The holiday season is now a distant memory and it's now time to gear up for the incredible shifts that can take place in business in 2012. 

This is the year that we can all make an impact on our future through all of our actions - small and large. One of the most simple steps you can take to support the sustainability movement is to fully acknowledge a friend or colleague's actions. Perhaps this person is an active part of your company's green supply chain, a co-worker who executed a set of initiatives that saved the company thousands of dollars, or a loyal customer who continues to purchase your products even when her budget is small. Acknowledgement is a great way to show stakeholders that you are thankful for their support - which can lead to powerful shifts in the conscious businesses that we all want to create!

Our first event of the year is right around the corner and will take place on Tuesday, January 24th. This month we'll gather in Cleveland, Dallas, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. When you attend this month, consider how you can contribute to a fellow participant by acknowledging them for an action they've taken. It's a great conversation starter and it just might start an incredible ripple effect.

February marks our 5 Year Anniversary! The time has flown by so quickly and there has been so much evolution in sustainability history since the first event. Please come to celebrate with us in San Francisco on February 21st. Yes, that's a week earlier than usual. We'll be celebrating at the Bently Reserve and participants will enjoy free drinks and receive a free KOR water bottle with registration. Sounds fun, doesn't it? All of the other EcoTuesday events will still take place on the usual 4th Tuesday of the month (on February 28th). Please add these important dates to your calendar!

Yesterday I caught up with Lindsay Hassett, a Green MBA alum. Last year she started an LED lighting company called Illumalighting and was one of the first "clients" at the Green MBA's Venture Greenhouse. Recently, she sold Illumalighting to Evolvelectric, an electrical contracting company focusing on sustainable electrical efficiency and EV stations. I asked her a few questions to get a better sense of the Green MBA program and learn more about the school’s offshoot, the Venture Greenhouse.

How did the Green MBA program support you in developing Illumalighting from an idea into a fully-fledged company? 

My Green MBA started in 2001. It helped me so much by combining my whole background that I had in business and gave me the triple bottom line perspective. I had traveled around the world and was upset at how we're treating the planet. The Green MBA program opened my eyes to a different way of doing business and gave me the base to create the foundation for my company.

I was one of the first nine graduating members of the Green MBA program. I was also one of the first clients of the Venture Greenhouse. Being involved with both organizations has been a major life changing experience.   

Illumalighting was one of the first companies that was "incubated" in the Dominican University's Venture Greenhouse. How did this relationship affect the growth of the company?

I created this venture with a lot of passion. I went into the Venture Greenhouse with an application, but not a business plan. My first goal was to create the identity and the website and learn how to present the mission to companies. I landed Embassy Suites and SunPower, mostly because they needed lighting. Not every large corporation can do that themselves, but I can offer more than what they could get on their own from Home Depot or some lighting distributors businesses commonly use.

The Venture Greenhouse team met with me every week we met for an hour to help with strategy and execution. We'd also have a group meeting with all the other companies in the Greenhouse to share ideas and resources. The ongoing coaching every week was great. They helped guide me with each decision I needed to make and it was very helpful. I'm so grateful for all of their support.

Congratulations on getting acquired by Evolvelectric. What's next for you as the companies merge? 

Changing lightbulbs is the lowest hanging fruit for any business to reduce costs. I want to help companies do exactly that. Every time I walk into a space I notice the lightbulbs and how they’re used. I find myself looking around and checking out what companies are consuming. There’s a lot that can be replaced right now. Companies will be forced to make changes because some of the old bulbs won't be available in the future.

We have some great projects in store now. We are working with a large car dealership now as well as a shopping center. We are excited about the new ordinance in San Francisco for buildings 50K square foot and above, there will now be a mandatory benchmarking. Buildings have to figure out how much energy they're using each year. It's definitely a way to educated those building owners or tenants as to the opportunities for where they can save. It will also put pressure on buildings that are not making energy efficient investments. I expect that we'll be doing a lot of work with buildings that need to measure their results.

