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On what was once a factory shop floor in the Montevideo neighborhood of Palermo, 20-somethings huddle over their laptops at large tables or gather in minimalist conference rooms. Up one level, a 3D printer is surrounded by funky-shaped parts it had just churned out. A few steps away, past more offices, a ping-pong table is available for those who need a break from writing code or smiling and dialing for investors. Modern furniture in bright primary colors adds to a setting one would take for granted in tech centers such as Silicon Valley, Santa Monica or Boston. Judging by the logos I saw, the tenants here are an eclectic bunch: social entrepreneurs, tech companies and non-profits are among the of occupants.

Welcome to Sinergia Cowork, the first shared office space in Uruguay. For those of us long accustomed to co-working spaces—such as us at Triple Pundit, where we have churned out content and held events at San Francisco’s Hub for years—our reaction at first may be ho-hum.

But for Uruguayans dedicated to building businesses that can help create social change, this six-month old space is a huge and exciting step forward because there had never been a place for them to work, meet and learn from each other. The three floors of Sinergia hum with excitement—quite a contrast in this city of 1.5 million that otherwise I would describe as calm, placid and relaxed.

You may not have noticed, but Uruguay has been busy in recent years. The international press often focuses on its eccentric president, Jose Mujica, and the recent laws passed in this nation of 3.3 million people--notably the trio of new laws that legalized abortion, same-sex marriage and marijuana. Many Uruguayans, however, roll their eyes when this is mentioned as they prefer to focus on three things that form much of the nation’s identity: football, mate and beef. Others highlight a sophisticated culture with a long progressive history, tango that rivals neighbor Argentina and the gauchos who have long helped shape the country’s rugged identity.

Speaking of cowboys, the plains and hills that are home to cattle also are feeding more of the world—one display I saw at the nation’s national fair estimated that in 2005, Uruguay produced enough food to feed 9 million people. That number surged to 28 million in 2013; much of that increase is because of soy grown and then shipped to China, now Uruguay’s largest trading partner. The result of the commodity boom has been steady economic growth, a decade after the 2002 banking crisis wrecked the nation’s economy.

While the macroeconomic indicators, including reductions in the poverty rate and the unemployed may look impressive, not everyone in Uruguay has benefited. I was caught off-guard by the sticker shock I witnessed as it had been six years since I had last visited—the cost of food and services have in general doubled. “It’s too expensive for young people to live here,” a government official told me last month as I toured the country’s national legislative building. “Imagine your salary as a teacher is $700 a month and your rent is $500, since Montevideo is getting more unaffordable. How can anyone get by?” She continued to explain that the country’s population has decreased the last few years as many young people seek opportunities in Uruguay’s much larger neighbors, Argentina and Brazil, or across the Atlantic in Spain. An influx of other Latin Americans, especially Venezuelans who see Uruguay as a safe haven from the Chavista-driven chaos in their country, has countered that exodus, but for many Uruguayans, getting ahead in what some say is the most expensive nation in Latin America is a huge challenge. Wages just do not keep up with the rising cost of living.

“So we need a place where social entrepreneurs can have a place to follow their dreams,” said Macarena Botta, Executive Director of Sinergia Cowork during my visit there two weeks ago. “Networking in Uruguay had always been for the very elite. So we provide a platform where we can meet, have workshops, mentor each other, make connection and share ideas. It’s a place for the democratization of entrepreneurship in Uruguay.”

It was an uphill climb for Botta and the six partners who founded Sinergia. While the politics in Uruguay may come across as progressive, this is still in many ways a very traditional society. Real estate is expensive in Montevideo because many Uruguayans see land as a much safer bet than stocks and bonds. Banks would not consider loaning money to open a co-working space, because of an ingrained belief that social entrepreneurs cannot make a profit. Add the country’s notorious bureaucracy, high taxes and other structural problems rife in Uruguay, and it is impressive such a place even opened at all. But Botta and her partners’ determination paid off. “63% of the world’s population is that ‘base of the pyramid’,” explained Botta, “and there are people here with great ideas who can make a difference.”

Sinergia is now almost at full occupancy. Botta explained that advertising was really limited to social media—entrepreneurs and young companies came to them. Many have stayed, in part because of the flexibility Sinergia offers its tenants. “No one helps you when you start a business, so we want this to be a place where new ideas can find success,” said Botta. There are no long-term lease agreements—companies and individuals just pay month to month. Botta also insists prospective tenants spend a day at Sinergia to make sure they are a fit. “We are not a cheap solution for office space, so we want people to experience it here before they commit,” she added, “and we know this is working well, because after five months, we can see the collaboration and creativity building every day.”

Botta and her team have more ambitions for Sinergia. Plans are on the drawing board to launch a business incubator—again, a new idea for Uruguay. The building will become a hub for entrepreneurial events such as Creative Mornings, long popular in North America and Europe but novel in Uruguay.

In the next couple weeks, I will highlight some of the social enterprises that are looking to change the social landscape in Uruguay, including Oportunidar, Ecoalsur and Socialab. They are examples of how some of the country’s brightest minds are enacting social change in Uruguay and throughout Latin America.

After a year in the Middle East and Latin America, Leon Kaye is based in California again. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter. Other thoughts of his are on his site, greengopost.com.

Covanta is making a $45M investment in a single-bin, recycling system paired with an energy-from-waste facility, the first complete solution of its kind in North America. This might not be news somewhere like San Francisco or Austin, both cities have high recycling rates and are often held up as municipal examples to follow, but Covanta is making this large investment in Indianapolis, in the middle of the Rust Belt, where the current city recycling rate is less than 10 percent.

Covanta operates or has an ownership stake in more than 40 energy-from-waste facilities in North America, Italy and China, but this is the first time it has combined a single stream recycling solution (Covanta Advanced Recycling Center) with its already existing energy-from-waste facility (Covanta Indianapolis Energy-from-Waste Facility) that has been supplying the city of Indianapolis with steam power since 1988.

Covanta's Director of Communications, James Regan, explained that Covanta is always striving for more advanced ways to dispose of waste that "are a sustainable alternative to landfilling." In addition to the commonly heard mantra, "reduce, reuse, recycle," the company adds a fourth R: "recover energy."

The city of Indianapolis tried various programs to increase its recycling rate, but to no avail, culminating in a mayoral mandate to increase the recycling rate at no cost to taxpayers. After a call for proposals, the city accepted Covanta's project idea to develop an advanced recycling center.

When the center is operational (the goal is 2016), all residents will be enrolled in a free recycling program where they put all their waste and recycling into one bin. That bin is then picked up on exactly the same pickup day as it has always been. There are no new trucks, new routes or new days. The trucks continue along nearly the same route they took before, but instead of going to the existing energy-to-waste facility, they stop first at the advanced recycling center, next door.

At the state-of-the-art recycling center, materials go through infrared scanners, magnets, and other automated sort processes to separate the recycling materials from the waste. Any remaining waste is taken next door to the energy-to-waste facility, where it goes into a high temperature boiler and is turned into steam energy that is used by the city of Indianapolis for heating and cooling. "By pulling more recyclables out of the waste, we'll actually be able to process more waste at the waste-to-energy facility and keep more waste out of landfills."

In a city where 90 percent of residents don't recycle, the city and Covanta see this as the best course of action to increase recycling and reduce waste. Any resident that wants to continue their existing recycling program (that they pay for) is welcome to do so, and there are recycling drop off sites throughout the city as well.

Despite it being a free program with no disruption and little effort on the part of residents, Regan says reaction has been mixed, with some worried about contamination. Will there be contamination in the recyclables as there always seems to be with single stream recycling? There will be some, but Regan stresses that "this is state-of-the-art, highly automated technology. It is not manual sorting, it is a series of conveyor belts that lead to magnets, that lead to ballistic separators, eddy current systems, a number of automated systems that will separate these materials and hopefully have them as clean as possible."

In this way, it's not that much different from a traditional recycling program, with many of the same issues (yogurt containers not rinsed out, newspapers that get left in the rain), but Regan believes that the process will be refined along the way, and as residents warm to the idea, more information will go out on how residents can help the process on their end, for one, rinsing out their recyclables. Also, just because there is only one bin doesn't mean residents should put hazardous waste items in it. No paint, cleaning solutions or items containing mercury are allowed. The recycling center is expected to recover up to 90 percent of paper, cardboard, plastics and metals, with the hope that it will be able to process glass and organic material in time.

"We've confirmed a market for all of these recyclables with downstream market vendors and the facility is designed to meet or exceed industry standards when it comes to the quality of the materials. We're very confident in the process, we've seen it work because it's modeled after a facility in Cypress, which also didn't have a recycling infrastructure."

Regan says that this model is especially effective in cities like Indianapolis that don't have a solid recycling participant rate, because the process will net more recyclables for sale after processing. In a city like San Francisco or Austin, which already has a recycling infrastructure, a system like this wouldn't make much sense.

The project will create 70 construction jobs during that phase and 60 long-term, skilled, green jobs, as in fewer manual sorters (there will be a few for quality control purposes) and more engineers, mechanics and operators to oversee the automated process.

