Mindful Businesses

We decided to re-air this episode on Valentine's Day. A gift that keeps giving - maybe order a unique piece of jewelry for someone you care.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This episode has two parts - in part one, we talk with Amy Peterson, the co-founder of Rebel Nell about her inspiration and motivation to start Rebel Nell. While living next to a homeless shelter in Detroit, MI, she got to learn up-close the women who lived there and their challenges. One day out on a jog she finds a piece of graffiti that she envisioned could be repurposed into meaningful wearable art. A fusion of these two ideas gave birth to Rebel Nell. Amy with her co-founder Diana Roginson started Rebel Nell in 2013 with the mission to provide employment, equitable opportunity, and wraparound support for women with barriers to employment. They seek to embolden women, to embrace their infinite strength, and to define their own future.

They partner with local organizations to seek out women who have struggled to find and retain employment. Their goal is to help the women move from a life of dependence to one of self-reliance, overcoming barriers to employment through the fruits of their own labor. Rebel Nell’s product line starts with repurposing graffiti, after it has fallen off the walls.

These are women who when hired have no background in jewelry become creative designers who make incredibly intricate and unique piece each one more beautiful than the next. In the part two we chat with one such woman - Ethel Rucker, Production Lead at Rebel Nell.

In addition to on-the-job training and guidance on how to make jewelry, Rebel Nell also provides them with life management, financial training and business education to make sure they have the confidence and knowledge that will enable them to leave homelessness/dependence behind permanently and move forward as strong independent women. Listen to this powerful story in this episode. This episode is a re-air from November 23, 2021

https://www.rebelnell.com/

To hire Ethel Rucker for your next photoshoot contact her via her website https://harteclectic.com/

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The Nobel prize winning economist Dr. Milton Friedman, said the business of a business  is making money - but within the acceptable social norms. Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth School and he was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, looks into how “social norms” have changed and how the businesses need to adapt to adopt sustainable practices. May it be their impact on the planet, how they treat their employees and or make their products. He talks about how there needs to be regulations to guide and help the corporations to achieve these goals.

Further, with countries setting goals for netzero, how can we actually have a plan that is accountable and works. Dr. Rajan proposes a global incentive scheme to reduce carbon emissions. On April 19th, 2022 he presented this solution to The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action that required countries who exceed the per capita global country average for carbon emissions, estimated at 5 tons, will pay to a global carbon incentive fund. He calls this payment Global Carbon Incentives (GCI). He further explains - “this annual payment would be calculated by multiplying the excess emissions per capita by the country’s population and a dollar amount called the Global Carbon Incentive. So if the country’s population is 30 million, its per capita emission in 17 tons, and the GCI is set at $10, it would pay $30 million*(17-5)*10= $3.6 billion. Countries below the global per capita average would receive a payout commensurate with their “under-emission”.

This fund could be managed by a quasi government agency like the World Bank. Mindful Businesses is one of the first media outlets to share Dr. Rajan’s solution. Listen to it in our latest episode.

This episode is a re-air from April 26, 2022

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghuram_Rajan

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Mentions:

Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.

Angad Daryani - Founder - Praan

Ram Palaniappan - Founder of Earnin

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#raghuramrajan, #globalcarbonincentive, #carbonemmissions, #greenhousegases, #SDGs

Rainforests are the earth’s lungs and forests are a huge part of the solution to climate change. But on the other hand, wood is considered a sustainable and renewable raw material. How is that so? We ask these questions to Jonathan Orpin, the Founder of Pioneer Millworks, a company truly focused on the triple bottom line. I visited their plant in Farmington, NY to see firsthand how they work as a team. 

In these tumultuous times of mass layoffs, we have to introspect as to what makes a business successful. Pioneer Millworks operates on a simple belief that people, planet, and profit work to ensure a better future - Pioneer Millworks operates on the triple bottom line. In terms of the products they carry - they reclaim wood from abandoned or structures about to be torn down and give them a new life by creating marketable products. On average we process 1,062,000 board feet of reclaimed wood yearly—by reclaiming and reusing, has been saved from ending up in landfills. The new wood is harvested sustainably with minimal impact on the forests and the local communities. Pioneer Millworks offers a variety of sustainable, fairly priced options for consumers seeking a sustainable wood source. One especially fascinating product is Shou Sugi Ban, that uses the Japanese age-old technique of scorching wood. This technique makes the wood resist rot and insects in a sustainable manner and most of the options last for decade without requiring refinishing.

On the people front, Jonathan talks about how a well-thought-out succession plan is part of good corporate governance. With that in mind, they are currently a 30% employee-owned company (an ESOP) working toward being 100% employee-owned. Learn more in this episode of Mindful Business, about how a company can focus on people and the planet, and still be prosperous.

#sustainableforests, #reclaimedwood, #ESOP, #minfulbusinesses, #pioneermillworks, #FSCcertfied, #Triplebottomline, #shousugiban, #reclaimedtimber 

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In the winter of 2012, I had the good fortune of visiting Barefoot College Tilonia - located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that visit was indeed life-transforming. The Barefoot College founded by Mr. Bunker Roy in 1972, is a community-based grassroots organization working to make marginalized communities sustainable and self-sufficient. He believes in the Gandhian philosophy that knowledge, skills and wisdom found in the villages should be used for their own development.

