user's Blog! - Just another WordPress site

The Wellbeing Economy Editorial: A Practical Revolution

Post author By user
Post date April 30, 2024
No Comments on The Wellbeing Economy Editorial: A Practical Revolution

Wellbeing Economy, Purpose-Driven Organizations, and Meaningful Work: A Practical Revolution

By: Dr. Victoria Hurth and Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― Buckminster Fuller

In our opening editorial, we outlined how a Wellbeing Economy is aligned with a sustainable future and an efficient, effective economy and how purpose-driven organizations operationalize this economy. In turn, purpose-driven organizations unleash and are dependent on the energy of meaningful work and lives of individuals, households, and communities. As well as being the power behind a Wellbeing Economy, the ability to contribute to and engage with purpose-driven organizations directly increases wellbeing through bringing a sense of usefulness, joy, and community through our daily activities. This is in contrast to the conventional wisdom that by increasing our financial income, we can purchase more consuming goods as a way to achieve a good life.

This is why we advocate a three-level shift in the macro (Wellbeing Economy), meso (Purpose-Driven Organizations), and micro (Meaningful Work and Lives) realms of the market economy, thus turning a vicious circle (the current consumption-based economy) into a virtuous one, based on long-term wellbeing for all (sustainability).

Some may feel that we are outlining some unattainable utopia. We are optimists but please don’t mistake our optimism for naivety — we recognize that there is still a long way to go, and the ultimate path is not certain. However, we also know that there are no fundamental barriers in the way of achieving this shift if we collectively wanted to. It merely rests on collective imagination and faith that positive change is in our hands.

The various insights revealed in this issue of Make The World Better Magazine were compiled to feed this faith and imagination. While they are just a partial window on the change that is possible, they represent a revolution that has been underway for some time. Once you tune in, you can witness everywhere, at all levels, and all around the world.

The Macro Level

At a macro level, the Wellbeing Economy revolution is about a tangible shift away from governing as if GDP is the core objective — as if this is a good way of understanding if the economy is achieving long-term wellbeing for all — toward directly measuring and governing wellbeing outcomes. This macro-level governance needs setting at national as well as local levels of government.

The insights in this magazine from the people working on the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Canada, the Network of Wellbeing, and the Canadian Purpose Economy Project all detail the widespread and expanding action to make the Wellbeing Economy a reality. The articles help bring to life the motivations for the Wellbeing Economy at the macro level and key ways people can keep up to date and get involved, from signing up for newsletters to engaging with key resources

Beyond Scotland and Canada, countries that are spotlighted in this magazine, the Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo) also include Wales, Iceland, New Zealand, and Finland. In addition, a number of countries outside of this group have been pushing to develop the foundations of a Wellbeing Economy. For example, the EU has been pushing this agenda concertedly since its 2009 Beyond GDP project and the UK developed Quality of Life indicators as part of its Measures of National Wellbeing program in 2010.

The work happening through the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and beyond builds on practical work that began in the 1990s with the UN’s Human Development Index, and in Asia, where Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) framework has long been a beacon of change toward a Wellbeing Economy. What is hugely important is that once you start properly measuring what matters, you realize how much real value is being lost through blindly growing financial income as if this will automatically result in wellbeing outcomes.

Work has been expanding over the years at national and local administrative levels to expose “social return on investment.” These and other multi-capital accounting experiments have been gaining sophistication over the years, and we are starting to get consensus at the international level on the best approaches that put wellbeing as the central currency.

Action is also being taken by the world-renowned Club of Rome, which has spearheaded the global debate on economic transformation since the 1970s and openly advocates for a Wellbeing Economy to replace the contemporary growth-focused market economy in its latest book, Earth for All.

The Meso Level

While the shift in ambition at the level of the macro market economy is vital, this needs to be made real through purpose-driven organizations, including governments as organizations. Purpose-driven organizations by definition routinize decisions that support the Wellbeing Economy. As we outlined in our previous editorial, it is governance that routinizes action toward an objective (within clear parameters), oversees whether or not this has been achieved, and is accountable for that fact to relevant others. In this nested system, we need the right direction, oversight, and accountability at the macro level of governance in order to motivate and retain the right governance at the level of organizations where the value-creation work happens.

Recognizing this deep interconnection between the Wellbeing Economy and purpose-driven organizations, Mike Rowlands and his team at the Canadian Purpose Economy Project have been working to convene and amplify the voices of prominent CEOs and other organizational members to lobby for a macro environment that can help purpose-driven organizations thrive. Given that Canada has a history of being a Wellbeing Economy visionary, as Tara Campbell from WEAll Canada outlined, and that the purpose-driven business community is very active, this is a context where change could be supercharged.

At the operational level, inspiring stories of purpose-driven organizations working hard to make the Wellbeing Economy real at a meso level have been brought to life in this magazine by NATIVA, The Purpose Business, Therme Group, Anglian Water, and Inspired Villages. Together they help illustrate in real terms what business models look like when they exist to make a contribution to long-term wellbeing for all while ensuring they achieve that purpose in a way that protects and enhances the assets they rely on.

Eric Ezechieli from NATIVA and Andy Brown from Anglian Water illuminated the role that the legal context plays in anchoring decisions to a clear, durable, and dedicated purpose. For NATIVA, the first certified B Corp in Europe, the Benefit Corporation legal form has been a central pillar of driving change. For Anglian Water, as one specific company on a purpose-driven journey, it has been about changing their constitution within traditional legal form and then using the British Standard in purpose-driven organizations, “PAS 808:2022 Purpose-driven organizations. Worldviews, principles and behaviours for delivering sustainability” (PAS 808) to embed this across the company.

Regardless of whether you can change your legal form, it is the governance and management practices that make purpose, and therefore the Wellbeing Economy, real in day-to-day decisions. Like NATIVA, Pat Dwyer outlined how The Purpose Business is itself a purpose-driven organization that works with a wide range of organizations to support their lived purpose journey. While both work globally, NATIVA is more European-centric while The Purpose Business focuses on the change happening in Asia. Together these demonstrate the global nature of work to bring about the Wellbeing Economy through purpose-driven organizations.

What these stories also well demonstrate is the blue sky thinking and hyper-innovation that sweeps in when you flip to a purpose logic of decision-making that is wellbeing, and, therefore, sustainability-oriented. Product and service ideas and the scope of collaborators open up as the business-as-usual (BAU) way of thinking about markets shifts from a marketplace of potential financial income capture to a marketplace of potential wellbeing outcomes. In addition, decisions start to become bounded by hard parameters that make the protection and enhancement of social and environmental systems (like healthy water systems) and the health of stakeholders a non-negotiable limitation. These parameters shape business model design and all strategy to achieve the purpose — thereby making sure value isn’t created through innovation in one place but destroyed through operations to achieve it.

The existing system that promotes asset-stripping of our shared resources in order to make financial profit makes it difficult to operate within parameters that protect social and environmental systems. At the same time, with the right mindset, research shows creativity is heightened with hard parameters. Furthermore, the expanded innovation mindset of purpose and freedom from old ways of thinking that purpose unlocks means that these organizations can find ways around problems others can’t see and gives energy to sustain grand plans.

If you are purpose-driven, then you also care as much about governing for healthy stocks and flows of non-financial capital as financial capital, as well as ensuring the business model operates within social and environmental thresholds of health. You count what matters, you recognize you can’t always count it and seek multi-stakeholder insights, and you make decisions based on that fuller view. This is also the basis of being able to comply with the oncoming ESG reporting agenda, which, while starting out as an investor risk and values agenda, is ultimately about society saying to organizations that they can only exist if they can prove that they are not asset-stripping our collective long-term wellbeing. Purpose-driven organizations do this as part of their core processes and are set up to weather this revolution in reporting better than others.

By changing the objective and the parameters, which are the basis of strategy (i.e. how to achieve an objective within parameters) the rationale for action: the “business case” is also fundamentally changed in purpose-driven organizations. This goes hand in hand with leaning on the raft of new multi-capital accounting systems that have been emerging over the years.

Reflecting the shift from GDP at the macro level, we’ve had a couple decades of serious innovation in organizational-level accounting: everything from the Environmental Profit and Loss Account (EP&L) spearheaded by Puma, to full multi-capital accounting processes mainstreamed by organizations like the once-prominent International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Capitals Coalition, to recent pushes to provide estimated costs of externalities in the notes to the accounts in order to fulfill director duties to assure accounts are “True and Fair.”

One further striking aspect of what characterizes purpose-driven organizations is the collaborative approach taken to bring communities of practice closer together to drive advanced change. All contributions to this issue of Make The World Better Magazine in some way exposed supercharged collaboration and co-creation.

Nowhere is this taking root more seriously than in the national standards-building work to build and expose the emerging consensus on the governance and management needed at the meso level. The British Standard, PAS 808, can be freely downloaded and was designed to be applicable globally and in any organization.

