Interesting post on the Global Strategy Institutes blog on the role of social entrepreneuship. The post is about Starbuck's owned Ethos Water. Ethos makes bottled water that is sold in Starbucks and other retail locations. For every bottle sold, Starbucks donates five cents to a Starbucks run fund that provides clean water to children in developing nations.
According to the blog post, the founder of Ethos Water has coined the phrase "the economy of integrity" to describe social entrepreneurship. The essential elements of this are (from the blog post):
- Socially-oriented mission from the outset;
- Authenticity;
- Commitment across the value chain;
- Transparency from the start; and
- Consumer engagement beyond the cash register
It is not clear to me why we need a new name - this are basically the same elements that are listed in most definitions of social entreprenship. But hey, if it leads to more social entrepreneurship then great.
We blogged on this on Global Entrepreneurship Week's Blog. Check it out:
http://unleashingideas.org/blog/2008/03/18/jonathan-greenblatt-is-my-idol-part-1/
http://unleashingideas.org/blog/2008/03/19/jonathan-greenblatt-is-my-idol-part-2/
Posted by: Kristina | March 21, 2008 at 01:17 PM