Brent Baker is the CEO, president, and founder of New York City-based Tri-State Biodiesel LLC, and its parent company The Sustainable Biodiesel Company. Under Baker’s leadership, Tri-State Biodiesel is the first, most well-known and biggest biodiesel brand in New York City, and a national pioneer in urban, sustainable biodiesel production and distribution. The company touts itself as having a social and environmental jsutice aspect because heavy trucks traffic lower-income areas more than other areas and if those trucks are burning biodiesel the emissions produced aren’t as bad, Brent says.
Shaun Paul co-founded Ecologic, a community benefit focused on creating sustainable rural livelihoods in Latin America. Right now much of their work is focused on tree planting in Central and South America but they are looking at how the local communities can take advantage of the growing carbon market. However, the standard around carbon credits need to be better defined. With the proper market mechanisms, carbon credit markets can support community-driven conservation efforts. But Ecologic also things large-scale projects, like their work with big Chinese agricultural efforts, could also benefit from a more robust carbon market.
Richard Hodges is the Founder and CEO of GreenIT, a consultancy focused on the role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in creating a sustainable future. Since 2005 GreenIT has been designing and implementing practical programs for minimizing the harmful environmental effects of ICT use, and for harnessing ICT innovation to enable sustainable solutions for the built environment. GreenIT approaches uses a double-pronged approach, looking at a given technology’s overal energy efficiency but also considering how IT systems as a whole can create more sustainable solutions in building, transportation and land use.
J.T. Stinnette is Stinnette & Brown’s Executive Director of Finance & Strategic Planning. Their motto is “Retrofitting America.” Stinnette & Brown, LLC is a minority and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE). They operate residential rehab projects and manage more than 80 properties, operate 120 affordable housing units and provided legal consulting and strategic planning for clients. The firm is looking at scaling the model in Chicago but J.T. says access to capital for small business has been a roadblock. They are want work with organizations like Green for All to serve as an incubator and to scale other entities. Currently they have been working in a public/private partnership in Chicago with Urban League.
More on this session coming soon, with video!
Although Copenhagen failed to produce a meaningful treaty (see 1Sky’s Gillian Caldwell’s wrap-up blog here), business owners still have a chance to make a real difference for the planet in 2010. The most important fight in the US will be in pressuring the Senate to pick up the pace on passing a comprehensive climate bill and working to make sure that we maintain the Clean Air Act’s ability to crack down on dirty coal plants. For information on how business owners can get involved, visit: http://www.1sky.org/business
