In March, 1989 the Exxon Valdez, foundered in Alaska’s Prince Edward Sound, and spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil into the environmentally sensitive area, destroying millions creatures, polluting the area for a generation, and instantly turning Exxon into the “Great Satan” of the environmental movement.



But in that moment, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) was born. CERES is a marriage of institutional investors and environmental groups dedicated to using the power of investment and shareholder action to steer business away from business as usual and bring them to the altar of social and environmental responsibility. Interestingly, the first company to endorse the CERE Principles was Sunoco, the Philadelphia based oil company. There are now over 200 companies who subscribe to the CERES principles and make steady improvement on their environmental performance.

CERES also spearheaded the Global reporting Initiative, or GRI which like proper financial reporting, shines the light of transparency on corporate social and environmental impacts and progress. Over 1300 companies have adopted the GRI. 

I’m reporting form the CERES conference in Boston today. There are a lot of friends here. About 20 Greenopolis Partners are among the 200+ CERES Companies and Coalition members, like Anvil Knitwear, Nike, GM, PepsiCo, Seventh Generation, Green Mountain Coffee, Cloud Institute, Green America, National Wildlife Federation and others.

I sat in on a great session this morning with Anvil and other textile companies talking about fostering sustainability through the supply chain. Turns out that if we the people demand things like organic cotton, recycled PET, and fair Labor practices, the companies will start to look for that from their suppliers, and a healthy” race to the top” can ensue.  Caterina Conti from Anvil summed it up best.” We reward each other in our supply network for our ‘good deeds’, which inspires and encourages ‘green’ innovation and action“.  You can go to Anvil’s website Track My T and see where your own T-shirt came from, and where it can go next.
Big players like Wal-Mart are moving some mountains, but these networks of smaller players like Anvil, Jimtex Yarn , and the Outdoor Industry Association are doing some serious good, too.



So it’s not just big investor groups and NGOs that can leverage change. The clear message here is that when you vote with your dollars, you can influence whole systems. Power to the People! More to follow.