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Jim Poss

In: Business and Management

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4
Chapter Four

Clean Commerce
SEEING OPPORTUNITIY THROUGH A SUSTAINABILITY LENS1
We believe that there’s a cure for resource waste that is profitable, creative, and practical. We must create a company that addresses the needs of society and the environment by developing a system of industrial production that decreases our costs and dramatically reduces the burdens placed upon living systems.
Ray Anderson, Founder Interface, Inc.

Greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.
John Doerr Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers

Results Expected
Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to 1. Discuss the pressures and demands in the marketplace that are driving opportunities for entrepreneurs with an eye toward sustainability. 2. Explain ways that entrepreneurial companies can gain competitive advantage by orienting products and processes that take environmental issues into account. 3. Describe the role that sustainability plays in building dynamic and profitable ventures. 4. Discuss the five facets of looking through a sustainability lens, and describe their impact on opportunity assessment, resources, and the team. 5. Provide insights into and analysis of the Jim Poss case study.

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Clean Commerce Is an Opportunity Sea Change
As noted by perhaps the most famous modern venture capitalist in the world, John Doerr, the clean commerce and sustainable enterprise movement is
1

one of the most exciting and promising opportunity sea changes of this century. Everyone is going green. Each week brings a new announcement of a company embracing sustainability and environmental issues. Those ahead of the pack have grasped that the environment is a growing source of strategic opportunity for companies. It is now clear that there is a revolution

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