However, while that was the intention, it is only when the question of “how is a purpose-driven organization governed and managed” posed at an international level can we really know what the consensus on this is. Twenty twenty-four may be the year this process kicks off within ISO (the non-governmental process of consensus building made up of 167 counties). Any pre-work to scrutinize and experiment with PAS 808 is a way to prepare for this, and you can join the implementors group on LinkedIn.

The Micro Level

The macro Wellbeing Economy provides the structure for the meso-level purpose-driven organizations to flourish, and this, in turn, unlocks enhanced meaningful work and lives — and hence, enhanced direct wellbeing — for those who work for, buy from, live near, or are impacted by them.

Duncan Newbury from Therme Group and Jamie Bunce from Inspired Villages brought colour to this by describing how being in service to a world of long-term wellbeing for all has led to business models that seek to enhance wellbeing directly. Both are using science and experimentation to understand more and more about what fulfills us as humans. They are brilliant examples of how businesses can flourish precisely because they care most about the wellbeing of those they touch with their daily activities.

While there has been decades of concerted research and practical innovation on the topic of meaningful work and lives, this has not yet been properly connected as a global movement and certainly has not been properly integrated with the meso level of purpose-driven organizations and the macro level of the Wellbeing Economy — the levels which underpin whether or not we can use our individual efforts to make sustainability a reality.

To all those working directly in advancing meaningful work and lives, we would love to see recognition for the work you do and for your work to directly feed into and from the meso and macro levels described here.

Sparking the Three-Level Shift

The three-level shift we have described in detail is the necessary result of a period of economic paradigm “flux” that we have lived through in the last couple of decades. A period where business-as-usual thinking has deteriorated in the face of the wide-scale social and environmental system breakdown that it drives. It has felt confusing and difficult to move beyond describing “what is wrong” to being able to precisely describe what the alternative looks like. We believe that this is what the three-level shift represents.

We hope we have helped convince you that while there is, of course, a long way to go, we already have the base foundations in place and the basis to enact rapid change globally. In many ways, this is not about creating something new but taking away the barriers that stop the positive outcomes we as humans are motivated by.

Imagine, for example, those who went into politics to improve their communities but became stuck in a game of sacrificing what matters to improve the national accounts. Imagine the number of purpose-driven organizations that couldn’t get off the ground because of a structured competitive environment that allowed profit-making from social and environmental harm. Or the entrepreneurs who put vast amounts of energy into solving a genuine wellbeing problem but whose only option was to borrow toxic finance from those who co-opted their governance for financial income capture. Think for a moment about the average person who would love to go to bed feeling that they didn’t just pay the bills but used their time, energy, and skills to contribute positively to the world around them, rather than feeling worse and worse about the effects of their talent. This is the potential waiting to be unlocked. And the first biggest barrier that we need to overcome is that the majority of the world understands this and can see the way forward outlined in this magazine.

In summary, we believe all the conditions are in place to reform the market economy at the macro, meso, and micro levels. What is missing is the clarity about the common goal, which we hope this edition provides some small impact on. It is this clarity that will build the unity and confidence for the hard work of directing, overseeing, and being accountable for this transformation — in other words, doing the hard work of changing how we govern the economy and organizations. More than that, this starts with how we govern ourselves as individuals and citizens, the ultimate governing body.

Dr. Victoria Hurth is a global expert; thought leader in sustainability, ESG, and purpose governance; and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership Fellow.

Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti is the Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainability at the University of Surrey (UK), a member of the Club of Rome, and a former member of Parliament and Minister of Education, University, and Research in Italy.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Make the World Better, MTWB

Impact Inspiration & Initiatives

30+ Wellbeing Economy Resources for Purpose-Driven Organizations

Post author By user
Post date April 10, 2024
No Comments on 30+ Wellbeing Economy Resources for Purpose-Driven Organizations

The transition to the Wellbeing Economy, a purpose-first model that places people and planet at the centre, is critically important to creating lasting positive change in the world, especially at the systems level. It’s a journey that will require collaborative action from purpose-driven organizations and changemakers around the world, striving toward long-term sustainability for all.

Keep scrolling to enjoy impactful resources that will help you learn more about the Wellbeing Economy and the role of governance, leadership, and purpose-driven businesses, and take action toward long-term sustainability for all.

Resources from Changemakers Featured in Make The World Better Magazine

Check out these resources from individuals and organizations that have been featured in Make The World Better Magazine.

Canadian Purpose Economy Project – A Call to Purpose: Take action toward wellbeing with Canada Purpose Economy Project’s invitation to become a social purpose leader in Canada and sign the pledge.

Canadian Purpose Economy Project – Purpose Perception Survey: CPEP has created several survey questions for organizations to use to discover how stakeholders and employees perceive their progress toward achieving purpose.

David Suzuki Foundation – Wellbeing Economies: The David Suzuki Foundation has engaged in a project to support the transition to the Wellbeing Economy. Here they provide helpful resources and insights, including information on the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Canada (WEAll Can), community stories, expert views, and core principles to help everyone live out wellbeing.

Inspired Villages – Submit Your Way to Enjoy Retirement: Take part in Inspired Village’s 101 Ways to Enjoy Getting Older Campaign by submitting tips and feedback that will help the UK’s aging population live with purpose.

NATIVA – Purpose Driven Buildings: A Holistic Approach to the Wellbeing of Humans and the Planet: Learn about the role buildings play in sustainability and wellbeing, and discover frameworks, protocols, and criteria that will help us go beyond compliance to build a more sustainable world. The article also includes success stories that demonstrate these practices in action.

Network of Wellbeing – Wellbeing Books We’ve Found Inspiring: Network of Wellbeing shares their reading list, filled with inspiring books about purpose, sustainability, and the wellbeing of people and planet.

Network of Wellbeing – Building Wellbeing Together: Wellbeing for Future Generations: This webinar recording will help changemakers make strides on their Wellbeing Economy journey as they uncover strategies for supporting long-term wellbeing for all.

Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti – Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth: Professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainability at the University of Surrey (UK); a member of the Club of Rome; and a former member of Parliament and Minister of Education, University, and Research in Italy, shares invaluable insights in his book, including real-life examples and innovative research that support the need to break free from our current economic models and place collective wellbeing at the centre.

The Purpose Business – The Purpose Litmus Test: 3 Surefire Ways to Activation: In this article, The Purpose Business provides a three-point litmus test to help organizations determine if their purpose is actionable and relevant to stakeholders.

The Purpose Business – Measuring Your Impact With the SDGs: Pat Dwyer, Founder and Director of The Purpose Business, made a guest appearance on the #impact Podcast to discuss how organizations can measure their impact. Along with sharing the recording, The Purpose Business has provided a summary of key takeaways from the episode.

Scottish Government – Wellbeing Economy Toolkit: Supporting Place Based Economic Strategy and Policy Development: The Scottish Government has provided a toolkit to help organizations better understand the Wellbeing Economy, learn how to develop their Wellbeing Economy story, monitor and evaluate wellbeing outcomes, and more. The toolkit includes action steps and case studies for each phase, along with a list of evidence resources.

Therme Group – Urban Wellness Infrastructure Builds the Future of Cities: This article explores the critical need to integrate wellness infrastructure in urban settings and provides examples of organizations that have made wellbeing their purpose.

Therme Group – Human Cities: Increasing Urban Wellbeing: In this publication, Therme Group shares research on wellbeing in urban contexts and argues that we need interconnectivity to overcome the inequalities and negative impacts of city living and usher in wellbeing for all.

Dr. Victoria Hurth – The Purpose Led Economy: In the opening keynote at the Canadian Securities Exchange’s Summit on Responsible Investment 2023, hosted in collaboration with Sparx, Dr. Victoria Hurth, global expert; thought leader in sustainability, ESG, and purpose governance; and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership Fellow, described the need to transition to the Wellbeing Economy, how purpose-driven organizations can help unleash meaningful work and lives, and the importance of good governance.

Dr. Victoria Hurth – Unleashing the Sustainable Business: Co-authored by Dr. Victoria Hurth, these papers explore organizational culture, purpose-driven governance, purpose-driven approaches to business, how purpose transforms organizations, and how all of these factors contribute toward long-term sustainability for all.

Wellbeing Economy Alliance Canada – Newsletter Signup: WEAll Can aims to bring together individuals and organizations to design a new economic system for Canada that is purpose-built and focused on wellbeing for people and planet. Sign up for their newsletter to stay up to date on news, events, and resources and to become a part of this growing community.

Resources from Other Changemakers

The Club of Rome – 21st Century Wellbeing Economics: The Road to Recovery, Renewal & Resilience: In the wake of COVID-19 and amidst the rising need for economic recovery, the Club of Rome sets out the need for Europe’s transition to the Wellbeing Economy and shares learnings and insights, wellbeing measurement tools, and recommendations that will help drive this shift.

