World We Dare to Imagine Part 3: The HL Foundation

The HL Foundation: Sustainable Living for All

Our mission is to be a leader in developing green living solutions through providing self-sustaining housing for the homeless population in Portland, Oregon.

Our society today faces two major problems: a population unable to provide basic needs (including shelter) for themselves, and climate change. I grew up in Portland, Oregon in a family of avid outdoor-goers. The majority of my childhood was spent exploring forests, waterways, and mountains in Oregon. Many of the places I am most fond of visiting when I was younger are at risk due to environmental destruction. Many of the forests I have explored have vanished from increased wildfires resulting from global warming. 

Additionally, I have spent a lot of time in the metropolitan area of Portland. For a number of years, the city has faced a growing homeless population. In recent years the city's homeless population has grown to the point where our city parks have been turned into homeless camps. Over time, I have developed a dedication to solving both climate change and the homeless population. I created the HL Foundation as a remedy for both issues.

There are many foundations out there that address either climate change or homeless populations. However, there are few groups out there with the mission to solve both. At the HL foundation, we want to build sustainable living for the homeless population in Portland, Oregon. Through the use of organic gardens, solar power, and environmentally friendly construction means, we will provide living programs for the homeless population in Portland. Since Portland is currently one of the fastest growing cities in America, it is important the city expands while also being conscious of the environment. HL Foundation will be an example for how to do so effectively. We plan to have 6 month programs where homeless people are provided shelter while being exposed to seminars on personal finances, substance abuse, job skills, and sustainable living. 

We ask for the support of the Anima Mundi Development Partners because of our unique opportunity to rapidly expand, reach many, and impact our environment. Due to our means of constructing these homes, they have minimal operating costs due to their self-sustaining design. Our model will allow us to immediately move on and invest the majority of our time and resources into developing further spaces after completing one. We look to begin operations in Portland and eventually grow to impact the rest of the world. Your organization would be supporting a foundation that has not one, but two initiatives. Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to hearing from you!

Predatory Behavior in the Work Place Seminar (Extra Credit)

I recently attended a "Predatory Behavior in the workplace" seminar at USC. This discussion was led by Dr. Debbie Dougherty from the University of Missouri. Overall, this seminar really opened my eyes to how common and dark this issue really is in our society. Dr. Dougherty defined what inappropriate behavior in the work place is and used key examples to emphasize how recurring this issue is. She started off the presentation by defining predatory behavior as a disease and listed out notable known organizations today infected. It was shocking how long that list truly is. What Dr. Dougherty highlighted was that she made that list in "under 5 minutes."

Dr. Dougherty then went into the traditional approach our society commonly takes when addressing sexual harassment. She spoke about how this approach is overly simplistic and focuses only on the perpetrator and the target. She talked about how our society has normalized sexual harassment by thinking that it is just a problem between two people when in reality it is a multilevel phenomenon. Dr. Daugherty spoke about how this issue is tremendously overlooked and predators often hide in the background. To highlight how overlooked this issue is, she had us all point out everything in the room that was red and then write down everything that was green.

In addition to how in the background the predators are, Dr. Daugherty also pointed out other common traits including heroic qualities. All in all, I really learned a lot from this seminar. I truly had no idea how common and mistreated this problem is. It gave me a clear understanding for what to look for as I enter the work place in the near future.

A World We Dare to Imagine: Part 1

After reading the excerpt from The Blue Sweater, the ending line is what resonated with me: "We have only one world for all of us on earth, and the future really is ours to create, in a world we dare to imagine together." In order to make the world a better place, we must all first work to provide the fundamental needs of food, water, and shelter to all beings on earth. As one inhabiting a society where the majority of people have too much of these needs, I know it is often overlooked that a large part of the world struggles to provide these needs for themselves everyday. In my opinion, if we are all unanimously going to work together to make the future bright for our planet, we must all unanimously be able to take care of ourselves first.

Ultimately, the first step to making the world a better place and providing a brighter future for ourselves is creating long-term solutions for all human beings to be provided their basic needs. That being said, this is a very complex step. As mentioned earlier, a lot of us attain these needs through unsustainable measures. We need to reevaluate the ways in which we produce and consume energy, harvest food, and provide clean water.

