OppGreen Insights

Jonathan Greenblatt, An Interview
Co-founder, Ethos Water

Posted on 07. Oct, 2007 by opportunity in Uncategorized

Interview by Jeremy Jacquot

Moving right along, we’re now onto Jonathan Greenblatt, the co-founder of Ethos™ Water and a former member of the board of the Starbucks Foundation. His impressive list of accomplishments and positions can be viewed in our handy profile.

OG: What do you hope to gain from the Opportunity Green Conference?

I hope to learn about trends in the marketplace from a group of peers.

What was your inspiration for starting Ethos Water? How did your focus on sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship color your experience?

My business partner, Peter Thum, and I founded Ethos because we shared a vision of wanting to help children around the world get clean water. Both of us had seen firsthand the conditions affecting people in the developing world, particularly the 1.1 billion who lack clean drinking water and 2.4 people who lack adequate sanitation. We hoped that we could offer a premium product that would connect the millions of people in the US drinking bottled water with the billions in need around the world – basically, connecting cause and consumption, water for water.

What are some of the new initiatives you’ve pursued since selling Ethos Water to Starbucks? What do you hope to accomplish with Global Water Challenge?

Since my departure from Starbucks last summer, I have had the good fortune to collaborate with some interesting opportunities with non-profits groups doing some innovative and meaningful work. I am a senior advisor to the X PRIZE Foundation, leading an effort to create a worldwide competition focused on market-based models that can help to break the cycle of global poverty. Earlier this year, I designed the strategic plan for the Global Water Challenge, a cross-industry initiative launched by the UN Foundation that brings together corporations such as Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Dow; foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Case Foundation; non-governmental organizations such as CARE, Water Partners and UNICEF in an effort to develop strategies that will alleviate the global water crisis. I also teach an MBA class in Social Entrepreneurship at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.

What is the future of sustainable entrepreneurship? What new business models or technologies do you see emerging within the next few decades?

I am encouraged by the growing trend of social entrepreneurship. We see individuals in the developing world creating innovative business models that create financial results and generate social good. We also see considerable innovation here in the US as the best and the brightest increasingly are seeking new opportunities to leverage their skills and talents.

Are you hopeful about the long-term viability of the sustainability movement? How hungry do you really think the world community is for change?

I am very optimistic. I have incredible faith in humanity. I believe that the world is looking for creative responses to the challenges of our time and that the entreprenuers among us will develop those solutions.

What does a green L.A. mean to you?

Los Angeles already has emerged as one of the leading centers for innovation around sustainable business and social responsibility. Along with brands like Ethos Water, the city is filled with fascinating start-up ventures like Brown Bag Naturals, Living Homes, Organic-to-Go; mature companies like Energy Innovations, Patagonia and Participant Productions; and breakthrough non-profits such as the Freedom Writers Foundation, Green Dot Schools, and the X PRIZE Foundation. Each of these organizations is breaking new ground in their respective fields. I believe that LA truly has a bright green future ahead of it which will benefit all of us in the near- and long-term.