DonQ Rum’s Roberto Serrallés, Ph.D., and O.N.E. Drinks’ Rodrigo Veloso
Roberto Serrallés, Ph.D., is a sixth-generation rummaker and the Vice President of Business Development for Puerto Rico-based DonQ Rum. Dr. Serrallés, who joined the family business seven years ago after studying and teaching in the States, immediately became concerned with the product’s wastewater levels and vowed to make a change.
Today, the company displaces nearly 50% of the oil used in its boiler with a “bio-gas” byproduct from its wastewater. Sourcing local power is a big plus for the brand, but the reduced dependence on foreign oil — including the production and transportation — is a major eco-boon.
“This is the ultimate in local production,” Dr. Serrallés says. “At the end of the day, we do this anaerobic process, reducing about 70% of the organic material. That wasn’t enough — we had to make this water irrigation-grade water. We end up with a 99% reduction in organic material.”
Rodrigo Veloso founded Los Angeles-based O.N.E. Drinks, the maker of O.N.E. Coconut Water, as a means of spreading his love for the health-conscious beverage. Coconut water, the juice from young green coconuts, was once considered a waste product, but in recent years, its all-natural health benefits have been promoted, so much so that coconut water is now the fastest-growing nonalcoholic beverage in the U.S.
Veloso, who was raised on a coffee farm in Brazil, was always fascinated that the coffee fruit — also rich in health benefits — is completely discarded in favor of the coffee bean. It was this fascination with food and agricultural waste that fueled his passion for coconut water.
“We harvest the coconut at a point where every part is utilized,” Veloso explains. [O.N.E. Coconut Water] is minimally processed, and packaged in one of the most sustainable beverage containers in the world.”
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Margaret Hyde is not only an eco-author, but also an eco-homeowner in Southern California. Hyde’s green journey began as a traditional American homeowner — living in a house too big for her family that she didn’t really need. Upon investigation, she found a c.1910 Craftsman home in the area and remodeled it extensively to fit her family’s green lifestyle. It later became the first LEED Platinum-certified remodel in the U.S.
Dr. Bob Epstein is an entrepreneur, engineer, co-founder of five companies, board member at the NRDC and co-founder of E2. He revisits “Green is Good” to discuss the climate legislation issues that face California, and potentially the entire U.S.
Jeffrey Hollender returns to “Green is Good” to discuss his latest book, Planet Home, and explain the challenges the earth will face ahead. He feels that now is the time that everyone must ramp up efforts to conserve and reuse — from teachers and children, to politicians and business leaders.
David Levine, co-founder and Executive Director of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), was a visionary from the council’s conceptualization in 2009 as a voice for earth-friendly businesses in the realms of public policy and media.
JJ Yosh is the host of the upcoming TV adventure series Ancient Tomorrow, as well as a celebrated ecoprenuer. Yosh’s background is in industrial conservation, but it was during a planned expedition to Bolivia that Yosh really got into the history of ancient sites and exploration of natural habitats.
Alexandre Soler-My and his brothers took over their family’s natural charcoal business in France in the 1990s. Since 2005, they have been making Green Hearts eco-friendly charcoal briquettes, first in South America and now in the U.S., slowly expanding around the Bay Area.
Los Angeles-based celebrity chef Bryan Au specializes in eco-friendly, vegan cuisine. Au says veganism is now a “secret of the past,” with many celebrities, from Oprah to Mike Tyson, all eating their healthiest. Now his book, Raw Food in Ten Minutes, is helping to teach everyone to eat healthy and green.
Maikhanh Nguyen is the founder and Executive Director of Connect the Dots, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps green other nonprofit organizations and their buildings and office spaces. Connect the Dots’ efforts focus on reducing the amount of energy, water and waste that these organizations create.
Shon Anderson is the Vice President of Energy Solutions Sales at Schneider Electric. The company services large, energy-hungry companies and facilities like college campuses and hospitals in more than 110 countries — covering a total of nearly 110,000 employees.
Dr. Todd Spinks is the Director of the Office of Sustainability at University of North Texas. Dr. Spinks brings extensive environmental experience to UNT, including working for the EPA in Dallas-Ft. Worth on climate change effects and awareness.