A lot of ways in which we create and consume energy, such as utilizing fossil fuels, have proven to be harmful to our environment. Additionally, a lot of countries do not have the infrastructures to support these methods. With the emergence of wind and solar energy generators recently, we need to invest resources into improving these alternatives. We need to find ways to provide solar and wind energy globally in a convenient and economic manner. If we can switch to purely not only powering our homes - but also our cars and gadgets - with sustainable energy, we will vastly improve the we inhabit environment for the future.

Famine continues to persist as an issue in many areas of the world while in places like the United States we take many times our share. The ways in which we harvest our food is beginning to impact the physical environment we inhabit as well. We are seeing species going extinct and habitat food chains being exhausted all over the globe. Instead of investing in food markets which target keystone species in ecosystems, we must seek alternative methods globally. One controversial solution is increasing GMO crop production. Many people believe this "unnatural" way of producing food will cause problems. However, it has already proven to be almost no risk and cure famine in various locations. By focusing on GMO production, while also researching more sustainable food-producing practices, we need to have the goal of sustainably producing enough food for our entire globe.

Random Blog Post #2: Stop Moving to Portland

Historically, when people have referenced the Pacific Northwest, they have thought of Seattle or San Francisco - not Portland. The city of roses was a forgotten gem on the West Coast for some time - and us locals were perfectly okay with that. We kept to ourselves, building a culture like no other. Those who visited us often acknowledged the luscious greenery that surrounds the city and the beautiful Willamette River that cuts through the heart of downtown. But only few knew what this city truly embodied... until recently. The residents of our metropolitan area over time have branded themselves with the slogan "Keep Portland Weird" through their unique trends of clothing, food, and personalities.

However, our quirky city has recently been brought to the limelight in many ways. With the emergence of shows like Portlandia and expansions of local food chains like Salt and Straw, Portland culture has spread like wildfire throughout the United States. We have accidentally caught the curiosity of the rest of the country, who are now wanting to find out where the ideas like putting bacon on maple bars or forming moped gangs came from. Now, we find ourselves overrun with intruders and are one of the fastest growing cities in America. It sucks.

You could argue that the majority of America has already been ruined with overpopulation, so people have been forced to finally adopt our culture while moving to do the same to our city. I know many of you reading this probably come from busy cities with traffic. Therefore, you might not know what it would be like to have consistently clear freeways at any time of the day and be able to get anywhere in a maximum of 15 minutes. Well, at one point this was our reality. However, thanks to all of our intruders, our freeways have been overrun and we no longer have this luxury. 

Not only has our physical infrastructure been impacted by these transplants, but so has our culture. Many residents of our city have began to abandon the genuine, overly friendly, and weird traits and conform to those brought from other places. I know what you might be thinking right now: this is a little bit dramatic. I'm aware, but trust me I could say a lot more. In conclusion, stop moving to Portland - our weather sucks. 

Born on Third Base Section #2

In this section, Collins addresses the controversial estate tax, which taxes the leftover wealth of the deceased before it is inherited by their relatives. Collins makes it very clear that despite his own inheritance, he is in favor of keeping this tax. He begins by acknowledging the opponents of the "death tax," which are many people (often small business owners) who believe since they have worked very hard for their fortune - without any help - should not have a portion of their legacy given to the government. As a small business owner who received no college education and started his company by selling his house, my grandfather has taken this stance and has thus been what I have grown to believe. 

It was very interesting listening to the arguments made by Collins and other supporters of the estate tax. Collins referenced Martin Rothenberg, an owner of many technology companies. In a press conference at the White House in 2000, Rothenberg talked about his own story of building his net worth. Although he did not receive monetary help from anyone along the way, he still got aid from the society he lived in. He listed his local library, the student loan programs, and state universities that helped him and his employees gain the tools necessary to build these companies. He said that because of this, he believed he had an obligation to pay back the society that helped him get to where he was through the estate tax. 

