The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast

Agriculture is essential in the fight against the climate crisis, not only for mankind but for the survival of the Earth. Therefore, it's crucial that we transform the agricultural system through building infrastructure using technology and creating a connection to the human economy and ecological health through our economic activity. Today's guest, Gregory Landua, is very passionate about changing society to honor and regenerate ecological health, embracing the practical aspects of regenerative agriculture to assist farms and communities to help combat the climate crisis. Gregory is the CEO, Co-Founder, and Co-Chief Regeneration Officer of Regen Network, a full-stack blockchain software development company leading the way towards tracking and funding ecological regeneration and creating new tools for humanity to relate to its environment. During the conversation, Cory and Gregory talk about the new look of farming and agriculture, the future of carbon credits, and innovations in technology.  Gregory shares the different approaches and strategies Regen Network uses to connect the social construction of value to ecological health, and the benefits of open-source, community-owned infrastructure and blockchain technology to the land steward and the planet.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday. Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.    Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

The Earth is unique, irreplaceable – it's our home. We can't keep destroying it little by little. So then, why are billionaires more interested in the exploration of other planets instead of restoring our Mother Earth? There is still a chance to save the Earth, and one of these solutions is through regenerative agriculture projects. Neal Spackman is the Founder & CEO of the Regenerative Resources and the Founder & former Director of the Al Baydha project in Saudi Arabia. Regenerative Resources is an ecosystem service company that acquires highly-degraded lands and transforms them into restored ecosystems of agroecologies.  Neal is passionate about terraforming, regenerative agriculture, and the relationship between ecology and wealth. In today's show, Neal walks us through the start of the regenerative agriculture project in a completely degraded desert landscape and how they transformed it into breathtaking, green life agroforestry. He also touches on topics about the poverty degradation trap, the massive effect of deforestation, and nature-based solutions.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

In a time when humanity struggles to avert a climate crisis, there's a glimmer of hope for the fashion industry to be able to contribute to saving the environment. With the help of the right people and technology, being both environmentally friendly and fashionable at the same time can be achieved. In our last episode for the Earth Month celebration, we bring back this fantastic conversation with Shamini Dhana from October 2020. This interview was also chosen to honor Fashion Revolution Week (last week) and the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster (April 24th, 2013). Shamini Dhana is the founder and CEO of Dhana Inc., a fashion tech brand that believes in always paying it forward. Dhana Inc. was founded in 2008 and it aims to transform customer experience from zero-waste designs to social and environmental impact through circular fashion. Dhana Inc. is a certified B corporation and an active participant of the 2020 Circular Fashion Commitment. In this episode, Shamini shares how circular fashion can reverse climate change and transform the customer experience. She explains the great benefits of repurposing and recreating dead stock clothing into a new garment and fashion piece, giving customers a choice to reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry on the environment.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

Trees are important not only for oxygen and the environment, but also for society and the economy. When today's guest was only 16, he and his brother had the idea of planting trees while selling carbon offsets back, and that paved the way to the beginning of tentree. Continuing our revisitation of some excellent climate crusading episodes from our archives in celebration of Earth Month, today we bring you Derrick Emsley of tentree from February, 2021. Derrick is the CEO and Co-Founder of tentree, a tree planting company that sells sustainable apparel. Tentree has an "Earth-First" commitment, a mission of creating a sustainable future through planting 1 billion trees by 2030, and a goal of empowering people by providing local jobs, food security, and environmental benefits. In this episode, Cory and Derrick talk about the impact, significance, and importance of planting trees across the globe. Tentree started in 2012 and as of this re-publication, they've planted over 73 million trees! Derrick shares their innovations and transparency in their reforestation projects and their partnership with different organizations to empower people.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

Product manufacturers use a lot of chemicals that are harmful to the environment. But one family-owned business has a mission to reduce its product impact on the environment. Can they continuously create a product that would generate good for both people and the environment?  In celebration of Earth Month, we are resurrecting some climate crusading episodes from the archives. Today we're revisiting this episode with Rebecca Hamilton of Badger Balm from September, 2020. Rebecca Hamilton is the second-generation owner and Co-CEO (Co-Collaborative Executive Officer) at Badger Balm. Badger is a family-owned company of natural and organic personal care products known for its mission-driven spirit, pioneering family-friendly benefits, and high engagement in the certified B Corp community, being themselves a certified B Corp since 2019. In this episode, Cory and Rebecca discuss Badger Balm's climate initiatives to be a sustainable business while reducing their impact on the environment. They explore the environmental commitment the family-owned company has made, especially with their partnership with Revision Energy, and their commitment to being Net Zero emissions by 2030. During the conversation, Rebecca shares the significance of Badger being a family-owned company, her relationship with her sister as the Co-CEO, her family, and the entire Badger team. She highlights Badger as a values-driven business that comes from having core leadership from their tight bonded family.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

