#228 - Defining the Future for Sustainable Travel, with James Thornton of Intrepid Travel
The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast
Release Date: 06/07/2022
The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast
Welcome to the Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast. In this thought-provoking episode titled "What Makes a Great Company?" we're diving into the inspiring journey of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company. Joining us are two remarkable guests, Dean Cycon, the founder of Dean's Beans, and the new CEO, Beth Spong, who are here to shed light on their unique approach to business—one that's grounded in social, economic, and environmental justice. ⭐ SPONSORED BY: Transform Global - https://www.transform.global/ agood company - https://www.agood.com/ 💌 NEWSLETTER: Click the...
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Yes, we need to make a living. But how do we make a life? It might not simply be about the money. When the world is in turmoil, when our health is at risk and the future seems murky, perhaps paychecks and productivity aren’t enough. Perhaps we can’t manage our way into the future. What if we created the best job someone ever had? What if we built an organization people would genuinely miss if it were gone? What if the work we did made things better? Mozart, not Muzak. This is the Song of Significance This interview with Seth Godin, author of...
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On December 8th, 1993, Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law. In his remarks at the signing, Clinton proclaimed, “NAFTA means jobs. American jobs and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement.” Two decades after NAFTA had been in effect (1993 - 2013) the Economic Policy Institute reported that over . Why? Because American companies gladly moved jobs to Mexico where the daily wage of a Mexican worker was roughly equivalent to the minimum wage per hour in the U.S. Especially in the business...
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In this episode of Grow Ensemble, host Cory Ames delves into the deceptive tactics of greenwashing, where companies mislead the public about their environmental and social responsibility. Through 7 compelling examples, Cory sheds light on how businesses use certifications, misleading marketing claims, and acquisitions to present themselves as sustainable and ethical, while engaging in harmful practices. With a focus on transparency and accountability, the episode challenges both consumers and business leaders to identify, confront, and avoid falling victim to greenwashing. Tune in to gain a...
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5 roasts, over 5 regions, and the story of the coffee supply chain from farm to cup. Our task here is to explore and reconsider this question: what makes great coffee? To do so I’ve enlisted the help of my many friends at Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee. Dean’s Beans is a 100% employee-owned, Certified B Corporation based out of Orange, Massachusetts. The company was founded by Dean Cycon, an environmental and indigenous rights lawyer, back in 1993. Dean set out to prove coffee around the world could be bought, sold, and delivered to our cups without compromising the health and...
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What does success mean to you? Defining success in a field can define the field. Defining success for ourselves will define our lives. And so here, friend and coach of mine, Paul Zelizer and I go through the essential exercise of defining what to each of us makes for a successful social entrepreneur. Paul is a business coach for social entrepreneurs and host of the Awarepreneurs Podcast where he’s published over 300 episodes with deep-dive interviews with world-class social entrepreneurs. Here we have a unique style of show for you, where back and forth, Paul and me reveal each of our own...
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In a little over a decade, Houston has housed over 28,000 people who were experiencing homelessness. The U.S.’s 4th largest city has cut its total homelessness figures by more than 60% since committing to tackle this issue head-on in 2012. Representatives from cities nationwide visit Houston to learn about how they’ve achieved such progress. Houston adopted what’s called a Housing First strategy. Housing First, for those unfamiliar, is an approach to addressing the challenge of homelessness by first, before addressing anything else (addiction and sobriety, employment, etc.), housing the...
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We're thrilled to introduce a new format of the show — what we’ll be calling Ensembles. These ensembles are designed to be something of a meditation, helping us to explore the art of living and working sustainably and building a better world, from a different perspective. The goal here through sharing various stories from the wide world of sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and innovation, is to seek understanding. We’re digging for the principles, values, and ideas that we can take with us on our collective journey to build a better, more sustainable world. ...
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The right amount of stress at the right time. That’s all it requires to trigger coral to grow anywhere from 25—50x it’s natural rate as it would in the “wild.” In the practice of coral farming, this is called microfragmenting. Our guest today, Sam Teicher, is the co-founder of Coral Vita. In Freeport, Grand Bahama, Coral Vita is farming coral (using techniques like microfragmenting) to restore the planet’s dying reefs. By employing breakthrough techniques Coral Vita can as well grow coral at 50x the typical rate. In 2021, Coral Vita was an Earthshot Prize winner, an incredible...
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Assessing the sustainability of any individual product or company is a core facet of the work we do here at Grow Ensemble. But if there’s no agreed-upon definition of “sustainability,” it’s unclear what anyone means when they say their product is sustainable. So, for the sake of setting important definitions, here we are asking: What is a sustainable product? ⭐️ SPONSORED BY: , , -- -- 💌 BETTER WORLD WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: The Better World Weekly is a weekly newsletter written and published by Grow Ensemble Founder and Podcast Host, Cory Ames....
info_outlineIn 2019, more than 1 billion international trips were recorded globally, contributing to 8% of the world's carbon emissions from the travel industry. This record inspires us to reflect and understand the importance of preserving and protecting mother nature through more responsible and sustainable travel.
James Thornton is the CEO of Intrepid Travel, the world's largest certified travel B Corp to date. Intrepid Travel is a global tour operator with a mission to create positive change through travel. They take small groups to travel through the most amazing places, with real-life experience in a local way, ensuring they always travel with a positive impact.
James's passion for traveling led him to leave a career in asset management to join Intrepid’s UK office in 2005. In 2017, he was appointed the first non-founding CEO of Intrepid Travel, achieving numerous milestones and growth for the company and successfully steering it through the pandemic.
During the conversation, Cory and James talk about the future of responsible and sustainable travel. James shares Intrepid's steps in preparation for different crises, including Covid, their support to local partners, and their commitment to protecting the planet for future generations of travelers.
⭐ SPONSORED BY: The Greater Good & Saybrook University
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