It's important to me to continue to speak out for energy efficiency for quality of life which comes from reducing pollution which decreases the impact on our health. I’ll definitely continue to do that in as many ways as possible. I look forward to working with realtors, commercial spaces, property managers and others to help them realize there are incentives, resources, and programs out there that will help decrease both energy use, and costs!

Would you like to learn more about the Green MBA and how the program can support you in creating the career of your dreams? Join us on Tuesday, November 15 at EcoTuesday. You'll have the opportunity to talk with a handful of people who can share more details about the curriculum. Register today!

It's time for EcoTuesday again!

Our mission has always been to bring those in EcoTuesday cities great events wherein they leave feeling inspired to share what they've learned with other people in their lives. We have our incredible speakers to thank for such amazing content over the past few years. They've all brought their sharp expertise, entertaining anecdotes, and personal stories to share with all participants. 

This month is no different! Here's a quick snapshot of what we have in store for you tonight:

•  Cleveland: Timothy Madden from Biodynamicz and Monica Cowan from Hy-Hopes for Hunger will talk about how they work together to create a truly sustainable region.

•  Dallas: Learn all about sustainable animal health and nutrition from Green Pet owner Leslie McKay.

•  Denver: James Shaffer from Streetscapes will discuss how to "improve walking, talking, and chewing gum at the same time."

•  San Francisco: Learn to get that you matter, and bring this into your conscious business with Erin Ross.

• Silicon Valley: Matt Wynkoop from World Centric will  help make  sense between biodegradable and compostable packaging.

See you tonight! You can see a list of all events HERE.

The Penny Ice Creamery, located in downtown Santa Cruz, is one of the many businesses that have made a huge impact on a local economy and launched by a Green MBA graduate. 

The owners and creative visionaries, Kendra L. Baker and Zachary E. Davis, use sustainably grown local ingredients, such as wild fruits, vegetable, herbs, and even flowers to bring ice cream lovers new flavors with each season. A recent Yelp reviewer states, "Some of the best ice cream in Santa Cruz. The flavors here are very strange, so be open! You can still get a lot of the classics, too." There are reports that there are often lines out the door on nice, sunny days. 

Davis is an alum of the Green MBA and the business plan for The Penny Ice Creamery was his Capstone project before completing the program in 2009. He and Baker secured a loan through the Small Business Administration, funded by federal stimulus funds. Davis had a very unique idea: to thank Obama for the loan with a "THANK YOU" video (it's fun to watch!) instead of a card (his mom must have been proud!). In it, Baker and Davis shared how the loan made it possible to contribute to the local economy through creating jobs and buying goods from other local businesses (when they opened their shop, they hired 11 employees and worked with 20 local businesses). The video got the attention of those at The Huffington Post and the Santa Cruz Sentinel, and was soon after "retweeted" by The White House. 

In what came as a complete surprise, in November 2009, Vice President Joe Biden called Davis to thank him for creating the video and recognizing the Administration for the stimulus package. What was even more thrilling was a call the following January, when the pair was invited to sit in Michelle Obama's chamber during the State of the Union address to the nation.

The journey to Washington DC seems like an incredibly fantastic event to take place during the infancy of a local business! The Penny Ice Creamery is a clear example of the types of companies that are born during (and after) a student's time at the Green MBA. While a trip to Washington DC wasn't a part of Davis' Capstone plan, the entire Green MBA curriculum is designed to support business professionals reach their goals.

Please join us on Tuesday, October 25 in San Francisco for a great speaker and the opportunity to talk directly with Green MBA grads! Register soon and see you there!

Your customers, investors, employees, investors, community, suppliers, and family.

This is just a short list of the many types of stakeholders that support your company. All stakeholders are important for the progress and prosperity of a business.

Strategic employee engagement is the most effective way to foster successful economic, environmental and social initiatives in a company. Employees are learning more about best practices around sustainability, which in turn helps to save the company money. Companies can support these new ideas to spur innovation that will have a ripple effect with the other stakeholders. When a company focuses attention on the employee stakeholder group, it thrives. 

