Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Green Business Networking dream list

A few people asked what I hope to accomplish with the networking event. My initial answer was to help connect local businesses with the College and help them grow as well as help new businesses get started. In thinking about it more I'm working on a "dream list". So for starters here are a few of my dreams (in no particular order):
  • A great expansion of sustainable start ups across the Lowcountry, especially by CofC students and alumni
  • Existing green businesses growing to be among the most successful in the area
  • Green businesses hiring more graduates than any other businesses
  • Following that: a green business-centered job fair
  • A program fully integrating Environmental Studies and the School of Business and Economics (Maybe SoBE could stand for Business and the Environment, no offense to my colleagues in Economics of course)
  • Sustainability becoming a core principle of the School of Business and Economics, permeating through all that we do
  • Scholarship funds to support students interested in sustainable business
  • Investment funds for students starting sustainable businesses
  • An advisory board/mentor program to help guide students starting sustainable businesses
  • An advisory board made up of students to advise local businesses on improving their sustainability
  • A sustainable business incubator
  • Full and diverse enrollment in the sustainable business venturing class I'll teach in the fall
  • An endowed professorship for sustainable entrepreneurship
  • An intern program devoted to getting students into sustainable businesses
  • Finally - for Charleston to be among the list of cities that people immediately think of when discussing sustainable business
That's just off the top of my head. I'd like to hear what you think. Do any of these sound feasible or do they belong in the realm of fantasy? What are your green business dreams?

2 comments:

heavydinsc said...

Thanks for kicking this off. I think the value of such networking is occasionally hard to identify, but it's there nonetheless.
As to the list of goals you've got, it's certainly admirable. I would say that achieving these things will rely largely on grass roots support. But buy-in on the part of leadership is necessary, too. To that end, I'm happy to say that the College's president appears to be in support of such initiatives. At the first meeting of the campus' sustainability committee last fall, he suggested that it would be important for the institution as a whole to adopt a sustainable outlook that could be transmitted to each student. He went so fas as to say that sustainability should be an element of our core curriculum. I don't know when that might actually happen, but it is encouraging to know that this topic is considered important by those at the highest level on campus.

Anonymous said...

I agree that networking is invaluable when it comes to any kind of grassroots initiative, but especially when it comes to something as comprehensive as a "green initiative." It's important that organizations talk and coordinate their efforts. I think you're doing a great thing by getting people to talk to one another so that they can partner up and make the biggest impact possible. Thanks!