"The city is looking at our project as one piece of the pie, albeit a large one, of the recycling plan. We're hopeful that people will see the value that this project will bring, hopeful that they will grow to like it and understand it more...We think it's really exciting and I know the city does, as well," Regan says.

The recycling center is predicted to immediately increase recycling rates up to five times, with the goal of attaining a world-class recycling rate of over 50 percent. It will also eliminate annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 40,000 cars off the road.

America, Regan explained, in general is behind the rest of the world in terms of waste management. Recycling rates vary widely around the country. The U.S. puts 250 million tons of waste in landfills every year, which is way too much in his opinion. One of the easiest ways to eliminate greenhouse gases is to stop landfilling.

"Hopefully facilities like this advanced recycling center will advance recycling rates and move us forward."

image credit: Rebecca Zelber, N.H. Sea Grant via Flickr creative commons

A host of federal agencies known as the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force have laid out a comprehensive “action plan” for the next five years to protect water quality, control invasive species and restore habitat in the Great Lakes, the largest surface fresh water system in the world.

It’s also the largest conservation initiative in American history, says Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The task force, created by an Executive Order in 2004, includes eleven U.S. Cabinet and federal Agency heads. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy chairs the task force, which released the latest action plan on September 24 in Chicago.

“The new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan lays out the steps we need to take to get us closer to the day when all Great Lakes fish will be safe to eat, all beaches will be safe for swimmers and harmful algal blooms will not threaten our drinking water supplies,” said McCarthy. “During the next five years, federal agencies will continue to use Great Lakes Restoration Initiative resources to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem and to accelerate progress toward long term goals.”

The first phase of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was launched in 2010; the action plan announced last month—Action Plan II—summarizes the actions federal agencies plan to implement during Fiscal Years 2015 through 2019 using GLRI funding.

The long-term goals for the Great Lakes ecosystem are:

• Fish safe to eat


• Water safe for recreation


• Safe source of drinking water


• Harmful/nuisance algal blooms eliminated


• No new self-sustaining invasive species


• Existing invasive species controlled


• Native habitat protected and restored to sustain native species


• All geographic “areas of concern” (AOCs) delisted

During the first five years of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, federal agencies and their partners removed 42 Beneficial Use Impairments in 17 Areas of Concern — quadrupling the number of Beneficial Use Impairments removed in the preceding 22 years.

Under GLRI Action Plan II, federal agencies will continue to remove 34 more Beneficial Use Impairments in the remaining 29 Areas of Concern. These Beneficial Use Impairments include beach closings, restrictions on drinking water consumption, nuisance algal blooms, restrictions on dredging, fish and wildlife deformities, restrictions on fish and wildlife consumption, loss of fish and wildlife habitat. Federal agencies also intend to complete all management actions required to delist these AOCs:

• Buffalo River


• Clinton River


• Grand Calumet River


• Manistique River


• Menominee River


• Muskegon Lake


• River Raisin


• Rochester Embayment


• St. Clair River


• St. Marys River

In other Action Plan II initiatives the federal agencies will:

• Further evaluate emerging contaminants that have the greatest potential to adversely impact Great Lakes fish and wildlife – “impacts which may also result in ecological, economic and recreational consequences.”


• Continue to prevent new invasive species from establishing self-sustaining populations in the Great Lakes ecosystem. They “will work to increase the effectiveness of existing surveillance programs by establishing a coordinated, multi-species early detection network.”


• Continue to restore sites degraded by aquatic, wetland and terrestrial invasive species; they will also continue to develop and enhance technologies to control Great Lakes invasive species. “Federal agencies will also develop and enhance invasive species ‘collaboratives’ to support rapid responses and to communicate the latest control and management techniques.”


• Work to reduce nutrient runoff in watersheds targeted through the GLRI adaptive management process. This work is intended, among other things, to advance drinking water source protection and “increase voluntary agricultural conservation practices to achieve downstream water quality improvements.”


• Implement watershed management and green infrastructure projects to reduce the impacts of polluted urban runoff on nearshore water quality at beaches and in other coastal areas. “These projects will capture or slow the flow of untreated runoff and filter out sediment, nutrients, toxic contaminants, pathogens and other pollutants prior to entering Great Lakes tributaries and nearshore waters.”


• Implement protection, restoration and enhancement projects focused on open water, nearshore, connecting channels, coastal wetland and other habitats in the Great Lakes basin. Projects will include: removal of dams and replacing culverts to create fish habitat and reconnect migratory species to Great Lakes tributaries; restoration of riparian and in-stream habitat to prevent erosion and to create sufficient habitat for aquatic species; protection and restoration of coastal wetlands; and implementation of offshore reef rehabilitation projects to promote natural fish spawning.