On Wednesday, September 21, I will be participating in a roundtable discussion entitled, "Community and Stakeholder Engagement: A Sustainable Approach" and will be joined by representatives from B Corporation, The Green Chamber of Commerce, and the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence. We will discuss communities, renewable energy, stakeholder groups, and more. 

The event takes place at the Hotel Palomar from 6:30-8:30. The cost is $30 and food/drink is provided. The first ten people to sign up for the roundtable will gain free entry to EcoTuesday in SF, so register today!

During the roundtable, I will focus on the following: 

Employee Engagement Through Building A Green Team: Your Key To Sustainability

• Your employees as important stakeholders
• Tips you can use to get employees enrolled in your company's sustainability intitiatives
• How strategic initiatives increases motivation and productivity

Please join us this month in cities across the country to meet new business contacts and friends. Our event this month will take place on Tuesday, September 27. We encourage you to register beforehand so that we know you'll be joining us. In San Francisco ten people will have the opportunity to quickly share their "elevator pitch" about their company in supportive environment! We hope to see you at an EcoTuesday this month.

By the way, our November event will be held a week earlier, on November 15. We will not be hosting a December event.

Two of the most important parts of sustainability is innovation and education. Innovation creates new markets and opportunities for individuals and companies to develop products that save resources and change our processes so that we are more productive and efficient. Education offers people the tools and resources needed to help contribute to the much-needed advances that are taking place within the business environment. To serve these advances, the GreenMBA has many innovative programs that greatly contribute to their students, alumni, and local communities.

The GreenMBA not only offers incredible support to students as they go through the curriculumn, but the program has also inspired a business incubator that supports entrepreneurs to get their companies off theground. The Venture Greenhouse (VG) houses up to 12 early-stage green businesses at a time, from a variety of industries. Companies that are a part of the incubator receive business coaching, legal assistance, technical support, and access to capital (and more). The goal is to accelerate the success of environmental and socially beneficial companies. These are all incredibly helpful services to an entrepreneur!

The Dominican University (the GreenMBA's "parent" organization) offers a Certificate in Sustainable Practices, which is perfect for a person who is unable to go through an entire two-year MBA program.  This is a new certification program is designed for those who would like to learn more about a specific area of sustainability. Students can take the course at their own pace, with the ideal completion time being 9-12 months. During this time, students attend 8 in-depth classes and complete a minimum of 40 hours of hands-on sustainability work.

The GreenMBA also partners with the Environmental Finance Center of Dominican University(EFC9), yet another innovative program that supports environmental protection through championing sustainable business models. EFC9 has a 3 pronged mission:

1. To encourage industry to implement sustainable and financially sound business practices, 
2. To educate and encourage consumers to choose green business products and services, and
3. To help communities and government promote sustainable business.

A joint project between the GreenMBA and ECF9 includes the "Tribal Green Economies Program" which helps tribes develop sustainable companies that support their communities, such as recycling, geotourism and renewable energy enterprises. The ECF9 also spearheads other projects that focus on the greening of personal products and developing a webinar series that educates SME's on climate change.

These are a handful of ways that the GreenMBA is "innovating" in the sustainable business world. The GreenMBA is much more than an "educational institution." It is a community that truly fosters growth and expansion for a student, on both a personal and professional level.

Each time a participant comes to EcoTuesday, learns something new, and then shares it with colleagues, family, and friends  - positive change happens. Each time a participant comes to EcoTuesday and shares information with other participants about a new plan, product, or service that contributes to a new way of doing business - positive change happens. Each time a speaker comes to EcoTuesday and shares their knowledge and a few personal stories about the industry they represent - positive change happens.

Join us in San Francisco this month to meet Jeff Mendelsohn, CEO and Co-Founder of New Leaf Paper. 

