Tag Archives: Business
Interview with City Light Capital: Tips From Venture Capital To Fund Your Sustainable Business
Posted on 24. Nov, 2009 by Justine Suh.
I recently met with Josh Cohen, the Managing Partner of City Light Capital, a New York City based venture capital firm that invest in early stage, for-profit businesses that create solutions in Safety and Security, Education and Media, and Energy and the Environment.
Watch my two-part interview with Josh as he describes how he started City Light, what VC’s look for when evaluating a company, tips on how to woo investors, insights on what traits he looks for in a CEO and much more.
Continue Reading
Live Blogging OG09: When Sustainable Design and Business Converge
Posted on 07. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
These are styles from Lauren Pierce. One of the most inspirational stories I heard today was about Lauren Pierce, one of the lines carried at Barney’s. Lauren Pierce designs gorgeous, high-fashion clothing that would impress the most jaded fashionista. What sets it apart is that the textiles are hand-printed by a women’s cooperative in the Congo, thus creating income through traditional arts. In the ecofabulous lounge I discovered three other amazing eco designers not yet known to the world at large, currently represented by Vie Bungalow PR.
Zem Joaquin, founder of ecofabulous.com, reminds us that the most sustainable thing is to re-use. She’s partnering with E-Bay to promote awareness of the gems that can be found in vintage clothing. She then passes the mic to Julie Gilhart, Fashion Director for Barney’s, because what good is press without sales? Sustainable fashion isn’t exactly sustainable if it’s not being sold somewhere. Julie Gilhart has been dragging the world of high fashion into sustainability through her commitment as the buyer for the leading US retailer in designer fashion.
Julie’s sea change moment began when she discovered it costs $1million to produce a 20-minute fashion show. She thought about how many people could be fed for $1million. Then two more things happened- Al Gore’s film became a call to action, and Julie heard the Dali Lama speak. He said you should forgive, have compassion, create beauty, and preserve culture. She thought “I could do that in my job.” She went on to talk her CEO into doing a “green holiday” theme that year and has since continued to expand Barney’s commitment to what she calls simply “consciousness”- an awareness of what you’re buying, where it cam from, the history of it. Julie has worked with some of Barney’s top-selling designers to inspire them to develop sustainable pieces. Barney’s customers expect a high level of design, and within that constraint, Barney’s uses 3-tier pricing: In the casual price point she mentioned Loomstate (who also have a line at Target), for mid-level- Phillip Lim , and at the high-end- Stella McCartney. But these aren’t the only designers doing sustainability at Barney’s. Julie also found she needed to create energy around it. So she initiated denim and t-shirt recycling programs, among many other collaborations with the designers they carry.
“Our most important goal, widest reach, is to change perception, the way people think.” –Julie Gilhart, SVP & Fashion Director, Barney’s NY
Next, Yves Behar, founder offuseproject, shows a video of Mission One breaking the electric motorcycle land speed record- and describes the sound of it reaching top speed as the new sound of sexy. I wholeheartedly agree with that, although I do love the sound of my ICE Japanese Supersport. However, this may very well be the only panel ever to feature two of my greatest passions- fast motorcycles and high fashion. The Mission One is also featured in the Neiman Marcus catalog, so it’s not that much of a stretch.
Yves then shifts to an awesome video for PACT underwear, where a cute eco-conscious boy and girl in a drab office find their clothing fall away as they do small things to save the planet. Then they run off into a forest in their gorgeous Forest Ethics undies. It’s adorable. The WearPACT commercial was laugh out loud funny. Like an expert author, it guides the viewer, and is not heavy-handed, it’s entertaining. Showing people taking sustainable action – watering plants, cutting plastic – then running off together into the wilderness in their underwear. Visual language is perfect because everyone gets it. The ad suggests a venue for people to get back to our natures through nature.
Yves’ studio fuseproject works with a number of other innovative startups, including One Laptop Per Child, Y Water, and others committed to redefining their industries. In expressing the popularity of OLPC, Yves explained that the only program the incumbent and incoming presidents of Uruguay agree on is OLPC. Yves said he is going to work in the “golden years” of his career for the next 10-15 years to prove people wrong who say that green has to be expensive and ugly.
My question to Julie- How do you convince customers it’s worth paying a little more for eco fashion, since it does cost more to produce?
