Last week’s Opportunity Green conference was a mecca for inspiration, with top leaders in sustainability delivering memorable speeches and leading panel discussions — bridging disciplines and crossing sectors of politics, big corporation, start-ups, and social organizations.
Couldn’t make it to the big event? Find out what you missed with this top 10 list. Inspiring themes that emerged at the conference included the use of collaborative consumption, transparency in business practices, and innovation over sacrifice. Here’s how the speakers brought those ideas to life:

1. BMW’s Manuel Satigg electrified the room with talk of the ActiveE, an all-electric car that will have a range of 100 miles and will be available next month. Also in the works is BMW-i concept –- a concept of purpose-built vehicles including the functional all electric BMW i3-concept as well as the sexier, plug-in hybrid BMW i8-concept sports vehicle.
2. “They’re so good at marketing what’s bad and we’re so bad at marketing what’s good.” That’s the memorable quote from Peter Shumlin, Governor of Vermont, on the need for better green marketing tools.
Shumlin, who nabbed the Green Governor of the year award, encouraged enthusiasm in the way we talk about sustainability — and advised political leaders to get the message of sustainability across to their constituents through “speaking a language they understand” — by talking about economic growth, jobs, and keeping dollars in state, in Vermont’s case.
3. “Transparency has become the currency of trust,” said Starbucks‘ VP Ben Packard, who acknowledged that big business has lead consumers to be weary of multi-national corporations.
Packard discussed Starbucks’ goal to have 100% recyclable cups by 2015 — a goal the coffee giant tackled through a “cup summit” that got supply chain members, manufacturers, and recycling representatives to collaborate. Packard said he believes “the companies that figure out sustainability are the ones that will be around in 50 years.” On that note, I have no doubt that Starbucks will continue to increase their sustainability benchmark.
4. Does sustainable design always come at a cost? Designer Yves Behar of Fuse Project demonstrated otherwise with his team’s involvement in several social projects — including the One Laptop Per Child foundation’s $100 laptop, which will reach one million kids worldwide this year. His take home message to designers is to use 360 degree thinking over linear thinking and aim to deliver the “best product to the most people for the least money.”
5. In an interview, co-founder of Getaround Jessica Scorpio (left), explained how Google’s Larry Paige challenged her and her peers at Singularity University to develop a product that would impact 1 billion people in ten years. From this challenge, Getaround was born. As a peer-to-peer, experience-based car sharing program, Getaround exemplifies collaborative consumption at its finest. They’ve already launched in San Francisco and San Diego and will launch in LA next year. Cruise around San Diego in a Tesla or rent a SUV for your next ski trip!
6. Ecovative Design‘s Gavin McIntyre — who won the Opportunity Green (OG25) Start-up Competition in 2009, revisited the conference with biodegradable packaging material made from mushroom roots and agricultural by-products such as seed husks.
7. Hannah Jones of Nike emphasized the need to to “fast track” sustainability by incorporating old and new tools, using open source coding, sharing intellectual property, and providing transparency in business practices.

8. In a panel discussion about the future of California’s Water, former California Governor, Gray Davis, David Nahai, President of David Nahai & Associates, and UC Presidential Chair & Director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Glen MacDonald agreed that conservation measures, innovation in technology, and reclaimed potable water are where we need to focus our attention in addressing water shortages in southern California. According to them, educating citizens on the safety of reclaimed potable water will be critical in passing measures on future ballots.
9. In addition to the plethora of inspiration received through the speakers, mingling over the course of the conference I met founders of several creative eco start-ups including Smart Green Websites‘ founder Jonathan Rockett, and Andy Jolls, SVP for Consumer Marketing at Zumbox. These two sites are worth checking out!
10. If you missed this year’s Opportunity Green, mark your calendar for next year’s! This top-notch conference for sustainable business is not to be missed by you eco-entrepreneurs and sustainable leaders.
Photos by Sarah Fonseca
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