Though he went to the prestigious Doon School and St. Stephens College, he realized the wealth of wisdom in rural India (Bharath) needs to be harnessed and showcased.. The Barefoot College's one program in particular - Solar Mamas is filled with inspiring stories. Of women from around the globe who come  to an unfamiliar country, where they don't understand the language, culture or food. These women come to become solar engineers. They come as mothers and grandmothers, and return back as tigers electrifying their villages with solar lamps. How do these illiterate women who have never left their villages become solar engineers? Listen to learn more in our latest episode.

https://www.barefootcollegetilonia.org/

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#barefootcollegetilonia, #ruralpower, #culturalpreservation, #rajasthan, #tilonia, #Barefoot, #BarefootCollege, #barefootcollegetilonia,

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In this episode, we talk with Jackson Wyatt, CEO of CABN - sustainable net-zero homes. We are in an housing crisis where traditionally built homes are slow to built, costly and inefficient. CABN is net-zero housing for everyone to live anywhere, live sustainably, and live connected.  In an effort to making net-zero, sustainable homes available to all, CABN uses intelligent building design, fabrication, and assembly to build homes that cost the same as a home build with conventional methods. Using his expertise in manufacturing, shipping, and sustainability, Jackson founded CABN. Working with a team of industry experts, he developed a technology to offer affordable and sustainably-built off-grid housing that can be assembled anywhere, even in difficult-to-construct locations.

CABN's patent-pending Energy Informed Design (EID) process is one of the elements that excite him the most. EID, plus integrated renewable energy, mechanical systems, innovative materials, and building techniques, create a home that is truly the means to rapid, attainable and sustainable housing for anyone, anywhere.

In addition CABN Foundation, a non-profit organization, is committed accessible and affordable housing. It partners with municipalities and developers to bring affordable housing to to remote, low-income and indigenous communities.  Learn more about this passionate social entrepreneur in this episode.

https://cabn.co/

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#oursustainablehome, #mindfulkbusinesses, #sustainablebuilding, #netzerobuilding, #passivesolargain #affordablehousing #canada 

What is a passive house? Is it economically feasible? Today we ask those questions of Matt Bowers of Rochester Passive House Consulting, a 

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

(NYSERDA) certified Passive House consultant. He gives us lucid and in-depth insights into how to build a passive house or at least an aspirational passive house. He recommends to start with a very tight envelope around the house. This not only reduces energy consumption but it increases durability. Along with this tightly sealed home, it is important to have ventilation to prevent moisture buildup and mold. Passive house principles focus on overall comfort level of a building - home, office or retail space. One of the passive house principles is that there shouldn’t be more than 6 degrees fahrenheit difference between different surfaces. Not only should the temperature be comfortable, it also aspires to have a very quiet home and good indoor air quality. This seemingly complex subject is simplified by Matt in this episode of Mindful Businesses. Take a listen. #passivehouse, #mindfubusinesseses #oursustainablehome #ventilators #solarpanels #energyefficiency 

We talk to Patrick Graham, CEO of Unpaste - zero-waste toothpaste. Unpaste is disrupting the toothpaste market with it's Altoids like tablets. It gently polishes your teeth leaving fewer places for bacteria to attach and reducing the formation of plaque and tartar. It is manufactured sustainably with a minimalistic philosophy. Listen more from Patrick. You can also visit our website www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com

This episode is a re-air from May 13, 2020

https://unpaste.us/

Each year, industries such as Waste-to-Energy, Cement and Biomass for power generation, send millions of tonnes of thermal residues to landfill. At the same time, these thermal processes produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide that are released into the atmosphere. We talk with Maarten Van Roon, Chief Commercial Officer of Carbon8 Systems. Carbon8 solutions is the result of hard work and persistence of researchers - Dr Paula Carey and Prof. Colin Hills. Carbon8 Systems is the inventor and owner of a chemical process that treats industrial residues, including hazardous waste, using CO2 captured directly from flue gas to transform them into valuable low-carbon products. Through its innovation in engineering, it has developed an on-site containerized solution that operates at industrial sites. Each CO₂ntainer can treat up to 12,000 tonnes of input residue material annually. The innovation views CO₂ and landfill destined residues as resource – ingredients, to engineer valuable, low-carbon products. Listen to learn more.

This episode is a re-air from November9, 2021

https://c8s.co.uk/

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Malai is a newly developed biocomposite material based on Bacterial Cellulose is grown on water from mature coconuts and natural fibers from the banana stem, hemp, and sisal. A duo of designers and material researchers Zuzana Gombosova and Susmith Susheel have for the last 2 years have been based in Kerala where they continue building a pilot manufacturing unit and working on improving material properties and manufacturing processes. The essence of Malai is to find beauty in all-natural and design materials that can come from nature and safely return to it. Be the first to know about our latest episode by subscribing www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com

https://malai.eco/

This episode is a re-air from December 30, 2019

Icewind strives to be a global impact leader in decentralized energy generation through the democratized use of renewable power. Their vision is to contribute to a clean, efficient, and socially impactful energy solution that can be used by anyone, anywhere in the world.​​

Here is the link to our website - https://www.mindfulbusinessespodcast.com/podcast-1

https://www.icewindusa.com/

This episode is a re-air from January 27, 2021