Jan
22
The Oregon MBA’s Sustainable Advantage
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Oregon MBA Blog Posted by Andrew White
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A few months after the fact, second-year CSBP student Shannon Oliver reflects on her experiences at the Net Impact Conference, and within the OMBA:
For the second year in a row, I’ve been shown that the Oregon MBA in Sustainable Business Practices has been, without a doubt, the right decision for me.
Last year I attended captivating presentations by industry experts, scientists, and decision makers, met countless like-minded students, and was reassured that there was support to help me in my quest for information and experience in this sector.
This year, I had a much different, yet equally inspiring experience. Instead of soaking up knowledge from every breakout session, I was thrilled to realize that I already knew much of the material that speakers were presenting. During one presentation, a classmate turned to me and asked “Doesn’t this presenter remind you of [Professor Joshua] Skov?” How exciting to realize that the professors at your own program are clearly at the top of their field, and would be worthy of presenting at such a prestigious conference. The classes we have taken have already armed us with the skills we will need to go out and be effective agents of change.
In another workshop about valuing ecosystem services, we found ourselves broken out into small groups, each tasked with a case study in which we were to identify all considerations that could have direct or indirect financial considerations for the business in question. At the end, each team presented their findings to the entire group and, lo and behold, it was the OMBAs in each group that presented the most compelling considerations. Some might say we had an unfair advantage from our trip to Seattle last April, during which we met with companies like Starbucks and Microsoft and learned firsthand about the environmental considerations that are important to their financial bottom lines. I call it the OMBA Sustainable Business Practices advantage. Where students in other programs are able to take a class or two on the broad topic of sustainability, we delve deeper, with courses on Lifecycle Analysis, Energy and Ecosystem Finance, Industrial Ecology, Environmental Law, and Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Our emphasis on experiential learning has given us the opportunity to meet with top executives at international companies to discuss sustainable business best practices and lessons learned.
At this year’s conference, I also utilized the networking and job expo functions. One session allowed me the chance to speak with Kwami Williams of the MIT D-Labs. Kwami and I discussed international development and the challenge of implementing sustainability in developing nations for both environmental and socio-economic gain. He highlighted many of the challenges that a typical Western approach might easily overlook, as well as key considerations on both cultural and logistical fronts. The field of international/global development, though not yet well represented within the Lundquist College of Business directly, is one that many of us in the OMBA have been able to explore further through case competitions like the Hult Global Case Challenge, interdisciplinary course offerings, and conferences such as this one.
So mark your calendars for October 2013 in San Jose – whether you’re looking for education, networking, resources, inspiration, a career, or all of the above, you can find it at the Net Impact Conference.
-Shannon Oliver, Center for Sustainable Business Practices, MBA 2013
Written by Andrew White
Jan
22
Positivity in Leadership: Celebrating MLK with Service
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Uncategorized Posted by Center for Sustainable Business Practices
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“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Leaders are always needed to create a change. Sometimes those leaders need to be in the trenches, like the incomparable Dr. King. Sometimes they must leverage their unique advantage to inspire change, like Al Gore’s pivot from politics to climate activism. And sometimes the place of a leader is on the sidelines, cheering on those doing the work.
Today, to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, some representatives from the Net Impact Graduate and Undergraduate chapters joined forces with Duck Corp, UO’s community service organization, to gussy up Eugene’s Willamette High School. Our team was assigned to paint a studio theater classroom; it felt great to get a paintbrush back in my hands.
I was quite struck by one of the volunteer leaders. She came into the studio we were painting and instantly took command. She stood in the center of the room, and in a clear, upbeat voice, she thanked all of us for our attendance and hard work. She spoke mainly about how fantastic the results of today’s event were, how dramatically it would impact the students (Willamette High has the lowest income student population in Eugene), and specifically how excellent a job we were all doing. She provided clear directions (“Let’s wait 15 more minutes for the primer to dry.”) in between her compliments, and cheerfully provided additional resources after listening to a few comments from volunteers.
