Grounds for Change joined the 1% for the Planet community in October of 2003, as member number thirty, and since that time has cultivated long-lasting relationships with numerous nonprofit organizations across the country.
Migratory bird habitat, the health of our oceans and marine wildlife areas, clean energy, livable wages at home and in coffee producing countries, clean drinking water, access to medical technology, microlending in disadvantaged communities and healthy environments are all issues that Grounds for Change supports through our 1% for the Planet nonprofit partners. Their mission, “To support social equity and environmental sustainability through fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee,” has, at its foundation, the idea that businesses partnering with nonprofit organizations, working toward common goals, can indeed change the world.
In these times, faced with some of the most pressing social and environmental issues ever, it will take collaboration, community and creativity to come up with solutions. These valuable partnerships through 1% for the Planet are a means for this change.
Cheers to Stacy & Kelsey for their continued support of our network! Check out their Facebook page for updates, giveaways AND to enter their haiku contest today! Here’s mine…
John Caletti, the owner of 1% for the Planet member Caletti Cycles, sent along this great post about his 1% commitment… thanks for Loving Blue, John!
I value and respect our natural world, and I understand that running a business takes a toll on the environment . It’s important to reduce and offset the damage as much as possible. 1% FTP is a good structure for my business and has the added value of being a movement in partnership with others with similar values. I’m a cyclist and I build custom bicycles, so the bulk of my donations went to “Bikes Belong” to get more people on bikes for cleaner and simpler transportation.
Additionally I gave to Shark Savers, as I live on the coast and have a fascination and appreciation for sharks as an important part of our ecosystem who are endangered and misunderstood. Maybe they’ll be even nicer to me when I’m out in the water paddling, surfing or diving.
The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) began the film festival in 2003 with the goal to show environmentally focused films that not only informed audiences, but also inspired and motivated viewers to take action. Every year the California-based festival hits the road with a selection of short films, providing the opportunity for organizations all around the country to host a festival, show a selection of films, and inspire a local audience.
The festival also played host to a celebration. The film selection was inspired by the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, a passage that made a significant impact on the regulation of water quality. To commemorate the anniversary, the festival featured 10 award-winning and water-inspired short films. Among the chosen films were The Craziest Idea, One Plastic Beach, andSeasons: Winter, which we highly recommend checking out. You could really feel the emotion in the room as everyone watched the awe-inspiring films together.
We were thrilled by the member and partner support the festival received in the days leading up to the event. The 1% FTP Network was in action, as members and partners came together to celebrate the Clean Water Act while creating an engaging and fun environment for the general public to learn more about VNRC, the beneficiary of this year’s event.
Thanks to everyone who participated and to those who attended – we hope you had as much fun as we did! If you’re interested in learning more about the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and want to find out when they’re headed to your neck of the woods, check out the schedule HERE.
Last week we hosted a Special Edition Power Plant event celebrating the incredible growth in the 1% for the Planet family north of the border.
By the Numbers:
In just a year we’ve added 23 new members, who will donate an additional $700,000 to environmental causes this year alone. That brings us to more than $5M in giving to date from our Canadian partners. Boom. There’s a lot to be excited about.
The evening featured presentations from movers and shakers in the Canadian sustainability world who highlighted ways that business can be a part of the solution to pressing environmental challenges in Canada.
The night was chock full of great conversation, connections and good times; we left inspired by the Canadian team, knowing this is a group that will create enormous positive change for the planet.
Thanks to all who made it possible, keep up the great work, and we’ll see you in town again soon!
And if you couldn’t make it, check out our speakers in action at these links!
1% for the Planet media partner, Huck Magazine, just came out with a great article about one of our musical members, Forest Sun! The author of the piece, Ed Andrews, interviewed Forest to find out why he feels so connected to the natural world and why this “earth child” wants to support the environment through membership with 1% FTP! Check out this article and listen to a song or two!
It’s no secret that unlabeled-GMO foods are everywhere. But how did these organisms become so prevalent in our fields and on our dinner tables? Have they been tested, and just how dangerous are they? And how is it, that even after the disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear power is still seen as the energy source of the future?
These questions are on everyone’s mind, leading us to wonder whether we have all become human guinea pigs. In the kind of world where even farmers are afraid of the chemicals they use on their fields, director Jean-Paul Jaud takes a politically engaged and activist stance with TOUS COBAYES?(in English, All of us guinea-pigs now?).
