December Green Business Roundtable - What they think they think is not what they think


Green Business Roundtable invites all interested in issues at the intersection of business and sustainability to join us for networking, discussion and insight.

I look forward to seeing you there.  


Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Offices of Green America - 1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC
  (nearest Metros - Farragut North and Farragut West)
Lunch included.

December 6 Green Business Roundtable

 
This month's topic  -
What people are thinking about sustainability is not what they think they are thinking

This month's discussion will focus on behavior and behavior change that improves sustainable outcomes.

A company's sustainability efforts should influence their customers, their employees and other stakeholders... but how does that really happen? If you ask them, they will tell you ... but the answers could not just be incomplete, they could be wrong.
Much of what drives decisions is not logical or conscious: cues, clues and bias drive our decisions without us knowing it. Researcher Zack Boileau and marketer Peter Mitchell of the behavior-change marketing agency SalterMitchell / Marketing for Change talk about their work uncovering these forces.  Also: They look at what this means for companies trying to use their sustainability agenda to enhance their standing with customers and engage employees.

Discussion will include both the "how" part (the methodologies) and examples of how these insights played into efforts to influence consumers around health and environmental actions.



This month's presenters - Peter Mitchell, Partner and Zack Boileau, Senior Research Manager at SalterMitchell


A former journalist and legislative aide, Peter Mitchell has been designing and implementing behavior change programs for two decades, beginning with development of the Truth antismoking effort in the late 1990s. He has won numerous awards (Emmy, Silver Anvil, God Davey, Telly, Addy, etc.) and designed behavior-change efforts domestically and overseas  -- including one locally to reduce fertilizer use that urged homeowners to "save the crabs, then eat 'em."

For the past 5 years, Zack Boileau has designed and implemented behavior change research for clients including the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Safe Kids Worldwide, Compassion and Choices, the MacArthur Foundation and others. Whether conducting interviews focused on the deeper meaning behind the concept of "affordability" with uninsured populations or uncovering the reasons behind sugary drink purchases among suburban moms, Zack uses behavioral determinant research to push past the surface level reasoning behind behaviors.



 
Thanks again to Green America for partnering with Green Business Roundtable and hosting this month's gathering




December 6 Green Business Roundtable

November Green Business Roundtable - Carbon Pricing



Green Business Roundtable invites all interested in issues at the intersection of business and sustainability to join us for networking, discussion and insight.

I look forward to seeing you there.  


Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Offices of Green America - 1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC
  (nearest Metros - Farragut North and Farragut West)
Lunch included.

November 1 Green Business Roundtable

 
This month's topic  - Carbon Pricing  
For decades, economists of all political leanings have favored carbon pricing as an effective solution to climate change. This comprehensive policy harnesses the power of the market to level the playing field for clean energy, incentivize efficiency, and generate revenue for public investment.  More than 40 jurisdictions worldwide already have a price on carbon, including California and nine states in the Northeast.
More than 1,200 companies worldwide have implemented an internal price on carbon as a business practice and are achieving cost savings and emission reductions as a result.

Well-known brands Microsoft, Disney, Shell, and Unilever are incorporating carbon pricing into their business models. Some companies apply a carbon fee directly to their normal business activity, generating revenue to support projects that help meet internal greenhouse gas reduction goals. Others apply a "shadow price" as a risk assessment tool for operating profitably within carbon-constrained markets.

The Put a Price On It DC campaign is encouraging the DC government to create a carbon price for businesses in the District.  Join our discussion on the economic implications of carbon pricing, how it will affect businesses, institutions and other players and what they can do to best advantage themselves.

This month's speaker - Camila Thorndike, Carbon Pricing Coordinator at Chesapeake Climate Action Network

 
Camila Thorndike leads the D.C. team for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), an award-winning climate and clean energy organization with a 15 year history of passing landmark policy in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Camila coordinates a coalition of over 40 groups in the Put a Price on It DC campaign that is catapulting the District of Columbia to the forefront of smart climate leadership nationwide. She is the co-founder of Our Climate, an advocacy organization active in 17 states, and is a Udall Scholar, Sitka Fellow, and listed on the Mic50 and Grist 50.




 
Thanks again to Green America for partnering with Green Business Roundtable and hosting this month's gathering



November 1 Green Business Roundtable

September Green Business Roundtable - Strategies and Tactics to Make American Manufacturing Competitive



Green Business Roundtable invites all interested in issues at the intersection of business and sustainability to join us for networking, discussion and insight.

I look forward to seeing you there.  


Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Offices of Green America - 1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC
  (nearest Metros - Farragut North and Farragut West)
Lunch included.

