New Year Reflections

As the New Year approaches I want to thank each of you for being here to support me and my Earth Corporation dream.  I am filled with optimism and hope for the future.  I know that together we can make steady progress toward a world that is more just for everyone and everything.  

I am grateful to the Earth for providing us with the most beautiful home one could possibly image.

I am confident that we can thrive with clean and sustainable energy from the sun, the wind and all of the other forms of energy that do not poison or pollute the planet and our health.  

I am positive that we can eliminate landfills and design products and services so that every input is of value and what we currently call waste is redefined as another input for some other valuable product or service.  

I know that if we each choose to support companies that are open, transparent and truly share the wealth they generate equitably, that we all will benefit greatly.

I am sure that there is more than enough bounty on this Earth to support all of us and many more.

More than anything I am so thankful for this opportunity to live each moment with each of you.  

Wishing you all peace, love, joy, health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year.

 

The World’s First Bamboo Flying Disc – Becoming an E-CORP

I received an amazing message by email from a friend and fellow social entrepreneur.  He has created the world’s first bamboo flying disc and would like to incorporate the E-CORP concept into his business model.  How cool is that!  We decided to move the conversation online, it is pasted below, so that you all could join in the discussion regarding how to implement these ideas.  Russell is struggling a bit with the ownership concept and adds some great ideas regarding Open Source, Right Purpose and Inclusion.  I will respond below in the comments and encourage each of you to do the same.

As a quick recap the following defines an E-CORP…

  • The enterprise is owned in trust by the Earth.
  • Green bonds are used for startup funds and working capital
  • Profits are shared with employees up to 20%
  • Net Positive Resource Use
  • Zero to Landfill
  • Minimum Wage Plus
  • Defined Maximum Wage
  • Transparency
  • Open Books

See also What is an E-Corp (Earth Corporation)?

Peace & Love,

Mark


Hey Mark!

I’ve been working more on the Frisboo business plan.  I have been trying to implement your e-Corp ideas.  Most of it fits in just great.  However, I am still struggling with the concept of the “Earth owning the business in trust”.  I can’t work out what that means practically and thus have had to cut that concept out of my current revision.

I think there’s also two other principles that are worth adding:  Open Source  and Right Purpose.  The first we’ve talked about– making the designs available via a wiki.  The second is inspired from the Bhuddist concept of “Right Livelihood”.  For instance, going from the principles you provided first, one could technically operate a bomb or gun making business under them.  But I don’t think that’s quite right… so the added Principle is needed.

Second, I think “Zero to Landfill” could be articulated more positively by the term “Cradle to Cradle”.

Also, I think you could take out, or merge one of these two:

  • Transparency
  • Open Books

Especially if Open Source is another principle.  They all kinda overlap.  I am still struggling on what Open Books means exactly though.  I will get back to you later on this as I think it through.

For the principles of minimum wage plus and defined maximum wage… I think this is important, but that’s it actually part of a larger principle for inclusion, equality and empowerment in the business.  For example… I am haunted by a passage I read in a book about a lady who went out to research plastic production.  She got to go to a Frisbee factory in China.  She got to see these hundreds of people working monotonously making tens of thousands of Frisbees.  At the end of her visit and reporting, the factory manager came up and asked her… “what do the people in your country do with these plastic things anyway?”.

So, here’s what I have come up with so far for Frisboo:

The Business

Frisboo .org is an E-corp enterprise. This means that the raison d’etre of the business is for the betterment of the Earth’s people, species and ecosystems. The Frisboo.org E-Corp will operate according to the following principals.:

Right-Purpose

The very product of the business is Good– it promotes the healthiness of people and planet. The Frisboo is for fun, collaborative play!

Open Source

Our work is available to the world, to be used by anyone and improved by anyone. Our Frisboo design will be made available for anyone anywhere to access and improve and add to using an online wiki.

100% Cradle to Cradle

Our product, processes and the running of our business produce no dead-end waste. Everything that would be traditionally considered “waste” is turned into an input for something else. Our chosen material is Bamboo which is means our product and manufacturing excess are all bio-degreadable. Our excess non-biological waste will be ecobricked by staff and employees.

It’s a big team: Minimum Wage Plus & Defined Maximum Wage

A wage bracket is established to maintain a defined ratio from the highest to the lowest paid person in the organization. Frisboo will have defined Minimum Wage Plus as 50% above the local minimum wage and the Defined Maximum wage is ten times the lowest wage. This keeps the wage gap relatively small and creates an incentive to raise the rate of the lowest paid person.

Transparency & Open Books

An E-CORP publicly publishes its financials. All or our books and working documents will be accessible online. Some will ask why aren’t we worried about our competition taking our ideas. We don’t view anyone as a competitor and welcome all who seek to lower the ecological and economic cost of mobility and transportation. We are committed to accelerating the transition to a clean economy.


See my reply in the comments below…

Why are E-CORPS (Earth Corporations) so important?

Two weeks ago I posted my first article on E-CORPS entitled “What is an E-CORP (Earth Corporation)?.”  This week I want to focus on what I believe is the more important question, WHY!  Why did I create an E-CORP?  Why is it important?  Why is your involvement necessary?

As a quick recap the following defines an E-CORP…

  • The enterprise is owned in trust by the Earth.
  • Green bonds are used for startup funds and working capital
  • Profits are shared with employees up to 20%
  • Net Positive Resource Use
  • Zero to Landfill
  • Minimum Wage Plus
  • Defined Maximum Wage
  • Transparency
  • Open Books

Why did I create an E-CORP? 

It is my attempt to make a positive contribution toward reducing economic inequality while contributing to a cleaner and healthier planet.

The gap between the rich and poor is widening.  Most people agree that the system is stacked in favor of those with capital.  It takes money to make money.  For some that is just fine.   Mostly it is just fine for the 1% who have the money.  The argument is that the money will trickle down and benefit all.  That sounds logical yet somehow the numbers don’t seem to back this up.  Wealth disparities between the rich and poor keep growing and this trend only seems to be accelerating

At the same time we are experiencing the warmest year on record.  97% percent of climate scientists agree that there is a global warming trend and that human beings are the main cause.  We extract the Earth’s resources in unsustainable ways while polluting our land, air and water.  The problem is so enormous and broad that we often feel it is beyond our ability to have any significant impact and apathy sets in.

I decided to create a business structure that would systematically prevent economic inequality while at the same time establishing transparent targets and behaviors that fight against climate change and promote sustainability.

Why is it important? 

I think it is really important for a number of reasons.  First, it is not just talk or symbolism, these are concrete actions.  It feels great to be taking real steps toward addressing these problems.  Each step reveals a new set of problems and opportunities.  That doesn’t happen in the realm of theory.

Second, the clock is ticking.  Many believe we are already past the point of no return regarding the negative impacts we will face as a result of climate change.  When sea levels rise, hundreds of millions of people along the world’s coast lines could be displaced.  This is just one of the many consequences we are likely to experience.

Third, economic and social injustice leads to instability.  We have to find better ways to distribute the world’s abundant resources more fairly in order to create a more peaceful and stable world.

Finally, we have simply been mistreating the Earth for far too long.  Our entitlement / extraction oriented approach to Mother Earth is not sustainable.  The E-CORP structure aims to reverse that paradigm by placing the emphasis on serving the Earth first and foremost.

These problems are not going to go away on their own.  The more people working on potential solutions the better.

Why is your involvement necessary? 

We can’t do this on our own.  If you don’t contribute your ideas and support we will not succeed.  That is not just true of E-CORPS but of any enterprise or initiative that is seeking to protect the Earth and promote social and economic justice.  We all need to help each other.  Apathy is the enemy.

Since the last article…

The response to the first article was amazing.  There were over twelve hundred page views.  Two individuals have already expressed an interest in starting their own version of an E-CORP.  EWABI, the electric bamboo bike company that is the first model Earth Corporation is working on the corporate bylaws and formal legal structure to operate in Indonesia under these principles.  More on that soon.   Please share and forward this article to anyone you think might be encouraged to do more for the Earth as a result of learning about this concept.  Thanks for your help and support.

Peace & Love,

Mark

What is an E-CORP (Earth Corporation)?

At some point in time we got this crazy idea that we have some kind of right to own the earth and extract it contents for our own commercial and personal benefit.  This is a flawed paradigm which has led to much injustice and inequity throughout the world.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  We are indebted to the earth and the sun which provide us with everything we need to live.

The concept of the Earth Corporation was born to start to reverse this great injustice.  The simple idea is that the Earth owns the business.  Say what???  That’s right, the Earth owns the business.

