The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce brought three industry leaders to share stories, advice and inspiration about creating a more sustainable future during its THINK GREEN The Business Symposium earlier this month.
Nellie Cohen, corporate environmental associate at Patagonia, Kyle Wiens, co-founder and CEO of iFixit and Ted Hyman, managing partner of ZGF Architects’ Los Angeles office were the featured speakers at the THINK GREEN program, which was created to inspire the local business community and provide an arena to learn about innovative sustainable business practices. The Oct. 10 event provided a forum to hear from business leaders who are developing strategies in the energy and resource conservation fields as well as eco–friendly operational systems.
Patagonia has demonstrated a stringent dedication to environmental stewardship over the decades through numerous programs such as the Patagonia Works and the Common Threads Partnership as well as helping to found the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which is working to create an industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm.
Cohen spoke of the efforts that the Ventura-based company has become known for as well as the importance of getting other companies to join in the fight.
“We are going to act as an investor and incubator to startup companies who want to take on our same crazy ethos and join us in this cause,” Cohen said. “It’s going to be exciting to bring some more companies along, because we can’t do this alone. It’s been a great experiment so far but it will be truly proved viable when someone else can do what we’re doing.”
Wiens wants to help people fix their electronics, and the co-founder of SLO-based iFixit has a vision and a blueprint to help the company’s goal come to fruition. It’s simple really: showing people how to fix their broken electronics will keep money in their pockets and more refuse out of landfills.
“If we were to bias toward products that are repairable, that are made to stand the test of time, it will give a signal to manufacturers to make those sorts of products,” Wiens said. “The opportunity is for us to be thoughtful consumers and thoughtful purchasers and let the designers know this is what we want. We don’t want a phone with a glued in battery; we’d prefer something we can repair ourselves.”
Portland-based ZGF Architects specializes in sustainable design. Hyman, a Cal Poly grad, has spent his career working with new technologies to enhance building design and lower their environmental footprint.
“What we’ve gotten to now, this new generation that we’re just starting, is the technology and how we practice and the people we’re working with are really allowing us to do these buildings cheaper,” Hyman said.