Last week we were fortunate to spend a few days with the team from Seven Star, a long-time customer and friend of BetterWorld. Seven Star is experiencing stellar success and growth - - now the green event planner for all the Green Festivals, Sol Fest, assisting with this year’s Democratic National Convention, and many more events.

In fact, Seven-Star  is the world’s premier green event planner, producer, and consultant.  Seven-Star delivers expert planning, production, event greening, exhibit sales, sponsorship development, strategic consulting, and conscious event marketing.

As they have outgrown their original digs & are moving into a new building (see part of their team, Alan, Tavin, and Matt and the new space in the pic above), we were visiting to help rough out the new communications. In the process, we discovered the amazing history and community that is Asheville, NC. Of all the places in the U.S. I’ve been, literally hundreds of cities, I find Asheville to be right at the top in terms of a community supporting sustainability with a focus on the environment, locally owned businesses and agriculture (there are only two chain stores downtown), plus the rich history and architecture - Asheville gets my vote for tops in these categories, and what a naturally beautiful place as well.

So, we love Seven Star and their home Asheville & encourage you to drop what you’re doing and visit both of them: www.sevenstarevents.com & www.exploreasheville.com 

See you soon in Western NC soon - Matt

Every so often, I visit an organization and think back to the scene in Wayne’s World where they kneel before Alice Cooper and exclaim, “we’re not worthy!” - clearly TS Designs is one of those organizations. If everyone had their level of social and environmental commitment, we would not be in the global pickle we are today. Before I even saw any of their operations relating to their core business, eco-friendly T shirts , i saw their solar array, wind turbine, two bio diesel stations that are connected to a community coop, organic garden that will help feed the employees, rain water collection, the list goes on.

When times were tough for Eric Henry and TS Designs in the mid 90s after NAFTA was enacted, they chose to stick to their guns and actually step up their environmental efforts, sensing that doing the right thing would someday payoff - - the decision has in fact paid off as they are now growing at a healthy pace and occupy a solid, differentiated spot in a very competitive industry. Congratulations to Eric Henry and his team for all they have accomplished. For more information: www.tsdesigns.com

Matt

Over the past week and a half, we had a couple great work projects that saw some of the BetterWorld team getting their hands in the dirt. As part of our sponsorship and participation in the BALLE chapter, Lowcountry Local First, we were out shucking corn with Fields to Families in the Lowcountry, South Carolina. The mission of Fields to Families is to help increase nutrition to the area hungry by coordinating distribution of fresh produce obtained from local gardens and farms. They gather produce from local farmers and community gardens and distribute it to local recipient agencies who depend on donations to run their programs. For more information: www.fieldstofamilies.org 

As part of our continuing work with the Nature Conservancy, we had another session led by Jamie Weaver from the Nature Conservancy in our adopted section of the GW Memorial National Park focused on cutting and painting Winged Burning Bush (Euonymus alata) along the north facing slopes along the Potomac River inside the Turkey Run section of the Park. It is an ornamental that has escaped into the surrounding natural landscape creating a dense cover that shades out native vegetation and facilitates E. alata regeneration. This is a source population for E. alata in the area, and controlling this population will inhibit further invasions downstream. For information how you can participate in Nature Conservancy efforts in communities all over the world: www.nature.org.

Even though the weather was downright Londonesque most of the week, things really heated up in the Student Center at Boston University this past week. Hundreds and Hundreds of leaders came from all over North America (largest contingent I’ve seen from Canada yet to date), to discuss the merits of localizing all aspects of the economy and our communities. As you probably know if you are reading this, BetterWorld places a high priority in its donation dollars and volunteer hours on helping to build local living economies, with many of the BALLE companies as customers and having help found the 44th BALLE Chapter, Lowcountry Local First.

The undercurrent was clear, we are no longer on the edge as pioneers and need to start leading the masses as they are coming in from the cold very quickly. Bill McKibben noted that for the first time this past year, we drove less, farmers markets are the fastest growing section of the food economy, and we were able to see the video unveiling his new project, http://www.350.org/. In addition, there were many breakout and specialized sessions highlighting everything from successful and sustainable entrepreneurs such as Eric Henry from TS Designs, to Brenda Palms Barber, who started Sweet Beginnings (check here for the story on SB from CBS News).

The closing keynote was given by Congressman Edward Markey from the 7th District of MA, who is both the Chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, as well as the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (whom I was very fortunate to intern for, if only just 4 months in the mid-late 80s but he was defintely one of my early influencers and guides). This was particularly sweet for myself and us at BetterWorld as we organized and held a meeting last year with Chairman Markey and his staff, as well as BALLE founder Judy Wicks (one of my heroes), Alissa Gravitz from Coop America, and others focused on Sustainable Communities.  Chairman Markey followed through in his commitment to get out and speak at the BALLE Conference and we thank him for both his long term service and leadership. Especially in this crucial time at the helm of the  Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which is playing a key role in setting our agenda as to how we will try to stave off the impending disaster that is on the way.