• Work to maintain, restore and enhance populations of native fish and wildlife species. Projects will protect and restore species diversity; reintroduce populations of native species to restored habitats and evaluate their survival; and protect or restore species that are culturally significant to tribes in the Great Lakes region.


• Develop “standardized climate resiliency criteria” that will be used to design and select GLRI projects.

In addition to the EPA and USDA, the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force comprises the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State and Transportation.

Edible fish, a handle on invasive species and watershed management: yes, it is every bit the largest conservation and remediation project in U.S. history.

Image: Logo from the GLRI Action Plan report

By Andrew Wilson

Stephen Covey, the best-selling American author, wrote that “strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”

I was reminded of this sentiment as I reflected on what I have learned from spending the past month living and working in San Francisco.

As corporate citizenship moves ahead with establishing a strong presence on the West Coast of the U.S., I have had the great opportunity to spend time here talking to a wide range of companies on what sustainability means to them.

In my view, it is the differences between the companies I have met that is the key to explaining the vibrant and innovative approaches to corporate responsibility I am hearing about.

For some companies, the most important driver of success is employee engagement. People in San Francisco talk a lot about the “war for talent." This is not simply confined to the tech sector where skilled graduates are fought over with bigger pay checks and better perks.

Across a range of industries, people now acknowledge that a company’s wider reputation and the values it displays can be a differentiating factor in recruitment decisions. So sustainability and citizenship programs are aimed firmly at employees (and prospective hires) with some amazing results in terms of participation rates.

For example, in 2013 Bank of America set itself the ambitious target to achieve “2 Million Connections for Better," through its volunteer efforts across the globe. The goal was achieved when employees achieved a record 2 million volunteer hours in that same year.

Other organizations focus their efforts on wider aspects of economic and social development in countries across the globe. Chevron explicitly recognizes that its “business success is deeply linked to society’s progress.” As such, the company runs an impressive program of investment in economic development, health and education that goes way beyond ‘old style’ philanthropic activities. This is socio-economic development at the cutting edge; working with local governments, NGOs and communities to remove barriers to economic success for people living in the communities where the business operates.

In addition, there is a small but growing group of companies that are keen to talk about their wider purpose in society. They recognize that the products and services they bring to market can, if applied in novel ways, bring about dramatic social benefits beyond those for which they were originally intended.

NVIDIA is the visual computing business that invented the graphics processing unit (GPU). The company now collaborates with academics, scientists and other businesses to apply the power of the GPU to explore solutions to a wide range of social and environmental challenges including cancer treatment; HIV research; safer, smarter cars; and even better earthquake preparation.

So what is it that links these different examples of good practice among businesses operating here on the West Coast? I think there are four factors that each of these companies demonstrates in their approach to sustainability and citizenship:

1. A high degree of “intentionality” – By this I mean that the programs these companies have developed are all driven by a strong, strategic intent. From the leadership of the business downwards, there is a clear intention to deliver a program of activities that makes sense for the business, aligned with the context in which the company operates.


2. Targeted audiences and specific goals – This should be the hallmark of any sustainability initiative, but it’s not always the case. For the companies featured in this short article, however, each has clear objectives for what it seeks to achieve with its sustainability initiatives.


3. Assessing outcomes and impacts – Each of these companies has a different approach to measurement and evaluation. However, they all display a strong desire not simply to describe what they do, but to measure how their activities are bringing about positive social and environmental change.


4. A well-defined link to the business – Finally, in each case there is an obvious connection between the approach to citizenship and the core business strategy. Without necessarily using the word, the concept of materiality is at the heart of what these companies are doing, recognizing what is important for the long-term success of the business.

In four short weeks I can only hope to have scratched the surface of the range of activities taking place here. But from these initial meetings, discussions and reflections it is clear that businesses in California are rising to the challenge of defining their place in society.

Diversity and difference may predominate, but there are common threads that link all of this together. Whether they are delivering a best-in-class community investment programme or developing technological solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems, companies here are taking action – and to great effect.

Image credit: Flickr/kevcole

An economist by training, Andrew Wilson has a 20-year track record in consulting on sustainable development. He is a Director at Corporate Citizenship, a specialist global corporate responsibility consultancy. His work involves advising senior managers in a range of multinational companies helping them to develop a strategic approach to corporate citizenship. Current clients include: Abbott, AMEC, the European Investment Bank and UNICEF.