In chapter 5, Collins recaps his time on the road with Bill Gates Sr., while promoting their book, Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes. In many gatherings Gates spoke at, he brought forward similar arguments as Rothenberg. At one event, Gates referenced Uncle Sam as the world's greatest Venture Capitalist. He argued that historic public investments have allowed businesses to prosper today, such as the creation of the internet.

I appreciate how Collins gives legitimacy to some of the points made by the opposition. In the majority of opinionated articles such as these I have read, the author often takes such an extreme stance to one side and tries to dismiss all claims made by the opposition. From my experience, I have trouble seeing through the bias in those types of articles and am never convinced by their claims. Contrarily, I gave Collins credibility to his claims, and have ultimately changed my perspective after reading this section.

AMDP Draft Memo

TO:                      Clark Hansen, CEO, Anima Mundi Development Partners

FROM:                 Davis Hayter, New Business Development

DATE:                  Friday, March 1^st, 2019

SUBJECT:           Investment Opportunity: 4Ocean Recycled Bracelets

My role within AMDP involves researching emerging companies needing investment in many different industries. Along with being profitable, I seek out companies that prioritize both social and environmental responsibility. I recently discovered 4Ocean, a sustainable jewelry brand that uses their sales revenue to remove plastic waste from the ocean.

After extensive research, I have come to the conclusion that 4Ocean would be a strong candidate for investment from our firm after we attain more financial information. In this memo, you will find the following:

• AMDP’s standards for investment.
• 4Ocean’s origin and concept.
• Traction, opportunities, and finances of 4Ocean.
• My in-depth recommendation.

Investment Standards of AMDP

Triple Bottom Line

Companies are graded on three bottom lines: profit, people, and planet.

• Profit: Company needs to be showing capital gains in order to prove their concept works.
• People: Company holds an exceptional reputation among customers, employees, and communities.
• Planet: Company prioritizes environmental awareness and either works to make a difference or is cautious of the carbon footprint it leaves.

Carbon Footprint

Carbon footprint refers to the collective amount of greenhouse gasses a company emits. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases (Ferguson). Greenhouse gasses directly impact global warming, making them an important byproduct companies need to reduce.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Companies that take corporate social responsibility have awareness of the type of impact they have on social, economic, and environmental facets of the environment they inhabit (Investopedia). Not only are they aware, but socially responsible companies also work to improve society in these aspects as well.

Social Enterprise

Social enterprises can be recognized for conducting many different social business models such as providing opportunity employment, creating transformative products or services, and making donations (Social Enterprise Alliance). The most applicable type of social enterprise for this memo is one that has positive environmental impacts through innovative products.

4Ocean

4Ocean was created when two surfers, Alex and Andrew, took a surf trip to Bali, Indonesia. What they found on their trip was massive amounts of plastic along the coastline. At one point, they even witnessed village fishermen pushing their boats through piles of plastic washed up on the shoreline (About, 4Ocean). They saw that nobody was doing anything about this rising issue and wanted to create change. Ultimately, 4Ocean was born.

This company uses recycled material removed from the ocean to create bracelets. They use the revenue from selling these bracelets to fund and grow ocean cleanup operations. They have found that each bracelet purchased equates to one pound of trash removed from the ocean. Since its’ founding in 2017, 4Ocean has managed to eliminate over 4 million pounds of trash from the ocean (About, 4Ocean).

Gaining Traction

In just two years since being established, 4Ocean has gained traction globally as an impactful “for profit” organization on our environment. Tom Huddleson Jr., CNBC reporter, referred to the company as “a big idea for a multimillion-dollar business to help clean the world’s oceans.” With growing media coverage, 4Ocean has vastly grown their brand.

Jeff Kart from Forbes stated, “Not bad for a project launched by two surfers who were inspired to take action by piles of plastic pollution during a surf trip.” This has allowed them to rapidly expand their reach. To date, they have cleaned up coastlines in 27 different countries (Forbes).

Creating an Economy for Plastic Waste

4Ocean has also contributed to the growing economy for recycled plastic (About, 4Ocean). They have done so by selling their collected plastic waste to facilities who repurpose it. In recent years, the demand for recycled plastic has been on the rise globally. It was reported in 2018 by Environmental Leader that “In terms of recycled PET (RPET) used in US and Canadian end market applications, total volumes increased by more than 5% in 2017” (Hermes, Environmental Leader).