This episode is in honor of Earth Month, and a repost from our discussion with Elizabeth Whitlow in October of 2020. Elizabeth is the Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA), which is a revolutionary new food label requiring farmers to use sustainable, organic, and regenerative practices. ROA was formed in 2017 by representatives from the Rodale Institute and two companies we mention quite often at Grow Ensemble: Patagonia and Dr. Bronner's. The conventional methods used in the farming and agricultural sectors have received much criticism in recent years, with a demand for sustainable farming and agricultural practices. The issues do not only involve the techniques and methods used, but also the treatment of farmers and how they are often exploited under the current farming and agricultural paradigm.  Elizabeth is passionate about making a difference in the world with a focus on developing sustainable food systems that recognize organic and regenerative farming practices as the gold standard.  In today's show, Cory and Elizabeth talk about the Regenerative Organic Alliance, lessons that Elizabeth learned working within the industry, the role farming can play in combating climate change, issues surrounding conventional farming and agricultural practices, and much more.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

We are wired to admire and appreciate the natural world. We are built to be collaborative and want to take care of others, but it can be very difficult for us to stare at suffering head on.  In today's episode, host Cory explores the purpose and mission of Grow Ensemble. His never-ending appetite to learn and grow, particularly in ways that result in an increased awe for the world around him, is foundational to the concept of the podcast.  Together with his wife, their aim is to inspire people to fall in love with the planet and the people that live on it, in keeping with our natural inclination to admire the natural world. They believe that cultivating this awe can result in meaningful action to enact change for the planet and its residence, which is why they support and give a platform to social entrepreneurs. Their hope is that listeners will tune in and be inspired to do the same.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More   📣 SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

In a post-pandemic world, what's the value of a dirt-to-shirt supply chain?  Today's guest is Eric Henry, President of TS Designs, and he believes that now, more than ever, businesses need to take an increasingly holistic view of their responsibility to the planet and society as a whole.  TS Designs is a business-to-business screen printing company, a certified B-corporation, and has its origins all the way back in the '70s. They manage a domestic and transparent supply chain to produce the highest quality, most sustainable t-shirts on the market and have recently expanded to start Solid State Clothing which now provides these straight to the customer.  Eric shares how the devastating effects of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) sparked the difficult genesis of his fight to build a completely transparent and sustainable company that simultaneously looks after the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profits.  With more than 40 years in the apparel industry, he works hard to keep farmers in the conversation, and this episode spans the gambit around supply chains, with a focus on the massive value and resilience in hyper-local supply chains.  We also do a deep dive into the challenges and difficulties in the opaque global supply chain of the fashion industry that's typically the norm, and talk through the wake-up call that COVID provided on the weakness of that chain.  Finally, we discuss the importance and difficulty of buying locally, both from a business's perspective as well as a consumer's perspective. All of these things have a serious implication on the strength and bond of a community, as well as the resilience of a local economy.   -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More   📣 SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.  

Sean Pritzkau and host Cory Ames come from different backgrounds — his in ministry and Cory's in marketing — but their paths have converged as a result of their shared passions for purpose-driven business and podcasting!  In today's conversation, they both share the journeys that have led them to where they are today, the driving forces behind the work they do, and how they hope to see the world change for the better as a result.  Sean and Cory also delve into the importance of self-care, collaboration, and being curious.  Sean is the host of We Can Do This, a podcast that aims to inspire people and provide them with the tools to start or grow their own social enterprises or initiatives, so be sure to check it out after this episode! -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday.   Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More   📣 SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.

If you've traveled, you've seen the destructive nature of capitalism. But can we lean into it and still make an impact? Better yet, can we use it as the very instrument for change?  Davis Smith joins us today to share his story and emphasize the possibility of building a thriving business with a focus on social impact. Davis is the Founder and CEO of Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear brand with a humanitarian mission.  In this episode, he breaks down the methodology behind a purpose-driven business and the potential it has to effect change. Growing up in South America and being exposed to extreme poverty really informed Davis' passion for impact, and he shares his fascinating path to linking social impact with business.  Davis illustrates what the world would look like if more businesses operated according to the Cotopaxi framework, and illuminates how, from his experience of sourcing investments, it seems to be women who have a greater understanding of impact and the future of business.  We also discuss the responsibility of the consumer to make a change, along with the nuances of where businesses are failing and how they can shift gears to move from destruction and extraction to meaningful impact! -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames. For the latest insights, analysis, and inspiration for building a better world, join the 1000s of changemakers and social entrepreneurs from all sectors all over the globe who get this email in their inbox every Monday. Subscribe >>> https://growensemble.com/newsletter/ -- -- 📄 Full Show Notes - Links, Transcript, & More     📣 SUPPORT THE PODCAST: Leave a Review (on Apple Podcasts!)  Subscribe to the Newsletter Share the Podcast on Twitter or LinkedIn   GROW ENSEMBLE: YouTube Twitter LinkedIn   ABOUT CORY AMES: Newsletter Twitter LinkedIn Website   FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS:  Get the courses, coaching, and services to help grow your business and expand your impact with our Better World Business Growth programs.  Our newest course, SEO Traffic + Impact will help you use search engine optimization (SEO) to build an audience around your better-for-the-world business and mission.