Heart of Green

Opportunity Green Conference

Led by Karen Solomon and Mike Flynn, the Opportunity Green conference is not only a convergence of today’s top innovators driving the new green economy, but it is also hip and fun. The summit is a community gathering of the who’s who of green with some A+ content mixed in. Last year, everyone came back raving that it was one of the best green conferences ever.

Who will be there?  Nike, Mini, X Prize, Method, Barneys, VerTerra, fuseproject, and ecofabulous of course! Annie Leonard from the Story of Stuff will also be headlining along with many others. Opportunity Green aims to inspire a collaborative culture of unconventional thinking that will push positive change in unexpected ways. With this group all in the same sunny courtyard, how could it not? See the full conference schedule here.

I love the focus on opportunity because that is really what the modern green movement is all about. Opportunities for new high-growth businesses, new green products and jobs, new audiences, and new ways to improve the well-being of people’s lives and the planet. And let’s not forget probably the most important - new friends who share the same values. As the Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu said on Monday night at the HBSA/NC dinner, “We can lead the new industrial revolution with America’s powerful innovation engine. This is a moment for optimism and opportunity.”

Opportunity Green Conference
UCLA
November 7 - 8, 2009
www.opportunitygreen.com

Be Ghoulish & Green on Halloween

It's almost Halloween and that means it is time to hide from scary things like ghosts, plastic water bottles and styrofoam. It also means it is time for costume parties! 

This year Heart of Green ™ recommends at a minimum the Halloween Party at Clift featuring a hosted bar and VeeV, performers, excellent music, and over-the-top designs by Delysium with proceeds benefiting Global Green.

Halloween at Clift
Thursday October 29, 2009
8 pm - midnight
Clift Hotel
495 Geary Street, San Francisco
Party spans Redwood Room, Lobby, Asia de Cuba and more
Tickets are $35 with proceeds to Global Green
Reserve your spot here

Be ghoulish and green this Halloween. See the ecofabulous costume guide for extra hints.

Once you have recovered from Thursday, don't miss the annual Spider Ball on Saturday night October 31 at the Bently Reserve benefiting the Black Rock Arts Foundation. BRAF supports some of the coolest and inspiring interactive art made from recycled materials I have ever seen.

J-REC Conference

On November 8, clean and green leaders will meet in San Francisco at the new J-REC conference featuring innovators from energy, finance, sustainability, and policy. They will share ideas and experiences that will advance the movement for clean and secure energy.

Heart of Green is proud to be a media sponsor of this conference with a fantastic line-up of speakers including Alan Salzman of VantagePoint, Adam Werbach, Jim Woolsey, Joel Makower of GreenBiz.com, and many more. As there are so many great sessions, it will be tough to select only one and I might have to session-hop. Co-chaired by my friend Jonathan Axelrad of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, J-REC is sure to be an inspiring green way to spend the day, culminating in a fun celebratory reception.

J-REC Conference
Sunday, November 8, 2009
San Francisco JCC
3200 California Street
See the conference lineup

As Jonathan says, “By transitioning to a clean energy economy, we will protect the environment and redirect resources away from destabilizing petro-states to hubs of cleantech innovation in the U.S., Israel and beyond.” Amen to that. J-REC

Brower Youth Awards

On October 20th, you are invited to the 10th anniversary of the Brower Youth Awards, the top environmental prize for young green rising stars in North America. Named in honor of David Brower who saved the Grand Canyon, Point Reyes, Redwood National Park and millions of acres of wilderness, this is one of my favorite events of the year.

Brower Youth Awards
The top environmental prize for rising stars in North America

WHEN:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
5:30 pm  VIP Opening Reception
7:30 pm  Awards Show
9:00 pm  10th Anniversary Celebration

WHERE:
Herbst Theatre & Green Room
401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco

FEATURING:

• Top Awards Show
• Emcees Summer Rayne Oakes and Dave C. Brower
  
• Performances by Youth Speaks
• Pre-show VIP Reception
• The six young BYA Winners and their inspiring words
• DJ Dojah
• Magnanimus Wines including Mendocino Farms and the new Talmage
• Multimedia videos
  
• An eco-friendly event

FAMOUS PAST WINNERS:

• Billy Parish (04) for Energy Action Coalition
  
• Jon Warnow (07) for Step It Up
• Actress Q’orianka Kilcher (07) for success in the Amazon

HOST COMMITTEE:
Jennifer Snyder, Nadine Weil, Gary Erickson & Kit Crawford, Kenny Abiko, India Badiner, Barbera Brooks, Shirley Richardson Brower, Michael Brown, Peter & Mimi Buckley, Andre Carothers, Kevin Connelly, Kevin Danaher, Martha Davis, Helen & Raj Desai, Jared Duval, Eric Fenster & Melinda Kramer, Josh Floum & Maggie O’Donnell, Fred & Annette Gellert, Dan & Bill Green, Will Green, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Andrew Hunt, Albert & Lois Kadosh, John & Lisa Katovich, Eric Kessler, John Knox & Carole Roberts, Leslie & Jacques Leslie, Michael Mitrani, Lora O'Connor, Thao Pham, Betty Phillips, Erica Priggen, Sudeep Rao, Lisa Renstrom, Gus & Cameron Speth, Clay & Helen Wiens, Adam & Lyn Werbach

