Since PosiPeople is interested in positive impact, it makes sense to define the ways in which an organization can make a positive impact. Below is just a laundry list of ways that organizations can make a positive impact on society and the environment. Please add whatever you think might be missing from this list or debate any of the items in this list in the comments area below.

• End use or end consumption
  • For example, a toothbrush and toothpaste, when used properly, lead to increased dental health.
• Workplace safety and occupational health
  • For example, a manufacturing plant that is lean and provides its workers with all of the safety information and equipment they need.
• Efficient and non-wasteful production of products and services
  • For example, a product that is manufactured with little by-product waste or a service that is performed with little mistakes or errors.
• A product or service that is designed to be reusable
  • For example, a product that comes in packaging that can be reused to hold other items. (For a more specific example, think about the Altoids tin!)
• A product or a service that comes in packaging that is recyclable and easy to recycle
  • For example, a cardboard carton that is easily recycled with other paper products.
• Ethically sourced raw materials
  • For example, a coffee company that only buys coffee beans from fair trade coffee growers .
• Sourcing of sustainable and clean raw materials
  • For example, a utility that generates its electricity from non-carbon emitting sources such as wind or solar power.
• Supporting charitable organizations and causes with each purchase of a product or a service
  • For example, for every t-shirt purchased, $1 will go to charity X.
• Organizational philanthropy
  • This one is pretty self-explanatory!
• Partnering with organizations that uphold certain standards of conduct
  • No example necessary! ;)
• Providing jobs in economically depressed regions of the world
  • For example, KickStart chooses to locate its manufacturing in Africa where opportunity is sorely needed.
• Disposing of their waste in the proper method(s)
  • For example, a grocery store that organizes its waste; composting, recycling, reusing, and treating of all of it before it is disposed.
• Providing customers will all of the information they need to make an informed decision
  • For example, disclosing to customers the true and complete costs (social and environmental costs) of a product or service they purchase.
• Accurately measuring the impact of their efforts
  • If an organization doesn’t measure its impact, how does it know if its impact is positive?
• Designing a product or service so that it can be shared to reduce financial, environmental, and social costs
  • For example, mass transit is allows many people to get to work each day for very little cost.

I would argue that none of the items above conflict with making a profit. Rather, I argue that all of the items listed above are qualities of good business which help to justify a profit. What do you think?

Disclosure: At the time of the writing of this post, I have no financial relationships with any of the companies mentioned.

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About the Author

Jonathan Chang received his MBA from Babson College and his BA from Columbia University. Jon is interested in new technologies which help individuals and organizations make a positive impact on society and the environment. He is also a proponent of long term thinking, supports the creation of renewable resources, and is an ardent advocate of social entrepreneurship. He is involved with and a member of Net Impact and the Commonwealth Club. (Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of new leaders who use business to improve the world. The Commonwealth Club is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum which organizes events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.)

This post is a little off topic, but I thought that I’d share it because it is highly relevant to any entrepreneur who is starting a new social enterprise. This tip was originally published in BusinessWeek earlier this year, but it was modified from its original form. The original tip is here along with a .pdf file of the tip that you can download for future reference.

When new ventures start, founders struggle to find an appropriate name for their business. Names are subjective and, as a result, a “right” answer does not necessarily exist for the name of your enterprise. What really helps a founding team decide on a good name for their venture is a process to pick a name for the startup. We went through a seven step process in naming our business, “PosiPeople”. Hopefully, it will help you in finding a name for your startup.

1. List all of the words or phrases that describe your company and what it does.
2. Combine the words from your list to create “BRAND” new words.
3. Use literary techniques like alliteration, rhyme, and onomatopoeia to come up with catchy, memorable names.
   • These names should have words with meaning that identify with your business.
   • Avoid using numbers or special characters in the name such as hyphens or periods. (This usually confuses people when spelling the name of the company (i.e. do you spell “five” or just use the numeral “5″?)

4. Create a short list of names that are:
   • Unique
   • Easy to spell, say, and pronounce
   • Short (Around 2-4 syllables)
   • The more original the word is, the more defensible the name is in court in a trademark infringement dispute. (Think about names/words like Yahoo, Google, and Accenture.)

5. Make sure that the domain name is available
   • Search ajaxwhois.com to see if the domain name is registered.
   • The primary extensions to register are “.com”, “.org”, “.net”

6. Ensure that the trademark for the name is available as well.
   • Search the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to check trademark availability. (Visit www.uspto.gov to do a search.)

7. Pick a name that your team likes best.
   • Remember, names are subjective. As a result, no one name will please everyone.

Remember that it is easier to build meaning into a word that has no meaning than it is to change the meaning of an existing word. In addition, it is important to think about the meanings that are associated with a particular word as a misaligned meaning may confuse your customers.