Julie: I tried, but found that consumers perceived it to be inferior, they expect it to cost less, even though it does cost more to produce. Consumers assumed they were going to have to sacrifice something for sustainability, as has been the problem with sustainability messaging in the past decade. Our customers didn’t understand that the quality of eco clothing is at least as good as anything else we offer. So I stopped talking about it. What we sell has to be a great design, and for us it’s actually better if we don’t push the sustainability message.
She went on to discuss how she’s working with the head of PPR to develop consciousness in his companies. PPR owns many of the greatest fashion brands- Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and Puma, to name a few. Even though it’s been under the radar, PPR has done some very conscious things, including producing the film Home. He cares about the environment. PPR owns a lot of businesses that have found the ability to save money through sustainability.
Next question: Did you come across designers that weren’t open to it?
Julie: We came across many, but found we cannot push them.
thanks to Gaia Dempsey for help in this article.
Continue Reading
Interview with David Martinon, French Consul General, Part 1
Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
David Martinon is the Consul General at the Los Angeles French Consulate. In this role, he is responsible for promoting French culture and arts, science, and business, as well as caring for French citizens in the US. Prior to joining the Los Angeles Consulate in 2008, Mr. Martinon was a spokesperson for the French President, before which he was chief of staff for President Sarkozy’s presidential campaign. And before that, he worked as a diplomatic advisor for four years. In this two-part interview we begin by discussing cultural sustainability, and France’s revolutionary attempts to redefine how we measure “success.”
OG: You do an amazing job of utilizing social media, much more than one would expect of a government agency. Your Twitter feed and your blog do an excellent job of promoting French culture in Los Angeles. So tell me, what are you looking forward to most about the conference?
David: Thank You, but it is more the work of Stéphanie Rainin. I wanted to attend Opportunity Green because I try to be aware of ideas that pop up here in California. I first met Karen Solomon when I invited her for the premiere of HOME, the film by French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand. We got on well, she’s a very interesting person. I like that you’re trying to promote not only awareness of environmental issues, but also to create new ideas on how to improve the situation. Before I came to California, I saw that there were great intellectual & technical revolutions in California, not only the ideology of May ’68, but also of course the environmental revolution going on today. Today’s ideas in California are the rest of the world’s ideas tomorrow.
OG: So it seems you work with two major industries- life sciences and entertainment. Can you tell me about some interesting projects in either of them?
David: In entertainment, for the past 13 years, we’ve put on a French film festival- City of Lights, City of Angels (CoLCoA) every spring. Also, this year we started OohLaL.A., a music festival featuring the most cutting-edge French musicians. The selection was made by Silvain Taillet, the art director of the very prestigious music school, Barclay. Both festivals are great successes, even with OohLaL.A. in its first year, we’ve had great partners and the seats were full every night. This is difficult, considering most of the artists are unknown in the US.
OG: It’s definitely hard to break into LA entertainment industry.
David: I think if we can’t be successful here in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, we better change the consul! We also try to bring American screenwriters to France, because we think that showing them the hidden faces of France inspires them. We want them to film in France, to take advantage of our beautiful scenery and great crews.
OG: Adam Werbach promotes the importance of cultural sustainability alongside environmental, social and economic sustainability, arguing that culture is too often ignored, particularly by multi-national corporations operating abroad. Let’s talk about how great the French are at preserving their cultural heritage.
David: On this topic, we French actually have a lot of contradictions. On the one hand, we’re extremely attached to our culture. For example, in Paris the Parisians go to the theater, to movies, and box office receipts are still very high, we maintain that a minimum of 50% of films are French, so 40% are American and 10% from the rest of the world. We also read a lot of books, publishing is still doing well. La rentrée literaire is always a interesting time. Roughly a third of the pages in French newsmagazines are dedicated to culture. It’s our pride. We will accept to be “poor” as long as we have culture.
However, on the other hand, we embrace foreign culture. We’re also interested in films from other countries. Even though few countries have national film industries, we welcome them in France. So we’re attached to global culture, and are very much in love with American products, the French love American blockbusters, American music, etc.
OG: Yet the French also do an excellent job of appropriating foreign cultural influences and making them their own, which to me is the crux of modern cultural evolution. For example, I’m a big fan of French mashups and French rap.
David: Ah, French rap…I’m a bit of an expert in French rap, the lyrics are much better. The arrangements as well.
OG: There is a real concern that the artisanal knowledge of the Haute Couture is not being passed on to a new generation of craftspeople. What is being done to keep the traditional arts alive in France?
