Net Impact Blog: Member Stories
Every day, Net Impact members work hard to make an impact at their jobs, on their campuses, and in their communities. These are just a few of their stories.
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Clinton Honors Federal Debt Campaign at CGIU
Students remind peers, “It’s Up to Us” when it comes to fiscal future
In 2012 our government had to borrow $1.1 trillion to cover its expenses. Unfortunately, one group in particular will bear the brunt of our runaway debt — young people. Ironically, this group is often left out of the conversation. Why? Maybe they’re too self-absorbed. Or perhaps they’re simply apathetic...
Renewing the Idea of a Resilient Future
OneEnergy Scholars build a network of renewable energy leaders
It often takes a crisis to get everyone talking about renewables – for instance, when energy grids cripple into wide-scale blackout. Yet, time and again, especially in the United States, conversation falls to the wayside in place of other issues vying for the public’s attention. Fortunately, OneEnergy Scholars are set on talking about and tackling those challenges head on.
Want to Drive Big Impact? Start Small
Jessica Rudnick had big ideas when she joined a Net Impact chapter last fall, ready to make an impact on campus. But she quickly discovered it wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped. The question loomed: how do you reach folks who haven’t integrated social and environmental values into their everyday habits?
Thinking Small with Big Results
A social entrepreneur gives back to global education through her ethical baby clothing line
The Small, Steps Big Wins campus challenge is built on the belief that an idea, moment of inspiration, or simple action can set something powerful in motion. And social entrepreneur Jo Tiongson-Perez is just one example...
A Business Consulting Internship in the Great Outdoors?
By now, many students are knee-deep in internship applications, scrambling to decide how best to spend their summers. But who wants to send out cover letter after cover letter just to end up in a poorly ventilated office tapping away at your keyboard all summer? Check out how the National Park Service Business Plan Internship can offer you a summer not soon forgotten...
Announcing the Winners of the 2012 Impact at Work Award
Asheen Phansey and Amy Green set a new green standard at their company
While plenty of awards congratulate corporate figureheads and high-profile personalities, Net Impact’s Impact at Work Award recognizes the hardworking but unsung individuals who roll up their sleeves to implement measurable change on the job. So we're thrilled to announce our 2012 winner, a pair of exemplary members who have brought sweeping changes to their organization...
Donate to Celebrate 20 Years of Impact
Net Impact is twenty – yes, twenty – years old this year, and you can help us celebrate by supporting our 20th anniversary Give Back | Pay It Forward campaign.
Should Non-scientists Care About Biomimicry?
Q&A with 2012 Net Impact Conference speaker Asheen Phansey
Why would a former Eagle Scout with a passion for protecting fragile ecosystems go from running his own sustainability consultancy to working for a software company? For 2012 Net Impact Conference speaker Asheen Phansey, it came down to the possibility for impact. “I realized that I could leverage the awesome SolidWorks community,” says Asheen, “to spread our sustainable design message far more widely than I could do alone – over 150,000 companies and 1.7 million students and professionals use our 3D design software to make products.” That’s a big impact...
When It Comes to Corporate Responsibility, Vocabulary Matters
Before Rob Kaplan, Senior Manager of Sustainability at Walmart, got to where he is now, he was a manager of corporate responsibility at Brown-Forman Corporation, a leading wine and spirits company. And what do alcoholic beverages have to do with sustainability? More than you might think...
From the South Side to the Riverside: One MBA’s Service Learning Experience
What does a b-school student from the south side of Chicago end up doing over the course of a summer spent along a 48-mile stretch of river in Georgia? Financial analysis, of course. William Gordon, Jr. was a second-year MBA candidate at Darden focusing on social enterprise and sustainability, when he spent a summer working in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Atlanta, GA as a National Park Service Business Plan Intern.
Bringing Energy Audits to Small Business
Net Impacter Launches Nationwide Green Impact Campaign
Ever sit in a class just daydreaming? While you’re tapping your fingers thinking about the closing joke Ira made in last week’s This American Life, the fellow next to you might just be having a silent epiphany about a business that will help shape our future. That was Net Impact DC member Daniel Hill 18 months ago in his MBA accounting class...
