SAN FRANCISCO (November 2, 2011) – The San Francisco Bay Area Green Chamber of Commerce (GCC) is hosting its 3^rd Annual Celebration, “A Taste of the Bay Area”, on November 10, 2011. The Green Chamber will be celebrating successes over the last year including the passage of three key pieces of sustainable legislation the organization supported in 2011: San Francisco’s Opt-In Yellow Page Ordinance, AB 376; Shark Protection Act, and AB 361; California Benefit Corporation legislation.  The Green Chamber will also be showcasing outstanding member businesses at this event and highlighting important partnerships including the American Sustainable Business Council based in Washington DC.

The event is from 7:00-10:00 p.m. with a VIP/Media reception from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Levi Strauss & Co.’s (LS & Co.) newly remodeled headquarters located at 1155 Battery Street in San Francisco, California. Amy Leonard, LS & Co.’s Senior Vice President of Product Development and Sourcing will kick off the evening with welcome remarks followed by Green Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Stacie Shepp, sharing an overview of the Green Chamber of Commerce.

The welcome remarks will be followed by three dynamic speakers:

• David Bodwin, co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), a network of business associations (including GCC) representing more than 100,000 businesses nationwide. ASBC promotes sustainability through public policy at the federal and state level and was a key player in helping pass the Benefit Corporation legislation in CA.

• Donald Simon, co-founder of the Green Business Practice Group and internal sustainability efforts for Bay Area law firm Wendel Rosen Black and Dean LLP, and lead attorney in advising and advocating for AB 361: the Benefit Corporation bill.

• Mitchell Rofsky, President of the Better World Club, America’s only environmentally friendly auto club with 24/7 nationwide roadside assistance for cars and bikes.

Attendees will enjoy live music by Jess King in the latter part of the evening. Jess King is an internationally known musician, joining us from Paris with cellist, Gerry Sung. Sung has performed with musical talents, including Mariah Carey, Steve Miller and John Secada.

“A Taste of the Bay Area” will feature a variety of food and drinks from around the SF Bay Area including: Organicopica, SpringLoaf, BiRite, FraMani, Three Twins Ice Cream, Wish Upon A Cupcake, Frey Vineyards, Equator Coffee & Tea, and Green Planet Water.  The VIP/Media reception will be sponsored by Credo Restaurant with appetizers prepared by Chef Gustavo Romero.

A variety of Green Chamber members will also have displays and will include: Green Dentistry, Dominican University of California’s Green MBA, Teselagen Biotechnology, Trim Tab Media, Exegy, Chinook Book along with GreenerPrinter and Best Life Organics.

Sponsors include:  East Bay Municipal Utility District, Elena Christopoulos, Eminess, and Wish Social Events.

A raffle will include a diverse array of prizes including an overnight stay in an Eco Studio at Hotel Healdsburg (priced at $355/$455) plus dinner for two at Spoobar (Value $125) and a framed ‘rock and roll’ print from Duncan Miller Gallery donated by Daniel Miller.

Advance tickets are $35 for GCC members, $50 for non-members and $15 for students.  Prices at the door are $45 for GCC members, $60 for non-members and $25 for students. Free tickets are available for businesses that become GCC members before Nov 10th.

About the Green Chamber of Commerce The Green Chamber of Commerce is a growing and diverse business network dedicated to: promoting the success of our members, supporting the development of sustainable business practices, and advocating for green public policy.  The Green Chamber provides its members with promotional opportunities, discounts, educational events, a voice in national and local policy, and tools to become more environmentally and socially responsible.

For more information about the Green Chamber of Commerce visit:  http://greenchamberofcommerce.net

For more information about the event visit:  http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/annual-event/

For sponsorship opportunities visit:  http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/annual-event/sponsorships/

To purchase tickets visit:  http://greenchamberofcommerce.net/annual-event/tickets/

Contact:
Stacie Shepp
Executive Director
SF Bay Area Green Chamber of Commerce
415.839.9280
Stacie(at)greenchamberofcommerce(dot)net

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Take advantage of early registration discount!

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence is conducting an IEMA-certified CSR training workshop on September 21-22 in San Francisco, CA. Upon completion of the course, participants are able to effectively develop Sustainability strategies, implement CSR programs, and communicate performances through Sustainability/CSR Reports.

CSE has certified more than 200 CSR Practitioners from 5 continents and 25 countries!

For more info and to register, visit:  http://sustainability-practitionersanfrancisco.eventbrite.com/

Use code GCOC15 for a 15% discount!

Contact sustainability@cse-net.com with questions, comments.

Join the Green Chamber for our End of Summer Mix and Mingle networking event in San Francisco!

Date: Wed, Aug 31

Time: 6-8:00 pm

Presenters: Gabi Canez, Anna Frankel and Tyler Espinoza, SF Department of the Environment

Gabi and Anna of the City of San Francisco Department of the Environment’s SF Energy Watch and the SF Green Business Program will talk about  key money saving strategies to start greening your business. This presentation will provide you with tools and resources on how to take advantage of energy efficiency services and incentives through SF Energy Watch and develop new green initiatives through the SF Green Business program.  Tyler will speak about San Francisco’s new Solar@work program.  For more details visit our post here>>>

Host:
CompoClay Showroom and Resource Center
60 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
CompoClay Website>>>

Price:
Green Chamber Members — FREE, please pre-register
Non-Members — $10 pre-registered, $15 at the door
Students — $5, please pre-register

Online Registration is now closed!  There is still space available, so come on down tonight!

