review: MiaGreen session 1

Friday’s opening session, titled Successful Entrepreneurial Approaches to the Current Green Economy was a pretty fun way to start the morning. It was a panel discussion moderated by Lilian T. Chiu, CEO of Morgan Environments and current President of the Society for Marketing Professional Services South Florida; the three panelists were Greg Horn, a partner in World of Green, Marty Metro, co-founder and CEO of UsedCardboardBoxes.com, and Eric Corey Freed, Principal of organicARCHITECT. All four individuals possess very animated, strong personalities with very definitive points of view. They were not afraid to speak openly.

Whether it was the panelists’ openness and honesty, or Lillian’s efforts to get them to engage directly with the audience, or the make-up of the audience itself, this session was extremely participatory. From the very beginning, audience members started asking questions, making comments, adding to what the speakers were saying, and even challenging what the speakers said. And this appeared to set the tone for the rest of the sessions that day; in every one of them we witnessed audiences who were engaging the speakers even before they started their presentations.

This first morning session provided some very lively interactions; here is a list of some of the take-aways:

• Watch out for externalities to be priced. All those things that nature gives us for free, and all the negative impacts of our current industrial age business model, the cost of which are never factored into how much we pay for goods and services, will soon be given an economic value. Businesses should start to consider how that will impact their operations and pricing structures.

• Don’t wait for the government to do anything. It is almost inconceivable that the government will be the one to price those externalities, considering how difficult it’s been for it to implement baseline regulations. Metro put it simply: “Screw regulation.” The general feeling was that the business world is far more advanced than the government, so businesses should not wait for government support nor funding to help with any sustainable pursuits. Metro questioned whether any program that relied on government funding could be considered sustainable, because there would then be little guarantee of the program surviving if government suddenly withdrew that economic support.

miagreen session 1 1

threadcollaborative11250 morrison street no. 201, north hollywood ca 91601www.threadcollaborative.com

➜

• There is no such thing as a “green” expert. “Green” as a category is so immense, and evolving so rapidly, that no single person can know everything there is to know about it. There are many breakdowns, and there certainly are specialists in specific fields related to sustainability, but don’t believe anyone who claims to be a green expert.

• When you do meet an expert in some area of sustainability, don’t be intimidated by them. Everyone right now is part of a developing movement, and there is a lot that we can all learn from each other.

• Everyone benefits when we all share knowledge freely. So within your network, lead by example, and encourage others to share best practices and operations.

• Forget about “going green.” Don’t worry about positioning your services or products as the “green” alternative. There is a lot of greenwashing out there right now, so the best you can do is to focus on providing value. When you provide value, you will also most likely be embracing sustainable practices.

• From an education perspective, the panelists did not feel that a green MBA was actually important. They used themselves as examples of individuals who were simply passionate about sustainability, and who pursued it long before it became trendy, and certainly long before colleges and universities started teaching the value that sustainability holds for the business world.

• If going into business as a “green” service provider, be careful and specific about what you offer and about what benefits clients can derive from hiring you. How do you define, for example, a green realtor or accounting firm? Does it have to do with the clients you represent, or internal business practices? Define it specifically and don’t greenwash, as that is a disservice to the rest of the movement.

Thank you, Lilian, for leading such an energetic opening session!

miagreen session 1 2

threadcollaborative11250 morrison street no. 201, north hollywood ca 91601www.threadcollaborative.com

➜