Guests & Sponsors:
1,000 guests including VIP entertainment, business, youth, environmental, community, and cultural leaders. Sponsored by Visa, Clif Bar, Klean Kanteen, Fred Gellert Family Foundation, Southwest Airlines, As You Sow, and Heart of Green

INVITATION:
www.broweryouthawards.org

RSVP:
A sell-out is expected again: 
Reserve for the VIP Reception & Awards Show here  (5:30 pm entry)
Reserve for just the Awards Show here  (7:30 pm entry)
All proceeds benefit the nonprofit Earth Island

DRESS:  Cocktail or Luxury-Eco

ABOUT:
The nonprofit Earth Island Institute was founded in San Francisco in 1992 by legendary green pioneer David Brower who helped to save the Grand Canyon, King's Canyon, and Point Reyes; was a major catalyst for the Wilderness Act; and was nominated for the Nobel Piece Prize three times.  Earth Island is an environmental incubator with a proven model that develops environmental leaders for the future.  They support a green portfolio of 45 environmental entrepreneurs and projects in global warming, oceans, youth environmental leadership, conservation, restoration, organic farms, nature education in schools, and more.  Their New Green Leaders Initiative is the beneficiary of the Brower Youth Awards and has motivated thousands of young people to care for the planet. Check out the new LEED-certified David Brower Center

"People have alleged that I have inspired many young people over the years, but I say, it was just the opposite."  --  David Brower

On a separate note, vote for your favorite green girl contestants in Greenloop's Project Green Search. There are some amazing entires, and the future is bright.

This Old Bag Party 2009

Watches may be performing an incredible disappearing act thanks to cell phones, but handbags are still all the rage. Don't miss the fun purse-centric party of the year This Old Bag on Friday October 16 at the W benefiting the very worthy cause of the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund.

Enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment while perusing over 150 new and vintage bags donated by some of Hollywood’s favorite actresses, famous designers and local philanthropists.  Autographs are included!  We recommend the vintage bags because they are the most eco-glamorous. 

This Old Bag:  The Power of the Purse Party
Friday October 16, 2009
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
W Hotel
181 Third Street, San Francisco

Event Co-Chairs:  Hilary Newsom Callan, Dame Bella Farrow

Celebrity Emcee:  Jason Lewis

Don't let somebody else snag your bag. Reserve your spot at www.thisoldbag.org

Dinner Honoring Dr. Steven Chu

You are invited to a very special dinner with the Honorable Dr. Steven Chu celebrating a secure and clean energy future. I am thrilled that the HBS Association of Northern California will be honoring this Nobel Prize-winning physicist as its forty-first Business Leader of the Year.

2009 Business Leader of the Year - Dr. Steven Chu

 

Introductory remarks by Google CEO Eric Schmidt

WHEN:
Monday, October 26, 2009
6:00 pm - Champagne Toast (Crimson & Patron)
6:30 pm - Cocktail Reception
7:30 pm - Award Dinner, Program and Networking

WHERE:
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
600 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108

INVITATION:
View the invitation

TICKETS:
Single tickets and tables are available.
Rsvp here

STEERING COMMITTEE:
Chair: Mike Speiser, Co-Chair:  Tony Kiehn
Host Committee:  Sally Aldridge, Kristen Badgley, Cathy Benko, Jeremy Burr, Steve Carter, Richard Decker, Ben Dubin, Bruce Erickson, Annie Fishman, Ping Hao, Steve Harrick, Jeff Holland, Sean Jacobsohn, Dev Khare, Don Nelson, Scott Raney, Spencer Rhodes, Mark Stevens, Gillian Verga, Bill Tai, Nadine Weil - Heart of Green

GREENING:
We are working to make this award dinner as eco-friendly as possible including serving local organic produce, printing on recycled paper, encouraging clean transportation, and carbon offsetting the event via Native Energy's Greensburg Project.

ABOUT DR. STEVEN CHU:
The Honorable Dr. Steven Chu has devoted his recent scientific career to the search for new solutions to our energy challenges – a mission he continues with even greater urgency as Secretary of Energy.  He is charged with helping implement President Obama's ambitious agenda to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis, and create millions of new jobs.  Dr. Steven Chu, distinguished scientist and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997), was appointed by President Obama as the 12th Secretary of Energy and sworn into office on January 21, 2009.  Prior to his appointment, Dr. Chu was director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and professor of Physics and Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California.  Since 2004, motivated by his deep interest in climate change, he led the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in pursuit of new alternative and renewable energies. Previously, he held positions at Stanford University and AT&T Bell Laboratories.  He received an A.B. degree in mathematics, a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley as well as 10 honorary degrees

In announcing Dr. Chu's selection as the Secretary of Energy on December 15, 2008, President Obama said, “The future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge: energy.  Steven has blazed new trails as a scientist, teacher, and administrator, and has recently led the Berkeley National Laboratory in pursuit of new alternative and renewable energies. He is uniquely suited to be our next Secretary of Energy as we make this pursuit a guiding purpose of the Department of Energy, as well as a national mission.”

The Business Leader Dinner of the Year Award dinner honors the leader who, as determined by the leadership of the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California, has had the greatest impact on the San Francisco Bay Area business and service communities. Energy policy is at the center of both government and business right now, and the Honorable Dr. Chu's perspectives will be highly informative against this backdrop.

This will be an incredible moment celebrating the intersection of the economy, energy policy, business, national security and the environment – and I hope you can join us!   View invitation