New Leaf Paper was founded in 1998 specifically with the mission of leading a shift toward sustainability in the paper industry. They were first to market with 100% post-consumer papers of unparalleled brightness and printing specifications, including the first-ever 100% post-consumer recycled coated papers, book publishing papers and more. Among many awards and distinctions for leading change with environmental practices within the paper industry, New Leaf Paper was one of the first 81 companies to become a certified B Corportation, making them a founding member. They joined this movement to help create a business community that is committed to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. With this transparent set of standards and processes, they are excited about the potential for B Corporations to help drive the growth and success of a business community that is accountable for its actions. More info: New Leaf Paper and B Corporations.

This month Jeff will discuss:

Pulp Non-Fiction - Vision for a Sustainable Paper Industry

• The paper industry is one of the most resource intensive industries in the world, and one of the slowest to change.
• If we could reinvent the paper industry integrating the principles of sustainability, what would it look like? 
• How does the current industry fit with this vision?
• How can green business drive change?

This month's venue: PresidioSpace 249 9th St. San Francisco 

We're happy to be gathering at this new venue! The PresidioSpace strives to be an exciting new co-working habitat for sustainable ventures and initiatives of students and alums of Presidio Graduate School and the greater sustainability community. 

We look forward to seeing you at EcoTuesday this month. Please register so we know you'll be joining us!

Many of us work in small offices or even home offices and have taken a few steps to make our workspaces green. It's time to take these actions a step further - beyond the basics of recycling our paper and printing using double-sided printer settings.

Here are a few tips that will help you decrease your office's energy output, become more efficient, save money, and create a more comfortable work environment for you and for others:

• Leverage teleconferencing and instant messaging technology (decreasing commutes and carbon emissions)
• Reduce indoor air pollution (allow proper ventilation, use non-toxic cleaning supplies)
• Form a green office committee (even if it's just a few people - it's amazing how many great ideas are created once people strategize with one another!)
• Beware of electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) and radiation coming from computers (use headsets when talking on the phone)
• Eliminate "Phantom Energy" (save money by turning off appliances when not in use)

Do you have a great tip for greening your office - above and beyond the using reusable water bottles and utensils? Please share these tips with others at EcoTuesday this month. We'll be meeting in cities across the country on Tuesday, May 24. Please register beforehand - we always like to know you're coming.

Tonight is the opening night of the San Francisco Green Film Festival! 

After many years of being one of the greenest cities on the planet, our city finally has a film festival that is dedicated solely to films that focus on inspiring environmental action.

It's a three day event full of intriguing and thought-provoking films, workshops, panels and interactive and new media projects, created by artists from all over the world. The films will be shown at the Landmark Theatres Embarcadero Center Cinema and some of the special events will take place at the beautiful Bently Reserve. The event starts tonight with a "green carpet gala" and screening of the movie called "Bag It" and ends on Sunday evening, March 6.

Some films for you to enjoy are the following:

• "In the Wake of the Flood" (Friday at 4:00 pm) On the eve of her 70th birthday, Canadian writer Margaret Atwood set out on an international tour criss-crossing the British Isles and North America to celebrate the publication of her new dystopian novel, "The Year of the Flood" 

• "They Came For The Gold, They Came For It All" (Saturday at 12:15 pm) Tells the epic victory of this little Patagonian town who defeated huge economical and political powers, making a big choice about their own future. 

• "The Man Who Stopped the Desert" (Sunday at 7:15 pm) Yacouba Sawadogo, an illiterate farmer from Burkina Faso has transformed the lives of thousands of people across West Africa. Over cinematic reconstruction Sawadogo tells his incredible story of his battle with nature and man. 

Here's the 2011 Festival Guide - check out all the films!

I am so proud that EcoTuesday is a festival sponsor. Bringing art into the world that tells brilliant, deep stories of people's triumphs and tribulations is incredibly important in keeping people connected. I salute all of the filmmakers and the festival organizers who have dedicated so much of their efforts to bringing this event to fruition. These are some of the many stories that continue to keep us inspired to take much-needed action in creating sustainable solutions for the planet.