This woman was a great leader: she made us all feel valued and corrected any organizational confusion that is typical of volunteering events. She was genuine and overwhelmingly positive, and her presence was a wonderful motivator. Our group accomplished a lot, and though she didn’t lift a paintbrush, her role was incredibly important for the success of the project. While there is plenty to make me feel great about Net Impact’s involvement in today’s volunteer event, I am especially appreciative of the reminder of how positivity and great leadership are essential to creating positive change in the world.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
Written by Center for Sustainable Business Practices
Oct
31
Venture Investments in Social Enterprises
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Oregon MBA Blog Posted by Andrew White
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Venture Investments in Social Enterprises: Balancing Social and Financial Returns was a panel session featuring speakers from several funds. The funds all occupied a different space on the financial returns/ social impact matrix. One of the speakers represented a Private Equity/ Venture Capital firm (DBL) that aimed to get a high financial return while making some social impact. The speaker argued that all companies have an impact on the world around them and that his funds leverage the assets of the companies in their portfolio to create an even greater impact. He used online music service Pandora as an example. Pandora insisted on keeping its headquarters in Oakland rather than moving to another city. As Pandora grew, they continued to give back to the city and helped to revitalize the area. The company makes it a point to source as much as they can locally. Pandora has also arranged for music to be taught at inner-city schools in the Oakland area. These schools would otherwise not have had the budget to provide music classes for their kids.
The two other funds (Calvert foundation, Nonprofit Finance fund) aimed for high social impact while settling for below-market financial returns. These funds see providing capital to companies that do not have access to commercial capital as their main purpose. By doing this, they hope to set a precedent, thereby creating new markets. The capital they provide is patient capital, but the goal is to eventually put a company in a position where it can get access to commercial loans. When asked about career opportunities for MBAs in this industry the panel noted that their are career opportunities on both the finance/investment side as well as on the operational side. Especially the impact-first funds do a lot of hand-holding with their clients to make sure they have sound financial, management, and governance practices. As a result, these funds tend to have fairly large departments that offer advisory services.
Finally, there seems to be a trend of seasoned professional investors moving into the impact investing space. As a result the (perceived) risk of impact investments has decreased.
Matthijs Reinders, Sustainable Business Practices, Class of 2012
This post is part of a series from the UO Net Impact student group that traveled to Baltimore for the 2012 Net Impact Conference. The UO Net Impact Blog can be found at http://www.uonetimpact.org/
Written by Andrew White
Oct
30
Shared Value Creation: Not Your Parent’s CSR
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Oregon MBA Blog Posted by Andrew White
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Move over, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). You’re about to become outdated by a new contender in town. Shared Value Creation (SVC) is a new type of strategic thinking advocated by Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter. It’s an evolution and step beyond plain old CSR.
CSR vs. SVC:
A fix for a problem caused vs. Problems to solve
Philanthropy vs. Business strategy
Threats vs. Opportunity
I think of SVC as a way to realign business interests with societal and environmental interests. As in, when mainstream and business media starts chattering about the ethical shortcomings in the business world, you should be concerned. As in, look at the systematic flaws of what has happened to capitalism, and how do we get American businesses back on track? between This new type of thinking, Shared Value Creation (SVC), demands that business take a proactive role in solving societal challenges.
At this NI panel, I heard three stories from corporate representatives working on SVC, and Greg Hills, Managing Director, FSG was the moderator for this panel.
Kathryn Brown, Senior Vice President, Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon wants to leverage core competencies in mobile to address healthcare, and is trying to break down the barriers such as ID fraud, security, HIPA compliance, etc. that stop us from using mobile to lower health care costs.
Robert Corcoran, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship and President and Chairman of the GE Foundation, General Electric Company. GE Foundation identified health care as its focus area. Bob Corcoran pointed out that there are billions of people with no access or prohibitively costly access to healthcare. The problem is worse than it was 10 years ago, so GE is working with Intermountain Healthcare to address standards of care, as a means of bringing down whole systems’ cost and thereby increasing access to care.
Barbara McAllister, Director, Global Strategic Initiatives, Intel Corporation. Intel’s focus is on education and increasing access to technology.