Economy is Care Short Film: Watch this beautifully-animated film for a thought-provoking look at what the economy should provide for everyone, the inequalities that exist, how the past and present have shaped our current economy, and the benefits we would all experience if care, our needs, and collective wellbeing were at the centre.

Innate Motion – How to Optimize the Wellbeing Machine: Dr. Victoria Hurth joins Benoit Beaufils of Innate Motion and Shad Raouf, podcast host, to discuss how purpose-driven organizations can focus on impact while making a profit, along with the need to transform our economy from profit-first to purpose-first.

ISO Technical Committee 309 – ISO 37000:2021 Governance of organizations — Guidance: As the first international benchmark for good governance, ISO 37000 provides organizations and their governing bodies with the tools they need to govern well, placing purpose, sustainability, and society at the heart of governance.

Local Futures Podcast – Love, Values, and Wellbeing Economies: Tune in to this podcast to learn about the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) from former Executive Director Diego Isabel La Moneda, and its focus on bringing everyone together on an international level to drive the Wellbeing Economy movement, the importance of having the right values, and how localization fits into the movement.

OECD – Improving the Well-Being of Canadians: Venture into the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s library to learn about Canada’s wellbeing scores, the challenges Canada needs to overcome, and recommendations to help improve collective wellbeing.

PAS 808: Purpose-Driven Organisations: Worldviews, Principles and Behaviours: This groundbreaking standard is a great tool for organizations, policymakers, regulators, and stakeholders. Along with examining what it means to be a purpose-driven organization, it also serves as a basis for developing strategies and approaches to enact and embed purpose, aligning purpose with decision-making, and ensuring accountability.

Stories for Life: Enjoy exploring this collaborative and unique website. Broken up into chapters, it offers insight into the power stories have to shape a Wellbeing Economy and a better world, while providing a library of sources and free downloadable assets.

United Way BC Social Purpose Institute – Propelling the Canadian Purpose Economy: A Framework for Action: Compiled by the United Way BC Social Purpose Institute, this ebook captures powerful insights into social purpose business in Canada and the Framework for Action, including Canada’s purpose priorities, key drivers, steps to activate the framework, and more.

United Way BC Social Purpose Institute – Social Purpose Procurement Toolkit for Social Purpose Companies: With this toolkit, procurement teams will learn how to find social purpose suppliers and raise awareness for existing suppliers, as well as to enjoy case studies of social purpose procurement in action.

Wellbeing Economy Alliance – Participate in the Movement: Want to contribute to the Wellbeing Economy? Discover exciting ways you can participate in the movement, including becoming a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll).

Wellbeing Economy Alliance – Zero Waste in a Wellbeing Economy: Get inspired with case studies that demonstrate ways to build a zero-waste world and discover how the five Rs (Refusing, Reducing, Reusing, Recycling, and Restoring) can set us on the path toward a circular and regenerative Wellbeing Economy.

Sparx PG’s Resources

How to Create an Effective Marketing Strategy for Your Impact Organization: Check out our blog for advice on how purpose-driven organizations can market their impact, from setting the right goals and reaching the right audiences to measuring success.

How to Set SMART Goals in Cause Marketing: Measuring impact is invaluable for building a better world and ensuring you’re on track to achieve your purpose. Read on to discover how setting SMART goals can help you ensure your mission-aligned marketing amplifies your purpose and learn how you can apply these goals to specific channels and campaigns.

3 Marketing Best Practices for Your B Corporation: Certified B Corporations are committed to a better way of business that can help achieve long-term sustainability for all. These three marketing best practices will help B Corps tell their purpose-driven stories and amplify their impact.

Amplify Your Purpose-Driven Story with Sparx

We would love to increase support and awareness around your efforts to build the Wellbeing Economy. Want to team up? Give us a shout for a free consultation. Together, we can amplify your impact.

Tags Amplify Good, Community, Make the World Better

Events

30 Purpose-Driven Events to Attend in April – June, 2024

Post author By user
Post date March 21, 2024
No Comments on 30 Purpose-Driven Events to Attend in April – June, 2024

Ready to take action to make the world better? This spring and early summer, there are plenty of purpose-driven conferences to attend for every cause that matters to you, including sharpening your social purpose, engaging in social finance and sustainable finance, supporting Indigenous and underrepresented communities, advancing the circular economy, collaborating toward collective wellbeing for all, and more.

We’ve tracked down 30 learning, collaboration, and networking opportunities taking place both online and in-person, in Canada and globally, so you can maximize your impact.

Keep scrolling to learn all about purpose-driven events taking place this April, May, and June.

April

Indigenous Led Projects Forum (ILPF) 2024

Date: April 2 – 3, 2024

Location: Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, Toronto, Ontario

Description: Focused around the central theme, “Transitioning to the Green Economy: Opportunities for Indigenous Nations,” this two-day event unites Indigenous communities and organizations and industry and government representatives to engage in meaningful conversations, collaborations, and partnerships to pave the way for positive change.

Bringing Your Non-Profit To Life With Powerful Impact Stories

Date: April 10, 2024, from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM PDT

Location: Volunteer Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia

Description: This in-person, interactive workshop will help non-profits learn how to engage their audience through storytelling, including identifying and appealing to target audiences, using feedback to illustrate impact, and writing a compelling call to action.

Calgary Women in Energy Presents: Allies in Energy 2024 – Executive Forum

Date: April 10, 2024, from 2:30 PM – 7:00 PM MDT

Location: Calgary Petroleum Club – Devonian Room, Calgary, Alberta

Description: Presented by Calgary Women in Energy, learn, network, and uplift women at this forum focused on the alignment of team dynamics, organizational culture, strategy implementation, operational models, and the pursuit of synergies.

Green Leader Awards 2024

Date: April 10, 2024, from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT

Location: RBC Place London, London, Ontario

Description: Join the London Environmental Network and Green Economy London in celebrating businesses and community leaders who are building a more sustainable and resilient London, Ontario.

ROI of Why 2024

Date: April 11, 2024

Location: Online & In-Person, Lincoln, Nebraska, United States

Description: Hosted by The Do More Good® Movement, this purpose-driven conference brings together individuals and organizations creating abundance and transformation through business. Discussion topics will include conscious leadership, employee wellbeing, innovation for good, profit because of purpose, social responsibility, sustainable business practices, and more.

B Local Breakfast

Date: April 18, 2024, from 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM PDT

Location: Suite Genius, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Sponsored by Coast Capital Savings and hosted by B Local Vancouver, B Corp, and PortaLaw, and featuring a presentation from Ocean Ambassadors Canada, this free, zero-waste networking breakfast event will help employees learn how to take action to end waste at work and home. Plus, connect with Sparx at this event!

BC Embodied Carbon Awards 2024

Date: April 18, 2024, from 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT

Location: Ventura Room, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Uncover success stories and celebrate companies and projects pursuing low embodied carbon design at this inspiring awards event, hosted by Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) British Columbia and powered by Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC).

JEDDI Seminar: Storytelling MMIWG2S & Extraction

Date: April 19, 2024, from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PDT

Location: UBC Sauder School of Business, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: At this JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization, and Inclusion) seminar, convened by the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics and Ch’nook, learn about advancing the substantive equality of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIAP+ persons working in the extraction industry and living close to development projects.

Alberta Energy Efficiency + Innovation Summit 2024

Date: April 23 – 24, 2024

Location: The Hudson Downtown Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

Description: Collaborate, network, and gain insights into the latest energy efficiency deployment trends at this two-day purpose-driven conference, which brings together over 200 leaders dedicated to advancing sustainable solutions in Alberta’s buildings sector.

Benevity Live!

Date: April 23 – 26, 2024

Location: Online & In-Person, Palm Springs, California, United States

Description: Connect, ideate, and celebrate all things positive impact alongside purpose-driven brands and changemakers at this inspiring event, hosted by Benevity, and enjoy networking, community huddles, workshops, presentations, and more.

Natural Climate Solutions and Carbon Market Potential

Date: April 25, 2024, from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM CST

Location: Online & In-Person, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Description: Presented by the kihci-okâwîmâw askiy Knowledge Centre, which works for and with Indigenous communities to support the development and delivery of land-related teaching, research, and engagement opportunities, this panel explores the carbon environment in Canada and natural climate solutions.

The Purpose Summit

Date: April 29 – May 1, 2024

Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Description: Join purpose-driven leaders from around the world for a three-day purpose-driven event packed with keynotes, breakout sessions, receptions, and more focused on building relationships, refocusing and reigniting purpose, and creating high-performing purpose-driven teams to create a better world.

May

Total Impact Summit 2024

Date: May 1 – 2, 2024

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Description: Meet with a dynamic group of impact investors and leaders from across the United States who are signalling, shaping, and setting new standards for a future economy that is inclusive, sustainable, and resilient for all.