Andrew has written a large number of influential reports on many aspects of corporate citizenship. He has presented to a wide range of prestigious international conferences organised by institutions including the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation, the Russian Managers Association, the European Commission and the Business Institute for Sustainable Development in Korea. Currently based in San Francisco, Andrew is helping to develop Corporate Citizenship’s business on the West Coast.

CTPartners Augmentum, the UK ceo and board practice of the New York-listed global executive search firm CTPartners, have calculated that whilst Lord Davies’ target for women to make up 25% of FTSE 100 boards by the end of 2015 is likely to be achieved, ensuring that this percentage is maintained over the medium term will be challenging. 

An analysis of publicly-available data shows that 60 women are needed to take board seats by the target date, yet only 32 female executives who have operational or financial experience at the top of FTSE 100 companies, are potentially available to do so, leaving a shortfall of 28 women. 

Furthermore, the CTPartners Augmentum research highlights that from 2016, 36 women will need to be appointed each year just to maintain the target percentage of 25 per cent female board members.

Andy Davies, managing partner, UK CEO & Board Practice, CTPartners Augmentum commented: “In line with the fact that around half of board appointees (men and women) come from overseas, we expect that any shortfall will be filled by a combination of the appointment of non-UK female executives as well as female executives from the financial services sector.

 “Companies need to create a pipeline that enables talented women to rise to the very top. Imposing a target is a good starting point, but it doesn’t address the need for the sort of deep-seated cultural changes around diversity that are required to make a long-term difference.” 

 

Picture credit: © Scusi | Dreamstime.com - Business Team Photo 

 

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, one of the country’s leading newspapers and a bastion defending liberal values, has withdrawn misleading articles on controversial subjects published over a number of years and admitted faking an interview with a business leader.

In a statement in its September 4th edition, the Asahi said that a story published in June 2012 that appeared to be an interview with the president of Nintendo, the world’s largest video game maker, had in fact been compiled from material on the company’s website when the president refused the interview. The Asahi apologised after a weekly magazine published details of the incident.

Only a few days later, on September 11th, Tadakazu Kimura, the Asahi’s president, announced that the newspaper was withdrawing a controversial article about the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster that appeared on May 20, 2014. It reported that workers had fled the disaster site, disregarding orders to stay put. The story, based on leaked testimony by the late manager of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, proved untrue.

The September apologies came after one on 5 August when the Asahi apologized for factual errors in articles it has published since 1982 on the “comfort women” issue. The issue relates to the role of the Japanese government in the forced prostitution of women from Korea and other countries during WWII to service the Japanese army. The issue remains controversial to this day, especially in South Korea, since conservative politicians in Japan claim such events never took place.

People were surprised but tolerant over the Asahi’s apology for the stories on comfort women. After all, it was over 30 years since the first was published.

However, they have been less tolerant over the more recent deceptions. For example, a Nippon TV opinion poll showed that, when asked whether they appreciated the Asahi’s correction and apology, only 6.4% said “yes,” while 23.3% said “no.” Almost two thirds said they appreciated the correction and apology, but thought they were “too late.”

In the same poll, when asked whether Mr. Kimura’s formal apology could help regain trust in the Asahi Shimbun, only 21.5% said “yes,” while more than 60% responded negatively.

Honesty in admitting past mistakes was appreciated but has not restored credibility.

There is disappointment that the Asahi Shimbun has joined the ranks of companies that have betrayed public trust and sadness that its ability to defend liberal values is now impaired. 

British supermarket giant Tesco has suspended four executives, including its UK managing director, after the retailer overstated its half-year profit guidance by £250m.

It has launched an investigation - headed by audit company Deloitte - and says it is working to establish the impact of the issue on its full-year results.

“We have uncovered a serious issue and responded accordingly,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.

Commenting on the reporting error, Professor of Accounting at Warwick Business School Crawford Spence said: “This revelation should be interpreted as a sign of distress. Tesco has essentially tried to recognise revenue too early and delay the recording of costs until a later date. Accounting is not a hard science and some of this behaviour is acceptable, within limits. What Tesco appear to have done is push the boat out a bit too far, ending up with revenue that hadn’t really been earned yet and costs that probably should have been booked earlier.

“It is a classic ‘earnings management’ issue. Firms quite legitimately play around with their revenue and expenses all the time. However, when they do so aggressively, as Tesco appear to have done, this is usually because the firm is under pressure elsewhere. In Tesco’s case, it has been losing market share to its competitors steadily in recent years and losing value quite dramatically in its share price in recent months. Rather than fix the underlying problems, they have been playing around with their numbers to try to make things look better.