Setting Up and Measuring:
SVC is about intentionality. This means you have to start with the end in mind: social impact. The conversation begins with positioning, identifying the opportunity, and of course, the ever-present challenge of coming up with tangible, relevant, and useful metrics. Part of what makes SVC much more serious than CSR is measurement. For example, GE applies its lean six sigma and weekly reporting requirements for its SVC duties. You won’t see that with an annual CSR report. Corcoran said: When you put in a measurement system, it drives the organization to integrate the new way of thinking and systematically change. Data enables you to test and redefine your strategy, and metrics incent behavior change. Corcoran also went on to say “If the sole pursuit of your business is to increase shareholder values, you are guaranteed failure. Who does your business value?”
SVC also requires firms to examine net system impact. Products are sold, but there are also patient outcomes to consider. There’s revenue, and then there’s net system impact. Revenues are necessary but not sufficient.
Implementation is also an essential aspect of SVC. The way you embed the strategy within your company organization matters. It’s not enough to measure SVC. SVC metrics also have to influence everyone on your staff.
Partnership is another theme I picked up on. Partnerships are key to helping businesses do SVC in a serious, non-CSR way. Don’t forget: The internet age is all about collaborating while competing at the same time, and a landscape analysis is critical in working through the ‘who,’ ‘where,’ ‘when’ questions for partnership.
My brain definitely gained some weight soaking in information at that panel – even despite the massive West to East Coast jetlag my body was battling on Friday afternoon.
Grace Chang, Sustainable Business Practices, Class of 2013
This post is part of a series from the UO Net Impact student group that traveled to Baltimore for the 2012 Net Impact Conference. The UO Net Impact Blog can be found at http://www.uonetimpact.org/
Written by Andrew White
Oct
29
Biomimicry at Net Impact- Applying Nature to Business
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Oregon MBA Blog Posted by Andrew White
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It might be time for a new set of bracelets and bumper stickers, with an updated slogan of “WWND?” … What would nature do?
The final group of breakout sessions at Net Impact offered what was for me the highlight of the entire conference. To be fair, I majored in biology in undergrad, and am an unabashed nature nerd, but still– I think the concept of Biomimicry, and its applications to business, should be at least a little bit exciting for anyone who traveled to Baltimore for NI.
Biomimicry is pretty much what it sounds like– examining how things work in nature and trying to emulate them to create solutions to human problems and the marketplace. The concepts of using free energy, implementing closed-loop systems, and optimizing rather than maximizing can all be applied to a wide variety of business models, and really help to reduce human impact and create more sustainable operating environments. The session also highlighted some relevant classwork, be it a project from Syracuse-based D-Build, who we met in Mike Russo‘s Sustainable Business class last winter, or the discussion of material flows and Kalundborg that we’ve had in Jennifer Howard-Grenville‘s Industrial Ecology class this year.
I also loved the amusing nature-based examples of business strategies. Koalas as niche competitors focusing on one core competency, or tickbirds and rhinos as an example of outsourcing. It was great to see examples of how people had observed patterns in nature and applied them to business needs, relying on adaptability, evolution, resilience, and conservation to get the job done.
Although it only lasted 75 minutes, it was truly a revelatory experience that changed my perspective on the way we should attack our current challenges. And the final call to action really hit home, especially since we study in Oregon.
“Get out there, and think like a tree!”
Andrew White, Sustainable Business Practices, Class of 2013
This post is part of a series from the UO Net Impact student group that traveled to Baltimore for the 2012 Net Impact Conference. The UO Net Impact Blog can be found at http://www.uonetimpact.org/
Written by Andrew White
Oct
19
UO Net Impact makes mixing it up with Green Lane Businesses a tradition
Center for Sustainable Business Practices Blog / Oregon MBA Blog Posted by Andrew White
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What better way to wrap up week 3 of Fall term than to meet and greet with green businesses in the community? This was the first mixer of the year for the UO Net Impact chapter and also one of the biggest events that is put on campus by an OMBA student organization in the Fall term. Over 60 members of the Green Lane, Net Impact, and Lundquist College of Business were there to enjoy some good food, great company, and refreshments from our sponsors at Ninkasi. It was great to get the chance to connect with the incoming first year class of OMBAs, LCB Staff, of course find out about the real upside to running a sustainable business.