Bob MacLeod co-founded Kiss My Face after simply being inspired by a generous bar of olive oil soap in Upstate New York in the late 1970s. After a year or so of making natural soaps, earth-friendly lotion followed, and the company began an unintentional eco-revolution starting in the early ’80s.
Celebrities looking to green their beautification process turn to Paige Padgett, Hollywood’s foremost green beauty expert.
Listening to Jay Kordich on “Green is Good,” it’s hard to believe he is more than two decades past retirement age. A lifelong athlete, Kordich pioneered the juicing craze that has gained popularity in America over the past 60 years. Even as a collegiate playing football for various Navy squads, Kordich would pack fruits and veggies to juice.
Armen Orujyan, Ph.D., runs Athgo International, a nonprofit that engages young entrepreneurs in a sustainable, eco-friendly manner.
Actress and social activist Patricia Arquette co-founded Give Love with designer Rosetta Getty in response to the devastation from last year’s earthquake in Haiti. The group’s aim is to help families displaced by the tragedy by creating housing using sustainable, low-cost methods.
Heather Burns and Doug Hammond co-founded ALIVE Communities, a the business and social enterprise development company, in 2009. The group helps organizations and companies move toward a more sustainable business plan, as well as integrates sustainability-fueled community development.
RecycleMatch.com’s Brooke Farrell coins her site “the eBay of trash,” and rightly so — the site is an online marketplace that connects companies with waste with companies that can in turn use those materials.
Sam Geil is an ecopreneur with many titles: President of Geil Enterprises, co-founder of Amaze and founder and Chairman of the Board of the International Green Industry Hall of Fame (IGIHOF). Between the janitorial services of Geil Enterprises and the green cleaning power of Amaze products, Geil found ways to revolutionize the green industry for years.
Jesse Martinez, a celebrated ecopreneur and founder of Western Image Systems, has been preaching paperless operating to small businesses since 2008.
Jayni Chase, an environmental education ambassador, has spent the past 22 years greening America’s schools after being inspired by the birth of her first child.
Russ Widmar is the Aviation Director at Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FYI). FYI, which has daily flights from Fresno, CA, to cities all over the West and to Mexico, is leading California airports in the greenspace.
Agrion Community Manager Jennifer Jackson visits “Green is Good” to discuss the brand’s global business network in the fields of clean technology, sustainable development and energy. Agrion provides the platform for entrepreneurs and companies to connect and spur business development.
Al Micallef has painted himself an ecopreneur for years on top of nearly 30 years of ranching experience in his home state of Texas. A sort of jack of all trades, Micallef counts business owner, green agriculture expert, helicopter pilot, restaurateur and more as his job titles. Perhaps his most successful endeavor is the chance he took to enter the silicon business with Jamak Fabrication.
Dr. Shawn Kantor, professor of economics at University of California – Merced and storied author, recently published a study on the San Joaquin Valley’s potential for 100,000 clean, renewable-energy jobs.
Marc Alt is the Executive Director of the Green Parking Council, a nonprofit organization launched in 2010 that examines the sustainable future of parking. The organization’s influence spans the concepts of green building, clean technology, renewable energy, smart grid, urban planning and sustainability.
Kathleen Courtney sits on the board of directors at the Producers Guild of America, and spearheaded a movement to start a new program, PGA Green, a volunteer initiative that aims to increase green awareness in the film production realm. Today, Courtney is the Chair of PGA Green West, representing the Western U.S.
Ecopreneurs P.J. Stafford and Rosamaria Caballero founded GreenIrene.com in 2007. The pair were attempting to give their own home a green makeover when the light bulb went off — why not help others green their homes?
Albert Straus, President of the famous Straus Family Creamery, names responsible land use and environmental stewardship as two causes close to his heart. Beyond extensive steps to certify the farm organic, Straus is committed to using 40-50% recycled glass bottles, achieving six to eight use cycles for each.
Debbie Lawlor, New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Chief Sustainability Officer, helps to control the zoning and planning of the Meadowlands region of northern New Jersey, less than 10 miles west of New York City. Lawlor’s background is in sustainable regional planning. In 2006, she helped to implement green-building guidelines with incentivized zoning.