Nonprofit Driven 2024

Date: May 14 – 15, 2024

Location: Toronto Reference Library, Toronto, Ontario

Description: Organized by Ontario Nonprofit Network, this nonprofit public policy forum brings changemakers together to uncover insights from diverse sector leaders, explore a wide range of topics including advocacy and social finance, and participate in networking sessions and workshops.

Circularity 24

Date: May 22 – 24, 2024

Location: Marriott Marquis Hotel Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Description: Circularity 24 is a leading circular economy event that brings together visionaries, practitioners, and changemakers for thought-provoking keynotes, actionable breakouts, networking opportunities, and a solutions-oriented expo. Plus, connect with Sparx at this event!

Ocean Global Canada Summit 2024

Date: May 21 – 24, 2024

Location: The Algonquin Resort, St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick

Description: Help contribute toward Canada’s blue economy at this purpose-driven event, which brings together leaders, experts, policymakers, innovators, and ocean technology entrepreneurs from across industry sectors to examine key themes, including Canada’s Blue Economy strategy, social equity and Indigenous economic engagement, preservation of coastal cultures for sustainable blue impact, and more.

Northern Dialogues Conference 2024

Date: May 21 – 24, 2024

Location: Online & In-Person, Yukon University, Whitehorse, Yukon

Description: Engage with meaningful dialogues and perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing rural, northern, and Indigenous communities in Canada, as well as the implications of “remoteness” for sustainable living, at this purpose-driven conference.

RIA Conference Vancouver 2024

Date: May 28 – 29, 2024

Location: Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Unleash the potential of responsible investment in Canada and learn, develop, and network alongside sustainable finance and ESG leaders at this purpose-driven event, hosted by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA).

2024 National Suicide Prevention Conference

Date: May 29 – 31, 2024

Location: Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Hosted by the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP), this purpose-driven event, centred around the theme, “Inspiring Hope Together,” will teach attendees strategies for saving lives through the latest knowledge and practices in suicide prevention, intervention, postvention, and life promotion, all while emphasizing the power of unity in creating positive change.

June

Planted Expo Vancouver 2024: North America’s Largest Plant-based Event!

Date: June 1 – 2, 2024

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre West Building, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Discover innovative plant-based products that are good for people and planet at an exhibit spanning 200+ exhibitors, and gather insights from leading voices and presenters in the sustainability space.

Social Innovation Summit 2024

Date: June 4 – 5, 2024

Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Description: Join forces with purpose-driven leaders, funders, community stakeholders, and impact entrepreneurs determined to catalyze inspired partnerships, and engage in discussions and debates, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities.

Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase 2024

Date: June 5 – 6, 2024

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre West Building, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Dive into two days of thought leadership, storytelling, and open dialogue on economic reconciliation and cultivate purpose, relationships, and vision as Indigenous leaders share their experiences and groundbreaking ideas about reconciliation.

2024 Canadian Climate Investor Conference

Date: June 6, 2024, from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT

Location: Hyatt Regency Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Description: At this purpose-driven conference, engage in private meetings, company presentations, and roundtables, and discover ways to accelerate the deployment of capital needed to build a more sustainable future for Canadians alongside growth-oriented, publicly traded clean energy and technology companies and climate-conscious investors.

2024 Clean Energy Summit

Date: June 11, 2024, from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT

Location: Delta Hotel Conference Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia

Description: Celebrate Burnaby as a hub for clean energy and attend panels covering a vast array of sustainability-oriented topics, including international perspectives and global trends, finance and investments, clean energy exports, renewable hydrogen, future market design, and more.

Wellbeing Economy Forum

Date: June 11 – 12, 2024

Location: Harpa, Reykjavik, Iceland

Description: This purpose-driven event will gather together Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll) members, act as a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and change, and provide opportunities for game-changing discussions covering a wide range of pressing topics, including integrating wellbeing priorities in public budgeting, measuring sustainability, and the role of government and the economy in driving change, all with the goal of fostering sustainable wellbeing for all.

2024 Social Finance Forum

Date: June 12 – 13, 2024

Location: Online & In-Person, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal, and Halifax

Description: Curated and convened by the Future of Good, the Social Finance Forum is back! A unique hybrid event, this purpose-driven conference offers a digital experience as well as several in-person community hubs across Canada, bringing together 1,000+ social purpose leaders to learn actionable insights, celebrate game-changing ideas, and reshape finance tools for a better future.

DEFY 2024

Date: June 12 – 14, 2024

Location: Le Centre Sheraton Montréal Hotel, Montréal, Québec

Description: CAMSC, CGLCC, and IWSCC, (SDAC) together with WEConnect International have joined forces to present this three-day supplier diversity event, packed with workshops, keynotes, matchmaking sessions, and opportunities to meet with diverse entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, government, and ecosystem partners driving positive change through business.

Summit on Responsible Investment 2024

Date: June 13, 2024

Location: Kelowna, British Columbia

Description: The Summit on Responsible Investment, hosted by the Canadian Securities Exchange, is back by popular demand! Sparx looks forward to attending and collaborating on this purpose-driven environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and socially responsible investing (SRI) event, so be sure to connect with us. Stay tuned, more information is coming soon!

Behavioural Insights into Business for Social Good 2024

Date: June 14 – 15, 2024

Location: Terminal City Club, Vancouver, British Columbia

Description: Engage in a cross-disciplinary dialogue about how insights from behavioural science research and business can be harnessed in a synergistic fashion to facilitate the greater social good, learn from expert speakers, and network with like-minded individuals using business for social good.

GreenFin 24

Date: June 17 – 19, 2024

Location: Javits Center, New York City, New York, United States

Description: At this premier sustainable finance event, join forces with finance, sustainability, and investment professionals working to realize a net zero economy and gain insights into the latest sustainable finance and investing trends, accelerate sustainability strategies, and form valuable connections.

RSVP for a Free Consultation with Sparx

On a mission to make the world better? Our marketing experts can help make your impact story shine. Let’s talk purpose.

Tags Amplify Good, Make the World Better, purpose-driven conferences, purpose-driven events

Sustainability Tips

20+ Eco-Friendly and Zero-Waste Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day 2024

Post author By user
Post date February 6, 2024
No Comments on 20+ Eco-Friendly and Zero-Waste Gift Ideas for Valentine’s Day 2024

Love is in the air. It inspires us to do a world of good and does us a world of good, too. And so we look to celebrate the people who have brought so much joy to our lives by giving them a gift that will bring them joy.

Unfortunately, gift-giving can have consequences that aren’t so lovely, as it can generate waste or negatively impact the environment. But there are ways to give that are both heartwarming and sustainable.

Experiences make for excellent (zero-waste) gifts. After all, who doesn’t love spending time with their special someone? Rather than purchasing something new, consider creating memories your Valentine will always cherish by planning eco-friendly activities. For example, you could…

Enjoy Nature: Go for a walk or (tandem) bike ride and explore together. You may discover new paths and places to visit, interesting wildlife, and beautiful scenery.
Volunteer: Team up and take action like a true power couple by cleaning up local parks, beaches, or shorelines; helping at soup kitchens and shelters; or finding another way to volunteer.
Have a Sustainable Dinner Date: Enjoy a sustainable dinner date with your beloved by ordering a zero-waste surprise bag with the Too Good To Go app, using waste-prevention recipes from Love Food Hate Waste Canada, or find an eco-friendly restaurant in the Vancouver area with EcoMeter. Want to try making dessert together? Check out Susgrainable’s upcycled barley flour baking mixes or visit EMKAO Foods to get the ethical and sustainably sourced ingredients you need to make your own chocolate treats.
Go Thrifting: Visit thrift shops, flea markets, and secondhand stores together to enjoy browsing through unique previously-loved items. You never know what treasures you’ll uncover — you may even find a one-of-a-kind gift!

However, if you want to buy a gift for your beloved, have no fear! We’ve compiled several eco-friendly gift suggestions that will help express your love while supporting the environment and other wonderful causes. Because nothing says heartfelt like a gift with real impact.

Just a reminder: be sure to package your gifts responsibly! Gift wrap tends to produce a lot of waste. Go reusable wherever possible (reusable bags, furoshiki wraps, scarves, newspapers, etc.) or present your gift wrap-free.

Books & Stationery

Mimi & August Valentine’s Day Cards – These eco-friendly Valentine’s Day Cards made from recycled paper are perfect for sending a heartfelt message to your beloved.

Raoul & Simone Bouquet Notebooks – Give a lasting bouquet with these floral-themed notebooks made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper, produced using renewable energy, and have a recyclable velvet finish.

SproutWorld Pencils Spread the Love Edition – Let your love blossom with these regenerative plantable pencils, which are engraved with heartwarming quotes and contain various wildflower and herb seeds.

Sustainable Home by Christine Liu – Is your Valentine devoted to circular economy initiatives? Support their love with this practical guide to sustainable living so they can strengthen their commitment to the cause. Ebook options are available, and consider tracking down a previously loved copy and/or sharing with a friend for an extra eco-conscious touch!

Clothing & Apparel

Anne Mulaire Zero Waste Collection and Carbon Neutral Clothing Collection – Pick something unique, sustainable, and practical for your Valentine from these zero waste and carbon neutral collections by women-led, Indigenous-owned brand Anne Mulaire.

The Ocean Cleanup Recycled Sweatshirt – Show them your love is as deep as the ocean with this circular economy recycled sweatshirt. Or check out this page to donate to the Ocean Cleanup on behalf of your loved one and gift them a personalized donor certificate.

Province of Canada Recycled Socks – Help the homeless and give your Valentine a thoughtful gift that will have them walking on a cloud with these recycled cotton socks.

Sheppards Hook X Serena Wilson Stubson Collaboration necklaces – These collaboratively made eco-friendly, zero-waste necklaces are a unique and striking gift that will remain close to your beloved’s heart.

Food & Drink

Pluck Tea Valentine’s Day Teas – Find the perfect tea for your sweetie with Pluck Tea’s sustainably sourced and packaged Valentine’s collection.

Raven Rising Valentine’s Day Collection – Explore the Valentine’s Day collection and choose a beautiful and sustainable confection for your beloved from Indigenous women-owned and -operated brand Raven Rising.

Salt Spring Coffee French Roast Coffee – With caramel and chocolate notes, serving up this ethical, sustainable, 100% shade-grown French Roast coffee will be a real treat for your Valentine. Pair it with a Salt Spring Coffee CARE cup to really express yourself!

Southbrook Vineyards Valentine’s Day Bundle – Impress your Valentine with this romantic bundle, featuring organic and local Canadian-made wines and goods from Southbrook Vineyards, which has several sustainability certifications.

Home & Decor

Anián Recycled Wool Throw Blanket – Warm their heart with this warm and cozy recycled wool throw blanket made by Canadian circular fashion company Anián.

Goodee Mia Mini Vase Trio – Each vase in this beautiful set, available through Certified B Corp Goodee, is individually mouth-blown by expert artisans using 100% recycled glass.

Mala the Brand xoxo | mini candle gift set – Plant a tree with this trio of sweet-smelling sustainably made candles for your sweetie, hand-poured with love in Canada.

Nature Bee Valentine’s Day Swedish Dishcloth – Hearts and Stripes – These lovely dishcloths, made by an inclusive, woman-owned Canadian company, will add a sustainable touch to your beloved’s home.

Personal Care

Bottle None Travel Sets – Want to plan an adventure with your beloved? Help them prepare with these zero-waste soap and hair travel sets made from 100% recycled Canadian plastic.

Cheekbone Beauty Refillable Collection – Find the perfect sustainable gift for pampering your beloved with this refillable collection from Indigenous-owned and -operated B Corp Cheekbone Beauty.

Sisters Sage Pink Sugar Bath Bomb – From Indigenous brand Sisters Sage, these handmade, sustainable pink sugar bath bombs are a sweet-smelling gift for your sweetie.

The Yukon Soaps Company Essential Oil Blend Gift Set – Support Indigenous communities and delight your beloved with this soothing set of four natural, sustainable essential oil blends from Indigenous brand The Yukon Soaps Company.

Will You Be Our Valentine?

Are you engaging in purpose-driven efforts to make the world better? We (not-so-secretly) admire that. Contact us for a free consultation. We would love to spread the love (and impact) to your audience.

Tags Gift Ideas, Sustainability, Valentines Day, Zero Waste

Make The World Better Magazine

Sustainability Advantage: Equipping Sustainability Champions

Post author By user
Post date January 5, 2024
No Comments on Sustainability Advantage: Equipping Sustainability Champions

Building a sustainable world where future generations can flourish within nature’s limits is going to take a lot of work from dedicated communities. In order to accelerate their sustainability journey, changemakers need free, accessible resources that will help them carry out this work as effectively as possible.

We spoke with Bob Willard, Founder of Sustainability Advantage, about how his platform is providing sustainability champions worldwide with the tools they need to make a lasting impact.

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Sustainable Advantage content?

There were four sparks that inspired me.

First, in the mid-1990s, my wife and I became concerned about the planned location of a new water treatment plant for our community, Ajax, Ontario. We were uneasy about its close proximity to the upstream Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. Our concerns about the amount of unremovable radioactive tritium in our drinking water led to a three-year effort with multiple levels of government to relocate the water treatment plant. We were not successful. However, the intake pipe for the water plant was angled away from the Pickering nuclear plant, further out into Lake Ontario and deeper down, so the tritium would be more diluted. The experience shook my naïve faith that the people in charge were looking after us. It was a wake-up call that, as citizens, we sometimes have to roll up our sleeves and get involved. We also moved.

Second, during the water plant saga, my day job was leadership development at IBM Canada. We used learning organization principles in that training, so I undertook a part-time master’s degree about learning organizations at the University of Toronto (UofT). As the water plant issue evolved, I decided to complete my studies with courses at the UofT School of the Environment. That was an eye-opener. I had no idea how we were jeopardizing the ecosystem services on which human civilization depends. There were bigger issues than tritium in drinking water that needed our attention.

Third, also during the mid-1990s, I stumbled across The Natural Step (TNS) and learned how we were violating the four science-based system conditions for a thriving human society of a finite planet. We expect governments to fix this, but governments can’t do it alone. From my 34 years of experience at IBM, I knew that the resources, creativity, and influence of the business community were needed as well. But most companies only do things that benefit their bottom lines. We needed a compelling business case that reassured companies it was in their best interest to help address pressing environmental and social issues. I couldn’t find a convincing business case for corporate sustainability, so I decided to create one. It was my master’s thesis.

Fourth, my master’s thesis advisor casually suggested that I should convert my thesis into a book. I laughed. Why would I do that? Writing a book sounded like a lot of work. But he had planted a seed. In 2000, I received my master’s degree and retired from IBM. I don’t golf, so I decided to spend my leisure hours converting my thesis into a book, The Sustainability Advantage. I also created spreadsheets to help any company assess how much more profit it could make if it improved its environmental and social impacts. The book was published in 2002. The same year, I founded my sole proprietorship, Sustainability Advantage.

Being a father, and soon-to-be grandfather, those four seeds found fertile ground, and my new career as a sustainability champion was launched. My family’s future was at stake. We need all hands on deck with tools that enable them to be effective change agents.

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

Over the last 23 years, I have written six books, one of which is available in Portuguese, and given over 1,600 talks worldwide. I have served on the boards of many not-for-profit/non-governmental organizations. I am a Certified B Corp, qualify as a social enterprise, and have earned several awards for my work. I provide over a dozen free, open-source tools on my website to help sustainability champions assess organizational sustainability performance and cost-justify improvements. Subscribers can use and tailor the 900+ slides in my six Master Slide Decks for their purposes, saving them the effort of researching and creating the slides from scratch.

I am helping sustainability champions make an impact with these resources. Occasionally, I am approached by someone who heard me do a talk several years ago and they say it changed their lives. I get asked back to do guest presentations in college and university courses and do many keynotes at conferences worldwide. “Success” is creating resources that are useful. So far, I have anecdotal evidence that they are for the thousands who have downloaded them. That’s good enough for me.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

“You have to do it yourself; you can’t do it alone,” is one of the leadership paradoxes I explain in The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook. As a sole proprietor, I have to work through others. I’ve served on the boards of influential organizations like TNS Canada, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), and B Lab’s Standards Advisory Council (SAC). My website platform, with over a dozen free, open-source resources, helps the community of sustainability champions be more effective change agents. My 50–80 talks per year provide an opportunity to alert people to resources that can help them be more effective change agents so that they don’t waste time recreating them. It feels good to continuously hear back from kindred spirits who are making a difference in their spheres of influence with the aid of my resources.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

I have had the privilege of working with some amazing people to create my resources. I continuously upgrade them with new ideas and suggestions from users and reviewers. Creating content is the fun part. Building out the audience/users is the challenge. I am uneasy that well-intentioned sustainability champions may still be wasting time reinventing the wheel. I need to be better at raising awareness of my free, open-source resources.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

I am very concerned about climate change. I’m heavily engaged in encouraging governments, especially the Canadian government, to integrate Net-Zero Procurement (NZP) elements into their current procurement processes. NZP ensures that the buyer/government gets the best value for money by procuring the most climate-friendly goods and services from suppliers who are the most committed to science-based net-zero targets. The buying power of companies and governments using Net-Zero Procurement is a market force that will mobilize businesses in the race to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 or sooner.