Organic Appetizers
Wine provided by Frey Vineyards

Sponsors

The Green Chamber of Commerce and SVTAGS.org hosted a networking and Future of Clean Tech event panel discussion on June 16, 2011 at the Tech Shop in Menlo Park, CA.  Read more in this blog post by Salem Kimble of BetterWorld Telecom on JustMeans.org>>>

Watch the video!  The Future of CleanTech by The Green Chamber of Commerce

Panelists:

Mark Mitchell, Senior VP and General Manager, Serious Energy

Mark brings over 20 years of operating and business development experience in technology, energy, services and legal industries.  A serial entrepreneur, he has founded and run a number of companies in the Silicon Valley. He led the management teams at Intematix (global leader in next-generation electronic materials development, including solid state lighting solutions and energy storage/clean energy materials technologies), First to File (enterprise class IP management services used by Global 1000 companies), Law.com (leading provider of legal content and industry specific software services) and eMeter (the industry leading provider of enterprise-scale energy information management solutions to utilities worldwide). Mr. Mitchell is a co-founder of eMeter and played a key role in developing its plan and strategy for enabling real time energy efficiency and sustainability alternatives.

Olivier Jerphagnon, Founder, The Green Frog from Silicon Valley

Olivier is a serial entrepreneur with a talent to bring new technology to market. Prior to his founding The Green Frog from Silicon Valley green tech blog, Olivier was the CEO of MDI Inc. where he turned an innovative data mining technology into a professional fiber infrastructure service to Tier-1 Carriers worldwide. He was directly involved in more than $50Mn debt and VC financing for Calient Networks. As a student he co-founded the Technology Management Program at UC Santa Barbara. Olivier is also a Sr. Member of IEEE and on the Board of a yearly innovation prize in France with the support of Fortune 500 companies, research institutions and technology clusters.

Lisa Ann Pinkerton, Founder and President, Technica Communications; Founder, Women in Cleantech & Sustainability

From the newsroom to the boardroom, Lisa Ann has used her keen analytical skills to share technology stories with the world for over a decade.  She is Founder and President of Technica Communications and Founder of the networking group Women In Cleantech & Sustainability.

Women In Cleantech & Sustainability is a professional networking group based in the San Francisco Bay Area. From the entry level to the executive level, WC&S supports women in the advancement of their career goals with educational panels and workshops related to a wide variety of cleantech and sustainability topics.

Alper Ertas, Attorney, Novak Druce

As a specialist in intellectual property law, Alper specializes in patent reexaminations and patent litigation. His expertise involves a diverse variety of technologies including software and business methods, circuit design, network architecture, wired and wireless networking, security protocols, semiconductor technology, imaging equipment, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, large scale oil, gas, chemical, biological and geothermal processes. Alper’s breadth of experience enables him to make sense of a complex marketplace.

Moderator:

Heather Durham, Founder, SVTAGS

Heather is one of the founding members of the US Green Building Council- Northern California Chapter, Silicon Valley Branch (USGBC-NCC, Silicon Valley Branch). As Program Chair, for the Silicon Valley Branch, she helped to shape the educational programs from 2008 to 2010.

In 2009 Ms. Durham launched the Silicon Valley -Technology, Art, Green and Sustainability (SVTAGS) TV Cable show. Her purpose in creating this show is to help educate the public, connecting them to what’s happening with technology, art, green and sustainability in Silicon Valley and beyond. When she thought of the acronym SVTAGS in 2006, the term “green washing” was not yet a coined term well known and she wanted to help people sort through “what’s green and what’ not!” She has continued this venture with events planned on the Meetup.com site, speaking engagements, and the SVTAGS.org educational beta Website.

Event Sponsored by:

The modern environmental movement spans almost 60 years, but you can get a good summary of it in an evening with an inspiring group of filmmakers who produced ab historically ambitious film,”A Fierce Green Fire.”

On April 15th, meet the film makers, party and watch part of the film with green business professionals, students, and fellow environmentalists at 111 Minna Street, in San Francisco. The website says this about the film:

is the first film to take on environmentalism as a whole, to bring together all the parts and eras, from conservation to climate change. It explores how the issues built into an international cause, the largest movement the world has ever seen and perhaps the most crucial in terms of what’s at stake.

Cost: donations, $5 and up.

Check on the party details on facebook, and A Fierce Green Fire website.

Topic: Social Media: What Can it do for Me and My Business?

Are you using social media to build your business, connect with others or change the world?

Join Michael Wolpert, founder of Social Media Jumpstart at our Green Business Mixer and learn to shape your social media communications to further your business communications.

Where: Crome Architecture , 905 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA
When: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Cost: $10 Green Chamber members and students, $15 non-members; $5 more at the door.

