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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.

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.