Tag Archives: Twitter
Opportunity Green 2011 Preview
Posted on 09. Nov, 2011 by Sara Glaser.
We’ll be sharing the conference experience with you LIVE so stay tuned for updates on our Opportunity Green Facebook page and be sure to follow us on Twitter at @oppgreen for official OG updates, live tweets, and online sustainable business conversation.
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Livebloggers, Tweeters, Collaboration at Opportunity Green
Posted on 24. Sep, 2010 by Michael Liskin.
This is my traditional meta-post of real-time events during the Opportunity Green Conference
Check back periodically for additional info, and…
Follow @oppgreen on Twitter for official OG updates and live tweets.
The Official OG Live-Bloggers are from AHA! – Great work Laura, Melina, and Kristi!
For the FULL Opportunity Green Tweeting archive for OG2010: click this Twapperkeeper
And for the real-time Twitter Live Feed of the hashtag #og10: http://bit.ly/OG10twitter1
Twitter search for OppGreen: http://bit.ly/OG10Twitter2
Twitter search for “Opportunity Green” : http://bit.ly/OG10Twitter3
Please let me know when you blog or post about OppGreen 2010 (find me: @rhetor ) and I may add you to this or future lists!
Who were some Live-Bloggers at OG 2010?
Day 1:
“The idea, organizers said, is to show green companies that profit doesn’t have to be a pipe dream. While accepting her Eco-Maverick award, Rodriguez told attendees to “embrace the new era of capitalism.” Then, she showed off her deejaying skills at the after-party.”
http://mobilegive.us/2010/09/23/opportunity-green-conference-turns-to-mobilegive/
http://www.neenahpaperblog.com/2010/09/opportunity-green/
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/sep/23/green-businesses-hope-practices-go-mainstream/
“The conference, in its fourth year, brings together about 1,000 green business leaders to hear from speakers, talk with exhibitors and discuss their businesses. It’s the first time it has been held at Los Angeles Center Studios, with the main stage set up where the “Mad Men” TV show is filmed and the media room is created from Judge Judy’s courtroom.”
Day 2:
Alissa Walker:
http://www.good.is/post/get-to-know-50-sustainable-startups/
Mother Nature Network:
http://www.mnn.com/eco-biz/sustainable-business-practices/blogs/weekend-reads-green-business
Art Center College of Design:
http://blogs.artcenter.edu/dottedline/2010/09/24/summit-2/
Rickshaw Bags:
http://blog.rickshawbags.com/2010/09/24/green-product-innovation/
Upon Conference Completion:
(to be continued…)
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Ranked 4th Globally in #green–Nominate @oppgreen for a Shorty Award!!
Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by opportunity.
Movies have the Oscars, music has the Grammy’s, and literature has the Pulitzer. Now, Twitter has the Shorty Awards. In its second yeard, the Shorty Awards are emerging as a world wide, social media phenomenon. Leaders of Twitter communities and categories are being voted on every day by friends, followers, and fans.
What does it mean to be the official #green leader?
It means leading sustainability and #green business in ways that push the envelope. It means involving the community, promoting innovation and creativity, and a willingness to represent the change we need to see in this world.
The OG team strives everyday to bring #green conversation into the forefront. We believe Twitter is a platform for connecting business leaders, innovators, and clean tech designers. Whether we tweet about new blogs, current events, or other tweets, social media is a central element to the daily operations @ Opportunity Green.
We are currently in 4th place. Not too shabby but not too great either! Each @oppgreen tweet helps grow a sustainable culture of sustainability and communicate the positive impact of a triple bottom line.
If you value the tweets of @oppgreen, please rt: ” I nominate @oppgreen 4 a Shorty Award in #green b/c they [enter awesome reason]!”
Thank you again for your support and the best of luck to all!
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Interview with OppGreen 2009 Speaker, Adam Lowry, Chief Greenskeeper of Method
Posted on 03. Nov, 2009 by Susanna Schick.
Adam Lowry (being throttled by Eric) is the Chief Greenskeeper and co-founder of method. He founded method in 2000 with Eric Ryan, because he was tired of writing white papers on climate change that had no impact on the general public’s behavior. He wanted to use his powers for good, and solve a gap in the market he saw because he could never find quality environmentally-friendly cleaning products. Adam and Eric sought to create cleaning products that don’t require a sacrifice-based positioning. Adam believes that people shouldn’t have to sacrifice anything to be green, particularly quality and design. He wanted to build a company that inspires people to live sustainably, rather than simply educating them, to create products that are high-quality and beautiful, that just so happen to be at the highest possible standard of sustainable design.
OG: It seems every week there’s a new eco cleaning brand on the shelf, and the DfE list of certified products is quite long. How stringent is it really? Do they require products contain NO chemicals of concern? Are there chemicals we should be concerned about that the EPA is permitting?
Adam: Dfe is a great starting point as it assesses the formulations of a product and deems whether they are compatible with program objectives. We’ve worked with the DfE program on a number of cleaning products and will continue to do so in the future. DfE is an industry standard, the one problem with standards is that a lot of people just try to meet the minimum and call it a day. You want to constantly improve, it’s not helpful to just hit the bar, you need to constantly strive to be more sustainable and more delightful. We’ll always be both C2C and DfE certified, and we’re constantly trying to evolve, to be even better.
OG: The Consumerist has a great story on microfiber cleaning cloths, how wonderfully effective they are, and how hard the US household chemicals industry tries to convince us that we need to kill germs, not just wipe them away. Method has a great line of dedicated microfiber cloths for various surfaces, positioned with relevant fluid products. Is the US finally getting it, or do we still need to be taught why microfiber is so great?
Adam: Microfiber is great, but the real issue is not so much about microfiber specifically, but how we manage infection within the home. Microfiber is just a tool. Unfortunately, with H1N1, we’re actually going in the wrong direction, and we’ve seen a big rise in disinfection products- a lot of toxic surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers with Triclosan. If you look at what the CDC and the scientific community have to say, a lot of studies show that just cleaning effectively is every bit as healthy as the “kill ‘em all” strategy. Germ control is best done without using toxic chemicals, as certain chemicals have all these harmful side effects, especially when mixed incorrectly with other products. Method never uses any of these chemicals. For example, with handwashing, if you just use hot water and regular soap, your hands are just as clean and you don’t have to use dangerous chemicals like Triclosan.
OG: Yes, I recall your Treehugger article on handwashing from a design perspective, it was great.
OG: So as a rapidly growing cleaning products company, what’s it like at this stage? Have your sales & marketing strategies had to change drastically as you’ve grown?
Adam: No, they haven’t changed at all. At method we sell a philosophy of living where you don’t have to sacrifice design or other sensibilities in order to be eco. The tactics we use to spread that philosophy- our people against dirty, social media (methodtweet and Adam on Twitter), etc. have always been the same. Creating products that are worth talking about- awesome products that people want to talk about, to spread the word in authentic way, that’s what we’re always about.
OG: I love it when companies listen to me on Twitter. I recently tweeted a complaint that my local grocery store seemed to carry less method than it had in the past (full disclosure, I’m a fan), and methodtweet was on it within hours. I’ve had this happen with other companies as well.
OG: In the 2008 Fox news story, you said “Green, cheap and high-performance are what you want, but there’s a rule of thumb that says you can only have two out of three.” (Like anything, really, we get what we pay for.) But the article goes on to say that your products are usually only 50 cents more than the competition. Yet your market share took a hit (according to this article) when Clorox GreenWorks came out. Are other forces at play here? Or are people really that cheap?
Adam: Part of it is how the larger companies control shelf space in our industry. But there are a lot of consumers who are really price sensitive. The big guys create a really cheap product, but spend a fortune on marketing, whereas we invest heavily in making the product experience as good as it can possibly be. We are committed to internalizing the environmental cost of our products, and others don’t, so method has to cost a little bit more.
OG: The article also mistakenly stated only one brand wasC2C certified, while method’s entire line is C2C, isn’t it?
Adam: We build the C2C methodology into all of our products. At the front end of creating any product, we work with the EPEA (led by Michael Braungart) and MBDC to assess all potential ingredients and to ensure we are using healthy, safe and environmentally-sensitive materials. At the back end, we look to certify every method product as C2C. However, with over 200 products in our portfolio, we focus the C2C certification process on where it will be the most impactful and where we can afford to do so.
OG: Actually, Method has surpassed Herman Miller on the C2C list, but Steelcase and their subsidiaries seem to have the top spot.
OG: What advice do you have for eco-entrepreneurs?
Adam: My advice to entrepreneurs is- it’s really important to make sure that what you’re doing is really compelling for reasons other than being green, it has to be great in its own right, and green has to be just another part of its quality. The whole idea of eco-entrepreneur should become the standard for entrepreneurship in general.
OG: people against dirty is a brilliant concept. But do you measure its impact? Say, how sales increase in regions where you have more people against dirty, or by working with retailers to track influence through coupons or anything?
Adam: No, it’s more qualitative than quantitative. People against dirty is about a lifestyle and a movement, where people don’t have to compromise, they can do things that are fun and inspiring. That creates a community, but measuring communities isn’t really that effective.
OG: Thanks so much for your time, Adam. I’m looking forward to hearing you talk about upcoming trends in green products.
Photo of Adam and Eric courtesy of Liz Haphalia for the Chronicle.
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10 Ways to Support Charity Through Social Media
Posted on 14. Jul, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
This post is a collaboration between Mashable’s Summer of Social Good charitable fundraiser and Max Gladwell‘s “10 Ways” series. The post is being simultaneously published across more than 100 blogs.
Social media is about connecting people and providing the tools necessary to have a conversation. That global conversation is an extremely powerful platform for spreading information and awareness about social causes and issues. That’s one of the reasons charities can benefit so greatly from being active on social media channels. But you can also do a lot to help your favorite charity or causes you are passionate about through social media.
Below is a list of 10 ways you can use social media to show your support for issues that are important to you. If you can think of any other ways to help charities via social web tools, please add them in the comments. If you’d like to retweet this post or take the conversation to Twitter or FriendFeed, please use the hashtag #10Ways.
1. Write a Blog Post
Blogging is one of the easiest ways you can help a charity or cause you feel passionate about. Almost everyone has an outlet for blogging these days — whether that means a site running WordPress, an account at LiveJournal, or a blog on MySpace or Facebook. By writing about issues you’re passionate about, you’re helping to spread awareness among your social circle. Because your friends or readers already trust you, what you say is influential.
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Opportunity Green welcomes Yann Arthus-Bertrand for the screening of HOME
Posted on 03. Jul, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Opportunity Green had the privilege to partner with the French Consulate and American Cinematheque in the screening of HOME, a film by French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, the screening was attended by over 600 fans & celebrities such as Friends star Lisa Kudrow. Prior to the screening, VIPs attended an Opportunity Green supported luncheon at the home of the French Consulate General David Martinon. Hollywood’s own Sharon Stone and Rosanna Arquette along with Opportunity Green CEO Karen Solomon were on hand to mingle with the French elite.Arthus-Bertrand used amazing cinematic examples from 54 countries to highlight global warming, resource shortages, and endangered species asking each viewer to reconsider their everyday human impact. The production, like an alarm clock, alerts each viewer to wake up and realize we barely have ten years left to reverse the exhaustion of natural resources.
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Opportunity Green’s Top 10 Eco Twitterers To Follow
Posted on 22. May, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
We scoured through hundreds of tweeps in the green space to find the best eco twitterers. Whether your focus is eco-fashion or clean tech, check out Opportunity Green’s list of the top eco twitterers to add to your list:
1. @grist
Grist.org is the hub of everything fun and green. Their witty, yet informative site has contributors from around the world scribing about politics, green business, living green, and just plain fun stuff. Opportunity Green Co-Founder, Karen Solomon, had her latest post as one of the top living green posts last week.
2. @maxgladwell
Rob Reed, the face behind the Max Gladwell alter-ego, is almost like an eco-friendly Batman. He is using the alias and social media as his super power, launching green living into the mainstream. His spiderweb-like network of people is leading a wholesale shift to sustainable systems.
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Ten Ways to Change the World Through Social Media
Posted on 15. May, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe.
Written by Max Gladwell
Editor’s note: We’re pleased to welcome Max Gladwell, of MaxGladwell.com. Max Gladwell covers the nexus of social media and green living. We feel that these two trends and technological developments hold tremendous promise for improving quality of life for everyone on the planet.
If you’re reading this blog, then you’re on board with social media. There’s a good chance you belong to social networks like Facebook or MySpace. It’s likely that you Digg stories and even possible that you Twitter. These technologies and services, together with a growing number of others, make up the social web. It’s much like the regular web, but more interactive. More…social. It invites and even demands active participation from everyone. It has a global reach with viral capacity, and yet it’s bringing local communities closer together. It enables people to connect, organize, and make a difference as never before. Indeed, social media is a powerful force, one that the world’s CEOs are starting to acknowledge and take seriously.
Many entrepreneurs, activists, and marketers are leveraging the social web for positive change. In the process and by its very nature, they are giving each of us the tools to change the world and make it a better place. There are thousands of examples, which is precisely why Max Gladwell exists. Here are 10 worth exploring:
1. Do-Good Widgets: If you’re Facebook page was a car, these would be your bumper stickers. Only these do more than spread the message. Widgets are standalone web applications that can run inside any web page. They take many forms, ranging from the absurd to the truly useful and socially valuable. The best ones engage us in ways that lead to action, awareness, and even fund-raising. Facebook was the first to offer them, and MySpace recently followed. Other social networks offer widgets, but these two have a scale that gives them unrivaled potential. Causes is the 800-pound gorilla in the do-good widget space with millions of daily active users on Facebook alone. If you support a cause, chances are you can find it in Causes. We support 14 ranging from “Recycle not Waste” to “Ride Bikes” and “GREEN“. Each Cause enables you to recruit others and make donations.
