CREATIVE CHAT CAFE - Leverage Green Drinks & Green Towns to grow the green economy.

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Discussion Includes:

• Learn how entrepreneurs and businesses are raising awareness towards a greener economy.
  
• Get info on the Green Drinks network!
  
• Get tips on how to "live green" and take part in a growing movement!
  

Save time and skip ahead to the information that is important to you using the video's table of contents (TOC) in the video description on YouTube!   
Table of Contents (click on the minute timeline for the specific content):  
00:34 - Greetings & what's in the episode.
02:05 - Featured guest - Daphne Dixon of Live Green CT!
08:16 - The story of "Green Drinks", a social and purpose driven community.
11:43 - Increase in green tech are helping businesses become more profitable.
14:56 - Economics drive sustainability.
16:17 - How businesses are leveraging the green communities to create awareness.
22:20 - Going green makes a business more sustainable and highly marketable.
26:48 - Overcoming the fear of change.
31:23 - Let's get connected! 
34:31 - Let' get social!

The Conversation:                                                                                                      Your Hosts:

ZEF: Joining us today is Daphne Dixon, Co-Founder & President of Live Green CT, a 501C-3 organization that is supporting the “live green” lifestyle and economy.
SONDRA: Welcome to the show, Daphne. Tell us about yourself.
DAPHNE: Well, I am a California native who moved to CT 15 years ago. Growing up in California taught me that we had to conserve water because of the droughts. It really teaches you to appreciate what you have. Did you know Los Angeles is really a desert?  LA only gets about 12 inches  of rain per year, while here in Connecticut we can get that much in a week! 
I always wanted to help educate and get things done to make sure that in 100 years people will still be able to live comfortably.  I was inspired while taking the Master Gardner class to create a network which supports sustainability. While in this class I learned that I was making a bunch of mistakes myself that I did not know I was making. So basically, I didn't know what I didn't know! 
ZEF:  What got you started on your business journey?
DAPHNE: I started a business in 2008 called "Conscious Decisions" to educate people about going green and with the idea to develop it into a national effort. I co-founded "Live Green CT!" in 2010 to develop a stronger presence in CT. We are now further developing our website, network, festival and municipal conferences. This work is my heart-mission. I think my goal in life is to educate people about sustainability for a healthy planet. It's my life purpose. 

Live Green Connecticut

SONDRA: What is your vision of Live Green CT!?
DAPHNE: We are positioning ourselves as the trusted source of sustainable information for municipalities, community members and businesses.
SONDRA: Do you have plans to do work beyond CT?
DAPHNE: We plan to do conferences in other cities. and expand our web presence.
ZEF: What are some of the biggest challenges that green entrepreneurs face when spreading the word about their "live green" mission? Does it have anything to do with the product itself? 
DAPHNE: With sustainability, there is still the issue of being seen as a different market segment and not part of mainstream consciousness and the marketplace. There are those that are not interested in discussing sustainability and view environmental issues as having nothing to do with business.
ZEF: One of the things we are talking about today is green drinks and I think some people may be thinking I'm already on the green drinks. I'm halfway there! Just joking folks! Daphne can you tell us about Green Drinks?

MEET ZEF HERE:

SONDRA FIRESTEIN
www.PursuitOfSeattle.com
"Sondra is the founder of  
PursuitofSeattle.com, which
   offers concierge, lifestyle
  management, and personal
   assistance services. I work hard
   so I can play harder. When I'm
   not helping others find balance in
  their lives, you can find me
   eating delicious food,
  paddleboarding, or dancing like
  nobody is watching." 

Our Guest:

DAPHNE DIXON
www.LiveGreenCt.org
"Daphne is an eco-entrepreneur
and environmentalist who has been 
working closely with sustainability 
leaders, businesses, organizations, 
and community members to raise awareness about resilient 
communities and to engage people
 in green-living practices."

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Green Drinks

Green Towns

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DAPHNE: Yes, it's a great story. A bunch of men who work in the environmental field used to meet up for a beer in London once a month. It was a nice gathering, and they always encouraged people to invite others, so you never knew who would be there. There were always interesting people and great connections were made and cool ideas were had. It started in 1990 and they called it Green Drinks.
SONDRA: It's funny, it seems like all of a sudden going green is trending as "the thing" to do. Organizations now seem to market their business as "green" because it is trendy.
DAPHNE: That is true, and it is a wonderful thing. A lot of companies even have "Sustainability Directors." Frito-Lay is a really important company that had "gone green" a long time before it became trendy.
ZEF: You know, one time I walked into Whole Foods and picked up a bag of Frito-Lay chips and the bag sounded really weird. I read the back of it and it said they changed the bags to make them more recyclable. 
DAPHNE: Yes, Frito-Lay changed their packaging recently to become more energy conscious. They have also changed their delivery vehicles to be more green. It may have cost them to invest in this new fleet of cars, but it ended up saving them a bunch of money in gasoline. They even have a solar panel field to power some of their operations. 
 ZEF: It takes one really awesome person to get this kind of thing started and you are that person, Daphne. You have brought sustainability to Connecticut with Green Drinks and Live Green. What about Seattle, Sondra?
SONDRA: I had a really hard time finding the connection to Green Drinks, and it took me about a year. But I finally found them. Sustainability is a major influence in my business, Pursuit of Seattle. We do errands for many people at the same time, and that saves hundreds of trips to the store or wherever they need to go. By saving those trips it saves gas and energy. Daphne, do you find it hard to get companies to go green? 
DAPHNE: Yes, as a matter of fact, many organizations don't want to invest the start-up money even when we show them how much money they can save later on. It is the same with people too. How many of us are truly "green?" This means having solar panels to power everything in your home, recycling everything, etcetera. People just don't want to spend the money.
ZEF: This is true.  And now it is time to say good-bye. See you all next week! Same time, same place. 

Tips from the Team:

ZEF: Getting started may be more than some people can afford, but if you want to do your part even small things can help. There is a ton of information out there about going green, you just have to go get it.

SONDRA: Isn't it amazing how disconnected we, as a society, have become from the natural world? Most people, including me, don't know what season things grow or anything. When you live in a world where everything is ever present, you just take things for granted.

DAPHNE: Organizations are discovering that the best way to go green is to use the new technology. Xerox, GE, and so many other large corporations have very strong sustainability stance and even have a department just for this purpose.

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