Our Fall 2014 Business & Society event looked beyond CSR toward the strategic end of the sustainability spectrum. Eco-Innovation is the practice of developing and refining ideas into useful forms to create business value and benefit the environment at the same time. Innovating with apps to promote sustainability gives companies a way to generate brand awareness, optimize processes, and engage stakeholders.
Blake Burris, a globetrotting clean tech consultant, was our guide as we journeyed into the eco-innovation process. A panel of entrepreneurs followed to discuss how they approached the app creation process and how you can leverage the same tools for success.
Blake Burris, founder of Cleanweb Worldwide
Andrew Miller, co-founder of Compost Denton
Kim Hall, founder of WorldTweak
Robert Kent, Director of Public Policy for the North Texas Commission
Blake Burris is a leading expert on hackathons and the creation of grassroots innovation communities.
Since 2011, he has been working to apply information technologies to make our communities
more livable and sustainable. His work is at the forefront of the "resource revolution"
to create a new wave of environmental and economic prosperity. Today the Cleanweb network includes startups and entrepreneurs spanning 20 countries. Previous local
projects include the Dallas startup community, CoHabitat and Dynamo Labs, an energy
efficiency startup that was the first recipient of Facebooks fbFund. He resides in
the Dallas area with his wife and three children.
Andrew Miller is passionate about bridging technology and sustainability. He believes firmly in
making sustainability a profitable industry and is Cofounder and CEO of Compost Denton where the primary goal is to utilize technology to streamline sustainable waste management.
He holds a Masters in Information Science, has been featured in the TEDxUNT series,
and was recently awarded 'Best Smart City Design' by Microsoft Research as well as
'Outstanding Composting Program' by the Greater DFW Recycling Alliance and the North
Texas Corporate Recycling Association.
Kim Hall, CPA, Project Manager and former CFO, takes an analytical approach to looking for
solutions, yet she is hardly the typical bean counter. Leveraging technology and innovation
have been the cornerstone of her career, helping her solve complex issues for clients
in the real estate, technology, finance, insurance and non-profit sectors. Lately,
Kim is using her pragmatic problem-solving skills to address global challenges such
as managing limited resources.
A project manager for the Water Wars team in the NTx Apps Challenge, Kim continues to challenge herself by strengthening her competencies in cognitive science, marketing, influence, product development, social media and coding - what she called the true tools of innovation today.
Robert Kent is the Director of Public Policy for the North Texas Commission, a regional non-profit
corporation in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. In his role at the NTC, Robert works
with local businesses, municipalities, universities, and other organizations to develop
and implement public policy strategies to make North Texas a better place to live
and work.
The NTx Apps Challenge is a three-month innovation competition to make North Texas more livable and sustainable. Learn how business owners, municipal leaders, developers, and marketers are joining forces to develop apps that solve regional challenges such as water conservation and waste management. Winners for the competition will receive $80K in prizes for the best submissions in late October!
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