September 6 Green Business Roundtable

 

This month's topic  - Strategies and Tactics to Make American Manufacturing Competitive

In the US, heating and cooling account for more than 30% of total energy use across residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, costing $270 billion annually. Despite its large energy and carbon footprint, the use of renewable energy for heating and cooling applications has received very little attention in comparison with renewable electricity. Because heating and cooling comprise such a large percentage of energy and fossil fuel use, it will be impossible to achieve long-term climate and energy goals without dramatically increasing the use of renewable heating and cooling. Ryan Hodum will discuss a nascent effort led by large manufacturers and non-profit organizations, aimed at identifying and eliminating barriers that make purchasing renewable thermal energy so expensive. The conversation will focus on strategies and tactics to make American manufacturing competitive and think through with attendees how to put the ‘energy’ back in renewable energy, in order to decarbonize the manufacturing energy load and solve for both electricity and thermal needs.

 

This month's speaker - Ryan Hodum, Vice President, David Gardiner and Associates

Ryan Hodum has more than a decade of experience helping businesses, foundations, and non-profit organizations understand complex sustainability challenges and capture opportunities, especially focused on energy policy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. He is currently Vice President at David Gardiner and Associates (DGA), a strategic advisory firm focused on climate change, clean energy, and sustainability. Prior to joining DGA, Ryan worked at the U.S. Department of State on international climate and clean energy partnerships in Asia, with a particular focus on China and India.






 
Thanks again to Green America for partnering with Green Business Roundtable and hosting this month's gathering



September 6 Green Business Roundtable

August Green Business Roundtable - Environmental Performance, Risk Management and Finance Strategies



Green Business Roundtable invites all interested in issues at the intersection of business and sustainability to join us for networking, discussion and insight.

I look forward to seeing you there.  


Date: Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Offices of Green America - 1612 K St. NW, Washington, DC
  (nearest Metros - Farragut North and Farragut West)
Lunch included.

August 2, 2017 Green Business Roundtable

Roundtable will be live-streamed 

 

This month's topic 

Companies are more focused on environmental performance and risk management than ever before. Yet it is the increasing ability to measure and place a value on such performance that is diversifying corporate responses to things like climate change and creating new approaches and innovations in green finance. We will discuss climate-related risk disclosure standards and the next generation of corporate energy and green finance strategies. 

 

This month's speaker - Cameron Prell, Energy & Climate Lawyer at Crowell & Moring, LLP

Cameron has more than a decade of experience representing clients on climate and energy matters and green finance transactions. He works with companies and governments to develop and finance clean energy, water and environmental projects, design green finance mechanisms and instruments, engage in energy and environmental market transactions, and commercialize low carbon technologies.



 
Thanks again to Green America for partnering with Green Business Roundtable and hosting this month's gathering

 



August 2, 2017 Green Business Roundtable

July Green Business Roundtable - Storytelling, Innovation & Impact: How Unleashing the Power of Narrative is Good Business


Green Business Roundtable invites all interested in the intersection of business and sustainability to join us for networking, storytelling (!), discussion and insight. I look forward to seeing you there. 

Date: Tuesday July 11, 2017
Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
Location: Green America 1612 K St. NW, Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20006
(nearest Metros - Farragut North/Farragut West ) 
Lunch included.

July 11, 2017 Green Business Roundtable
This month's topic: 
Storytelling, Innovation and Impact: How Unleashing the Power of Narrative is Good Business 

Image result for maggie lemereOur guest will discuss the current storytelling and communications landscape, and how embedding storytelling into your organizational culture can unleash new learnings, opportunities and ultimately, growth. She will share examples of stories that have shifted discourse and behavior, and she'll reflect on the exciting and necessary role for storytelling in making a more robust and global green business movement.

Guest presenter:
Maggie Lemere: Documentary Filmmaker and Storytelling Strategist

 

Maggie Lemere is a documentary filmmaker, oral historian and social change and storytelling strategist whose projects focus on social and environmental issues.  She brings her skills to a variety of organizations and projects, including Ashoka (where she trains and coaches social entrepreneurs to tell their stories globally) and the Smithsonian (where she interviews scientists), among others. Maggie is a co-founder of Rhiza Collective, a women-led collective that uses storytelling, healing, organizing, and research to support social transformation and environmental justice.  

Maggie is inspired by Washington D.C.’s history of social movements and its continued role as a gathering place for people with a principled belief in our power to make change.   She has a Masters in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University.

Thanks to Green America for partnering and hosting this month's Roundtable


 
July 11, 2017 Green Business Roundtable