Frédéric Benhaim, a self-proclaimed “eco-nerd,” speaks to John and Mike from Paris. Benhaim co-founded the nonprofit company Entreprendre Vert, a 250-member green entrepreneur organization.
When Xavier Moraga began working at Paris’ upscale boutique Hotel Gavarni, he immediately began conceptualizing ways to green the legacy hotel. Today, the hotel is the first independent hotel in Paris to receive the European Ecolabel, a strict certification award for the greenest hotels in Europe.
Christina Page, Director of Climate and Energy Strategy at Yahoo!, is tasked with reducing the footprint of a website network that serves more than 600 million users.
John and Patricia Adams, co-founders of the NRDC and co-authors of the newly released A Force for Nature, join “Green is Good” to look back on 40 years of environmentalism.
Dave Stangis, Vice President of CSR and Sustainability at Campbell Soup Company, has long had success with corporate sustainability initiatives at a number of well-known companies. Now he is trying to reduce Campbell’s impact without sacrificing its scope.
Leslie Sheridan, founder of Planet Cents, used her background in activism for further good when she decided to head down a greener path earlier this year. Inspired by green businesses and the greenies she met along the way, Sheridan was convinced she could help spread the word about so many fabulous eco-friendly initiatives occurring every day.
Suzan Beraza, a documentary filmmaker, began research for a short documentary on plastic bag reduction in small Colorado towns before her findings quickly snowballed into the concept for Bag It, an award-winning film now working through the film festival circuit.
Joe Arrigo, the Building Science Leader for Owens Corning, visits “Green is Good” to discuss the iconic building materials company’s new eco-projects.
Paige Donner wears many eco-hats: humanitarian, filmmaker, journalist, founder of the Green Blog Network and more. While Donner is based in Los Angeles, she travels all over the globe, investigating how the media conveys eco-news and awareness.
Megan Kuhlmann started GreenIsSexy.org after conspiring with two friends about what could be done to spread eco-awareness to the public. The site, online for three years now, provides new eco-tips every day to help viewers in their day-to-day lives. Kuhlmann feels that many small changes can add up to large results.
Carol Baumgartel and Croft Elsaesser and are the mother-and-son team at American Clay, based in New Mexico. Elsaesser had been working with plasters for years as a finisher on building projects, but was feeling the negative effects of the toxins within these products. An all-natural solution became his #1 goal.
Care2.com founder Randy Paynter started his online community in 1998, and it is now the largest online community of users — more than 14 million — focusing on living green and making a difference in the areas of human rights and animal welfare.
St. Lawrence University sits in a picturesque setting in Upstate New York on an eco-friendly, 1,000-acre campus. Long considered one of the greenest universities in America, St. Lawrence has had an environmental studies program since the mid-1970s, well before most schools would have considered such curriculum.
Rebecca Harrell Tickell is a noted greenie who has dedicated her career to the advancement of women in green business. Her new book, Hot, Rich & Green, provides all the necessary tools for women to succeed in the eco-spectrum.
Jennie Nigrosh grew up surrounded by recycling — her father ran a cardboard recycling plant in New Hampshire — so it is only natural that she followed the path to create The Green Garmento, a reusable dry cleaning bag that is simple yet utilitarian. Now the bag is catching on in the hospitality industry and throughout the green community.
Derek Sabori, Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility for Volcom, chats with “Green is Good” from sunny San Diego. Volcom, a California casual clothing brand, has been experimenting with sustainable materials and conservation techniques to move its brand forward in the greenest way possible.
Paul McRandle is the editor of NRDC’s SmarterCities.org project. The site examines what cities across the U.S. are doing to green their profile, and in the process increase the quality of life for residents. The entire Smarter Cities program will take about three years to complete, but in the meantime the site is updated with relevant stories, city profiles and all sorts of tools to examine metro areas across the nation.
Gina Edner, Associate Director for Environmental Sustainability at Starwood Hotels, talks to “Green is Good” from New York. With approximately 1,000 hotels in nearly 100 countries, eco-conservation across Starwood’s brands makes a major difference.
