SustainableBusiness.com Newswire
03/12/2009 11:36 AM ET
News from: Eco Investment Club
Eco Investment Club CEO Knows Investors Won’t Give Their Money to Greenie Weenies
Eco Investment Club to certify graduates of UC San Diego’s “Climate Change and Business: The ROI for ‘Going Green’” with new Green Leadership Designation.
March 12th, 2009 San Diego, CA – Like many executives of start-up companies, Yeves Perez, CEO of EINI, Inc., is worried. Other entrepreneurs may be concerned about laying off workers, pulling back on projects, or losing investors. Perez, however, has a broader question keeping him up at night: who’s leading the way towards a revitalized, healthy, green economy?
“I know a ‘leadership deficit’ has partially contributed to the current economic crisis,” says Perez. “But I also know that creative, even disruptive, leaders are out there; I work with some of them every day! If those leaders’ ideas are going to transform the economy, though, they must be able to establish their qualifications immediately with investors and consumers. Potential stakeholders shouldn’t have to simply trust that a business person understands the opportunities present in challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss.”
Many established business leaders claim to understand that environmental responsibility serves their companies’ bottom lines. But how can consumers and investors know if high-level executives are just “talking the talk,” or if those leaders have the skills and knowledge to execute profitable green strategies?
Perez has an answer to that question. EINI’s Eco Investment Club has announced a breakthrough in what the company calls “neo-corporate name calling.” Its new ClimateChanger™ leadership designation singles out those business people who have demonstrated an eagerness to reduce carbon emissions in their industry of practice, and the knowledge and creativity to achieve that goal.
Don’t Call Them Treehuggers
“For years, anyone who worked or invested in the green space was dubbed a ‘Progressive,’ or a ‘Treehugger.’ More recently, they’ve been labeled an ‘Ecoist’ or a ‘Greenie,” says Perez. “Some critics even call us ‘green weenies,’ accusing us of being all talk and no action. We find it fascinating, however, that amid mounting job woes at the executive level, at least one position seems to be gaining traction: the Chief Sustainability Officer. Some 130 of the Fortune 500 now have a C-level or VP-level executive tasked with sustainability.”
“A ClimateChanger™ is an influential business or investment professional who leads in creating a green corporate culture, reducing carbon emissions, and constantly improving the return on investment for going green”, says Robert Noble, Chairman of the Board for EINI, and the first CEO to receive the designation. An accomplished architect, environmental designer, industrial designer and environmental technology entrepreneur who has also written over 40 articles on topics related to green business and design, Noble says “Accomplished Greenie’ doesn’t really say much; ‘ClimateChanger™,’ though, signifies ‘influencer’ to me. So, now when I explain that my leadership experience includes Past Chair of the US Green Building Council of San Diego, Past President of the American Institute of Architects of San Diego, and Chairman of the Board of the California Center for Sustainable Energy, I can add ‘ClimateChanger™’ to the list… and that just sounds really cool!”
Following in the footsteps of the highly-regarded LEED™ AP designation, which distinguishes building professionals with the knowledge and skills to successfully shepherd the LEED™ certification process, the Eco Investment Club will award ClimateChanger™ (CC) status to business and investment professionals who have embraced sustainability through the acquisition of knowledge and the successful implementation of an action plan. Currently, the Eco Investment Club has approved two programs that will satisfy the educational component of the designation. The first, “Climate Change and Business - The ROI for Going Green,” is a two-day executive education course offered by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Rady School of Management. The second, the “Eco Investors Bootcamp,” is a four-day intensive course that includes classroom instruction and onsite visits to green companies. Perez notes that “Upon completion of ClimateChanger™ requirements, recipients will possess a tangible, marketable, and recognized credential based upon high-quality professional education, and demonstrable business implementation.”
About the Eco Investment Club: The Eco Investment Club is Southern California’s up and coming membership organization for Green Investors and the leading provider of “disruptive education for the Green Economy.” This division of EINI, Inc was designed to facilitate a positive atmosphere where Eco-Investors, Green Entrepreneurs, and like-minded individuals can become a part of a group that: speaks the same language; shares eco-investment opportunities; encourages the forming of new partnerships; provides in-depth news and pertinent information about the Green Industry and Eco Investing; supports the progression of The Green Movement.
For more information about the club and club meetings, please visit: www.ecoinvestmentclub.com. The Eco Investment Network (coming soon) and the Eco Investment Club are both based in San Diego, CA.
About Yeves Perez: Yeves Perez is the founder and CEO of EINI, Inc., the parent company of the Eco Investment Club. He is also the Founding Partner, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Green Officer of YRP International, LLC, an Eco-Friendly Real Estate Development Firm based in San Diego.
About Robert Noble: Over his 27 year career, Robert Noble has been recognized as a visionary architect, designer, and business person. He has been awarded Entrepreneur Magazine’s Environmental Innovator of the Year, and the Edison Award for Environmental Achievement; he designed one of Popular Mechanics’ “100 Best New Products of 1993.” He is the Founder and CEO of Envision Solar, a globally-recognized firm that designs, engineers and installs photovoltaic carports and other Solar Integrated Building Systems. Noble is also Chairman of the Board for EINI, and the first CEO to receive the designation.
Principle Contact:
Yeves Perez, CEO and CGO
Tel. 866.960.9495
Email: EcoInvestors@gmail.com
For more information please contact:
Yeves Perez CEO + CGO
EINI, Inc
866.960.9495
ecoinvestors@gmail.com
www.ecoinvestmentclub.com
