On Saturday June 24th I joined the 3rd annual Cycle the Solstice bicycle ride which was hosted by The Cycle Works and benefits the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education.

The Cycle the Solstice event offers different length rides to suit riders of all ages and abilities while promoting healthy lifestyles and fresh local food production in the area. Each ride had rest stops at local farms and markets where refreshments and information on local food and agriculture were provided.

I departed at 8:30am on the 20 mile circuit with a fearless leader and a group of riders on a beautiful summer day. We rode over gently rolling hills in southern York County and covered 8 miles and arrived at our first rest stop at Fitz’s Farm Market and were treated to refreshments.

After a revitalizing rest stop we departed and rode about 3 miles to our next stop at Cabin Creek Farms, a local wholesale and retail tree nursery where you can cut your own Christmas tree.

We then proceeded to pedal another 6 miles to our final rest stop Goldfinch Farm, a local farm that grows organic (non-certified) vegetables to sell to CSA members. A custom designed and built model wooden train decorated the landscape.

Back on the bikes for a 5 mile jaunt back to the Horn Farm Center for tacos with local produce from the gardens. It was a delightful day for a bike ride and gratifying to know that it will support the mission of connecting the community to local food.

A Purpose Driven Business

BWS is driven by the belief that there is a higher purpose for business then profit and therefore has formed as a benefit corporation. BWS believes that a corporation can make a profit and reduce environmental impact and eventually have a positive effect on Mother Earth. BWS believes that social justice issues must be addressed in order to create a more equitable society for all individuals.

Current business models and frameworks are a product of capital-driven, hierarchical organizations and are failing to create the disruptive innovation needed to address many of the challenges we face today. They are mechanistic, treating employees as replaceable cogs; in return many employees are neither happy nor fully engaged.
BWS goals are to contribute to progress towards creating a better future for all. BWS believes a different organization is needed to build effective product-services which serve society and Mother Earth. Simply put a company which can create these will be a more successful business.

BWS will be values-driven with a systems-thinking, holistic understanding of its purpose and impact. Hierarchical management will be replaced with self-organized, self-managed teams which adapt flexibly to changing circumstances to achieve the organization’s purpose whilst adhering to its values. BWS derives its purpose from fulfilling a valuable function for the community, not from blindly serving the narrow needs of just one stakeholder group. BWS aspires to describe the next stage in the evolution of human consciousness.

BWS will be a soulful workplace where our full-range of talents is nurtured and our deepest aspirations are honored, and bring a holistic understanding of human and team psychology making it possible to consciously create community and foster empathic communication resulting in better collaboration, a more effective organization and increased happiness, fitting in with the basic human drive for fairness, a more humane way to work together.
What does the world want from BWS and what does BWS want from the world?

BWS asks you to join in creating a Better World for Mother Earth and all future generations who will inhabit this great planet.

Better World Spirits – A New Paradigm in Business

The current paradigm in business revolves around growth. Early in my business career when I owned and operated my first entrepreneurial venture, Whitetail Brewing, I was told that a business is either growing or shrinking, there is no middle ground. At the time, I equated all evolution of a business to financial growth. If a business did not continue to grow financially, it was shrinking and therefore a failure.

Over the years, my view of business has transformed to a stage where all organizations are evaluated on a holistic basis that includes much more than simply financial growth. If an organization is viewed as an organism, long term continued growth is not positive. If a human being grows too large he/she becomes obese, which is a dangerous condition that leads to long term negative effects. The same condition potentially occurs in the business world and every business needs to determine the proper size for long term sustainability.

How can growth in a business be viewed in a more holistic perspective? How can the growth of a business incorporate the emotional well-being, spiritual aspects, mental health and not just bottom line financial growth? In order for a business to survive and thrive on a long term basis much more than simple financial growth is required.

At Better World Spirits, we are not striving to be the biggest; we are endeavoring to develop to a sustainable size that allows for the continued long term growth focused on local sourcing and local distribution. Better World Spirits will be incorporated as a benefit corporation. A typical business is incorporated and is mandated to maximize profit for the shareholders of the organization. This often comes at the expense of environmental or social justice issues. If the legal mandate of an organization is focused solely on profit and does not have a more holistic view, in the long term it is inherently not sustainable. As a benefit corporation, a portion of the year end profits will be donated to local organizations that share in the overall mission of creating a better global society for all citizens.

