed flooring, put up walls, and helped rebuild lives. Their efforts totaled more than 800 hours of service.

This partnership with UPS happened via United Way of Greater New Orleans’ ‘NO Place Like Home Program.’

Their day was capped off by the welcome home party of the Treaudo family.

The Treaudo family is grateful to United Way of Greater New Orleans and UPS for helping make their dream come true.

View all the photos here

What Can Bug Spray Teach Us About Sustainability?

In our personal and professional consulting, we stress the importance of making informed purchasing decisions as part of a sustainable lifestyle.  However, choosing an eco friendly option is not always as straight forward as grabbing an alternative ‘green’ product off of the shelf. 

As summer approaches, you may find our multi-legged friends coming out of hiding and start making their way into our homes and places of business.  This may present an undesirable situation, but rather than reaching for the nearest can of bug spray, you may want to consider your options.  But does a ‘green’ pest control product exist?

In many cases, such as pesticides, the best solution may not be a straight forward purchase decision.  Sometimes preventive measures offer a more sustainable solution than addressing a problem once it has already manifested. 

  Through our own investigation, we came across some resources which may help raise your eco awareness and identify alternative pest control options:

 •    The pest control industry now offers ‘integrated pest management’  services.

•    Simple preventative measures or ordinary household products may be just as effective.

•    Have a big job?  Consult the Pest Control Guide for more alternative options.

Personal sustainability provides individuals with a clear and expanded understanding of the opportunities and resulting implications of their personal choices.  On the sustainability journey, you may be required to use creative solutions to integrate sustainability concepts into our daily living.  By expanding your eco awareness, you can open yourself up to challenge traditional methods and explore new ideas. 

Green Awakening Coffee Supports FairTrade USA with Fundraising Campaign

(3BL Media/theCSRfeed) July 29, 2010 – Green Awakening, an inclusive and socially responsible, fair trade, organic coffee company recently partnered with Transfair USA to raise funds for non-profit and educational organizations during the month of July. 

TransFair USA will receive $2.50 for every bag of Green Awakening’s all-organic, 100%-Fair Trade Certified™ coffee purchased through July 30th.  Supporters of the fair trade certification organization may show their support by purchasing coffee here.  

  Green Awakening allocates approximately 30% of every sale it makes to non-profit contributions.  All coffee is grown exclusively by small, local cooperatives in the mountains of Peru.

Green Awakening works directly with the small cooperatives to source organically grown coffee, which results in an increase in farmer income by at least 30% when compared with farmer sales to importers. Additionally, a core focus of Green Awakening is to improve the lives of women and their social, economic and political status within their communities.  Besides giving back to society and creating meaningful change, Green Awakening has established an Education Fund for the children of their farmers.

Green Awakening recently expanded its non-profit partner program to include nine other organizations focused on womens issues, health and wellness, animal rights, community development, environmental programs and more.

About Green Awakening
Green Awakening, a brand of The Inclusive and Sustainable Group, LLC produces gourmet, organic, fair trade-certified, coffees. Their mission is to help improve the lives of cooperative-based coffee farmers in Peru while contributing to positive environmental and societal change.  Green Awakening coffee sales fund a network of non-profit partners.  As a certified B Corporation, Green Awakening has met and adheres to stringent operational guidelines in the support of and to promote corporate social responsibility business practices.

Buy the coffee: www.green-awakening.com

Sara Hooker gives back to get involved: A VolunteerMatch story of engagement & social change

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) July 29, 2010 – Growing up in Swaziland, where one in four adults has HIV, Sara Hooker was aware from a young age how some communities face extraordinary challenges. As she become active as a volunteer, she realized that she was not only solving problems – she was growing as a person, too.

The desease is a serious threat not only to the country’s economic growth, but to its social stability too.  And so with the specter of collapse in the background of daily life, Sara grew up in a society where opportunities to get involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS were everyone.

During high school, Sara volunteered to teach English to children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. It was her first act of direct service to others. It not only gave her the chance to use her own education and experience as a platform to help others, she was quickly overturning her own ignorance about HIV infection.

“For the first time, I started to seriously think about volunteering and using my time to give back,” she says.

Click here to read the rest of Sara’s story. | Read more stories of engagement & social change.

About VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch is a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities by helping great people and great causes to connect. Our award-winning online service, www.volunteermatch.org, makes it easy to find a way to make a difference by location, expertise, or availability. VolunteerMatch provides many of the nation’s most recognized businesses, campuses and organizations with Web-based solutions to facilitate and track volunteer engagement at local and national levels. As the #1 ranking for “volunteer” on Google and Yahoo!, the VolunteerMatch network regularly welcomes more than 190,000 visitors each week and has become the preferred volunteer recruiting service for tens of thousands of participating nonprofits across the country.