From Student to Pro: 50% off Membership and a Support System, Too
Graduation season is winding down, but that doesn’t mean you have to join the ranks of the working world without a net. When Arthur Peterson, who’s now an Employee Environmental Engagement Leader at Boeing, graduated from the Ross School of Business, he knew just where to turn for support: his local professional Net Impact chapter.
Check Out These Winning Ideas for Social Innovation
If you've ever wondered how to measure the value of diversity – ethnic diversity, certainly, but also diversity of backgrounds, diversity of ideas, and diversity of skills – look no further than the winners of this year's Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge. Open to universities across the country, the Challenge gave 50 teams the chance to pitch their sustainable business solution or product to Walmart executives (and score some seed funding). The University of Virginia team includes undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students majoring in engineering, medicine, public health, business, and more. United around the global health crisis, they pooled their areas of expertise to create PureMadi, a uniquely effective water filtration system that combines modern engineering with the low-tech practicality of nature's own materials.
Net Impact Chapters Rise to the Campus Greening Challenge
Net Impact chapters on campuses across the country have been competing hard since November to design and implement a campus greening initiative of their choice. From green roof installation to recycling and composting programs, the ideas generated during the 2012 xpedx Campus Greening Challenge have proven just how effective strategic thinking and hard work can be in shrinking a university's environmental footprint. Check out the winning ideas...
Impact in Antarctica: Our Workshop Goes Polar
Imagine being woken from your sleep. It's not quite 7 a.m., and you're aboard a massive sailing vessel, floating as far south on the planet as anyone's ever sailed, making your way slowly toward Antarctica. A voice directs you above deck, where the temperature is below freezing. There, surrounded by your shipmates from 22 different countries, you look up and witness a wall of blue-white ice...
From Brainstorm to Business: Walmart Challenge Semifinalists Announced (1 of 3)
Across the country, students are coming up with brilliant solutions to combat critical problems like lack of clean drinking water in developing countries. But it's difficult for these students to succeed. Enter the Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge. Net Impact is excited to introduce the regional winners, who will be moving onto the final competition and competing for up to $35,000 in seed money.
Lessons from the CSR Suite: Marcus Chung on Credibility, Opportunity, and More
As the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Talbots Inc., Marcus Chung throws his whole self into his work, even if it means pitching to his boss at 2 a.m. in an airport lounge. But this doesn’t mean it’s easy—from his first role at a hybrid think-tank-consulting-firm called the Corporate Executive Board to his current one at Talbots, with ten Net Impact Conferences in between, Marcus has been building relationships and affecting change from the inside out. Profiled in our expanded Career Center’s new How They Did It Section, Marcus has plenty of know-how he’s picked up along the way. Here’s his take on a few topics.
For 3M's Kurt Werner, Finding Impact Work Is About the Chemistry
You may know 3M's ubiquitous yellow Post-it notes and plaid-swathed Scotch tape but Kurt Werner, Environmental Affairs Manager for the company's electronics markets, has spent his career focusing on many of 3M's 55,000 other products. Many of these are distributed in highly-regulated markets like manufacturing, healthcare, transportation, and safety and security – and that means Kurt has his hands full to ensure not only legal compliance but environmental safety, as well.
Who Knew a Master's Could Help Fight Illegal Drugs in National Parks?
When you think of the many challenges facing US National Parks, you probably go straight to a lack of funding, or maybe encroaching land development. But there’s another threat to our park system that’s often overlooked, particularly in California: illegal marijuana cultivation. “It has a huge impact on the park,” explains Snapper Poche, a former National Park Business Plan Intern who served at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, “because heavy equipment and fertilizer is brought in, trees are cleared, and the place is trashed.” Snapper’s job at the park was to help identify how much park personnel were investing in battling this particular issue.
How One Member Created a Revenue Stream for our National Parks
If you ever stay in a yurt in Idaho, Carolyn Maezes may be the one to thank. During her summer as a BPI intern, she created a five year business plan for City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park. While exploring various strategic options, she and her partner discovered the park faced a lack of housing and revenue.
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