Welcome the Law Firm Sustainability Network
August 6, 2013
We’re thrilled today to help support the official launch of the Law Firm Sustainability Network!
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP is proud to announce our involvement with the new Law Firm Sustainability Network (LFSN). The firm will serve on the Leadership Council of the nonprofit organization, and Executive Director Gina Maciula has been appointed treasurer of the Board of Directors. The Leadership Council, comprised of eight law firms, will act as an advisory committee to the Board of Directors and provide input on strategy and initiatives.
The LFSN is a nonprofit organization of law firms and legal departments committed to promoting the benefits of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility throughout the legal industry. Its mission is to develop key performance indicators, foster knowledge-sharing, develop best practice guidelines and recognize and promote sustainability innovations in the U.S. legal sector. For more on the organization’s initiatives and programs, see the launch announcement press release.
Wendel Rosen has long been a pioneering law firm when it comes to adopting and promoting sustainable business practices in the profession. In 2003, we became the first law firm in the country certified as a green business (certification conducted by the Bay Area Green Business Program) and launched our Green Business Practice Group. In addition, the firm co-chaired the effort to write and pass California’s Benefit Corporation Law (AB361) and has been a Certified B Corporation since 2010. Our attorneys and executives regularly speak and write to business audiences regarding the pursuit of a sustainable business operation.
Gina Maciula, Executive Director, Wendel Rosen
“We have been a certified green business, and the first law firm in the country to do so, for a decade, and have since been working very hard to educate the industry on the benefits of sustainable business practices,” said Maciula. “We are proud of how far law firm ‘greening’ has come – a defining element of corporate social responsibility – and applaud the industry collaboration to form LFSN. I’m very excited to serve on the governing board of this organization and formally come together with like-minded peers to keep sustainability at the forefront of consideration for law firms.”
In Episode 101 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on June 29, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-host of The Wendel Forum and co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group and co-host of The Wendel Forum (did you get all that?).
Bill Acevedo
In 2008, when Acevedo became chair of the law firm’s Green/Sustainable Business Practice Group, he wanted to take the group from start-up mode to an established business mode. The group was founded in 2003, around the time Wendel Rosen became the first law firm in the country to be certified as a green business. By 2008, the sustainable business space was really heating up. As practice leader, Acevedo’s challenge was to understand the paths and different focuses of various partners in the group and to demonstrate to clients the firm’s commitment to the space. He did outreach to explain what it meant to be a green law firm and to let clients know the partners in the group shared the passion and ideology of the people and companies they represented.
Even when the economy suffered a setback, the sustainable and organic companies represented by Wendel continued to thrive. Today, the biggest challenge for these companies remains access to capital. As natural products companies want to become more mainstream, they need to scale. And to scale, they need more capital. Experienced legal counsel can help with funding options.
Acevedo’s favorite Wendel Forum shows have been those focusing on surfing companies and organic food companies. With a longtime interest in the health of the ocean and in natural foods, the show has been a great way to marry Acevedo’s work and personal passions.
What was your favorite episode of The Wendel Forum?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Acevedo: Episode 101 of The Wendel Forum (26:06 mins; mp3)
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
In Episode 100 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on June 22, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Dick Lyons, co-host of the Wendel Forum and co-founder of Wendel’s sustainable business practice group.
Richard Lyons, co-host of The Wendel Forum and Wendel Rosen Green Business Attorney
In the early 1980’s, Lyons was practicing business law when he worked on one of the early wind power projects in the Altamont Pass. Since that time, he has continued to work on wind power projects and has worked with solar power companies too. Before long, he began to hear about the business activity related to natural and organic products. He attended his first Expo West – the trade show devoted to natural and organic products – in the 1990’s.
“I was amazed by the number of companies, the different types of foods and the overall energy of the people,” he recalls. The natural products industry expanded even more with the creation of Whole Foods, which retailed natural products across the nation. Since then, he’s represented many natural foods companies, including United Natural Foods Inc., which is now a $5 billion company thanks in part to mergers and acquisitions that Lyons worked on.
Around the same time, Lyons wanted to create a cohesive law firm practice group that would focus on representing companies that benefited the environment. As co-founder of Wendel’s sustainable business practice group, he also wanted to incorporate sustainable practices into the law firm itself. Together with his co-founders, he was able to convince his partners that recycling and energy saving measures were also good business.