In the business expo, we had friends from Ninkasi Brewing, offering a glimpse of what they do to minimize water use, utilize PV electricity in their facility, and find alternative uses for post production waste. Mountain Rose Herb was also inspirational, explaining what responsible sourcing means to them and how communicating that is differentiating them in their industry and positively impacts their bottom line. The re-use and re-purpose organizations Bring Recycling and NextStep Recycling also joined us, offered a look at where our electronics and household purchases end up after their use, and presented alternative methods of treatment and disposal.
The night was a great success, and I am glad that I had the chance to better acquaint myself with the new Net Impact members, and build rapport with numerous sustainable business professionals. Next on our schedule is the Net Impact Conference in Baltimore, and I can’t wait to report back on the great experiences and conversations that take place while we are there!
Tzvetan Gatchev, UO Net Impact President, Center for Sustainable Business Practices, Class of 2013
Written by Andrew White
Apr
24
Last week the students of the Lundquist College of Business were treated to some great business community infiltration: Net Impact graduate and undergrad chapters worked together to organize a Green Business Networking hour, a local Green Business Expo, and a keynote address from the First Lady of Oregon, Cylvia Hayes, about job creation in Oregon and it’s deep ties to renewable energy and other sustainable industries. The Expo highlighted a number of local companies including Grape Solar, Good Company, a sustainability consulting firm, Arcimoto, a three-wheeled electric vehicle start-up, and Two Degrees, an energy bar company for social benefit.
Café Yumm, a local Eugene start-up turned Oregon restaurateur success story, also came to exhibit at our Green Business Expo. I caught up with Maritza, the Café Yumm representative, who explained that Café Yumm’s commitment to sustainable business practices and community engagement were key to their remarkable growth during 2008 and 2009, when most other restaurants were closing their doors.
Check out this video where Maritza walks me through just a few of the green initiatives that Café Yumm champions.
Earth Day was a great opportunity to show the campus community the business case for green, and perhaps plant seeds of awareness about the part they could play for a more sustainable future.
–Mikaela Hicks
Written by UO Business
Nov
10
This is post is part of a series of entries from Oregon MBA students who attended the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland.
Panel Members:
Kristin Bannister, Director of Global Brand Marketing, Levi Strauss & Co.
Tom Kelley, Global Brand Director of Sustainable Business & Innovation, Nike
Ian Yolles, Chief Sustainability Officer, Recyclebank
Moderator:
Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO, Shelton Group
While the Net Impact Conference is rife with panels consisting of the leading minds on the topic of corporate social responsibility, I was looking for something a little bit different from my Net Impact experience. As a graduate student with a keen belief in corporate social responsibility and looking to build as career as a marketing and brand strategy professional in and around the business of sport, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to talk to brand directors in charge of integrating the sustainability agenda into their brand essence. Having plenty of prior experience learning, working, and thinking on brand strategy, I came into this session hoping that the opinion I have developed over the past year on the subject aligned with the panelists’ advice. Specifically, I hoped the panelists would touch on the challenges established brands, which have no background associating with social responsibility, face when trying to become synonymous with social responsibility in the minds of the consumer.
As if built for my consumption, the panelist spent the majority of their time discussing precisely this challenge. While Nike & Levi Strauss are brand leaders, having long ago embraced social responsibility, the panelists were well equipped to discuss the topic since each had lived through the process. Tom gave, in my opinion, the most meaningful brand strategy insight – that brands should do things because they believe in it, that a brand needs to BE what they SAY they are, and finally that consistency and resiliency are paramount to building a successful brand. Kristin had some fantastic insight on the topic of communicating to consumers that a product was built using sustainable processes – that no one has been able to successfully sell products for a higher price simply based on the sustainable aspect of the product, and that sustainability products must adhere to the same rules as other products. Furthermore, Kristin challenged that status quo by suggesting that professionals need to look for ways to use sustainable practices to add very real, intrinsic value to the product to the benefit of the consumer.
