Lecture audio.

The What’s Next Lecture Series kicked off its five part Innovation program with a look at “Sustainability and Social Innovation: Doing Well by Doing Good,”on February 18, 2010. The panel featured Peter Meehan, CEO of Newman’s Own Organics, KoAnn Skrzyniarz, CEO of Sustainable Life Media, and Thomas W. Van Dyck, CIMA; Senior Vice President, Socially Responsible Investing at RBC Wealth Management. Sandy Skees, CEO of Communications4Good, moderated as the panel explored trends and success factors in companies with a social and environmental mission.

These outstanding speakers provided the audience with current thinking, best practices and trends in sustainability and social innovation, examining how brands and the media are framing this business shift. Topics included an exploration of how businesses are responding to the social, environmental and economic challenges of today’s world with innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The series is a new collaboration between UC Santa Cruz, NextSpace Coworking + Innovation, and the City of Santa Cruz. Future topics in the year-long series will feature topics that include Energy, The New Workplace, Innovation in Research & Development, and Gaming & Social Media.

Panelists

Peter Meehan is the CEO of Newman’s Own Organics, Inc. Mr. Meehan is an officer on the Board of Directors of Newman’s Own, Inc. Seventeen years ago Nell Newman, Paul Newman and Peter Meehan established Newman’s Own Organics as a division of Newman’s Own Inc. The rapid growth of organic market allowed Newman’s Own Organics to become a standalone company in 2000.  The company is a leader in the Natural Foods Industry.  Mr. Meehan has served on several company board of directors and been an advisor to many entrepreneurial efforts.  Mr. Meehan recently completed an eight year term on the Board of Hospice of Santa Cruz County with his last year as Board President.

KoAnn is a seasoned business-to-business media executive with a consistent track record of success over 18 years producing record-breaking business results across a wide variety of media and markets. Formerly Senior Vice President with Miller Freeman, Inc. now CMP media, she has successfully launched over 40 conferences, trade shows, magazines, websites, research studies and even books – the largest of which have attracted tens of thousands of people from around the world. Her involvement with business and the environment dates back to the mid-1980s when she launched international conferences on improving log utilization, reducing Waste Paper, and eliminating ozone-layer destroying chemicals (CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons).

Thomas Van Dyck has been a leader in the field of socially-responsible investing since starting at Dean Witter in 1983. In 1987, he founded Progressive Asset Management (PAM), a firm dedicated to socially responsible investing.At PAM, Van Dyck created the firm’s shareholder advocacy program. Joining Piper Jaffray in 1997, he developed an investment management consulting team, now called the SRI Wealth Management Group, which moved to RBC Wealth Management in 2006. Van Dyck has authored numerous articles and studies on the economics of socially responsible investing. He has been actively involved in cleantech investing and was instrumental in developing Piper Jaffray’s Cleantech Ventures private equity fund of funds strategy. Throughout his career, he has worked to encourage major pension funds like CalPERS and CalSTRS to consider issues such as divestment from South Africa and environmental investment strategies.

Van Dyck is the founder of As You Sow*, a shareholder advocacy foundation, and is active with environmental groups, including Rainforest Action Network, Baykeeper, Bioneers and Earth Rights International. He is most proud, however, of his role of active parent to his two children. Van Dyck graduated from Duke University in 1980 with a B.A. in Political Science. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) and is Series 7 and Series 66 licensed. 

*RBC Wealth Management does not endorse or support As You Sow

Sandy Skees, president and founder of Communications4Good, provides businesses, early stage companies and organizations with sustainability analysis, communications counseling and program implementation. At Communications4Good, a public relations/communications agency, Sandy is creating a language of goodness that gives business a way to focus, talk about, share, motivate and implement change in the world — change that values people, respects planetary resources and fosters prosperity.  Her trademarked methodology assesses organizational assets, legacy, vision, human capital, business goals and market conditions to unlock the goodness inside of business through the power of language, stories, and communication.   Clients include a cleantech venture capital firm, and companies in solar, LED lighting, green media, energy management, social innovation, climate change consulting and environmental economics strategy, green consumer research and sustainable design software industries.

With more than 20 years experience at global and boutique agencies, as well as corporate marketing experience at an international technology company, Sandy is recognized for highly developed problem solving skills that bring communications solutions to Fortune 100 corporations.  Previously a partner at Porter Novelli, she managed the global HP account team in 20 cities/10 countries around the world and served on the Global Citizen Task Force and Pro Bono Initiative, working with Vday and Freedom from Hunger. In addition to client work, she sits on the Santa Cruz Design + Innovation Center Advisory Board, mentors for the California Clean Tech Open and the Entrepreneurs Foundation, and is serving on a green building committee.

Resources

Sustainable Brands 2010

Sustainable Life Media. Membership, conferences, newsletters.

SB Boot Camp

GOOD Magazine

Global Footprint

As You Sow