A review of an educational session at the MiaGreen Expo & Conference held in Miami FL on February 25-26, 2010.

1. miagreen session 1 1
review: MiaGreen session 1
Friday’s opening session, titled Successful Entrepreneurial Approaches to the Current
Green Economy was a pretty fun way to start the morning. It was a panel discussion
moderated by Lilian T. Chiu, CEO of Morgan Environments and current President of the
Society for Marketing Professional Services South Florida; the three panelists were Greg
Horn, a partner in World of Green, Marty Metro, co-founder and CEO of
UsedCardboardBoxes.com, and Eric Corey Freed, Principal of organicARCHITECT. All
four individuals possess very animated, strong personalities with very definitive points of
view. They were not afraid to speak openly.
Whether it was the panelists’ openness and honesty, or Lillian’s efforts to get them to
engage directly with the audience, or the make-up of the audience itself, this session was
extremely participatory. From the very beginning, audience members started asking
questions, making comments, adding to what the speakers were saying, and even
challenging what the speakers said. And this appeared to set the tone for the rest of the
sessions that day; in every one of them we witnessed audiences who were engaging the
speakers even before they started their presentations.
This first morning session provided some very lively interactions; here is a list of some of
the take-aways:
• Watch out for externalities to be priced. All those things that nature gives us for free,
and all the negative impacts of our current industrial age business model, the cost
of which are never factored into how much we pay for goods and services, will soon
be given an economic value. Businesses should start to consider how that will
impact their operations and pricing structures.
• Don’t wait for the government to do anything. It is almost inconceivable that the
government will be the one to price those externalities, considering how difficult it’s
been for it to implement baseline regulations. Metro put it simply: “Screw
regulation.” The general feeling was that the business world is far more advanced
than the government, so businesses should not wait for government support nor
funding to help with any sustainable pursuits. Metro questioned whether any
program that relied on government funding could be considered sustainable,
because there would then be little guarantee of the program surviving if government
suddenly withdrew that economic support.
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11250 morrison street no. 201, north hollywood ca 91601

2. miagreen session 1 2
• There is no such thing as a “green” expert. “Green” as a category is so immense,
and evolving so rapidly, that no single person can know everything there is to know
about it. There are many breakdowns, and there certainly are specialists in specific
fields related to sustainability, but don’t believe anyone who claims to be a green
expert.
• When you do meet an expert in some area of sustainability, don’t be intimidated by
them. Everyone right now is part of a developing movement, and there is a lot that
we can all learn from each other.
• Everyone benefits when we all share knowledge freely. So within your network, lead
by example, and encourage others to share best practices and operations.
• Forget about “going green.” Don’t worry about positioning your services or products
as the “green” alternative. There is a lot of greenwashing out there right now, so the
best you can do is to focus on providing value. When you provide value, you will
also most likely be embracing sustainable practices.
• From an education perspective, the panelists did not feel that a green MBA was
actually important. They used themselves as examples of individuals who were
simply passionate about sustainability, and who pursued it long before it became
trendy, and certainly long before colleges and universities started teaching the value
that sustainability holds for the business world.
• If going into business as a “green” service provider, be careful and specific about
what you offer and about what benefits clients can derive from hiring you. How do
you define, for example, a green realtor or accounting firm? Does it have to do with
the clients you represent, or internal business practices? Define it specifically and
don’t greenwash, as that is a disservice to the rest of the movement.
Thank you, Lilian, for leading such an energetic opening session!
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➜ threadcollaborative
11250 morrison street no. 201, north hollywood ca 91601