Andy Hobsbawm created Green Thing, an online guide to leading a greener life, in England as a means to inspire and educate normal people to live healthier and more eco-friendly.
After reading an article about the effects of plastics on marine life, Rachelle Strauss and her husband were compelled to start MyZeroWaste.com, a U.K.-based site that encourages its readers to make small changes in their day-to-day lives, using less resources along the way.
Evoasis is a San Diego and London-based company that develops full-service fast-charge, electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle (PHEV) charging station facilities (EVSTAT) for deployment in metro areas and roadway access points in both the public and private sector. Angus Clark, Chairman of Evoasis, believes the mass adoption of electric cars begins with designing the right charging infrastructure.
Barb Scala is known for inspiring individuals and audiences alike to live balanced, happy, healthy and fulfilled lifestyles. Scala, a lifestyle coach, hosts Bloom Talk Radio and is the co-author of Sanity Savers: Tips for Women to Live a Balanced Life. Scala helps listeners and readers find meaning and balance in their lives using a green slant.
What is one of the easiest ways to go green (not to mention a great way to stay healthy)? Ride your bike more. Jay Whelan has figured out a way to harness energy from health club spinning classes to actually power the class and the club itself.
EcoNatura CEO Jama Russano’s personal allergies to beauty products led her to create a product line that caters to women interested in all-natural products that work.
Nurit Katz is University of California – Los Angeles’ very first sustainability coordinator. UCLA has taken a growing interest in sustaining and conserving across its campus, and Katz’s role is to make sure this mega-university continues to grow the green way. Katz helps oversee the Sustainability Committee at the school, spreading green thinking around the campus and beyond.
In 2007, Gia Machlin founded EcoPlum, a green shopping rewards site, after finding that she wanted to do something greener and more rewarding. Machlin, who has worked in a variety of fields, realized she could conserve most in the area of consumerism — the site’s tagline is “Where it pays to buy green,” and it’s a practice she abides by.
Sharon Rowe started ECOBAGS in 1989 as a teenager, well before the green wave rushed forth. The brand has since adopted the mission statement to “produce quality bags at great prices so that reusable becomes a way of life.”
Kate Harrison wrote The Green Bride Guide: How to Create an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget in 2007 shortly after realizing the difficulty in greening her own wedding.
Michael Alexander has a long history in the holistic and green health fields, and is co-founder of Conscious Planet Media.
Nick Rosen, joining the show from London, is one of the world’s premier experts on off-the-grid living. Rosen, a documentary filmmaker, was shooting in New York City in 2003 during the infamous East Coast power outage, and it really opened his eyes to society’s reliance on a constant energy stream.
A green-minded radio host, Chantal Cooke of “Passion for the Planet,” explains her show’s mission statement — providing solutions for a green and healthy lifestyle — while speaking to John and Mike from across the pond in London.
The second half of the show heads to New York to hear about Keetsa Mattress’ green mattress life cycle from General Manager Joe Alexander. We typically do not think about what goes into a mattress — materials used, manufacturing processes, shipping, its life in your home and its eventual disposal, where it unfortunately usually ends up heading to a landfill. Keetsa is helping to green that overall life cycle, from start to end.
In recent years, we have seen an increased awareness of how buildings affect your health, and “Green is Good” welcomes Green Nest’s Lisa and Ron Beres to explain this relatively new phenomenon.
In the second half of the show, John and Mike examine the weakened economy with 5 Million Green Jobs’ Jean William. William’s new program aims to spur the economy by creating 5 million jobs in the green sector.
Stuart Woolf, President and CEO of Woolf Farming and Processing, comes to “Green is Good” to discuss his family-owned farming business and its impressive energy reduction processes. Started in 1974, Woolf Farming and Processing has since become one of the most sustainable farming operations in California’s Central Valley.
Later in the show, John and Mike speak with Kory Lundberg, Senior Manager and Head of Sustainability Communications at Walmart. The company is the largest retailer in the U.S., and its three-point sustainability outline that it is working toward is a paramount example for others to follow:
Evan Bailyn, SEO expert, author, entrepreneur and founder of First Page Sage, speaks to “Green is Good” about his unique marketing talents, which he particularly utilizes in helping green businesses reach their full potential.