Lastly, following the panel discussion the panelists made themselves available to the public. Given the time restraint on the panel, many in attendance had a question that was not addressed and used this opportunity to approach the panelists to discuss their question. I took advantage of this time to get in front of Tom and discuss my views on brand management as related to social responsibility. Although quick, I felt that the time networking with the panelist after a panel is easily as valuable as the time spent listening to the panel discussion. Thankfully the panelists realize this as well and were more than willing to talk with us. All things considered, this panel was fantastic experience for me. It was not only career-informing but it was also personally career-affirming.
- Patrick Haas, MBA ’12, Warsaw Sports Marketing Center
Written by UO Business
Nov
09
This is the first in a series of entries from Oregon MBA students who attended the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland.
I was fortunate enough to get to this panel just in time to grab one of the few seats left in the already packed room. As someone who subscribes to the belief that audience turnout can be an accurate indicator for quality of discussion, I immediately knew I picked a great panel for the afternoon session. Seated at the front of the room were green business visionaries:
• Seth Goldman, Co-Founder and TeaEO of Honest Tea,
• Sheryl O’Laughlin, former CEO of Clif Bar and current Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Stanford University,
• and Jason Graham-Nye, Co-Founder and CEO of gDiapers.
The moderator opened our discussion with a fascinating piece of information—aside from each panelist being a CEO leading the charge for a more sustainable world, another trait all three CEOs share is that they are all marathon runners. The importance of this fact the moderator said, and each of the CEOs agreed, comes in making an analogy to running a start-up business, or being an entrepreneur—to do either of these things, you must understand the long-term nature of the undertaking—it is a marathon, not a sprint; this would prove to be a poignant fact laced throughout our discussion.
After introductions, the rest of the discussion was concentrated around each CEO telling the story of their personal lives and their business, two things that were very intertwined. A universal theme in the establishment of each of their ‘David’ businesses was that they all desired a better, healthier, more sustainable product that a ‘Goliath’ conglomerate was just not offering. For Honest Tea it was a great tasting natural beverage that was not loaded with sugar; for Clif Bar it was a food source of energy that was natural and did not taste like cardboard; for gDiapers it was a diaper not made of oil-based plastics that would sit in a landfill for over 500 years before biodegrading. The commonality here was that each business leader had a vision for a better product that could in turn help create a better world and with that belief, they could take on anyone, including the seemingly invincible global brands.
- Sarah Spring, JD/MBA
Written by UO Business
Nov
01
Net Impact is a worldwide organization of students and professionals interested in using business to create social and environmental good. Over 50 Oregon MBA students attended the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland this past weekend. Over 2,500 students from over 120 schools joined us. There were nearly 400 speakers from a variety of professional backgrounds sharing their experiences working to make a difference. To be surrounded by so many change makers was humbling and inspiring.
The conference covered a wide variety of topics, including Energy & Clean Tech, Finance & Investing, International Development, Social Innovation, and Professional Development. Each of us planned our conference based on our areas of interest and professional goals. Some of the panels that I attended included Social Entrepreneurship & The Fortune 500, Accelerating Social Innovation through Design, and Social Media for Maximum Corporate Impact. In addition to the insight and inspiration, the panels offered a great opportunity to network with professionals.
All in all, it was a great conference and a lot of fun. Portland was a great backdrop for the conference and the Oregon MBA was well represented. The UO Net Impact chapter has a lot of momentum behind it. Our chapter has grown from 8 to over 80 people in the last two years. This year, Net Impact Central recognized us as a Gold status chapter. Two of our very own were presented with Net Impact’s 2011 Force For Change Awards at the conference. Congratulations go out to Katie Brennan and chapter president Cassidy Williams!
To find out more about the UO Net Impact Chapter, check us out on Facebook or Twitter.
- Tashi Dondup ’12
Written by UO Business