“To Tesco’s credit, however, it has flagged this up internally and is doing something about it, which suggests that there are probably no other big accounting shocks hidden away.

“Given it this has been flagged up and dealt with internally it is unlikely any court proceedings will occur. Tesco could be fined by the authorities, but they will most likely wait to hear what the auditors, Deloitte, uncover first.”

A whistleblower in the accounting department of the UK retailer Tesco claims he warned his bosses that profits were being calculated too high – but was ignored.

Questions are now being asked about the culture at Tesco when Philip Clarke was chief executive.

The whistleblower raised the alarm during Clarke’s reign but Tesco nevertheless forecast the original trading profits figure of £1.1bn ($1.79bn, €1.4bn) for the first half of this year. The actual figure, still to be published, is thought to be £250m lower.

There are unattributed suggestions that managers were under pressure to use irregular practices and that there had been a “corruption of virtues” among staff.

One source asked why nobody spoke up sooner and a former executive said the company had to be “seriously off the pace” to be ignorant of the improper practices.

The inflated figure is said to have resulted because Tesco included income from deals with suppliers earlier than it should have.

Clarke departed nine days after the £1.1bn figure was announced. New chief executive Dave Lewis has hired the professional services group Deloitte and the leading London law firm Freshfields to investigate. The Financial Conduct Authority, the official City regulator, has started an independent investigation.

Tesco will announce its half-year results and the findings of the investigations on 23 October 2014.
 

Stories & Beer is a monthly “Fireside Chat” hosted by TriplePundit in San Francisco -- BUT, this month, we're taking it on the road to Philadelphia and New York City! Join us here in person - or online!

TriplePundit is continuing our focus on sustainability in the fashion and apparel industry for the rest of 2014. We have explored sustainability trends in fashion throughout the lifecycle: from the cotton fields all the way to the landfill. Water, is one of the most important and overlooked ingredients in fashion.  How are fashion brands looking to work with the challenges of water conservation?  With cotton and other crops?  What are some of the ways companies are reducing, exploring less water-intensive textiles and working within a circular economy?

Philadelphia: On Tuesday, September 30, join TriplePundit’s San Francisco-based team, along with representatives from B Lab and three Philadelphia-area Certified B Corps, in a casual conversation at The Hub Cira Center. TriplePundit’s founder, Nick Aster, will lead the discussion. For those who attend in person, we’ll be serving up local, sustainable beer and snacks! Click HERE for more info.

New York City: On Thursday, October 2, please join us in NYC for an evening of conversation and networking! TriplePundit is continuing our focus on sustainability in the fashion and apparel industry for the rest of 2014, and this will be the topic of discussion. After the event, Stories & Beer attendees are invited for a free week at Impact Hub NYC. Click HERE for more info.

Don't worry San Francisco - we'll also be having a special stories and beer at our usual location at Impact HUB SF on the subject of tourism on September 25th.  RSVP here.

Philadelphia guests will include:

• Katie Oberwager, Standards Analyst, B Lab 


• Dave Stangis, VP of Sustainability, Campbell's


• Robert Cheetham, Founder and President, Azavea


• Mike Cangi, Marketer, United by Blue 


• Steve Hackman, Demo Lead, One Village Coffee 

New York guests will include: 

• Deb Johnson, Academic Director of Sustainability, Pratt Institute


• Inka Apter, Facilitating Manager of Fabric R&D, Eileen Fisher


• Paul Gallay, President, Riverkeeper

The schedule in both Philly and NYC will be: 

6:30 – 7:00 – beers, wine and networking 7:00 – 8:00 – fireside chat and Q&A 8:00 – 8:30 – networking

RETURN TO THIS PAGE ON SEPTEMBER 30 AND OCTOBER 2 TO WATCH THE LIVE INTERVIEWS!

Join TriplePundit, SAP and our special guests for a Twitter Chat about millennials and social entrepreneurship. Follow along at #SAPsocent on October 23 at 9 a.m. PST/Noon EST.

Brazilian native Tiago Dalvi had big dreams from the start. He was accepted into business school at the tender age of 16, where he first noticed his talent for sales. While Dalvi loved talking to customers and devising new ways to sell a product, he didn't want to sell just anything. Rather than peddling the standards like cars or appliances, he wanted to sell something that made a difference.

A few years later, he started working with an NGO called Entrepreneurial Alliance in Brazil. He soon realized that a large percentage of its partner entrepreneurs were artisans, many of whom lived below the poverty line. Most made quality goods for competitive prices, but they didn't know how to sell their products.

"Most of these artisans used to live in a local bubble," Dalvi told Triple Pundit in a recent interview. "They sell their product in their community and in street fairs, but they have no idea how to sell their products outside of these communities."

The young businessman saw an opportunity to use his penchant for sales to make people's lives better by connecting artisans with the resources they need to sell their products to a wider customer base. Armed with a bright idea and a passion for the cause, the then 20-year-old entrepreneur began approaching small retail shops in Brazilian cities, where owners were even more receptive than he'd hoped.

"We actually realized that the other end [retailers and consumers] really wanted to purchase those kind of products but had no idea where to find them. So, there was no company bridging that market," he remembered.

Growing pains

To fill what was clearly a gaping hole in the local handmade goods market, Dalvi launched Solidarium in 2007. The company began as a retail store in a Brazilian shopping mall. While the shop was moderately successful, Dalvi quickly realized that a single store was not exactly scalable. An estimated 8.5 million artisans in Brazil live below the poverty line, and Dalvi believed it was possible to reach every one of them.

His next idea was to connect with corporations and other major retailers that already had name recognition in the country -- not to mention hundreds of retail locations. Although he had no business experience outside of college, he set his sights on the big kahuna: none other than mega-retailer Walmart.

"We knew if we got accepted into Walmart, probably the other retailers would open their doors to us. And that's exactly what happened."

The Walmart executive with whom Dalvi scored a meeting quickly "fell in love" with the idea, recognizing it as a more proactive way for the big-box chain to engage local communities. Products made by Solidarium artisans first appeared in one Walmart store, then three and then more than 50. Before long, the company's handmade products were also being sold at JcPenney and Ikea locations across Brazil.

From 2008 to 2011, the company was doubling in size each year, but the logistical details of shipping handmade goods across the 3.2-million-square-mile country were expensive. Looking for another change in business model, Dalvi headed to a small business accelerator at the Unreasonable Institute in 2011. After the 45-day program ended, Dalvi devised a new model that would soon revolutionize his business.

"We came up with the idea of bringing the whole knowledge that we [gained] in the past five years to launch the online marketplace," he recounted. "The main concept was: Any artisan in the country would be able to sign up for Solidarium ... list as many products as they have and market them to the whole world."

Bringing handmade products to the Web

Of the more than 8.5 million artisans who call Brazil home, about 80 percent have access to the Internet -- yet only about 1 percent of the country's handmade products are sold online.

"The mission for the company is to develop something really meaningful and really change the reality of these artisans here," Dalvi said. "In order to do that, we realized that the whole experience that we had with these major retailers, we should bring it to the online world as well."

Through the new business model, artisans can list their products and begin selling to customers around the world in just a few clicks. In addition to direct sales on Solidarium's website, the company is continuing its relationships with Brazil's major retailers but moving the focus to the online world.

For example, the company just closed a deal with one of the largest online retailers in Brazil (name yet to be released as of publishing). Through the agreement, artisans can list their products with Solidarium and -- with just one click -- begin selling with one of the nation's largest retailers.

Solidarium already has more than 6,000 active sellers (both artisans and cooperatives) -- and it's adding about 1,000 new sellers every month. Sellers are able to increase their income by an average of 85 percent in their first year with Solidarium, according to the company's research. Some have increased monthly incomes to as much as $10,000, Dalvi said. So far, the company's efforts have improved the lives of more than 15,000 people across Brazil.

"The whole idea is to scale up extremely fast," he told 3p. "Since most of these people aren't online yet, we need to be offline. We need to be talking to them; we need to be at the street fairs and the trade shows; wherever they are, we've got to be there."

In addition to a place to sell their products, Solidarium provides all the support local artisans need to grow their business -- from help with marketing and accounting to taking attractive photos that catch a customer's attention. In the interest of speedy expansion, Dalvi and his team also work with a network of NGOs, including Entrepreneurial Alliance, to develop training videos and other tools to help more artisans learn to use the marketplace and expand their businesses to the online world.

A boost that made a difference

Last year, Solidarium got another boost when it was selected to participate in SAP Expoentes, a partnership between SAP and Endeavor Brazil to accelerate 50 promising startups in the country. Part of SAP's Emerging Entrepreneur Initiative, currently being piloted in Brazil and India, SAP Expoentes provides mentorship and technology to help startups take their business to the next level.

A few months later, Solidarium was selected as one of five winners of SAP Business One small business enterprise technology. It was also awarded ongoing support from a network of mentors to help grow and run the business sustainably.

In partnership with SAP, Solidarium was able to improve its accounting and bring it online, so Dalvi and his team can focus on improving lives for artisans rather than mundane, but unquestionably important, details.

