In today’s world, companies can be successful while also doing good for the world. This was a main topic at the Social Entrepreneurship and the Triple Bottom Line Forum in Chumash Auditorium Tuesday.
The forum focused on companies and entrepreneurs who see profit, people and the planet as their bottom-line goals, according to Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship managing director Thea Chase.
“We would like students to see how individuals and companies are embracing multi-faceted definitions of success,” Chase said. “In tradition, business is profit, but it’s a lot more than that. These are demonstrations of a lot of different models and ways of doing good while also doing well.”
The model called “triple bottom line” refers to when companies pursue a profit to treat and serve employees efficiently, while at the same time helping the surrounding communities.
In those communities, especially in California, a new type of corporation has grown called the Benefit Corporation (also known as a B-Corporation).
Tuesday evening’s event included pitches, exhibits and networking — including presentations from numerous Cal Poly student groups with products and goals to help the community.
One speaker was Cal Poly alumnus David Karr, who graduated in 1996 with a bachelor of science in business administration. Karr offered a keynote presentation on his history with Cal Poly, social entrepreneurship and how a business can impact the world in a good way.
“Over the past 15 years, it’s been quite a journey, and what we do is very meaningful service work,” Karr said. “Nothing is more meaningful than the journey.”
Karr is the co-founder of Guayaki Yerba Mate, a Northern California-based organization makes yerba mate tea, a mainstream energy drink and alternative to coffee.
“For us, it’s about creating a new business model,” Karr said. “And profitability is the soul of sustainability.”
They work to prove that a company can be profitable while operating in a sustainable fashion.
“It’s very exciting David Karr (came back to campus),” Chase said. “He truly is a great example of an alumni who has gone off and done great things, and he’s a great inspiration for future generations.”
Following Karr’s presentation, a panel of discussion included Jon Monett, a Cal Poly alumna and founder of Quality of Life Plus; Heather Van Dusen, a senior associate at a nonprofit that certifies and supports B-Corporations known as B Lab; and Kristen Yetter, a Cal Poly alumna and general manager of Promega Biosciences LLC.
The forum event was part of a series hosted by the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and was assisted by numerous local organizations. Forums such as Tuesday’s provide an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to network and learn about each other’s projects, and speak with both national and local innovative business representatives and industry leaders.
One of the student groups at the event during the Pitches, Exhibits and Networking section was Net Impact, a sustainable business organization dedicated to educating students on corporate responsibility as well as social entrepreneurship.
“What we are trying to do is promote how sustainability can be part of a business and still make a profit out of it,” said Net Impact Marketing Head and economics freshman Janet Leung. “We want to make sure that people are socially aware of this concept.”
Leung also said the event is a good opportunity to network with other students to gain more members and promote their club to help it grow.
Other groups who participated were Quality of Life Laboratory (QL+), which involves engineering students working with experienced faculty members to research and develop innovations to improve the quality of life of those who have served our country; Engineers Without Borders, which supports community-driven development programs worldwide by collaborating with local partners to design and implement sustainable engineering projects while creating lifelong experiences and responsible leaders; and the Monterey Institute of International Studies that offers professional graduate degrees with an international focus.
These groups are all representative of clubs and organizations with socially oriented products or goals.
Additional entrepreneurship forums are planned in April and May.
Joseph Corral contributed to this article.