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Kate Chappell of Tom’s of Maine; and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. But others are following their example.
Sustainable High Tech
The high-tech professionals who created Rolltronics, in Menlo Park, California, want to bridge the digital divide that separates technology-poor from technology-rich countries by revolutionizing the production of electronic devices. This multi-million dollar start-up will use a roll-to-roll process, similar to the way newspapers are printed, to produce devices such as ultrahigh-density memory, ultralight batteries, and integrated circuits on thin plastic films, including “electronic paper” and wearable computers. This process is less expensive and much friendlier to the environment than traditional electronics production.
Beneath the business plan lies an even more revolutionary vision: a spiritual commitment shared by the principals in the company, according to president and CEO Michael Sauvante. Arising from their personal beliefs, it is a generative model based in Eastern philosophy. “It includes a belief in the idea that the entire universe is a living, evolving mechanism and that our responsibility is to endeavor to relate in a constructive, positive sense to all that is around us,” says Sauvante.
Accordingly, Rolltronics extends the definition of its stakeholders beyond just stockholders to the whole world, including employees, investors, and the larger society “that supports the myriad aspects for us to live and function,” says Sauvante. “Each of these groups contributes in different ways. All should be considered and should benefit from our actions. This, we feel, is a balanced approach for truly sustainable enterprise.”
Minding the Three P’s
The company uses Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting, devised in 1994 by SustainAbility, a London think tank. The idea behind TBL is that “companies that want to be successful in the long term should be able to meet society’s needs for goods and services without destroying natural capital.” Or, in other words, in addition to financial profit, TBL reporting also measures corporate impacts on people and the planet.
While use of the TBL is growing, it is not yet common, especially in the high-tech sector. Sauvante admits using it has created “ difficulties with certain mentalities that don’t recognize what we consider to be the smarter business approach here.”
Many others, even in the investment community, consider Rolltronics’ approach to be “common sense,” he says. “More and more people are saying enough is enough, especially in these post-Enron days, and [our] value proposition is really rising to the surface on many, many levels.” Indeed, studies show that companies paying attention to society and the environment in addition to profit are realizing better bottom lines than companies that don’t. “When price and quality are comparable,” says Corinne McLaughlin, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Visionary Leadership, “people would rather buy from companies that live by higher values.”
She says many shareholders are also beginning to hold companies accountable, questioning employee treatment and impacts on the environment, for example. “They’re making a lot of noise,” she says. “And that’s where the leverage is.”
Attending to social and environmental issues need not be at odds with nurturing the financial bottom line, says Dean Carolyn Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean and Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Management, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, “particularly when financial performance and attention to the needs of stakeholders come from good, solid management. When companies are founded with a social mission, and it’s incorporated into the business model, it can work. And there’s no pressure from investors because they invested based on the mission.”
Tea and Social Responsibility
Although he’s only 36, Seth Goldman has a long history of social activism in business. His parents, both academics, are long-time activists. At Yale, he was on the board of the local chapter of Students for Responsible Business. He was later employed by Calvert Group, one of the leading socially-responsible investment firms, reaching the position of vice president of the Calvert Social Investment Fund. His current position follows the same path, although with a very different vehicle. He’s president and “Tea-EO” of Honest Tea, a Bethesda, Md., producer of organic bottled tea and tea bags. Founded in 1998, Honest Tea has experienced growth of 50 percent to 75 percent each year, with $4.7 million in sales in 2002 and expected sales of $7-8 million in 2003. Naturally sweetened and brewed in spring water, the products quickly became the best-selling tea in the natural foods industry and has recently become the first organic product sold at 7-Eleven stores.
Its business model is what sets Honest Tea apart from most other beverage makers. The company establishes partnerships with economically disadvantaged communities that supply tea ingredients and not only pays them fairly but also pays royalties on the beverage and tea bag sales. Among its partners are the Crow Nation of Montana,
Sustainable High Tech
The high-tech professionals who created Rolltronics, in Menlo Park, California, want to bridge the digital divide that separates technology-poor from technology-rich countries by revolutionizing the production of electronic devices. This multi-million dollar start-up will use a roll-to-roll process, similar to the way newspapers are printed, to produce devices such as ultrahigh-density memory, ultralight batteries, and integrated circuits on thin plastic films, including “electronic paper” and wearable computers. This process is less expensive and much friendlier to the environment than traditional electronics production.
Beneath the business plan lies an even more revolutionary vision: a spiritual commitment shared by the principals in the company, according to president and CEO Michael Sauvante. Arising from their personal beliefs, it is a generative model based in Eastern philosophy. “It includes a belief in the idea that the entire universe is a living, evolving mechanism and that our responsibility is to endeavor to relate in a constructive, positive sense to all that is around us,” says Sauvante.
Accordingly, Rolltronics extends the definition of its stakeholders beyond just stockholders to the whole world, including employees, investors, and the larger society “that supports the myriad aspects for us to live and function,” says Sauvante. “Each of these groups contributes in different ways. All should be considered and should benefit from our actions. This, we feel, is a balanced approach for truly sustainable enterprise.”
Minding the Three P’s
The company uses Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting, devised in 1994 by SustainAbility, a London think tank. The idea behind TBL is that “companies that want to be successful in the long term should be able to meet society’s needs for goods and services without destroying natural capital.” Or, in other words, in addition to financial profit, TBL reporting also measures corporate impacts on people and the planet.
While use of the TBL is growing, it is not yet common, especially in the high-tech sector. Sauvante admits using it has created “ difficulties with certain mentalities that don’t recognize what we consider to be the smarter business approach here.”
Many others, even in the investment community, consider Rolltronics’ approach to be “common sense,” he says. “More and more people are saying enough is enough, especially in these post-Enron days, and [our] value proposition is really rising to the surface on many, many levels.” Indeed, studies show that companies paying attention to society and the environment in addition to profit are realizing better bottom lines than companies that don’t. “When price and quality are comparable,” says Corinne McLaughlin, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Visionary Leadership, “people would rather buy from companies that live by higher values.”
She says many shareholders are also beginning to hold companies accountable, questioning employee treatment and impacts on the environment, for example. “They’re making a lot of noise,” she says. “And that’s where the leverage is.”
Attending to social and environmental issues need not be at odds with nurturing the financial bottom line, says Dean Carolyn Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean and Ray and Milann Siegfried Professor of Management, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, “particularly when financial performance and attention to the needs of stakeholders come from good, solid management. When companies are founded with a social mission, and it’s incorporated into the business model, it can work. And there’s no pressure from investors because they invested based on the mission.”
Tea and Social Responsibility
Although he’s only 36, Seth Goldman has a long history of social activism in business. His parents, both academics, are long-time activists. At Yale, he was on the board of the local chapter of Students for Responsible Business. He was later employed by Calvert Group, one of the leading socially-responsible investment firms, reaching the position of vice president of the Calvert Social Investment Fund. His current position follows the same path, although with a very different vehicle. He’s president and “Tea-EO” of Honest Tea, a Bethesda, Md., producer of organic bottled tea and tea bags. Founded in 1998, Honest Tea has experienced growth of 50 percent to 75 percent each year, with $4.7 million in sales in 2002 and expected sales of $7-8 million in 2003. Naturally sweetened and brewed in spring water, the products quickly became the best-selling tea in the natural foods industry and has recently become the first organic product sold at 7-Eleven stores.
Its business model is what sets Honest Tea apart from most other beverage makers. The company establishes partnerships with economically disadvantaged communities that supply tea ingredients and not only pays them fairly but also pays royalties on the beverage and tea bag sales. Among its partners are the Crow Nation of Montana,