Better World Spirits is focused on making a better world for all citizens. At Better World Spirits all employees will be considered equally valuable. All employees will receive the same hourly wage regardless of position. It is my personal view that no individual is intrinsically more valuable to an organization than any other individual. If the janitor does not complete his/her job; the CEO or manager cannot complete their job and vice versa. Consequently, all employees will be viewed as equally valuable to the entire organization and share in the growth. At the end of each fiscal year a portion of the profits will be distributed to all employees simply based on the number of hours worked during the year.

Building a Better World One Toast at a Time!
Cheers!

Watch the following video with Patrick Kluivert regarding racism. Kluivert: I suffered racial abuse in England

At the EPL match in Manchester today racist chanting was heard that lead to an arrest.

Recently, Patrick Viera stated “If you really want to fight racism, if you really want to show to the world that football wants to fight against it, you will have to use a deduction of points against clubs or kick them out of European competition,”

Will punishing the clubs for not controlling the fans as Viera suggests in the following statement really make a difference?

“That will stop it, of course. If you kick a club out of Europe because they couldn’t control their fans, it will happen once and I can guarantee it’s not going to happen twice.”

Is it time for a new approach? Would engaging the fans in an authentic conversation have a different effect? Would education of the fanbase change attitudes regarding racism?

Recently at a Tottenham match anti-Semitic chants were heard. Hissing sounds reminiscent of gas chambers were heard. As abhorrent as this is how does punishing the club for not controlling the fans solve the issue?

On the other side of the state from Pittsburgh both the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles are implementing greening initiatives.

The Phillies have taken part in a celebration. The project is the largest solar project in the state of PA and is a 5-megawatt (AC) ground-mounted project, which is anticipated to power the equivalent of 950 homes and circumvent 4,200 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The Phillies joined Eastern University, Franklin and Marshall College, and the Clean Air Council as sponsors of this project.

The Phillies have been purchasing Renewable Energy Credits since April 2008 and they were the first team in MLB to join the EPA’s Green Power Partnership which encourages the acquisition of green power. The Phillies purchase more renewable energy than any other MLB team.

The Eagles have partnered with NRG to form a dynamic partnership to integrate sustainable energy solutions into Lincoln Financial Field The project will be the largest solar power system in the NFL. Micro wind turbines will be placed on the roof of the stadium to augment the system.

The Mayor’s Office for Sustainability is focused on making Philadelphia the Greenest City. By all collaborating and working together Philadelphia has taken great strides and continues to lead the country forward.

Beginning in 2008 the Pittsburgh Pirates implemented a new program to integrate the club’s current greening initiatives and increase awareness to the public. They called this program “Let’s Go Bucs. Let’s Go Green.”

The city of Pittsburgh City Council made a special proclamation:

WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh Pirates are a storied baseball club whose beginnings date to 1887 and whose achievements continue to inspire and excite legions of baseball fans in Pittsburgh and beyond; and,
WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization has demonstrated extraordinary vision and leadership in the implementation of the Let’s Go Bucs, Let’s Go Green program, a program lauded by the environmental community, government officials and private citizens as a model of socially responsible business; and,
WHEREAS, designed to green PNC Park’s operations and implement sustainable business practices, the program’s components include educational outreach and the capture of more than 760,000 recyclable containers throughout the baseball season, the use of corn-based beverage cups by PNC Park’s concessionaires, the elimination of Styrofoam cups, the addition of environmentally-friendly paper products, the installation of motion-detectors and energy saving light bulbs, among many other positive changes; and,
WHEREAS, the Pittsburgh Pirates recognize the enormous and immediate impact of these changes both on our physical and economic environment; and,
WHEREAS, the first green Pittsburgh Pirates home game took place on April 7, 2008;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby commend the Pittsburgh Pirates for being a leader in our city’s charge to be the center of innovation, green initiatives and sustainable practices in the United States and around the world; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare April 7 – 11 “Let’s Go Bucs, Let’s Go Green Week” in the City of Pittsburgh.

Since 2008 the program has seen steady growth. For instance:

• 2008 – 870 pounds of glass recycled
• 2009 – 2.6 tons of glass recycled
• 2010 – 27.7 tons of glass recycled
• 2011 – 74.5 tons of glass recycled

The overall diversion rate has increased from 27% in 2008 to 36% in 2009 to 40% in 2010 to 61% in 2011. By collaborating with concessionaires Aramark and Levy Restaurants and utilizing programs such as Rock and Wrap it Up they have made a real difference in the city of Pittsburgh.
The Pirates participate in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager which assists in monitoring and reducing energy consumption. Water conservation, paper usage, using soy based inks in programs, and environmentally friendly cleaning products and more have been addressed.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have changed the way they did business and made an impact with Let’s Go Bucs Let’s Go Green.