Through all of this, understand that it is much more important to build and grow the business than it is to name it. Don‘t spend too much time worrying about the name of the business. Pick one that works and move on.

Download and Share this Business Tip!
Download this Biz Tip as a .pdf file.

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About the Author

Jonathan Chang received his MBA from Babson College and his BA from Columbia University. Jon is interested in new technologies which help individuals and organizations make a positive impact on society and the environment. He is also a proponent of long term thinking, supports the creation of renewable resources, and is an ardent advocate of social entrepreneurship. He is involved with and a member of Net Impact and the Commonwealth Club. (Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to make a positive impact on society by growing and strengthening a community of new leaders who use business to improve the world. The Commonwealth Club is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum which organizes events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy.)

When I read the New York Times article about Jatropha, I thought it seemed almost too good to be true. This seemingly worthless weed that grows in marginal soils and on the sides of the road through Africa and parts of Asia was cited as one of the best candidates for biofuel production by Goldman Sachs. (You would never guess it by looking at a picture. Jatropha is a homely plant if there ever was one, in my opinion.) The hardy Jatropha plant produces seeds that are 40% oil. When the seeds are crushed and processed, the resulting oil can be used in a standard diesel engine. Jatropha requires little water and no fertilizer beyond the nutrient rich residue that remains after the oil is pressed from its nuts. Yet an acre of Jatropha yields significantly more fuel than an acre of corn or soy.

The stories about the ways in which people are using Jatropha are also pretty amazing. In Mali, local villagers are using Jatropha in specially modified generators to provide electricity for villages that are far off the gride. In India, the Daimler Chrysler team took a national test drive in a Mercedes-Benz fueled by Jatropha. According to their website, “A Mercedes-Benz C 220 CDI specially modified to use Jatropha biodiesel toured the country between April and May 2004, covering around 5,900 kilometers and visiting 11 major cities on a route extending from Pune to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.” In Europe and Mali, the Amsterdam-based Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) is working with a Dutch entrepreneur to set up Mali Biocarburant, a Jatropha production company that is jointly owned with local Malian farmers. It is interesting that a plant that originated in Central America and took off as a weed alongside farms and fields in Africa and Asia may now be the crop the fuels our cars…A Cinderella story indeed.

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About the Author

Bea Bezmalinovic Dhebar is encouraged by the creativity, diversity, diffusion and fusion of ideas taking place among people around the world. She is particularly interested in the ways in which new entrepreneurial ventures - whether led by business, government or non-governmental organizations - can make a difference in our quality of life. Bea has worked extensively on international health and development issues with organizations as varied as Management Sciences for Health, the NetAid Foundation, Harvard Business School, Harvard School of Public Health, Partners in Population and Development, Save the Children, Aid to Artisans, the US Agency for International Development, the Overseas Development Council, and the International Center for Research on Women. She has lived or worked in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Bea received a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and recently returned to get an MBA from Babson College. She is fluent in Spanish and has some knowledge of Portuguese and Bengali.

Did you know that “spam represents nearly 93 percent of all email” according to Postini. (Postini is a company that was acquired by Google.) All of us at PosiPeople believe in social and environmental responsibility and, as such, we don’t want this newsletter to resemble spam in any way whatsoever. To avoid being spam and to reduce wasting network resources, we need your input! Please respond to the questions below by posting your feedback below in the comments area.

1) How often you would like to receive this newsletter?
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Thank you for your help and input!

Thank you for your patience as we strive to make PosiPeople the best it can be. We are adding features and tools to the site that will help you highlight positive impact effortlessly and will give you the best experience possible. The PosiPeople beta will launch in the next several weeks and we plan to keep you in the loop on its launch through our blog, which is located at blog.PosiPeople.com. In addition, the PosiPeople blog will highlight submissions from the PosiPeople community as well as examine subjects that are related to the PosiPeople’s areas of interest such as organic food, renewable energy, recycling, hybrid/electric cars, climate change, and green issues. The PosiPeople blog will be your source for anything related to making a positive impact on society or the environment. A condensed list of topic areas is listed below.

PosiPeople Blog Topic areas:

- Organic food & personal care products
- Green & sustainable building
- Hybrid & electric cars
- Energy efficient electronics & appliances
- Natural household products
- Natural & preventive medicine
- Socially responsible investing

Lastly, this blog will provide you with a method to communicate with the PosiPeople team. (Comments will be enabled on our blog, so you can comment away about any of our topics.) We are building PosiPeople for you and, as a result, we encourage you to provide us with feedback. We can‘t build PosiPeople without your input and we look forward to receiving plenty of it.

This blog will be updated weekly, so please check back often. Please tell all of your friends about PosiPeople and to sign up for the beta test which is launching in the next several weeks!

Thank you, once again, for your support and patience. We look forward to making a positive impact with you!