We encourage you to attend in person to get all the networking benefits.

If you can’t make the event, watch it LIVE online here>>> Live broadcast will begin at 6:15 pm PST.

This is part of our Spring marketing series. Save these dates too….

This new collection of 70 films from around the world, link film and media arts with environmental advocacy and activism; giving a new lens on environmental education and activity.

Highlights of the Festival include:

• Special Events, Parties, Panels And Educational Programs

• Live satellite feed Q&A with iconic writer and environmentalist Margaret Atwood
• The West Coast premiere of Werner Herzog’s new feature documentary,
• Visiting filmmakers from China, Sweden, UK, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and across the USA
• Spectacular Opening Night Green Carpet Gala, and more…

The line up of all new, hip enviro-celluloid includes:

Heavy Metal – e-waste recyclers in China. Screening followed by panel hosted by Story of Stuff project (relating to Story of Electronics) focusing on green/responsible design.

Good Fortune – It seems that foreign aid does not always benefit those it intends to help. Corruption in Kenya. World Bank doesn’t come off too well.

The 4th Revolution: Energy Autonomy – inspiring film about renewable energies

Sweet Crude – evil oil companies in Niger Delta

They Came for the Gold, They Came for it All - evil mining companies in Argentina

SoLa: Louisiana Water Stories - commerce (fishing, logging, development) and links to environmental degradation in Louisiana. Touches on BP oil spill.

The box office is now open!

Reserve your spot for the Opening Night Green Carpet Gala: BAG IT on Thursday, March 3rd at the beautiful LEED-certified Bently Reserve (formerly the City’s U.S. Federal Reserve).

For tickets, information go to: http://sfgreenfilmfest.org/

Join The Green Chamber today and win a chance to receive a pair of tickets to the festival!

• San Francisco receives almost 1.6 million Yellow Pages phone books each year – even though there are only about 800,000 residents in the City.
• These 1.6 million phone books, if stacked, equals the height of over 287 TransAmerica Pyramids – nearly eight and a half times the height of Mt. Everest.
• At an average of 4.33 pounds per book, the Yellow Pages create nearly 7 million pounds of waste every year in San Francisco.

San Francisco Supervisor David Chiu held a press conference on February 1, 2011 in front of City Hall to propose a Yellow Pages Reduction Ordinance, the first initiative of its kind in the country. Green Chamber Vice President Alexia Marcous made a statement in support of the Ordinance.

Read more about this issue in our Advocacy section

The emergence of new venture structures such as Benefit Corporations, L3C ventures (low profit LLCs), and other models calls into question the basis for early stage investment in new ventures with social missions.  These ventures are seen as higher risk, lower financial returns.  We will debate this with the notion that social venture enterprises, properly designed and structured, offer significant and sustainable financial returns, while reducing long term market risk; simultaneously driving value to investors while giving back to nature and society.  If the latter can be proven, why then do Social entrepreneurs often face the challenge of needing to prove to have the same revenues of companies that focus only on financial returns.

Is this a sustainable investment strategy for the Earth, the investor, or the entrepreneur?

These workshops, derived from the curriculum of ‘The Paladin Leadership Institute, ® will propose that we need to measure the riskiness of a particular investment outside, and without the faulty assumptions, of a growth economy that has proven unsustainable.  The Finance for Transformation discussion will look at several case studies to explore the practicalities of ranking new investment opportunities in SVEs based on holistic calculations of risk, where financial resources are the fruits of responsible, meaningful investments in ecology and community.  When these entrepreneurs through their SVE’s, contribute directly to building and strengthening local economies, we will explore how they actively serve as transformation engines for a new market structure.  Finally, we will debate the relative merits of new models of risk calculation which portend transformation of capital markets at the system level.

Workshop I: 15 February from 5:45-7:30 pm
At New Resource Bank 405 Howard St, San Francisco

Moderator: Sarah Isabel Parriott, MBA, Sustainability Manager, Paladin
Speakers: Esther Park, Director of Lending, RSF Social Finance
Rahul Iyer, Golden Bridge Strategies
Ed Quevedo, Sustainability Practice Chair, Paladin

Workshop #2: (To be held in mid- March, with location and time pending)
Moderator: Sarah Isabel Parriott, MBA, Sustainability Manager, Paladin
Speakers: Paul Herman, HIP Investor
Cornelius Fitzgerald, Wells Fargo Bank
Rahul Iyer, Golden Bridge Strategies

Hurry! There will be limited attendance to this workshop. Sign up now:

with proof of ID at the door.

Prices $5 higher at the door.

Join The Green Chamber at the Progressive Opportunities Career Fair, January 23, held in conjunction with the East Bay Express’ Education & Careers supplement published on January 12. Focusing on employers and educators with a progressive focus, who offer sustainable approaches in their fields, and/or support the green industry, Progressive Opportunities offers more than the traditional career fair – and will attract job seekers who want work that matters.

The free There will be entertainment, panel discussions and refreshments.

Event details:

Jan. 23, 2 – 6p.m.

David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
BART stop: Downtown Berkeley

Admission is FREE for job seekers!
More information: