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“What would you say to companies that see improving even one piece of their supply chains as too expensive?” I asked.

Joe Sibilia had just shared one method to help companies become more sustainable: take one ingredient in the supply chain and use it to create a social benefit. This is what he had done with Ben & Jerry’s through the aptly named 1 Ingredient program.

Partnering with Greyston Bakery, Ben & Jerry’s uses one ingredient in its products, brownies, to create jobs for the chronically unemployed–former convicts and addicts. Greyston Bakery provides its Brownie Artisans with living wages and skills training and invests all profits into the Greyston Foundation to support job development, healthcare, childcare and housing.

By re-imagining the production and sourcing of just one item, Ben & Jerry’s has supported the rehabilitation and growth of thousands of society’s most marginalized people over the past 23 years.

But not all companies are Ben & Jerry’s. Anticipating that most companies think differently (or not at all) about their impact on society, I asked Joe how he would coach companies to see the financial value in creating something that benefited society. He gave an exasperated grunt.

“I’d Say to the company, ‘If  you’re valuing your supply chain on the narrow scope of cost-effectiveness and you really wanted a cost-effective approach, you’d use slaves, child labor and put up with unsanitary working conditions.’”

Joe’s right, of course. We all care about more than just cost and profit. But we use money as a false restriction, assuming there’s a trade-off between money and doing the right thing. Ben & Jerry’s didn’t take 5% of Chocolate Fudge Brownie sales and donate it to workforce development. Instead the company used market systems and creativity to deepen its impact at no additional cost.

A long-time social entrepreneur, Joe Sibilia’s ventures include CSRWire, the social investment bank Meadowbrook Lane Capital and the Gasoline Alley Foundation, which incubates socially responsible businesses in inner city neighborhoods.

I spoke to Joe in preparation for a session I’m leading on integrating social responsibility into your brand at Sustainable Brands.  If you’re interested in attending the conference (June 7-10 in Monterey, CA) email me for a 20% discount. This will be my second year attending; it’s an absolute playground for people interested in using business as a force for change.



I’m sharing this experience to underscore my regard for Arzu Rugs, an organization that supports Afghani women through commerce, education and health care. Although technically a non-profit, Arzu (which means “Hope” in Daru) is working to become self-sustaining through its rug sales.

With the awareness that money alone will not change people’s lives, Arzu goes beyond providing a market for Afghani rugs to establish structures for future growth in Afghani communities. By combining income, education and health care, Arzu is transferring the balance of power from foreign groups to individuals and family heads throughout Afghanistan.

Weavers are paid fair price and receive a 50% bonus upfront if they agree to Arzu’s ‘social contract.’ The social contract mandates that all children under the age of 15 in the woman’s household attend school full time and all women in the household attend literacy classes. If there is not a government school nearby, Arzu sets up schools in the local village. Health care initiatives under the social contract focus on reducing the country’s maternal mortality rates, which rank the second highest globally. The organization partners with local health care practitioners to provide its community of weavers pre- and post-natal check-ups as well as transportation to the appointments.

As of 2007, more than 2,000 women were receiving fair wages, education and healthcare in exchange for their handcrafted rugs (Arzu’s figures are somewhat outdated). Measured against the limited opportunities that Afghan society allows women, the impact and intelligence of Arzu’s work is remarkable.

There are no prices or fixed menus at One World Cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah. Customers choose their portion sizes and pay what they deem fit. The “community kitchen” is One World Cafe’s founder Denise Cerreta’s first step toward eliminating hunger.

Since mid-2003, the cafe has served up seasonal organic cuisine for pay-what-you’d-like prices. Customers pay an average of $10. Cerreta’s concept is to create a community space that embraces nutrition, generates minimal food waste, pays living wages and is accessible to everyone. Those unable to pay can volunteer for an hour in return for a meal voucher. In addition, the cafe provides a daily gratis staple dish that anyone can eat.

Terrific concept, but is it an embellished soup kitchen in actuality? Where’s the sustainability, where’s the profit?

These questions are expected. One World Everybody Eats Foundation (an outgrowth of the cafe) posts financial information on their web site in an effort toward transparency and to model success for others looking to start pay-what-you’d-like eateries.

Profitable since 2005, the cafe earned $348,730 in revenue in 2007 with a 5% profit margin (a 28% margin if Cerreta were to pay minimum wages). There’s more to the model than customer payments equaling a profitable average. The cafe saves on payroll services and credit card charges and stands out among its competition.

It works in Salt Lake City and Ceretta believes the paradigm is universally applicable. One World Everybody Eats aims to open new cafes throughout the United States as well as abroad.

On the hunt for shoes that are fair trade? Eco-friendly? 100% vegan? Produced sweat-shop free? Autonomie Project specializes in Chucks-like sneakers that  are all of the above.

Independent, worker-owned co-ops in rural and developing regions of the world manufacture the sneakers in facilities that are Fair Trade certified. The kicks are made from pure canvas and all natural and sustainable latex, which means the rubber was culled from a maintained (replanted) forest, rather than being created from a chemical concoction.

Autonomie Project helps its workers develop and market their goods, providing them the opportunity for an income, and infusing the immediate region with a self-supporting (autonomous??) industry.

Thanks to White Apricot for the tip on Autonomie Project.