Sustainable business start-ups face many of the same issues as new companies in other industries, but they often have specialized concerns, according to Lyons. For example, if the product is certified organic, there may be supply chain issues. In addition, these companies are often formed not just to make a profit but also to achieve larger social goals such as having positive effect on the environment and their community. They also need capital from investors that have the same social values and expectations about the return on investment.
From co-hosting The Wendel Forum radio show, Lyons (who, incidentally, played and recorded the Forum’s intro and outro music) learned that people start sustainable companies for one or more of the following reasons: they had an epiphany related to sustainability, they wanted healthy products for themselves that they couldn’t find, or they wanted to benefit the environment and the community.
We’d love it if you would share your favorite Wendel Forum moment with us. What was your favorite interview with Dick as host?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Lyons: Episode 100 of The Wendel Forum (27:52 mins; mp3)
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Wendel Rosen’s Sustainable/Green Business Practice Group: http://www.wendel.com/greenbusiness
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
In Episode 96 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on April 27, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Terry Hunt, CEO of Wild Planet Foods, which supplies sustainably caught seafood.
Terry Hunt, CEO of Wild Planet Foods
In 2000, William Carvalho, the founder of Wild Planet Foods, attended a presentation about overharvesting at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. According to Hunt, Carvalho had an epiphany then, deciding he wanted to help conserve wild marine ecosystems. He vowed to never again source or sell fish from an unsustainable fishery. Today, the company’s albacore tuna, its primary product, is sourced internationally only from sustainable fisheries.
For Wild Planet Foods, being “sustainably caught” is a high hurdle. Specifically, the bycatch must be close to zero. That is, the company works only with fisheries that “poll and troll” – using one pole to catch one fish, as opposed to long lining. Also, the fishery’s catch method must not damage the marine ecosystem, and the local fish population must not be under stress or in decline. Following these principles, Wild Planet Food is rated green by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
In addition to serving as CEO of Wild Planet Foods, Hunt is also the founder of Preserve Capital Group. The boutique investment company’s mission is to provide funding advice for businesses launching a new product. Hunt works with them to build a business and sales plan. Past Preserve Capital companies include CleanFish, supplier of high-end sustainable seafood, and SunSpire, maker of natural, handmade confections.
Does sustainability matter to you in purchasing seafood?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Hunt: Episode 96 of The Wendel Forum (27:42 mins; mp3)
Wild Planet Foods Website: http://www.wildplanetfoods.com
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Website: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
Preserve Capital Group Website: http://preservecap.com
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
In Episode 95 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on April 13, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Deven Clemens and Gregg Bagni, directors of White Road Investments.
Deven Clemens of White Road Investments
Founded in 2008, White Road Investments is venture capital firm backed by several current and former executives of Clif Bar. (Clemens is senior director of corporate finance at Clif Bar. Bagni is president of Alien Truth Communications and former marketing vice president at Schwinn Cycling & Fitness.) The company invests in health and active lifestyle businesses, including consumer products and outdoor companies.
Clif Bar is motivated not just by financial return but by a five-pronged philosophy, which is to promote the sustainability of its planet, community, people, business and brands. That same philosophy applies to White Road Investments. Clemens and Bagni are specifically looking to fund companies that are mission-driven and that will have a positive impact on the environment and community. The directors want to work alongside entrepreneurs who are eager to learn, grow and do more good. In particular, they’re interested in investing in new categories and new products. For example, they’ve funded a dehydrated pet food company. Currently popular categories in the health space include gluten-free products, plant-based proteins, raw foods, minimal-ingredient foods and bike businesses in urban markets.
In particular, White Road Investments funds with companies with $1 million to $25 million in revenue, with a particular focus on those in the $2 million to 7 million range. An investment can range from $750,000 to $2 million with $1 million being the sweet spot.
The company’s directors want to get deeply involved in the companies in which they invest, beyond simply a quarterly check-in. Realizing that great businesses may take awhile to succeed, the focus of White Road Investments is longer term than most VC firms. In addition to funds, White Road Investments offers companies its expertise, including marketing, operations, strategy, finance, branding and sales advice, as well as “connective capital,” the ability to provide connections from its directors’ longstanding business relationships. White Road Investments also offers the resources of Clif Bar, including the ability to test new products with Clif Bar consumers, who are usually the perfect target demographic.