In a robust NZP system, all suppliers, regardless of size or sector, must disclose their net-zero GHG reduction targets and plans. The disclosures include their current direct and indirect GHG inventories, their commitment to science-based net-zero targets, and their plans to reach those time-based targets.

In Canada, as in all countries, over 98% of companies are small, having fewer than 100 employees. Many of them are in government supply chains and would be required to make the above disclosures. However, most net-zero disclosure frameworks and standards are designed for large companies. They are very challenging for a small supplier. That’s why I created a short, reasonable questionnaire — the free, open-source Net-Zero Assessment Tool (NZAT) — for use by small and medium–sized enterprises who do not have the benefit of in-house sustainability staff or expertise. It enables any-size supplier to self-assess and disclose its commitment to net-zero targets.

Further, a NZP system makes the disclosed scores matter. All requests for proposals (RFPs) assign a weight of 10%–30% of the points — enough to make it matter — to suppliers’ net-zero assessment scores. For example, if the weight assigned to a supplier’s net-zero score was 20% and a supplier’s overall score on the net-zero assessment questionnaire was 68%, the supplier would earn 13.6% of the 20% weight. This approach incentivizes suppliers’ efforts to attain science-based net-zero targets, improve their scores, and earn preferential treatment over their competitors.

Why would a supplier bother making these net-zero disclosures? Because their important customer asks them to and their answer matters. If a supplier chooses not to complete the questionnaire, it is still eligible to be a supplier; it just earns a score of zero on their net-zero efforts and will not earn any of the points allotted to supplier net-zero commitment in the bid appraisal. It’s the supplier’s choice. That’s the magic in the disclosure superpower of NZP: it’s voluntary, it’s easy, and it matters.

How can people help support your mission?

My purpose is to ensure future generations have the opportunity for at least the quality of life that I have enjoyed. My vision is a sustainable world in which people and businesses flourish within nature’s limits. My mission is to provide resources to sustainability champions to help accelerate our sustainability journey before it’s too late. People can support me by using my free, open-source resources to help them be more effective change agents, starting with addressing the climate crisis.

For example, my save-the-world strategy starts with helping the Canadian government implement Net-Zero Procurement. Then we can package the system elements and make them available to other levels of government and to other countries. This improves the probability of meeting science-based global GHG reduction targets in time. Because NZP gives bonus points to suppliers if they use NZP with their own suppliers. NZP will soon be used by companies, worldwide.

Net-Zero Procurement is a starter set for a more comprehensive sustainable procurement system. Sustainable procurement (SP) ensures that the buyers/governments get the best value for money by procuring the most sustainable goods and services from the most sustainable suppliers. SP creates a market for sustainable products and an economy in which the most sustainable companies thrive. When governments and companies everywhere implement an SP system that makes sustainability scores matter, we will have attained the sustainable society, economy, and environment that we want.

Then I can really retire.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Amplify Good, Issue 6, Make the World Better, MTWB, Sustainability

Make The World Better Magazine

Not My Problem: Inviting Newcomers to the Climate Space

Post author By user
Post date January 4, 2024
No Comments on Not My Problem: Inviting Newcomers to the Climate Space

It may be surprising that a lot of people are on the fence about climate change, succumbing to the negativity instead of taking action. By telling positive stories and sharing solutions, we can create a starting point for newcomers in the space and provide encouragement for those striving to make a difference.

We spoke with Naman Bajaj, Content Writer and Founder of Not My Problem, about how his platform is sparking meaningful conversations and inspiring folks to engage with the climate space.

What was the “spark” that first inspired you to start creating impact-focused content?

After completing my MBA in 2020, I had a filter in my mind: I wanted to work with startups that were doing something good for people and the planet. However, I had limited knowledge about the impact space, so I decided to talk to people who were building something in this area to learn more.

Of course, founders are busy people, juggling hundreds of different things. Why would they want to talk to someone like me? What would they get out of this conversation?

So, I decided to start a podcast series where I would interview founders of sustainability and social impact startups, where I recorded, edited, and published videos for free. This gave founders free PR and marketing for their brands, and I got some screen time with them.

I did around 50 episodes and that’s how I learned about this space. Through the solutions that these founders are building, I learned about the problems plaguing the planet and humanity. I thought it was a less overwhelming way to learn about the climate crisis and humanitarian problems that we are dealing with.

I decided to replicate this experience for others. I pivoted from podcasts to written content since I felt that it was easier to publish and distribute. In January 2021, I started building Not My Problem, a platform where I share stories of startups from around the world that are solving problems related to the climate crisis.

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

I am grateful to have received a flood of beautiful and kind messages in my inbox. They help me keep going on tough days. One message, in particular, stands out as my biggest win to date: someone told me that they use the positive and impactful stories I share to initiate climate change conversations within their circle.

A few amazing messages received from readers.

Instead of focusing solely on everything that’s not going right in the world, they introduce these impactful solutions to people in their group to start a conversation. People are more receptive when they hear these positive stories. It gives them hope that there are solutions being developed to combat the crisis, and they can become part of these solutions as customers, investors, employees, or cheerleaders.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Most of my content is focused on people who are on the fence about climate change — folks who know things are not going well, but they don’t know where to start. Since I have been in this space for the past few years, I have these biases and assumptions that come into play when I am writing. One of my biggest challenges is to make my content free of these so that it does not become overwhelming for anyone wanting to make a change.

In the last few months, I have also understood that content distribution is a beast in itself. If your content is not reaching the right audience, it doesn’t matter how good it is, unless you are writing only for yourself. I have doubled down on my distribution in the past six to seven months and have started seeing some early wins. My LinkedIn followers have grown five times and the newsletter subscribers have quadrupled.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

Our newsletter is read by people from 85 countries. It’s amazing to think about the wide reach of our content and the diverse audience it attracts. One thing I’ve come to realize is that you never know who is reading your content and how it might be impacting their lives. I receive messages from people who tell me they discovered new brands through my LinkedIn posts, even though I’ve never seen them interacting with my posts directly. It’s a powerful reminder of the influence we can have through online platforms.

How the newsletter has grown since it started in January 2021.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

One of the most common requests we receive is to compile a database of the brands whose stories we share. So, we have started putting all of these brands into a Notion board, segregated by countries and categories. Paid subscribers to our newsletter have access to this database. I keep adding 25–50 brands to this database every week.

A glimpse of the brand database Not My Problem is building

How can people help support your mission?

I have been fortunate to have amazing connections in my network who share impactful startup stories with me. This makes my job easier, as I don’t have to actively search for them. If you come across any such stories that you want me to share, feel free to send me an email or message me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

If you enjoy newsletters, consider subscribing to our weekly newsletter, Not My Problem. Every Friday, we will send positive climate change stories to your inbox. If you are able to, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the time, research, and love that goes into crafting each edition.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Amplify Good, Climate Space, Issue 6, Make the World Better, MTWB

Make The World Better Magazine

Squirrel News: Nourishing Good With Constructive Stories

Post author By user
Post date January 4, 2024
No Comments on Squirrel News: Nourishing Good With Constructive Stories

Sometimes reading the news feels like wading through a mire, with no bright stories to interrupt the gloom. Curated, constructive news stories are needed to bring readers onto solid ground, shed light on solutions, and offer a much-needed reprieve.

We spoke with Jonathan Widder, Founder of Squirrel News, about how this application is sharing solutions-oriented stories and innovative approaches to help readers face today’s challenges with hope and clarity.

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Squirrel News content?

Since 2015, I’d known about the ideas of constructive journalism and solutions journalism, and had dealt with these approaches in various projects. I saw how much readers longed for these kinds of stories but also how difficult it was for them to get a quality news digest of new solutions and societal progress. So, when the time came and my former job ended, I decided to take things into my own hands and founded an independent nonprofit to provide this news digest with my own team.

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

A few months after our launch, German national TV paid us a visit at home — as, everything else was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic — and a month later, an Emmy-winning comic, actor, and screenwriter from Los Angeles contacted us and eventually became the co-host of our new podcast. At the same time, I was elected as a LEDE fellow with the Solutions Journalism Network.

In a survey we conducted earlier this year, our readers stated that reading Squirrel News improves their mental well-being and helps them to make sense of the world.

But the most surprising moment happened on our podcast when we interviewed a researcher and activist for open prisons from India: prisons without walls, wardens, and guns. She was an expert on the topic and had successfully lobbied for a spread of these prisons across India — but when we asked her whether she knew the very similar prison model in Brazil, it turned out that she didn’t. We were able to make her aware of that, so she could connect, exchange, and potentially join forces with the activists in Brazil.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

It feels good to provide something that many people are looking for and to regularly have readers thank you for it. You definitely have the feeling that you’re on the right side of the world, and it’s a good and probably also important feeling to contribute to solutions and not to problems.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

I guess in our digital era it’s just difficult to get people’s attention, as there are so many different media outlets, organizations, and other people diffusing information — established media, news outlets, blogs, social media, and so on. Then, of course, there’s our very tight budget. We started things without any investors or big funding, so it’s always difficult to find the necessary resources to spread the word about our work.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

We just released the first major update of our mobile app since its inception, where we’ve made several major improvements and added a number of features to make using Squirrel News even more fun. Now we’re working on a funny and quite unique format to present our news in TikTok and Instagram videos.

How can people help support your mission?

People can read our news on our mobile app, newsletter, or website; spread the word about Squirrel News, both online and offline; and support us with recurring donations to make sure we can continue our work.

Bonus: Why did you choose the name Squirrel News?

I thought a squirrel is a good symbol for what we do, as we collect solutions-focused news, just as a squirrel collects nuts. Apart from that, I was looking for something more entertaining than those usual dry names with three letters. I had the impression that many journalists take themselves a bit too seriously — even though they often do important work — so the squirrel is also an antidote against that.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Amplify Good, Make the World Better, MTWB

Make The World Better Magazine

Sage Initiative: Supporting Indigenous Womxn Investors

Post author By user
Post date January 4, 2024
No Comments on Sage Initiative: Supporting Indigenous Womxn Investors

Wealth has long been weaponized, creating divisions based on social class and excluding Indigenous Peoples from having a seat at the table. To shift the narrative and usher in true economic reconciliation, money needs to be used as medicine and matrilineal ways need to be restored.

We spoke with Sage Lacerte, Founder & CEO of Sage Initiative, about how this collective is accelerating the rematriation of the Indigenous economy by supporting Indigenous womxn in the impact investment space.

What was the “spark” that first inspired you to start Sage Initiative?

As my mentor, Carol Anne Hilton, CEO and Founder of The Indigenomics Institute, says, “We are living in a time of Indigenous economic resurgence.” Sage Initiative was founded in 2019 and was an expression of love for all my relations, for Mother Earth, humans, and non-human beings.

The “spark” that first inspired me to start Sage Initiative was when I learned more about how rich our Indigenous economy is and the realization that we are currently witnessing a generational shift in action and mindset toward a resurgence of Indigenous concepts of commerce.

I asked, how can the impact investment sector contribute to the betterment of Indigenous communities in Canada? How can more Indigenous womxn take a seat at the economic table? How can impact investors participate in economic reconciliation and make values-aligned investments in Indigenous women and Two-Spirit–owned businesses?

Despite the growth in impact investing in Canada, Indigenous communities and businesses have stated that access to capital remains a significant impediment. Attracting patient capital for Indigenous-led businesses requires work on both sides: investors must familiarize themselves with potentially new business models, and entrepreneurs must be able to build their network, be willing to build partnerships, and showcase their work.

In our matrilineal societies, the matriarchs decide what the needs are of the community. So, by becoming investors, we are healing. That’s very central to the work of decolonizing, and it’s very central to the way that Indigenous commerce systems have worked for a very long time.

We want to shift the narrative because the systems of capitalism use wealth as a tool to divide people based on social class, and that system was not built with Indigenous people in mind. We are restoring our balance within ourselves and with the land. We are decolonizing wealth and restoring money as medicine.

This innovation brings an Indigenous approach to wealth. Circular in nature, our interwoven pedagogy introduces technical investing skills and practices with a balanced approach to investment that equally values social, environmental, and economic benefits. This is my chosen mechanism to promote intergenerational wealth and prosperity.

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

Sage Initiative was chosen as one of the first selected projects of the highly innovative program, the Indigenous Innovation Initiative.

One of the largest impact-first investors in Canada, Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) has supported a pipeline of over 1,300 innovations in 106 countries. The Indigenous Innovation Initiative (I3) is the first GCC program delivered in Canada with a focus on innovations led by Indigenous womxn innovators. The 10 selected projects have created impact across diverse areas, such as pre- and post-natal health, sustainable beauty, human sex trafficking and sex exploitation, and food sovereignty and sustainability.

As a result of this support, Sage Initiative has set the precedent for Indigenous womxn in impact investment globally.

This year, Sage Initiative will host our third cohort of 15 Indigenous womxn impact investors and begin our journey transitioning to scale across Canada.

Our great successes this year have been hosting our first Sage Initiative Harvest Ceremony in Victoria, British Columbia, where members of cohorts 1 and 2 gathered for a week of ceremony and reflection to provide meaningful evaluation for the Initiative.

We also hosted two pitch events featuring Indigenous womxn–owned businesses from across Canada, including Chelsee Pettit from ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin retail inc., ENB Artisan, and The Yukon Soaps Company.

We have graduated two cohorts of Indigenous womxn impact investors from Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Tofino, Squamish, Edmonton, Burns Lake, Nanaimo, Halifax, and many more.

In our evaluation, investors have reported:

“Sage Initiative has allowed me to think much further into my future with more intention and critical thinking. I’ve adopted an intergenerational mindset when it comes to money, whether that ends up being my own children and grandchildren, or simply youth as a whole that deserve this knowledge and to be continuously uplifted.” – Sage Initiative participant
“It’s transferred to other aspects of my life — when I stopped getting dopamine fixes from online shopping, I’ve traded it for kickboxing routines three times per day. I see my health as an investment now.” – Sage Initiative participant
“As a result of Sage Initiative, I have given myself permission to spend without feeling guilty or anxious.” – Sage Initiative participant
“My views have been completely altered since I myself have become an investor after being a part of Sage Initiative. I now see potential in everyone to be an investor especially the people and Indigenous people that will do good and be inclusive with their investments.”– Year 2 participant
“I feel worthy of money now. Money always felt unattainable. I never thought it would come into fruition for me.” – Year 1 participant
“I met investors who had a good heart and were just everyday people, not necessarily working in a bank. Investors can be my aunties, my cousins, my family.”– Year 1 participant

We have also found that:

100% of Sage Initiative participants feel ready to make an investment.
100% of Sage Initiative participants have made an investment since joining the collective.
80% feel they could now be a successful social impact investor.
Not only did our program create the trauma-informed safety conditions to create belonging for participants, 95% of Sage participants said they felt belonging in the Indigenous Impact Investor community.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

Sage focuses on Indigenous-owned sustainable energy projects, underscoring the urgent need to address environmental concerns alongside social impact.

Financial capital alone is insufficient. We emphasize the importance of social capital, community connections, gift economy, and entrepreneurial mindset. We facilitate access to financial resources, networks, and mentorship. The Initiative aims to empower Indigenous women and non-binary individuals to feel a sense of belonging in the impact investment landscape. We work to transcend the current investment paradigm which privileges androcentric and extractivist worldviews.

Creating a seat at the economic table for Indigenous women, two-spirit, non-binary folks is deeply important to me. The purchasing power of the queer community is significant. The entire venture capital industry is led by white cisgender males, and because of that there is an implicit bias. 2SLGBTQIA+ founders are routinely overlooked and undervalued. Many members of the queer community relate to each other with feelings of longing to belong and feeling out of place in heteronormative environments. Not only are we looking to support Indigenous founders, but building on this demographic, it is important to define a 2SLGBTQIA+ lens in our impact investment thesis.

Roughly 2 million people in Canada identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, collectively spending $90 billion per year. I want to role model what it looks like for a queer Indigenous woman to stand at the forefront of innovation in the Indigenous impact investment landscape.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in building out your audience?

My personal journey and academic background in gender policy shaped the design of Sage Initiative. Instead of perpetuating the Western-centric approach prevalent in mainstream finance education, I recognized the importance of honouring Indigenous epistemology and creating a curriculum rooted in Indigenous concepts of commerce.

I did not want anyone in the industry to assume that Indigenous womxn’s success is due to our gender but rather our skills and competence.

I have also faced racism. Economic reconciliation will look like white people being comfortable with Indigenous people’s wealth.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

Sage Initiative is planning to launch our third impact investment cohort of 15 Indigenous womxn impact investors in September 2024. We plan to transition to scale in 2024 as well, with cohorts across Canada widely available to Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks!

How can people help support your mission?

We invite Indigenous womxn to apply to Sage Initiative.

If you would like to lend your expertise and lived experience, join Sage Initiative`s national network as a mentor.

We also encourage you to buy Indigiqueer-owned products and services, educate yourself on colonization and how to engage in reconciliation, and create space at the economic table for equity-deserving communities.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Amplify Good, Community, Issue 6, Make the World Better, MTWB

Make The World Better Magazine

RIPPLE of CHANGE: Sharing Stories to Create Waves of Impact

Post author By user
Post date January 4, 2024
No Comments on RIPPLE of CHANGE: Sharing Stories to Create Waves of Impact

Every one of us has the power to make a positive change in the world and inspire others to do the same. Sharing the work changemakers are doing with like-minded audiences creates a powerful ripple effect that can spread across the world.