With recent technological innovations, companies have increased their range of uses for recycled material. For example, clothing brands have recently created high quality material from recycled plastic. Zoggs, an Australian swimwear brand, created a bathing suit line made with yarn created from regenerated plastic waste (Danigelis, Environmental Leader). 4Ocean has ultimately created another stream of income by becoming an established supplier in this growing economy.

Company Financials

With 4Ocean selling each bracelet for $20 each, the company reported in September of 2017 that it had sold over $30 million in bracelets (Make It, CNBC). There is no information about the true profitability of this company. The only information found is their promise to remove 1 pound of trash with each bracelet purchased. But how much does removing that trash actually cost? It is unclear. However, the company indicated they reinvest 40% of their profits into their cleanup projects and 10% into various partner charities.

4Ocean reported that it currently employs over 150 people worldwide. Although the company has not released how much they pay their employees, they stated workers have wages of a “considerable amount” with full medical benefits (Make It, CNBC). They also market their cleanup times and locations to the public for volunteer opportunities.

At this time, the founders of 4Ocean are satisfied enough with current growth to set their next goal as removing 10 million pounds of garbage from the ocean. This will require a substantial increase in company operating income in order to accomplish this. However, 4Ocean is confident they can do this. Their ultimate goal is to become the largest ocean cleanup organization in the world.

Recommendation

After extensively researching 4Ocean, I believe this company is a promising lead for investment. However, before we commit to funding, we need to know more about their profit margins and capacity for growth. It is important to know for starters what their profit margin is for each bracelet. This would give great insight to their true capacity for expansion.

I believe it would be worth further investigating this company. They have a fantastic culture and concept that has impacted our oceans for the better. Once we have more information on their financials and business plan, our investment decision will be made for us. Say the word and I will set up a meeting.

Works Cited

Chen, James. “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).” Investopedia, 2019, p. 1.

Danigelis, Alyssa. “Zoggs Debuts Econyl Swimsuits, Reduces Plastic Waste.” Environmental Leader, 2019, www.environmentalleader.com

Hermes, Jennifer. “US Recycling Rate Rises Just Slightly but End Market Demand Stays Strong.” Environmental Leader, 2018, www.environmentalleader.com

Kart, Jeff. “Bracelets Fund Ocean Cleanup, 1 Million Pounds And Counting.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 July 2018, www.forbes.com

“Social Enterprise.” Social Enterprise Alliance, socialenterprise.us/about/social-enterprise/.

Thompson, Kelly. “Home.” How to Become a Professional Plumber - Training & Licensing Guide - Ferguson, 2018, www.ferguson.com/content

Random Blog Post #1: Bear Encounters

Ever seen a bear before? I have. Only in a zoo – until I went to Alaska. People who have seen bears in captivity often wonder what the big deal is with these animals. They seem lazy and far from being a danger to humans. I remember I used to think to myself how dumb people must be if they actually got attacked by a bear. I was this naive up until the point where I found myself face to face with a twelve-foot grizzly bear in the middle of the Alaskan tundra. I then knew exactly why these creatures are so feared.

We had just arrived in King Salmon, Alaska and were already boarding a small Cessna to fly out to a remote creek in the Katmai National park to fly fish. There were five of us: my dad, grandfather, great uncle, myself, and our guide. Our guide kept repeating himself on bear safety. He made us all carry bear mace and emphasized never leaving the group. I didn’t understand his concern. I figured we would either see or hear the bears coming and just walk the other way.

After we finally arrived at our destination, we began fishing in this open clearing along the stream. Within five minutes of being there, I hear my dad shriek “Bear!” I turned to see a massive animal standing within twenty yards of my dad and I, standing on its’ back legs. We slowly backed away and rejoined the group as the bear watched every movement we made. The bear finally noticed it was outnumbered and retreated back into the brush.

We went on to have ten encounters like that in the few hours we were fishing – each time equally as terrifying. Needless to say, I now have more of an appreciation for bears than I did before. After that trip, it is clear that the bears rule the tundra and not humans.