What new healthy products do you predict to emerge?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Clemens and Bagni: Episode 95 of The Wendel Forum (27:30 mins; mp3)
White Road Investments Website: http://www.whiteroadinvestments.com
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’ online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
Episode 94 – Michele McGeoy Discusses Solar Richmond
April 24, 2013
In Episode 94 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on March 30, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Michele McGeoy, founder and executive director of Solar Richmond, which offers free solar training, staffing services leading to temporary and permanent employment, and green business ownership opportunities for low income and under-employed residents of Richmond, CA.
Michele McGeoy of Solar Richmond
McGeoy spent the beginning of her career running several software companies and later founded a non-profit that sought to tackle the digital divide. Eventually, she “burned out” on the computer industry and transitioned to the solar field. A longtime Richmond, CA resident, she wanted the city to be part of the green economy. Solar, she thought, was the antidote to pollution, and jobs were the antidote to violence. Solar Richmond’s mission is to “catalyze transformative change,” which includes providing training and job opportunities related to solar, including installation, service and back office jobs, for 18-24 year olds.
Partnering with Berkeley City College, Solar Richmond has placed more than 140 young people in green collar jobs in which they acquire skills transferable to many industries and careers. Recently, Solar Richmond became a worker-owned cooperative, in which graduates of the program become part owners in the company. McGeoy hopes to have 10 worker-owners by end of next year and continue to add new employee-owners every year.
Solar Richmond logo
Solar Richmond works on both residential and commercial solar projects and recently completed a power purchase agreement with a Walnut Creek church. The City of Richmond also hired Solar Richmond for six of its buildings, including community centers, fire stations and libraries.
Would you consider hiring Solar Richmond for your solar project?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with McGeoy: Episode 94 of The Wendel Forum (27:20 mins; mp3)
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Solar Richmond’s Website: http://www.solarrichmond.org
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 92 – Ditto Sustainable Brands Reinvents the Hanger
March 22, 2013
In Episode 92 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on March 16, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Dick Lyons, co-founder of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Gary Barker, founder and CEO of two companies. GreenHeart Global conceives, designs, develops and produces sustainable products for clients such as The Gap, LL Bean, Adidas, O’Neill and more. Ditto Sustainable Brand Solutions designs, manufactures and sells a line of sustainable hangers (to replace plastic and metal hangers) that are used in more than 5,000 stores world-wide.
Gary Barker, founder of Ditto Sustainable Brand Solutions
Greenheart’s flagship design is its Ditto Hangers, which launched in 2007 after several years of R&D. As many as 15 billion plastic retail hangers are made every year with 85 percent of them winding up in landfill. Wire dry cleaning hangers had not experienced any design innovation for 60 years. The Ditto Hanger, in contrast, is made of 100 percent compressed, recycled paper and other recyclable materials such as starch-based adhesive and soy-based inks. Made using certified manufacturers and certified non-toxic materials, a Ditto Hanger can hold more than 20 pounds and has won several international design awards. Consumers can purchase them themselves at the Container Store, on Amazon and through www.dittohangers.com, among other places.
In developing, manufacturing and selling Ditto Hangers, Barker learned a lot about design, materials, sourcing, manufacturing, shipping and warehousing logistics, marketing, PR, branding, logos and displays. That knowledge is applied to Ditto Sustainable Brand Solutions clients, including Disney, Levi’s and Addidas. Launching a sustainable product “takes a lot of determination,” says Barker, who describes himself as a “bulldog” when it comes to his products.
Would you consider swapping out your hangers for Ditto Hangers?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Gary Barker: Episode 92 of The Wendel Forum (27:41 mins; mp3)
GreenHeart Global’s Web Page: http://www.greenheartglobal.com/home/
Ditto Sustainable Brand Solutions’ Web Page: http://dittobrandsolutions.com/home/
960 KNEW AM Radio Website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Dick Lyons’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/rlyons
Episode 90 – Nikhil Arora Discusses Connecting Families to Food
February 15, 2013
In Episode 90 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on February 9, 2013, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Nikhil Arora, co-founder of Back to the Roots, producer of gourmet mushroom growing kits nourished with recycled Peet’s Coffee grounds.
Back to the Roots co-founders Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora
Arora and his co-founder were about to graduate from UC Berkeley in 2009 when they learned during a class lecture that it’s possible to grow gourmet mushrooms in used coffee grounds. Inspired by the notion of turning waste into fresh, local food, they founded Back to the Roots. Since then, connecting families to food has become Arora’s “true passion,” and the company’s slickly designed, easy-to-use urban mushroom farm kits produce a gourmet crop of oyster mushrooms in about 10 days. Back to the Roots now also sells a three-gallon aquaponics garden, perfect for growing an herb garden on a kitchen counter or in a classroom.