We spoke with Whitney Larson, Creative Director of RIPPLE of CHANGE, about how this purpose-driven magazine uplifts changemakers by amplifying their inspiring stories.

Pictured here are the five original co-founders of *ROC*. (Clockwise from top: Christy Schmid, Mel Sutjiadi, Cicely Belle Blain, Whitney Larson, and Kate Bouchard)

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start producing RIPPLE of CHANGE?

In 2018, I travelled to India with Christy Schmid, another founding partner of the RIPPLE of CHANGE (ROC) team, to work with the Milaan Foundation. We were there to document stories of girls who are fighting to change the education system — quite literally the embodiment of “ripple of change.” These girls are given resources from the Milaan Foundation to go out into their communities and form a group of 20–25 other girls who also want a continued education past the age that their society typically allows. We saw the confidence and strength of these girls and started talking about how we could share their stories and similar stories of changemakers with a larger audience.

As a creative duo — a designer and a photographer — we often found ourselves asking the question, “How can we take our talents and use them to make the world better?” We realized that we could use our creativity and influence to share stories like that of Kushboo and Rajkumari, two girls from rural Uttar Pradesh who transformed their own community through education and empowerment. RIPPLE of CHANGE was born to highlight this story, and hundreds of others, in a way that will inspire and engage a global audience of volunteers, activists, and changemakers. And ultimately, encourage them to join in.

What do you consider to be your biggest success?

The story of our launch. In 2020, when everything felt dark and overwhelming, Christy and I, along with three other founders, were committed to telling stories of hope and change. As the struggle, pain, and inequity of our collective experience surfaced, we came together, built the brand, and produced and launched the first issue of ROC in under six months.

We chose grounded optimism to offer clear, tangible suggestions for how to take action. I’m proud that our perspective on how to mobilize change was able to connect others in ways we never had before.

Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

Before ROC was born, while Christy and I were in India, we spent our first full day with an incredible girl named Rajkumari. She showed us around her village and told us stories about the challenges she overcame to pursue an education. She opened her heart to us and told us about the people who lifted her up and those who tried to stand in her way. At the end of the day, we stood on the roof of her house, taking her picture as the sun went down. She turned to us and said, “Thank you — you made me feel like Superman today.”

It was such a beautiful moment and has become a kind of internal bar, amplifying people and stories like hers to create that positive ripple effect of goodwill, support, and encouragement.

Since then, we feel it when hearing people talk about what they learned from our articles or seeing the excitement on someone’s face when we discuss how we can tell their story to inspire others. We have that excitement on our internal team, but it’s so encouraging to have it reinforced by the responses and actions of others.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

Hopeful. And proud of all the people who have opened their hearts, arms, and minds to the ideas.

We often talk about the power of small conversations. We encourage people to speak up and ask questions, even if they’re talking to an audience of one, because you never know how far that conversation will travel. There’s no telling how your ideas and perspective might open the mind of someone who was closed off to change in the past.

One of *ROC*’s favourite steps in the production process is hanging the pages on the wall and reviewing the book from a bird’s eye lens. Here, their Chicago mascot Hass, is giving it a final review.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Fear and anger can be conversation stoppers. We’ve worked hard to build a platform that encourages inclusivity. That is why the foundation of each of our stories is a personal or lived experience.

Even if you don’t understand the entire experience, you can usually relate to a person on some level and that starts to open hearts and minds. We hope readers approach our stories and content with a sense of curiosity and willingness to engage with a perspective other than their own.

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

We have a few projects in the idea-building phase and will be sharing more in our newsletter soon. We’re looking at how we can engage individuals but also offer opportunities for companies to inspire their staff and act on their goals for social change. We’re thrilled to have three new partners on the team, Bob Roth, Jimmy Watkins, and Kara McPherson, and are working on a mix of digital and in-person events and community-builders, including an Issue 04 launch party!

How can people help support your mission?

Join our email newsletter and jump into conversations on our social platforms. We believe change happens when people with different experiences and viewpoints are willing to share and speak honestly with each other. Small, constructive conversations lead to empathy and positive movement all across the world.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Amplify Good, Issue 6, Make the World Better, MTWB, Purpose Driven

Make The World Better Magazine

Love Food Hate Waste Canada: Helping Everyone Prevent Waste

Post author By user
Post date January 4, 2024
No Comments on Love Food Hate Waste Canada: Helping Everyone Prevent Waste

When it comes to our individual fight against climate change, where should we start? We all know the importance of reducing our individual environmental impact, and food waste is one area we can all work on right away, with the right tools, right from the comfort of our own kitchens.

We spoke with Joanne Gauci, Campaign Manager at Love Food Hate Waste Canada, about how this initiative is helping to end food waste by educating Canadians on prevention at home.

Love Food Hate Waste Canada’s “Labour of Love” campaign, which showcased real farmers across Canada.

What was the “spark” behind the Love Food Hate Waste Canada campaign?

Metro Vancouver first launched Love Food Hate Waste (LFHW) in the region in 2015. Then, building on the success of the regional campaign, we launched the initiative across Canada through the National Zero Waste Council in 2018. The motivation behind launching the campaign was to take a “prevention-first” approach to tackling food waste. Food waste is an urgent but solvable local and global challenge, and through LFHW Canada we are able to work with many partners across the country to inspire and empower people to make their food go further and waste less. Today, LFHW Canada represents a unique national collaboration, uniting a variety of business, government, and community champions all working together to tackle food waste in the home.

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

Everybody has a role to play in tackling food waste, and I think our biggest success has been engaging a variety of partners across the country so that everyone hears the same consistent messaging, whether they are at the grocery store or their community market, for example. LFHW Canada has grown to become Canada’s leading resource for preventing household food waste due to the efforts of our partners and champions across the country.

By working together, we are able to have a much bigger impact than we can on our own, and Food Waste Action Week, which has taken place in March for the past two years in a row, is a great example of the power of aligning messaging locally and globally. This is an event that we run in collaboration with the international network of LFHW Canada partners, and for that one week, different organizations come together to raise awareness about the issue and opportunities for change. Food Waste Action Week 2023, which ran from March 6–12, was the most engaged campaign we have run since we launched in 2018, garnering over three million impressions across Canada for a week of coordinated activity.

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

We hear first-hand that the Love Food Hate Waste Canada website and resources have helped families and individuals make their food last longer, save money, and ultimately prevent food waste. Our campaign partners are extremely active as well, sharing food waste prevention tips and messaging in their local communities, and you will see many of them at your summer farmers market. Food waste is one area where citizens can have a huge impact on climate change, and we feel proud to be working with others across the country to tackle this important issue.

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

We are lucky — there haven’t been a lot of challenges in our content creation to date; people generally love to talk about food and share their own tips and strategies for preventing food waste. However, we do a lot of myth-busting! For example, people often think that if they put their food in the green bin, then there isn’t an environmental impact. The green bin is absolutely the best way to manage unavoidable food waste, like banana peels and egg shells, but the truth is Canadians are wasting much more food than they realize. Our research suggests that approximately 63% of the food we throw out could have been eaten. That leaves a lot of room for improvement!

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

This year we have a big focus on tackling fresh produce waste, which is the most commonly wasted food type in Canadian homes. We completed research that brings to life the journey of five different foods: blueberries, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, and apples. This research can be found on our website and underpins our current “Labour of Love” campaign, which aims to connect Canadians to the farmers who grow our food and emphasizes the important role of storage in keeping produce fresher for longer.

Ultimately, this campaign is about getting people to think about the story behind their food, and all of the resources, labour, and care that went into making it. This is a multi-phased project that has been partly funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and we look forward to reporting on our key findings.

How can people help support your mission?

Share the message that #EveryBiteCounts and encourage fellow Canadians to visit lovefoodhatewaste.ca to get easy tips and tricks to prevent food waste at home.

This story was featured in the Make The World Better Magazine:

Tags Issue 6, Make the World Better, MTWB

The Macro Level

The Meso Level

The Micro Level

Sparking the Three-Level Shift

Resources from Changemakers Featured in Make The World Better Magazine

Resources from Other Changemakers

Sparx PG’s Resources

Amplify Your Purpose-Driven Story with Sparx

April

May

June

RSVP for a Free Consultation with Sparx

Books & Stationery

Clothing & Apparel

Food & Drink

Home & Decor

Personal Care

Will You Be Our Valentine?

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Sustainable Advantage content?

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

What was the “spark” that first inspired you to start creating impact-focused content?

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Squirrel News content?

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

Bonus: Why did you choose the name Squirrel News?

What was the “spark” that first inspired you to start Sage Initiative?

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in building out your audience?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

What was the “spark” that inspired you to start producing RIPPLE of CHANGE?

What do you consider to be your biggest success?

Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

What was the “spark” behind the Love Food Hate Waste Canada campaign?

What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you?

How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better?

What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience?

Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share?

How can people help support your mission?

About