Thursday, April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day! - Written by Ryan Black, CEO of Sambazon



While Earth Day is one of our favorite weeks and favorite days to celebrate, here at Sambazon, we treat everyday like Earth Day. While this sentiment may sound a little bit cheesy, it’s true. We do our best to contribute to the health of our environment and community on a daily basis. We keep our office as green as possible – we use reusable utensils, recycled paper and recycled shipping supplies. We are constantly striving to reduce the carbon footprint of our business by using the newest and greenest solutions to our marketing and shipping practices – for more information on these initiatives – check out the blogs written earlier this week by Sambazon team members, Jody, Cameron and Keith.

At Sambazon, sustainable business practice is an even larger part of what we do in our office and within our community here in Southern California. The mission of our business is to maintain our triple bottom line success as we grow. Our focus is on the environmental, social and economic impact of our business. By working closely with the world’s foremost conservation organizations (like The Nature Conservancy) and other key non-governmental organizations, Sambazon has pioneered the first of its kind Fair Trade, sustainable and certified Organic supply chain of açaí. As a result, Sambazon has positively impacted over 1,100 local family farmers and over 1.7 million acres of land in the Brasilian Amazon.

Over the past week, Sambazon has participated in Earth Day events all over the country – from LA to NYC – we have been out in full force supporting the various efforts of different communities celebrating Earth Day, including our own. Our annual Samba Earth Day is an afternoon dedicated to our employees, the individuals that believe in our mission and make Sambazon the incredibly dynamic and progressive company it is today. This year included an organic feast from one of our favorite local restaurants, guest speakers from the Ecology Center and ASEC along with staff speakers who shared the projects they are currently involved with - projects aimed at greening our practices. And as a new company initiative to eliminate unnecessary waste, we gave all employees purple Kleen Kanteens to use with our water cooler instead of the biodegradable cups we’ve had in the past.

We are constantly striving to improve our business practices and make them as “green” as they can possibly be. I encourage you to do the same in your business and personal life. Ride your bike instead of drive when you can. Bring reusable shopping bags to the farmers market. Print emails only when necessary and on recycled paper. Practice meat free Mondays. Every little thing really does add up and make a difference. Be kind to yourself and your environment.

Celebrate Earth Day everyday,
Ryan Black (CEO)

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