the forest through the trees

After walking almost the entire length of the Chelsea Market, a restored indoor industrial space turned high-quality marketplace, I found myself walking into the T Salon where the group had already gathered around listening to T Salon COO Kristi Hall explain the sustainable aspects of their operation. This was my first time to a Net Impact event after recently joining this network of leaders who are trying to the change the world through business.After additional remarks by Tim Woodall, the co-president of Net Impact’s NYC chapter, the cozy space opened up into a collection of interesting conversations. In about 90 minutes I had met a number of individuals passionate about using business for good. A few include:

• Elizabeth Gould, with Bloomberg and also a Net Impact NYC chapter organizer, who works in the News division at Bloomberg and is developing a series on green business professionals (she may even be interested in interviewing yours truly!)
• Evan Samek, who recently joined startup SpeakLike, a translation service provider poised to take that industry into the 21st century through the use of web 2.0 technology.
• George Gosieski, a partner with sustainability consultancy Business EcoSystems, who spoke enthusiastically about market based approaches to corporate sustainability, giving several examples of clients he helped to save millions while reducing their footprint.

I also spoke with a number of people looking to break into green jobs or currently pursuing graduate studies to shift into this type of role. If you are a believer in the power of business to drive positive change in society, this group would definitely be worth checking out. You could sign up for their Leading Business newsletter for free, but for only $55 a year (or less for students) you can enjoy member benefits such as access to the online community, job postings and webinars. Check it out!

– Kevin Banahan