Locally in service - Matt

When our colleague, Dave O’Leary, brought the Appalachian Mountain Club to our attention some months ago - - we immediately contacted them to set up a meeting and see if we could discuss ways for us to work together. Over the past few months, we have met with them a few times and learned so much more about their amazing and rich history.  While in Boston for the BALLE conference this past week, we spent a few hours at their HQ right off the Commons in Boston…

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is America’s oldest nonprofit conservation and recreation organization. They promote the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of the mountains, rivers, and trails of the Appalachian region. They believe that the mountains and rivers have an intrinsic worth and also provide recreational opportunity, spiritual renewal, and ecological and economic health for the region. Through their programs and network of facilities, they encourage people to enjoy and appreciate the natural world - - for more information, please visit: www.outdoors.org.

Ali Gunertem, BetterWorld Director of Customer Operations writes: One of the organizations we have joined and helped support over the past six months is the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC). Since we joined NVTC, members have expressed a strong interest in the organization playing a more active role in setting the region’ s green agenda. As such, they recently established the NVTC Green Technology and Energy Task Force with the goals of the task force to educate NVTC member companies about best practices in the green space, monitor legislation in the Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington, DC area that addresses green issues, and work to make Northern Virginia a place that attracts green businesses and investments. We are an active participant in this group and are helping to shape the mission. Green Task force Committee Leaders are:

Many NVTC member companies and organizations are involved in efforts to reduce their carbon emissions or offer green consulting services or products. Click on the links below to read their stories and, perhaps, get inspired to green your company’s operations too.

• Andrews Kurth
• BetterWorld Telecom
• Consumer Electronics Association
• Ernst & Young
• George Mason University
• GlobalLogic
• Gsecurity
• Kodiak Finance
• Micron Technology
• Noblis
• Northrop Grumman
• Panacea Consulting
• Power Loft
• Stewart Strategies Group, LLC
• Turtle Wings
• Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts

.

For more information on NVTC: www.nvtc.org  

I attended a Rally for clean energy on Thursday May 8th co-hosted by Appalachian Voices (BetterWorld is a member of the Appalachian Voices Business League), the Southern Environmental Law Center and other local organizations and residents of Richmond.  The rally was inspired by numerous outcries opposing Dominion Power’s construction of a new coal mining plant in Wise, VA. 

Dozens of individuals and local organizations held tough through the rain and delivered a strong message to Dominion – the message is clear “No New Coal!”  As the rally drew to an end the attendees collected and boxed up the mile-long petition, signed by over 40,000 people and hand delivered it to the executives at Dominion.

This successful event helped to strengthen Betterworld’s commitment to work with socially minded and mission driven organizations. A great thanks to Tom and the Appalachian Voices team for allowing Betterworld to take part in this great event.

- Erin Schaefer

Now is the Time: Create the World You Want to Live In, was the conference theme…Wow, what a great conference, having been on the Board of Directors for the past 3 years and a member for 5 years- I have to say this was one of the best conferences for connecting with old friends and making new ones while learning how we are all Creating the world You Want to Live In…. There were over 250 in attendance for the 3 day extravaganza.

I have to say there were many highlights- two in particular were Van Jones soft spoken story on how he got the $125 m Green Jobs Bill appropriated. He shared a simple kind of aw shucks story how the bill came into being with Nancy Pelosi as he was surrounded by political luminaries. The Second take away was Carlo Petrini who shared his vision of the many different benefits of a creating sustaining Local Living Economies especially in the food industry… and invited people to Terra Madre in Italy this October to experience this huge European movement firsthand…

Lastly, I have to say it was great to see the SVN network with all its oddities welcome back old members, embrace new members, hold space for everyone’s unique contribution while we all focus on making it a BetterWorld for everyone.

Namaste,

Jim

We’re at the Global Green Expo 2008 today in Liberty State Park, just across the Hudson from the former World Trade Center - - the New York area is buzzing green this whole weekend with the Go Green Expo downtown and the Global Green 2008 today and tomorrow.  There are thousands walking the aisles out here on a perfect Spring day in New York, taking the ferry across to the park, couldn’t help but salute ol’ Liberty and reflect on that first sight for so many as they came into Ellis Island.

 Come out and join in the festivities if you’re in the area this weekend:  www.globalgreen2008.com

I won’t expand too much on this, we are very proud (and relieved!) to get our first major Corporate Citizenship Report out to the public - - it was truly a labor of love, though, and we thank every customer, partner, vendor, and donation recipient, because it is truly a product of all their efforts that we are able to reflect all the programs, data and goals stated in the report.

Enough said, I will let the report speak for itself, please take a look and please let me know if you have any questions or comments, my email is mbauer@betterworldtelecom.com and click HERE to view the report.  

In service,

Matt