David: It’s a huge topic- we have a tradition established for the past ten centuries of forming young apprentices in France. Of course there are some more popular fields, like cooking, fashion. Still in architecture and masonry, and all other fields we have what we call “The Tour de France for Apprentices.” Behind Jean Paul Gaultier, for example, you find old women with golden fingers who can do the very stylish parts of the clothes.
OG: Yes, but is it difficult finding young people who will replace them?
David: No, not as far as I can tell.
OG: Now, let’s get back to what you said earlier about accepting less money if that’s what it takes to enjoy a strong and vibrant culture. I am so happy to see that France is taking the lead on redefining GDP, something that has needed to happen for quite some time.
David: Many Americans question me about this, claiming it’s a way of breaking the tool to avoid measuring a bad situation. There will never be a good time to redefine GDP, you’ll always question the intention. But it needs to happen. Sarkozy, in the first weeks of his presidency, essentially said “If you destroy Earth, it can bring more wealth, but at the same time, it’s not improving global well-being.” And you know, one of the economists they’re working with on this is American, Joseph Stiglitz.
OG: That’s great! I’ve loved reading his books on globalization, and I recall discovering Redefining Progress in 2005 and wishing their ideas would break out of the Berkeley green ghetto. It seems the time has finally come when people recognize that money does not define us.
David: Yes, however, in the US, you have some wonderful legacies around quality of life as well, for example your National Parks tradition is something to truly be proud of.
OG: That it is! Stay tuned for part two tomorrow…
Continue Reading
Interview with Jimmy Brandt, Venture Capitalist
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Jimmy Brandt is president of The Brandt Organization, Inc. of California, a personal investment vehicle he created to identify and fund Southern California startups that have developed, or almost completed development of, environmentally friendly new products or services.
OG: What are you looking forward to most about the conference?
Jimmy: Primarily networking. Secondarily, it would be great if I could identify an attractive investment opportunity.
OG: How do you see the investment climate for sustainable startups, in the midst of these economic times?
Jimmy: Angel money has dried up because there are far fewer exit opportunities, and angels have less money to invest. A lot are finding it necessary to provide additional funds to startups that didn’t grow as originally hoped. Indeed, some startups which likely would have been viewed favorably in good times will be unable to obtain funding today. For those that do, company valuations will be much lower than previously. As a result, it’s a very tough time for entrepreneurs. In contrast, there will be many opportunities for well-funded investors.
Continue Reading
Interview with Andrew Springer, CFA, Founder of Resolve Capital
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Andrew Springer, CFA founded Resolve Capital Partners LLC in 2005, a sustainability-focused hedge fund management firm. The firm’s flagship fund, the Resolve Eco Fund, is managed by Pamela Schwab and was opened up to outside investors in 2009, but had been running with proprietary capital since December 2005. The long/short fund focuses on companies that provide solutions to environmental, social, health and economic problems. The bulk of this interview focuses on the investment strategies of their Resolve Eco Fund.*
OG: What are you looking forward to most about the conference? Have you gone in years past?
Andrew: I have been in past years, and what I like most is that the variety of companies is pretty diverse. There’s a great representation, particularly of CPG’s and tech companies.
OG: Any great stories from past Opportunity Green conferences?
Andrew: Yes, I learned about Casa Barranca wines! I love their wines.
OG: How do you incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance factors into your ROI expectations?
Andrew: we take our investment decisions on a case-by-case basis, because its hard to find pure-play investments in the sustainability area we operate under. We’re investors first, with core values that match environmentalist’s. While hedge funds are perceived as being more aggressive than mutual funds, we have a long-term philosophy, so we’re more like investors than traders. But we’re different than a mutual fund because we will short a stock if we think it makes sense. We use investments and public securities to express our confidence that the world will become more committed to sustainability.
OG: So do you limit your investments to publicly-traded companies? Considering how quickly technology is developing in this field, do you keep an eye on pre-IPO companies as well?
Andrew: we do keep an eye on pre-IPO firms, and we are allowed to invest a portion of our portfolio in private companies. The majority are publicly-held, though. While not necessarily investing in IPO’s, we do have some early-stage holdings.
OG: Resolve Capital invests in companies that “provide solutions to environmental, social, health and economic problems.” For example, Wal-Mart is considered both the most and least sustainable company, often by the same person. So how do you weight your selection criteria, and the pros & cons of a company under consideration?
Andrew: That’s a good question. It’s a combination of a number of factors- some include how the company is likely to be affected by regulation, the perceived value of the company, or whether it’s providing a disruptive technology. It’s tricky to describe. We do all we can to avoid greenwashing. I’ve found we can usually tell which ones are greenwashing, because they’ll have a mention in their marketing materials, but nothing at the bottom line.
This is a good point about Wal-Mart, because Wal-Mart is doing some really good things, they are the company to be watched. But you also want to invest in companies that might not be the greenest right now, but will be making a focused investment in next few years.
OG: Do you focus on American companies, or is it a more global fund?
Andrew: Global for sure.
OG: So you also run Resolve Inc., a hedge fund operations consulting firm and Hedge Port Associates, an investment advisor platform for start-up hedge funds, both of which enable fund managers to benefit from your operational expertise. Do you also help them incorporate ESG factors into their investment criteria?
Andrew: We would, if given the right opportunity, but for the most part, we don’t cross-pollinate. Each fund manager operates independently. They might talk to each other, but we let them do what they’re going to do, we don’t judge how they make their investment decisions, or their strategies. Operationally we try to be sustainable, with paperless statements, recycling, etc. We lease in this building because they’re making great strides to be as environmentally responsible as possible. I was very careful to select an environmentally responsible building.
* Bio courtesy of HedgeTracker.com
Continue Reading
Interview with Josh Mark, Director of Sustainability for FOX Broadcasting Company
Posted on 02. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Josh Mark is the Director of Sustainability for FOX Broadcasting Company. FOX Broadcasting is deeply committed to greening the filming industry, and is kind enough to share their wealth of knowledge with their competitors through the FOX Green Guide.
OG: What are you looking forward to the most about the conference?
Josh: I went last year, it was great! It was very inspirational, I saw what others were doing, took ideas from totally different industries, and found ways to apply it in ours. Nothing specific, but I took bits and pieces of this and that, and later found myself more easily inspired. I was recharged, and felt like I could always do more to make FOX more sustainable.
OG: I love how clear and simple the FOX Green Guide Best Practices section is. How widespread is the FOX Green Guide? What are you doing to popularize it within and outside of FOX?
Josh: A team of us developed the guide to enable our productions to have a simple resource for greening their work.We designed it for internal use, for our employees, production crews, and vendors. We don’t plan to advertise it and there’s no money involved in the guide. Initially, we discussed making it password protected, but that was too costly. Besides, we want everyone to be green, and there’s no competitive advantage to us being green, so the more people who know about the guide, the better. If everyone is greening their productions, it escalates people’s baseline commitments to sustainability, which can only be good.
Continue Reading
Interview with Paul Bunje, Exec. Director of the Center for Climate Change Solutions
Posted on 01. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Paul Bunje is the Executive Director of the Center for Climate Change Solutions (CCCS) at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment
OG: So what are some of the projects you’re working on at the center? It’s a little hard to tell from your website.
Paul: We never have enough time to update the website, but you can find the most up-to-date information at UCLA’s Climate Change Portal, which is like one stop shop for all things going on in climate, energy, sustainability. It’s still in the beta phase, but it is live. We try to stay on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary studies, so this keeps UCLA people aware of what’s going across campus, to better learn from each other, and prevent redundancies in research.
Continue Reading
Interview with Rita Rausch, VP and Sr. Sustainability Officer, Comerica Bank
Posted on 01. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Rita Rausch is the Vice President and Senior Sustainability Officer at Comerica Bank. Under her guidance, Comerica has developed a 32-member sustainability council representing managers from all business units.
OG: What are you looking forward to the most about the conference?
Rita: What I’m most interested in is the opportunity to hear people in other industries as well as some in my own, with respect to where they are in the sustainability process. Many North American companies are just now getting started, coming to the table a bit late, and I’d like to know how they’re integrating their initiatives and goals within the corporation, as well as how upper management is viewing the process.
OG: Within banking, who would you name as leaders in sustainability?
Rita: Comerica is a mid-sized bank, with total assets of $60-70 billion. We benchmark ourselves against the mega-banks such as Bank of America, Citibank, and others. We then use the information from that to decide which sustainability initiatives we’ll pursue, what makes the most sense for a bank of our size.
Mainly, we focus on facilities, since that’s where the bulk of our greenhouse gas emissions are coming from. But the banks we benchmark against are now also going into their portfolios and addressing the GHG of companies they invest in. We’re just starting to look into that. Our inaugural Sustainability Report was released in September of this year, and it details where we stand regarding GHG emissions and other Corporate Social Responsibility issues.