He is joined by actor and theatre director Philippe Torreton who has lent his voice as narrator. With a deep conviction that movies should play an active role in protecting our ecosystem and our planet, Jaud dares to denounce the status quo and advocate new solutions. Through stunning footage, powerful interviews and an explosive conclusion, TOUS COBAYES?, sheds new light on the dangers of GMOs and nuclear power. It’s bound to spur lively debate.
One of our largest French members, Lea Nature, donates a portion of their contribution each year to a number or organizations who oppose GMOs and nuclear energy. Together with help from Lea Nature and many other groups, these organizations have created TOUS COBAYES?.
This movie is being launched in Montreal on the nights of October 18th and 21st. We hope that you are able to attend and if so, please share your thought with us! The labeling of GMOs is an important issue around the world these days and we want to hear what your views are!
Five days of torrential rain—with temperatures in the 60s—combined with a leaky tent that soaks you on night one, and just two pairs of sopping chammy to get you through… I doubt any of those components would make it on to your list of perfect conditions.
Nonetheless, after pushing for a week through malevolent storms, sopping roads and long, grinding hills, 1% for the Planet member Victoria Vox made it from Eureka to San Francisco undaunted last October. In fact, she recently said of her first Climate Ride “the sum was greater than its parts, and I can’t wait to be a part of that sum again!”
And she was true to her word.
Congratulations to Victoria, who got back on the bike and completed her SECOND Climate Ride, this time under more seasonable skies but with the same goals: to spread awareness about the climate crisis facing our planet, and to offer proactive solutions. If 100+ people can ride their bikes (in work clothes no less!) over 300 miles, there is real hope for the future.
The 1% for the Planet crew couldn’t be more proud of Victoria and all the other Climate Riders who made the journey from New York to DC last week.
Thank you!
We’re looking forward to sharing a post-ride report from Victoria, so stay tuned.
In the meantime I want to take this opportunity to welcome the companies who were motivated to make real change as well—using their businesses as the engines of positive change—but passed on the soaked chammy (and I’m not blaming them).
Congratulations and thank you to the following newly-minted member of 1% for the Planet!
One of the most amazing facets of working for 1% is learning about diversity among our member companies. No two companies are quite the same, except when it comes to their dedication to protecting our planet and promoting sustainability. This point is exemplified with two of our newest members, Four Crows Photography and Polar Pillow.
Four Crows Photography is dedicated capturing the beauty of the natural world that surrounds us, and those moments of serenity that too often go unnoticed in the frantic pace of daily life. Photographer Dave Mangels launched Four Crows with the mission to practice mindful photography, as well as contributing back to the planet in which inspires him. Shedding his life in a cubicle and armed with a camera and an amazing eye, these photographs capture the majesty and beauty of the world that we strive to protect.
“As someone launching a new business, I thought it was vital to build an ethical and moral foundation to Four Crows Photography. My participation in 1% For The Planet is an essential way to demonstrate my commitment to the environmental causes that are so important to my artistic inspiration. Four Crows Photography plans to support a variety of causes as it grows, but foremost among them will be the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance for its work defending the Redrock wilderness, and the Trustees of the Reservation for its preservation of open spaces in my home state of Massachusetts.”
1% also welcomes PolarPillow to our family. As a person who is all-too-familiar with erratic sleep patterns and insomnia, I was fascinated to learn more about this company and what it offers for people who cope with the same issues.
PolarPillow is an award-winning cooling pillow that uses specialized gel technology to generate coolness. By bringing science-based innovation to the pillow market, the company aims to help its customers sleep better and live healthier. The pillow itself is kept cool, which in turn promotes a better and more restful night of sleep.
The PolarPillow team has joined the 1% movement to demonstrate their belief that the health of the planet is critical for entrepreneurship to thrive. PolarPillow has identified Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho International as its first beneficiary. EarthEcho creates programs that empower youth to restore and protect our oceans.
From breathtaking natural photography to pillows that help people rest better and promote health, our members continue to be as diverse as the planet that we share. Aligned by their dedication to protecting the world around us, we welcome these amazing companies to our 1% family and are so happy to have you!
We’ve been growing at a rate of more than one business per day for the past two years, but January was a particularly wonderful month here at 1% for the Planet. 49 businesses started their membership during the past four weeks. For those of you nervously watching the 260-day Mayan Tzolkin calendar this year, that works out to an impressive 2.2 members per day this month.