SAP is also working with Solidarium to develop a mobile app that allows artisans can easily list their products from a smartphone. The app is currently in the concept phase and is expected to go live by the end of the year, Dalvi said.

Beyond Brazil

Solidarium is growing quickly, but Dalvi has no plans to slow down. "The whole idea of Solidarium is to create the largest distribution network for handmade products in the world," he told Triple Pundit.

"Right now we have the funding; we have the team; we have everything we need to scale up. The idea is that, within five years, to reach at least 1 million artisans -- and to replicate the same business model into other countries."

Dalvi hopes to expand Solidarium elsewhere in Latin America, as well as Southeast Asia and Africa, he told Triple Pundit. "We know that the solution that we came up with for Brazil could be scaled up and replicated through other countries."

For more on Solidarium, check out the video below.

Photos and video courtesy of SAP.

By Cindy Mehallow

Commitments made at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting tend to respond to pressing global needs, and this year’s event was no exception. Five of the initiatives announced at the CGI’s 10th annual meeting will help Jordan and other Mideast nations cope with the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

The crisis in Syria, now in its fourth year, has laid a heavy burden on Jordan and its neighbors. A key U.S. ally, Jordan welcomes Syrian refugees who daily stream across its northern border. About 1.3 million Syrians now live in Jordan, including about 630,000 of whom are registered as refugees. More than 120,000 live in the refugee camp Zaatari, which is now the fourth largest city in Jordan and the second biggest refugee camp in the world. The burden this places on Jordan’s infrastructure and services is almost crippling.

“We will always do the right thing. We punch above our weight. But how much can we do by ourselves?” asked King Abdullah II of Jordan. “We are asking the international community to watch our backs.”

The new commitments announced at the CGI are intended to do just that.

Wind for Prosperity

Through the Wind for Prosperity social impact venture, Vestas and EP Global Energy (EPGE) committed to deploy wind energy solutions that could help power refugee camps in Jordan. Lacking any oil reserves, Jordan imports nearly all of its energy – a challenging task even without sheltering hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. EPGE and Vestas, the only global energy company dedicated exclusively to wind, will develop a wind power plant with a total generation capacity between 9 and 15 megawatts.

“This region is deeply challenged by lack of energy,” explained Morten Albaek, Vestas Group senior vice president and chief marketing officer, when I spoke with him privately.

“Depending on its ultimate placement, this project at a minimum could generate enough energy for basic services in a key refugee camp and the surrounding region, such as pumping water, providing residential electricity and powering medical clinics. With additional investment we’ll be able to provide enough energy so that Jordanian citizens can build small factories and operate businesses.”

The size of the generation facilities will depend on the amount of capital Vestas is able to raise from social impact investors, donors and other private sources.

“We have already raised about one-fifth of the funding,” explained Albaek. “King Abdullah II of Jordan is fully supportive of our project and has assured that we’ll obtain all necessary local permitting. We expect that the systems will be in place and fully operational in 2015.”

Other new commitments will deliver health services, education and general fundraising for Jordan and other Mideast nations sheltering Syrian refugees.

Operation Blue Falcon: Improving health access in Jordan

Medical device maker Medtronic has committed to enhance the cardiology and neuro/spine surgery services in Jordan. Medtronic will provide staff, medical equipment and medical fellowships, in addition to renovating the ER triage area at Al Bashir Hospital in Amman, Jordan.

Public health services

International Medical Corps committed to expand public health services and build the capacity of local organizations to meet the needs of refugee and host communities in the four largest refugee-recipient nations of the Syrian refugee crisis: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.

Self-built transitional schools for Syrian refugees

Pilosio, an Italian leader in temporary structures, has committed to construct a deployable, transitional and easily-assembled school structure for up to 100 children. If the pilot is successful, Pilosio will expand the project to 10 schools in Jordan and Turkey.

Syrian Refugee and Resiliency Fund

The nonprofit Global Impact committed to build and manage the Syrian Refugee and Resiliency Fund to provide CGI members with access to a neutral platform to raise funds for Commitments to Action related to the Syrian refugee crisis. Global Impact aims to raise $1 million in contributions from foundations, corporations or individuals.

“Jordan is a trusted neighbor,” declared King Abdullah II. “Please help us to be there for you.”

Images courtesy of Vestas

Cindy Mehallow is principal of Mehallow Communications, a woman-owned sustainability communications consulting practice specializing in corporate social responsibility reporting and stakeholder communications. A GRI organizational stakeholder, Cindy has produced award-winning sustainability reports for Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries.