CENTER FOR BUSINESS
AS AN AGENT OF WORLD BENEFIT

PortionPac Chemical Company manufactures and markets highly concentrated, pre-measured cleaning products to large commercial facilities such as schools and correctional facilities. The products are created such that they reduce the resources used throughout the product lifecycle, minimize the adverse effects of chemicals on the environment, and eliminate unsafe and ineffective habits of traditional cleaning procedures.

A company driven by the desire to improve global sustainability, Monsanto India is not only helping the farmers in the country increase their yield but simultaneously educating them about practices that help improve their lives. Recognizing the immense business potential in India with 25 percent of world’s cotton fields and combining this with its breakthrough research in Bt gene (bacillus thuringiensis), Monsanto has helped millions of farmers live a more prosperous and healthier life.

The US Department of Energy’s goal of obtaining six percent of US electricity from wind by 2020 is not simply a necessary and relevant objective but a huge business opportunity for the organizations in the wind energy industry. Siemens recognized the gap between this aim and the capability available in the market and hence launched its first wind turbine manufacturing plant in Iowa in 2007.

Understanding the need for a match between the brownfields market and large-scale investment capital, Brownfields Capital has discovered an innovative way to link ecological flourishing with profitability. Brownfields Capital is a finance/investment management firm that plays the role of intermediary to bring these two themes together. This is done through their innovative financial instrument called ‘Brownfields Value Contract (BVC)’ which provides owners or prospective owners of environmentally challenged land with a fully financed capital structure and business plan, while simultaneously creating opportunity for investors to put their money in an innovative debt instrument.

Enacting a fair trade model that values the farmers, consumers, and the environment, Equal Exchange is an inspiring example of success based on collaboration and honest intentions to do good. Equal Exchange is a co-operative that accurately calls itself a social change organization. It has been built as a company that is controlled by the employees. By collaborating with worker co-operatives around the globe, the organization is successfully providing high quality food to the customer. Additionally, it is also proactively educating consumers about trade issues affecting the farmers bringing positive social change in the community.

London Cleaners is a dry cleaning company that chose to break the environmentally unfriendly connotations attached to such establishments. By adopting a newer and greener way to clean called the GreenEarth cleaning system; the company has ensured excellent service for its customers, health of its employees, and sustainability for itself.

Nature’s Bin is a thriving example of a business model that has sustainability as the backbone at both ends of the value chain; what is offered to the customer and how it is made. The inspiration for adopting this focus is manifested through integrating education/training and retail sales. With the capabilities of the parent company, Cornucopia, which is a non-profit providing vocational and skill-based training to people with disabilities, and the business acumen of Nature’s Bin as a fresh foods store, the match between societal need and business benefit is beautifully achieved.

The proverbial ‘war for talent’ is an omnipresent phenomenon in business, irrespective of the industry. It’s the organization that finds a creative answer to the problem that finally is able to prosper by leveraging the potential of the best in the work force. SSM Healthcare is an inspiring example of a solution that nurtures a pool of talented manpower. The fact that this solution stems from a belief in making a positive change in the lives of people ensures that this model is sustainable.

Bergey Windpower Co. realized the potential of Wind Power as a source of energy; all the more relevant today with sky–rocketing gas prices. But they took this one step further by creating the wind energy system as a smaller unit apt for individual and business use. Though the small wind turbine has been around for over one hundred years, the unique value offered by the company is in packaging a small wind machine that an individual can understand, buy, and install to satisfy his or her need to have a reliable, economical, and ecologically neutral form of energy generation.

When you marry a firm whose products are driven by the unwavering commitment to sustainability with the needs of an organization that is dedicated to reducing its carbon footprints, the outcome can be nothing short of a technological advancement that benefits the planet. This is what transpired when Helmet & Payne, Inc.’s (H & P) client Williams, a natural gas company, wanted a solution for its drilling dilemma - how to address increasing surface disruption and the inefficiencies caused by the nature of the sands in the Piceance Basin where Williams operated. H&P, performing contract drilling for Williams, came up with the answer in the form of a product they call the FlexRig that continues to deliver huge economic and environmental benefits.

Sustainability in architectural design is what fuels the creativity at Ten Directions Design. By employing practices like Not-So-Big House Approach, Sustainable Design, and Indoor Air Quality, the firm lives up to its name, taken from the ten directions of Buddha Land described in one of the principal works of Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra. The name implies multidimensionality and thus refers to the three-dimensional nature of this ‘green’ architectural firm’s work. Combining the analysis of a house with an understanding of the needs of the client, the firm creates a space that is a delight for the client and is friendly to the environment.

In consonance with its name of Triodos or ‘three way’, Triodos Bank has built its business model on the three pillars of people, planet and profits. The belief of the bank is simple and its mission is lucid - it finances companies, institutions and projects that add cultural value and benefit people and environment with the support of depositors and investors who wish to encourage social responsibility and a sustainable society.

Food, Fun and Social Activism - the blinking words flashing across the website of White Dog cafe more than sum up its philosophy- they define the life spirit flowing through the café’s business model. The café does not simply offer its award-winning cuisine but does this with social consciousness through various activities and events organized throughout the year. Through its initiatives to serve the customer, community, earth and each other, the café is a model for small community businesses as levers for social change.

Culture change in an organization can be actuated through multitude of business strategies- redesigning the organization chart, articulating a renewed mission or revamping the human resource practices. But Alberici Corportaion chose to define and communicate its values through what it does best- constructing buildings. By designing a building that is a manifestation of the company’s message of environmental sensitivity, the organization has not only contributed to a greener planet but has accumulated savings for itself and created a productive, healthy and motivated workforce.

Batesville Casket Company’s innovative reforestation program is an exemplar for the sound business strategy of reducing carbon footprint while, in turn, generating higher revenues. The organization realized the growing demand for wooden caskets, and returned to production of wooden in addition to metal caskets around 1970’s. Wood being a renewable resource provided an opportunity for reforestation, positioning it as a chance for a ‘living memorial’ for the deceased through planting a tree sapling. The program has had huge success in terms of preserving the environment as well as increasing the revenues for the organization.

The ‘ethic of recycling’ at its best may look like the business model of TerraMai- reclaiming wood from demolished buildings, processing it, and selling it to be used in the construction of new structures. Identifying the opportunity created by a demand of the size and type of wood that is fast vanishing from the face of earth, TerraMai is not only flourishing as a business but contributing to the efforts of saving the depleting forests.

The vision Professional Supply Inc. of the company is more than energy efficiency; they are determined to change the way businesses think about energy use. By its innovative patented technologies for air conditioning, heating and ventilation, the organization has helped companies weave in energy conservation into their business strategies proving that green does turn into gold.

LocalHarvest stands for building a vibrant community, healthy environment, and a strong and sustainable local economy- all made possible by the vast potential of the internet. Using the simple idea of connecting buyers and sellers virtually through an online catalog, the organization not only provides impetus to the proliferation of organic farming but also broadens the reach of the local farmers to a larger customer base.

Seventh Generation Inc. articulates its commitment to be beyond solely producing cleaner and greener products; for them it is about cultural change in consumer behavior and business ethics. Living up to its name from the Great Law of Iroquois that prescribes deliberating the impact of each of our actions on the next seven generations, the novel formulas of the company’s household and personal care products ensure that with each use the consumer is making a difference through keeping toxic material out of the environment, saving natural resources and reducing pollution.

Coca-Cola is the largest private sector employer in Africa, with more than 60,000 employees. It has operated in Africa for more than 75 years and over the last five years has invested more than $600 million in new plants, updated equipments and employee training. Africa has been a profitable region for the company with continuous increase in revenues as well as unit case volume. But this rate of growth is threatened by the prevalence of AIDS/HIV crisis in the continent. The company has launched several initiatives to educate, protect and curb the crisis for its employees, in turn helping the economic growth of the whole region. Through partnerships and collaborations several innovative programs have been institutionalized. The prevention and education within the company cascade down, contributing to the health and development of the whole community.

‘Sekem’ means vitality from the sun, the ripples of which have touched people, environment and community in multitude of ways. It is an initiative in Egypt with a vision of sustainable development through economic, social and cultural progress. Operating via an umbrella organization called Sekem Holding, products like natural pharmaceuticals, organic food, and organic textiles are manufactured in a hope to heal the earth and spread prosperity in the country.

Starbucks Coffee Company’s C.A.F.E (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices program ensures that Starbucks sources sustainably grown and processed coffee by evaluating the economic, social and environmental aspects of coffee growing along the supply chain. In 2005, Starbucks purchased 76.8 million pounds of coffee from the C.A.F.E Practice providers, which represents 24.6% of all coffee purchased by the company. By improving the environment, economy, and the educational and health services within local communities, Starbucks creates stability for its farmers and, in turn, for the company, according to Cindy Hoots, Senior Specialist at Starbucks in the Corporate Responsibility Office.

A cleaning company that is committed not only to keeping the client’s house clean but also ensuring that environment is equally pristine by adopting and promulgating natural and safe cleaning practices – ‘Green Clean Inc’ is an example of how high quality customer service, productive work environment and a healthier planet are goals that buttress each other. The organization has successfully achieved this via a strong sense of social consciousness, providing safer alternatives to harmful chemicals in cleaning products and educating customers, public and employees on safer cleaning practices.

“Partnership with a vision brought about the largest “Steel Winds” energy project on the Great Lakes,” says Keith Nagel, director of environmental affairs and real estate for ArcelorMittal USA. This partnership was born when ArcelorMittal USA’s predecessor company, Mittal Steel USA, assumed liabilities of a massive 1,200-acre Brownfield site during the acquisition of a major integrated steel facility in Lackawanna, N.Y. The blazing wind speeds at the site encouraged Keith to install a meteorological tower in order to record wind patterns. A local university was recruited to understand and evaluate the data. The results confirmed the latent potential the site held for windmill energy generation. With a vivid plan to establish beneficial reuse of this massive Brownfield site ArcelorMittal partnered with BQ Energy, UPC Wind Management LLC and Clipper Windpower, Inc. to start in the Fall of 2006, ‘Steel Winds’- one of the nation’s largest urban wind farms. The project had a “slag breaking” ceremony on September 15, 2006. The first of eight 400-foot state-of-the-art wind mills was put into place in December 2006. The wind farm resides on 160 (of the total 1,200) acres along the eastern shore of Lake Erie proudly visible from the major highway that runs along Lake Erie and through the city of Lackawanna, New York.

SunEdison LLC has become North America’s largest provider of solar energy services through an innovative financing model, called a power purchase agreement (PPA) and backed by private equity financing totaling more than $250 million to date. SunEdison sets the industry standard for profitable distribution of solar energy.

In 1999, Restaurant Nora in the Dupont Circle area of Washington D.C. became the first certified organic restaurant in the nation, a distinction currently shared by only two other establishments. Through her commitment to promoting a healthier society, Austrian born Nora Pouillon has become not only a pioneer in the world of organic cuisine, she has demonstrated that organic foods and the upscale dining experience are eminently compatible. In the late 70’s, when healthy eating was associated with vegetarianism and the alternative culture, she set out to show that seasonal, local, and organic cuisine was well suited to the white-tablecloth dining experience. And she has done so decidedly. Since opening its doors in 1979, Nora’s Restaurant has been lauded in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times Magazine, Gourmet, Vogue, and USA Today, and she has granted a considerable number of interviews, including one for CNN, and with the likes of Madeline Albright, Betty Friedan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Jane Goodall for the preparation of the PBS documentary, If Women Ruled the World.

CoxHealth is a large not-for-profit, integrated health care organization providing healthcare in a twenty-one county area in Southwest Missouri. The organization celebrates its 100th year of providing healthcare in 2006. Currently the system is the largest employer in the region with over 9,000 employees among its three hospitals, long-term care, home health, physician clinics, rural health clinics, full service behavioral health, and multiple other healthcare offerings. The mission of the organization is to “Improve the health of the communities we serve through quality health care, education, and research.” The core values guide and shape the way business is done through compassion, respect, and integrity at CoxHealth. CoxHealth has initiated a program titled Business Associated Student Education (BASE). This program offers a unique learning opportunity for appropriate special education students at risk, yet with untapped potential. The most significant opportunity is to create an easy transition to the real world for these students. They can gain basic life skills to be as independent as possible, to negotiate the world and care for themselves, be employed, and create a productive life for themselves. At the present time there are around seventy students divided among seven jobsites participating in this program. Three of the jobsites are at CoxHealth facilities. Cox was the original business to step out and begin this partnership.

Located unobtrusively on the implicit boundary between the District of Columbia’s well-to-do neighborhoods to the west and the less prosperous ones to the east, City First Bank of D.C. has been on a mission since its inception to make a difference in the communities that most need assistance. City First has found, quite intentionally, an ideal integration of its social concerns and the necessity of maintaining a solid bottom line. They are especially skilled in financing the acquisition and renovation of affordable housing, facilities and working capital for nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and small businesses.

The Lusty Wrench is an award winning "eco-conscious" auto repair shop that weaves environmental responsibility throughout its day-to-day operations. For over 25 years the repair shop has not only provided a needed service to the local community but has also restored the environment through innovative, responsible business practices. From recycling waste products, to purchasing auto parts from socially-responsible countries, to educating customers on auto-related sustainability issues, the Lusty Wrench demonstrates how a small local business can effect environmentally-desirable change using big concepts, while still making a comfortable profit.

For corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them, the DuPont Legal Model offers instructive principles and processes that can improve the practice of corporate law. Since 1992, the DuPont Legal Model has given the company a framework for meeting new challenges and guided them through a period of tremendous change. By applying “business discipline” to the practice of law, the Legal Model has focused Dupont’s resources and made strategic partnering, information technology, metrics, diversity and other initiatives the cornerstones of their approach. Through this Legal Model, Du Pont Legal has embraced a diversity agenda. This model makes it a requirement that DuPont’s various law firms meet specified diversity requirements. This strategy has prompted a shift in the legal community to embrace greater diversity.

Procter and Gamble no longer looks at the developing world as a distraction: now they see it as a key to their future. One result of this shift in mindset is PuR, a water-purification treatment system, developed in partnership with The International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is already saving many lives by providing clean drinking water. The potential impact for improved health and profitability is high.

A Home for the Holidays, which airs annually on the U.S. network CBS, is the product of Wendy's, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, and The Children’s Action Network. In 1992, Dave Thomas created the Foundation to promote adoption awareness in the United States. This organization has allowed Wendy's employees to be engaged in the cause of adoption at the local and national levels. The results have touched tens of thousands of families and children.

The Greyston Bakery, a for-profit business, incorporates the positive societal agenda into its core business practice via hiring individuals “chronically unemployed” due to lack of skills and education, as well as histories of homelessness, drug addiction and incarceration. Furthermore, the bakery sustains the work of its non-profit affiliate, Greyston Mandela. With an overriding mission to reduce human suffering, both organizations are focused on sustainability, community development and empowerment.

Hair Innovations’ owner designs, makes, and fits wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The service is provided free of charge, and patients are often served at their location (home, hospital). The business also offers support to local Boys and Girls Clubs, and has become a model for community engagement.

KBA, a landscape architecture and environmental design firm, practices “restorative redevelopment.” This holistic approach calls for reclaiming and renewing existing property, and promotes economic development, sustainable design and ecological restoration. The company encourages learning from past practices in order to improve planning and land development.

One of Ford Motor Company’s latest innovations is the Rouge Truck Plant, a facility that exemplifies ecological awareness and a commitment to wise use of natural resources. Ford has a history of environmental activism, and the construction of this plant is a great example of a sustainability initiative that works.

As an industry leader in the design and manufacture of air conditioners, Lennox International has not been content to rest on its laurels. The company recently came out with the quietest, most energy efficient unit on the market. In addition, this unit uses a refrigerant that does not deplete the ozone. The new unit is actually ahead of the curve in terms of meeting government requirements, while Lennox maintains a healthy bottom line.

KeyBank has opened a Financial Education Center in an LMI (low- to moderate income) neighborhood in Cleveland. The center offers classes in topics of interest and importance to a population that is often unable and/or unwilling to engage in traditional banking services. This endeavor has been created to educate and empower individuals and, over time, increase business.

It is possible for a very small number of committed, enterprising people to make substantive positive change. The development of the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern in Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood has served as an impetus for community redevelopment and urban renewal. Its owners continue to promote the area’s improvement with an eye toward business growth and economic stability that will revitalize the district.

Blast Internet Services (Blast), a web development company, supports environmental issues, sustainable growth, family-friendly policies, and personal empowerment. Its community involvement activities range from sponsorship of an after school program to free web services to area non-profit agencies. Its headquarters has been built in an environmentally friendly building, and its employees embrace and practice the company philosophy of ecological responsibility.

Run by The Chef's Garden, Veggie U is the non-profit arm of their Culinary Vegetable Institute. Veggie U innovatively promotes an ‘earth to table’ educational approach for elementary children to learn how better eating leads to better health. Through educational programming, seminars and outreach programs to schools, Veggie U not only promotes good eating practices among children, but also helps to educate them about sustainable agriculture practices.

Modine Manufacturing, a leader in heat-transfer-component technology, offers an innovative approach to the advancement of fuel cell technology – a popular alternative to fossil fuels. Internally, the company has been committed to the fuel cell research for the last five years. Externally, Modine helps other companies to utilize this technology and realize its commercialization. The effort has already yielded developmental partnership with Ballard, a joint venture of Daimler Chrysler, Ballard Power Systems, and Ford Motor Co. with the mission to develop, manufacture, and commercialize fuel-cell.

Furniture manufacturing is a messy business that produces lots of waste. Yet Herman Miller Inc has made it a goal, not just to reduce waste, but to entirely eliminate it. This commitment is more impressive because it originated as a grass-roots effort. The company consistently develops technological and organizational innovations that should lead to "total footprint elimination."

Chase Home Finance hasn't just paid lip service to diversity; they have invested billions to make it a business necessity. How? Executives realized that reaching into underserved, lower income communities would not only open up a new market. It would also require employees who represented the minority members within those communities. The result: An initial $500 billion investment that is both reshaping community redevelopment efforts across North America, and also changing the company's diversity profile.

Noisette, a property development company, committed to triple bottom line principles, uses an integrated approach to engage community members in its development projects. Their innovative perspective: they see themselves as building sustainable communities, rather than merely developing property investments. Using this model, they have successfully developed an entire island.

Hemisphere Development's innovation is an unusual approach to real estate investment: They invest in the worst, most damaged properties imaginable, the ones most investors avoid like dirty laundry. Their approach not only helps to green the environment, it is also profitable. The impact of their work reaches from urban Cleveland to rural Ohio.

Miles and Associates/Success by Choice International combines traditional for-profit training and consulting services with the agenda of youth development and HIV/AIDS prevention. The guiding principles of skills transfer, sustainability and community empowerment make this a story of a successful business serving the needs of society.