Last year, President Obama invited Arora and his co-founder to the White House to discuss how the administration could support small businesses. Arora says it was “cool to be representing Oakland,” which he describes as the epicenter of the start-up food culture. In addition to a loan from the city, Back to the Roots received redevelopment funding to move its warehouse to Oakland. The company also received a $25,000 loan from Whole Foods (which is fitting because produce guys from the Berkeley store were early advisors) and raised nearly $250,000 via Kick Starter.
With a core commitment to sustainability, Back to the Roots is a certified B Corporation. Today, they’re working to build a global, “hip and fun” lifestyle brand that connects people to food.
Are you interested in growing your own food?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Arora:Episode 90 of The Wendel Forum(27:37 mins; mp3)
Back to the Roots Website: http://www.backtotheroots.com
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 86 – Interview with Plum Organics CEO & Founder Neil Grimmer
December 13, 2012
In Episode 86 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on December 8, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Neil Grimmer, CEO and founder of Plum Organics, a line of healthy, organic foods for babies, toddlers and children.
Neil Grimmer, Founder of Plum Organics
Plum Organics was founded six years ago by a small group of parents who sought to raise healthy-well rounded eaters. The company has grown rapidly – it started with six products and now has 130, including cereals, snacks and training meals.
The baby food market is a competitive space, with heavy weights like Gerber, Beach Nut and Earth’s Best, which have been in business for decades. Plum Organics differentiated itself by focusing on high design and great packaging, and targeting modern parents who share the values of sustainability and health. Plum pioneered the spouted pouch, and the company’s R&D group is continually looking for new materials for sustainable packaging. Progressive pediatrician Alan Green is the company’s health advisor and a contributor to its website.
A certified B Corp, Plum Organics sought investors that not only had cash, but also understood the culture of Plum Organics and were similarly passionate about the mission of improving the health of kids and the planet.
Have you tried Plum Organics products?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Grimmer: Episode 86 of The Wendel Forum (27:47 mins; mp3)
Plum Organics Website: http://www.plumorganics.com
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Episode 82 – Elemental Herbs Brings Good to Body Care — Inside & Out
November 6, 2012
In Episode 82 of The Wendel Forum (originally aired on October 27, 2012, on 960 KNEW AM radio), show moderator Bill Acevedo, chair of Wendel Rosen’s sustainable business practice group, welcomes Caroline Duell, the founder of Elemental Herbs, an organic body care company based on the central coast of California.
With a background in herbal medicine, Duell is a massage therapist and outdoor enthusiast who began making skin care products for her friends and family. Later, after success selling the products at farmers markets, she launched Elemental Herbs, a California certified B Corporation. That certification is to sustainable business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee – it measures a company’s commitment to operating a business responsibly and sustainably.
Caroline Duell, Founder of Elemental Herbs
Duell also runs a farm, from which she harvests some ingredients for her natural healing products such as All Good Goop, a moisturizer and salve. While Duell also gets ingredients from outside suppliers, she only partners with similar-minded businesses. In particular, she examines other companies’ employee benefits, utilities use, social benefits and transparency. Though not certified organic, all Elemental Herbs holistic products and remedies contain organic ingredients and are free of GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
The Elemental Herbs farm also offers a CSA (community supported agriculture) and serves as an education center, including offering courses about sustainable living. As a member of 1% for the Planet, one percent of all Elemental Herbs revenues is dedicated to fighting for social and environmental justice around the world. Organizations it supports include a local marine mammal protection organization, a local trail organization, Save Our Snow, which provides information about how global warming affects the planet’s snowfall, and cityWILD, which brings inner city kids into the mountains.
Do you care about the company policies, as well as the ingredients, of your skin care products?
Post Links:
Listen to the interview with Duell: Episode 82 of The Wendel Forum (26:47 mins; mp3)
Elemental Herbs website: http://elementalherbs.com
B Corporation website: http://www.bcorporation.net/
1% for the Planet website: http://onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/
960 KNEW AM Radio website: http://www.960KNEW.com
Bill Acevedo’s online profile: http://www.wendel.com/wacevedo
Dick Lyons
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Wendel Rosen LLP
Bill Acevedo
The Wendel Forum 