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10.02.2007 - 09:30am ET
Source: Social Venture
Network
Social Venture Network Announces SVN
Innovation Award Winners
Organization Rewards Innovation and Social Change
Among Leaders of Emerging Enterprises
 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - October 1, 2007 - Social Venture Network
(SVN), the country's leading network of socially responsible
business leaders, today announced the recipients of the SVN
Innovation Awards. The winners were selected though the "Imagine
What's Next: Ideas that Will Change the Way the World Does Business"
contest that SVN launched earlier this year as part of its 20-Year
Anniversary celebration. Through the Innovation Awards, SVN will
recognize and support the next generation of socially responsible
business and nonprofit leaders who are creating positive social
change in the business sector. SVN is a member organization
comprised of over 430 CEOs, investors and nonprofit leaders
committed to creating a more just and sustainable world.
"SVN has been at the heart of the sustainable business
conversation for decades; our members and their businesses
continually challenge the socially responsible business platform by
taking things to the next level. In keeping this momentum going, we
are thrilled to announce the winners of our Imagine What's Next
contest," said Deborah Nelson, Executive Director of Social Venture
Network. "In its first 20 years, SVN has built a community of
entrepreneurs who have proven time and time again that businesses
can thrive financially while taking care of both their communities
and the environment. This contest gave us the opportunity to
discover and honor the next generation of leaders whose ideas will
continue to transform the way the world does business."
From
nearly 100 applicants nationwide, SVN has selected ten winners and
given five honorable mentions to leaders of emerging enterprises
that have demonstrated both innovation and progress by harnessing
the power of business to effect positive social change. Winners
receive a one-year membership to Social Venture Network, recognition
at the invitation-only SVN Fall 2007 Conference and will be
partnered with SVN mentors who will provide advice and connections
through 2008.
Winners include:
Design that Matters, Timothy Prestero, CEO (Cambridge,
MA): Design that Matters (DtM) was founded to help social
enterprises in developing countries scale more quickly by providing
them access to better products designed specifically for their
needs. DtM’s design work and business analysis is performed by
volunteers from academia and industry, using the infrastructure
available at their host institutions. Academic contributors include
MIT, Stanford and the Rhode Island School of Design, and corporate
partners include IDEO and Fisher Price, SolidWorks and Optikos.
Nau, Chris Van Dyke, CEO (Portland, OR): Nau is an
eco-friendly clothing company started by former senior executives
from Nike and Patagonia. Nau blends profitability with
philanthropy—what they see as the new measure of success. Their high
standards for sustainability inspired Nau to create 28 new fabrics
that are "open source" to encourage industry peers to achieve the
same level of sustainability. Nau donates 5% of gross revenues to
nonprofit "partners for change," and they involve customers by
having them select the nonprofit to receive their 5%.
New Resource Bank, Peter Liu, Initial Founder and Vice
Chairman (San Francisco, CA): New Resource Bank is the first bank to
use depositors’ dollars to fund sustainability projects. New
Resource Bank innovated in the area of solar power loans for
homeowners and also provides incentives for green construction
lending. They strive to attain the highest standards for
sustainability in the way they run all of their business operations,
including having an office that received Gold LEED CI certification
for green building.
No Sweat Apparel, Adam Neiman and Natalia Muina,
Co-Founders (Boston, MA): No Sweat is a pioneer of fair trade
fashion and footwear, setting an empowered, unionized workforce as
the gold standard for fair trade clothing. The Company's products
are produced by independent trade union members in the US, Canada,
and the developing world. Inspired by the belief that more good jobs
for Palestinians in Palestine can help the peace process, No Sweat
Apparel's latest product line is organic cotton t-shirts produced at
a Palestinian-owned, unionized, sweatshop-free factory in Bethlehem
on the West Bank.
RecycleBank, Ron Gonen, CEO (Philadelphia, PA):
RecycleBank is a rewards program giving people incentives to
recycle. Anticipated to be in 100,000 households by the end of 2007,
RecycleBank works with municipalities to collect and measure the
amount of materials recycled by individual households and awarding
points that can be used at hundreds of corporate partners around the
country, including Starbucks, Whole Foods and Target, and many local
retailers as well. Often RecycleBank works in communities with no
existing recycling program, thereby raising awareness and generating
enthusiasm for recycling.
