Last month, as part of B Corp Month, we brought together a group of inspiring business leaders to put a spotlight on how business can improve the world.
It was also the official launch of Harvey (the business)… but more importantly, Harvey the dog’s first birthday!
At Harvey’s we exist to unlock the potential of the New Economy to leave behind a better world. We believe we’re stepping into New Economy - where business is used as a force for good and it’s not a question of profits vs purpose anymore.
It’s not enough to look at charities or the government alone to create the change we want to see in the world, but business - with it's efficiency, innovation and influence - has the power to make a huge impact.
We are inspired daily by the people we work with and this growing movement.
So we brought together founders, investors and leaders across start-ups, social enterprises, NFPs and big business to engage in a discussion about making the world better through business.
We gathered at The White House (Small Giants) and had 8 thought provoking talks, a wonderful food experience from Free to Feed and improv games to get us out of our comfort zone and connect.
The evening was kicked off by Free to Feed sharing a their story.
Free to Feed Free are a social enterprise in awe of the potential and spirit of refugees, people seeking asylum and new migrants – and appreciative of what they want to offer as new community members.
Sana, the head chef prepared a beautiful Middle Eastern feast for us and shared her story about fleeing from the war and ISIS in Iraq and how grateful she is for the safety of her children, the freedom of her new life in Australia and the opportunity to put her skills to work with Free to Feed.
It’s hard to believe a year ago she arrived in Australia without being able to speak a word of English and here she is speaking to a room of 40 business leaders moving us to tears.
Festivities moved to the beautiful ballroom of The White House (thanks to Small Giants) where we shared a little about Harvey, our official launch moment - eek!
The way we’re going planet might be ok, but it may not be a super happy place for our grandkids. We’re hopeful as we see more and more businesses stand up to change that.
We put this little video together to capture what we're trying to do - thanks to all the clients for taking part and Hot Glue for putting the video together.
Once we had our little launch out of the way, we got to hear from 8 business leaders who're changing it up in a range of ways. They shared their why, vision and how they're using business to improve the world.
First up, Klaus Crean from ATEC* Biodigesters shared how they're making positive social and environmental impact in Cambodia.
Every year more people (3 million) are killed from cooking with wood fire than road traffic accidents. ATEC* are changing that by selling Biodigesters to farming households which turns organic waste into biogas for cooking and organic fertilisers for their crops. And all that from cow poo and food scraps, how amazing is that?!
We were also very happy he was wearing the Harvey brand mustard colour ;)
Jaunt’s co-founder Dave Budge shared his passion for adventure and nature but how guilty he feels driving a noisy diesel 4WD through pristine forests in Australia.
We learnt that Australia has one of the lowest adoption rates of EVs in the world, and one of the highest transport emissions per capita. Cars built for adventure and exploration dominate our new car sales and they believe this desire to get out of the city, to explore, for four-wheel drives even, can be a catalyst for transforming our relationship with vehicles into something that has a positive environmental and social impact.
Sheree Rubinstein from One Roof opened with the shocking statistic - the world economic forum estimates it will take 218 years to achieve gender equality globally.
So we could be commuting in driverless cars, have achieved singularity in AI and literally be living on Mars if SpaceX and Elon Musk have their way, well before we achieve true gender equality globally. “That just doesn’t stack up for me.” We LOVE Sheree’s fierce passion and heart to take matters into her own hands and do something about it.
One Roof is so much more than a co-working space - it’s a one of a kind community built on collaboration, connection, support, vulnerability, impact, general equality and success. They have a bold mission to be the driving force that puts Australia on the map as the number destination in the world to be a woman in business and running a business.
Mohit Bhargava gave us an insight into his business journey from growing up in India to making a life in Australia.
He shared the challenges, changing make-up of Australia and the untapped potential found in embracing and celebrating diversity. His personal story was moving, confronting and ultimately inspiring. Now at Big4, he's working to serve the changing definition of the Australian family - like our little family where Harvey (doggie) would be treated as part of our family at Big4!
Andrew Davies, from B Lab Australia & New Zealand revealed the rapidly growing B Corp movement.
At B Lab, we serve the global movement of people using business as a force for good. Every opportunity we have to build on this momentum and hear from the people who are challenging traditional business models helps move towards a better future.
B Corps get certified through a rigorous audit which means when you see the B Corp mark you know the business is being held to the highest standards of transparency and accountability. In ANZ alone B Corps have grown 7x since 2014, currently at 272 B Corps and over 3000 in the pipeline! We’re waiting for Harvey to tick over 12 months so we can apply for our certification, but in the meantime, it's been an awesome tool to help make sure we’re setting up our business in all the right ways.
Hannah Spilva from LVLY is in the business of spreading joy with same day flower and gift deliveries across Australia.
She shared openly about her recent learning about some hard truths about the unsustainable nature of the flower. As LVLY is now a national gifting and flowers she plans to use her reach and influence to change that by helping Australian flower farmers combat imports, advocating for reduction in dangerous chemical treatment (on imported flowers) and once again transforming packaging this time making it reusable, and reduce waste.
(P.S. Shout out to Han who just got named 2019 Entrepreneur of the year in B&T Women in Media awards!)
Adrian Rokman aka the ‘Big Kid’ from KidsCo unpacked the practical reality of working parents. "Did you know there are 50 days of school holidays and only 20 days of annual leave in a year?"
KidsCo are changing the game for working parents by running next level school holiday programs in the convenience of your workplace. So kids have the best day ever, get to hang with mum or dad during lunch and working parents don’t need to feel guilty. We love the heart Adrian and Laynton have for the next generation and supporting families in modern society.
Lily Dempster closed out the night reminding us how our collective little actions can create huge change.
"Do you worry daily about their environmental impact of your actions?" Everyone put their hand up. We’re not alone. Millions of Australians care about climate change and sustainability but are overloaded and confused about whether our choices make a difference. The Neighbourhood Effect is a website & app that uses behavioural science to make it easy financially rewarding fun and social for you to reduce your carbon footprint and live sustainably.
If they had as many users as Fitbit and they reduce their carbon footprints by just a quarter through our platform that would equate to shutting down 50 qualified power stations every year - pretty amazing!
We're honoured to play a role in unlocking the potential of the new economy at Harvey with this seriously wonderful community.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
Special thanks to:
Small Giants for the beautiful venue, The White House. Small Giants as founded in by Danny Almagor and Berry Liberman to create, support, nurture and empower businesses and entrepreneurs that are shifting us to a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world.
Sarah D’Altera (Gilbert House) for photography
Hannah Spilva, for LVLY flowers
Alvern, Lauren, Gaya, Genevieve and Cindy, for helping with everything else!
Behind our new brand
Hot Glue, Brand Video
Ashe Davenport, Copywriting & Tone of Voice
James Cook, Logo, brand & website design