We’re tweaking the way we introduce new members in light of all the activity in the network and the addition of our talented new staff members James, Pauline and Tom. Look for an initial post announcing the folks who have joined most recently, followed by entries going deeper into the stories of the people, places and motivations that inspired them to join 1% for the Planet.
Welcome all! Stay tuned for posts sharing the stories the individual businesses and their motivations for joining 1%–thanks for making the world a better place!
Hiking early season turns at Mad River Glen with the 1% crew
Waitsfield, Vermont, like most ski towns, is filled with people who are generally pretty darn happy. The social life of a Valley resident (or a 1% for the Planet employee) revolves around enthusiastic discussion of the outdoor pursuit du jour, or actually getting out and partaking wholeheartedly in that activity. Grins are standard. But this December has been a different story.
When weather doesn’t cooperate, people take a turn to the dark side… especially in the early winter when memories of the previous season’s bounty tantalize us. This past week I’ve seen people stare up at the sky with looks on their faces usually only employed by seven year olds hoping to reprimand their parents for withholding desert. The feeling of tension in town is palpable, and our office is not immune.
Thankfully, release came today with 2-6 inches of new snow over fast grass at Mad River Glen. The 1% team, sporting grins once more, was there early to welcome winter to the valley by hiking a few early morning runs. All this welcoming has me thinking about another long-overdue welcome–the one we owe our most recent 1% members!
Bamboodha is the first out of the gate this week. They’re based in Australia but will ship their bamboo towels anywhere. And best of all, they’re giving away copies of the 1% for the Planet CD! If you haven’t heard it yet, check it out.
The Aromatropolis The Aromatropolis retails printed materials online which concisely convey the complex properties of essential oils. This is an emerging, woman-owned business developing media in different formats to enhance the experience of the essential oil enthusiast. Currently they offer a limited-edition, 18″x24″ print and carrying card relating the properties of the twenty most common essential oils. Future plans include the development of brick-and-mortar locations to retail their products and create healing environments for patrons. The Aromatropolis and parent company Bright Blue Green LLC seek to raise the bar for environmental and social responsibility in business.
David C Dixon LLC offers LEED and sustainability consulting to Food and Beverage corporations. David, proprietor and avid outdoorsman (who would have fit in well at Mad River this morning), has been involved in some of the largest LEED food manufacturing facilities built in the past 6 years, and has helped name brand companies reduce their environmental impact and pursue “closed-loop” technologies. David says that “1% for the Planet is a great initiative which can offer corporate decision makers a “brand” similar to LEED that they can trust, that earns them recognition, and provides funding for vetted organizations.” Glad to have you David!
Keep your eye on Exout for deals on outdoor gear for every sort of pursuit, summer or winter. You’ll find steals for members as low as 70% off retail–stock up and feel good that 1% is going back to the environment!
Gone Surfing Hawaii specializes in surf lessons and customized surf tours in the Hawaiian Islands. Need a break from winter? Check ‘em out!
The Green Line‘s proprietor Janine on coming to 1%: “Discovering 1% For The Planet was the missing to piece to my puzzle. I always knew I wanted to give back but I didn’t have the proper platform. Since becoming a 1% member, now I have the resources to do what I always wanted to do: Give back to something meaningful to me.” Janine is giving to Oceana, so when you purchase her jewelry you’ll know her 1% is going to a good cause!
Hug on a Rug is based in our very own state of Vermont and offers hand-made rugs. They’re still working on their web presence but check back soon to see what they’re up to.
Integral Dialogue Project is a consulting company committed to the greater purpose of “co-creating a better world by empowering people to lead.” They believe we all possess interpersonal greatness. By facilitating and engaging individuals and organizations in generative dialogue there exist the potential to create this ‘better world’ through a sharing process of innovative perspectives – and transformational change.
KAVAJ has you covered when it comes to protecting your iPad, Xoom or other tablets with great looking cases.
Ever hear that Uncle Cracker song with the line about being “as cool as the flip side of my pillow?” Well… Polar Pillow is an award-winning cooling pillow that uses specialized gel technology to generate coolness. PolarPillow has identified Philippe Cousteau’s EarthEcho International as its first beneficiary, and will be helping to inspire the next generation to care for the earth.
Tulan supplies everything you need for yoga, from mats to clothing and you can feel good about buying from them!