Responsible Endowments Coalition, Morgan Simon,
co-founder and Executive Director (Oakland, CA): The Responsible
Endowments Coalition works to foster social and environmental change
through university endowments by educating and empowering a diverse
community of university members on over 50 campuses nationwide with
collective assets of $ 150 billion. By working with colleges and
universities to invest responsibly and proactively, students and
other university members have the power to support corporate reform
in areas such as human rights, environmental responsibility and
equal opportunity.
Sweet Beginnings, Brenda Palms Barber, CEO (Chicago, IL):
Sweet Beginnings is a project of the North Lawndale Employment
Network (NLEN), a community-based nonprofit helping ex-offenders
fully reenter society by providing assistance in securing and
retaining employment and developing a career path. Under the Beeline
label, Sweet Beginnings produces natural honey and honey-based
products, thereby promoting environmentally sustainable business
practices while helping to create green collar jobs for people at
all income levels, but especially for people of color.
Taproot Foundation, Aaron Hurst, President and Founder
(San Francisco, CA): The Taproot Foundation is changing the way
business invests in the community while bridging the gap between
nonprofits and the operational resources they need to thrive. By
creating a new form of philanthropy whereby professionals volunteer
their unique skills through "Service Grants," Taproot has already
supported 500 nonprofits and provided 250,000 hours of volunteer
time, collectively valued at $25 million worth of professional
services.
TerraCycle, Tom Szaky, CEO and Co-Founder (Trenton, NJ):
TerraCycle manufactures affordable, organic fertilizer that is not
only made from garbage—organic waste composted naturally by
worms—but also packaged entirely in garbage—reused soda bottles.
Szaky dropped out of Princeton to pursue this idea. TerraCycle
started selling its fertilizer through Home Depot in 2004 and
collected more than 2 million plastic bottles in its first 18 months
through a recycling program called the Bottle Brigade, which
generates enthusiasm for recycling among children by allowing them
to fundraise for special projects.
World of Good, Priya Haji, Co-founder and CEO
(Emeryville, CA): World of Good seeks to lift thousands of women in
the developing world out of poverty. It creates opportunities for
hundreds of artisan cooperatives around the world by serving as a
bridge to the U.S. retail market and providing access to fair wages,
safe working conditions and long-term economic sustainability.
ProjectGood.com is the newest venture launched in partnership with
eBay to create a people positive shopping experience designed to
help millions of consumers connect with producers around the world.
Honorable mentions go to Bentley Hall, CEO and
Co-Founder, Bee Well LLC; Alicia Polak, Founder, Khaya Cookie
Company; Caryl and Tom Levine, Founders and co-owners, Lotus Foods;
Anupreet Sethi, Co-CEO, Profits for People; and Trey Taylor,
Co-Founder and President, Verdant Power.
"When we set out to
design the company that is Nau, we were especially inspired by the
pioneers and visionaries that made up SVN," says Chris Van Dyke,
CEO, Nau. "We feel particularly honored to be chosen as Innovation
Award winners."
Since 1987, SVN has inspired a community of
business and social leaders by nurturing the growth and prevalence
of socially responsible investing, sustainable economies, fair
trade, and organic/eco living. The late Anita Roddick, a longtime
member of the SVN community, was a pioneer who helped pave the way
for business and activism to go hand-in-hand. Other SVN members
include Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Gary Hirshberg of
Stonyfield Farm, Amy Domini of Domini Social Investments, and Julius
Walls of Greyston Bakery, entrepreneurs who have prioritized both
social concerns and profitability to create successful
businesses.
About Imagine What's Next: Ideas that Will
Change the Way the World Does Business
The contest, launched
in June 2007, evaluated the founders, CEOs and executive directors
of businesses or nonprofit organizations that are having a
noticeable positive impact on the business sector. The application
process involved a series of essay questions and required relevant
metrics describing the organization’s impact. The winners will be
honored at the coveted SVN Fall Conference in San Diego, CA, October
11-14, 2007. For additional information, please visit http://www.svn.org/.
About Social Venture Network
Founded in 1987 by
Josh Mailman and Wayne Silby, Social Venture Network (SVN) is a
nonprofit network committed to building a just and sustainable world
through business. SVN members are part of an expanding global
network of pioneering entrepreneurs who are helping to transform the
way the world does business.
Ratings, Research
& Awards
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