[Dramatic pause to let it sink in]

When I first tell people about this idea I get that look.  You know that look.  It’s a sort of bemused expression.  Did he just say the Earth owns the business?  He must be off his rocker.  And there just may be some truth to that.  Anyway, I go on to explain that I had this crazy idea to eliminate the concept of shareholder equity by transferring the shares of EWABI, a new electric bamboo bike company, to the Earth.  How will I do that you ask.  Hell if I know.  Honestly, I am not exactly sure yet what form this transfer will take but that is not deterring me in the least.  I figure that an idea this powerful is unstoppable.  I will just will it and work it into existence.  I’ll reach out to the best legal minds in the world who are working on environmental, social and economic justice.  I’ll contact the folks over at B-Labs and see if they are ready to take the B-CORP up to the next level.   I’m self financing EWABI with my own money so I am not putting anyone else’s capital at risk so far with this amazing experiment.  I’ve already been told that at the very least I should be able to place the shares into a trust and name the Earth as the beneficiary.  I also already have a commitment from Craig Calfee, the inventor of the modern bamboo bike, to be on the board of trustees for EWABI.

Now as if the Earth owning a business and electric bamboo bikes were not enough excitement for one post, the E-CORP concept goes much deeper.  The foundational concepts of an Earth Corporation seek to nurture the Earth while also supporting social and economic justice.   The following defines an E-CORP…

  • The enterprise is owned in trust by the Earth.
  • Green bonds are used for startup funds and working capital
  • Profits are shared with employees up to 20%
  • Net Positive Resource Use
  • Zero to Landfill
  • Minimum Wage Plus
  • Defined Maximum Wage
  • Transparency
  • Open Books

This blog will explore the details of these concepts while also tracking the actual progress of EWABI.  It will serve as a means to both articulate and communicate the ideas to a broader audience but more importantly to seek feedback, guidance, support and participation as this movement gains momentum.    I’ll give a brief overview of each point this week and then go deeper in future posts.

The Enterprise is Owned in Trust by the Earth

The Earth owns the business.  I know, I’ve already said that numerous times but it is just so cool and fun to say.

Believe it or not, there are a few legal precedents where inanimate object have been conveyed rights.  Ecuador for instance included Rights of Nature language in their 2008 constitution.  New Zealand’s Whanganhui River was legally declared a person with the ability to bring legal action, via guardians, to protect its interests.  Christopher Stones “Should Trees Have Standing” and the dissenting opinion of Justice Douglas in the 1972 Sierra Club vs. Morton case also inform this topic.

We are registering EWABI in Indonesia as required by current law and are creating irrevocable clauses in the by-laws to make the commitments listed above binding.

Green Bonds are used for Startup Funds and Working Capital

The start-up money and working capital is funded by debt, specifically “green bonds” paying 5% interest.  Once the business starts generating positive free cash flow the debt is to be paid off and then the “equity” is owned by the earth.  There will be a board of Trustees to oversee that the business follows the Earth Corporation charter and also to establish and maintain parameters for how the “earth equity” is to be used.  It could be to grow the business, buy green bonds in other emerging E-CORPS or invest in the Earth (land preservation, conservation, etc.)

Profits are Shared with Employees up to 20%

This one is pretty self explanatory.

Net Positive Resource Use

Generate more of any particular resource than you use.   For instance EWABI is already generating more electricity each day than it uses.  It will grow more bamboo than it harvests.  It will collect more rain water than it uses.  The expectation is not to achieve all of this immediately.  In fact it may be difficult if not impossible to achieve for some resources, however as an E-CORP you strive daily towards this goal and post results publicly on a monthly basis.

Zero to Landfill

This is also fairly self explanatory.  The goal is to have nothing going to the landfill.  Everything that would be traditionally considered “waste” is somehow turned into an input for something else.  It’s easier said than done however as an E-CORP again you strive toward this goal and post results publicly on a monthly basis.

Minimum Wage Plus & Defined Maximum Wage

A wage bracket is established to maintain a defined ratio from the highest to the lowest paid person in the organization.  With EWABI we have defined Minimum Wage Plus as 50% above the local minimum wage and the Defined Maximum wage is ten times the lowest wage.  This keeps the wage gap relatively small and creates an incentive to raise the rate of the lowest paid person.

Transparency

All of the EWABI working documents are publically available in Google Drive.  It is a work-in-progress that is jumbled, incomplete and hardly ready for public exposure.  Nonetheless, we’ve decided that it is more important to share quickly and fully rather than worry about whether or not everything is in perfect order or presentable.  Some will ask why aren’t we worried about our competition taking our ideas.   We don’t view anyone as a competitor and welcome all who seek to lower the ecological and economic cost of mobility and transportation.  Like Elon Musk, we are committed to accelerating the transition to a clean economy.

Open Books

An E-CORP publicly publishes its financials.  While EWABI is just getting ready to produce its first financial statements, the startup expense ledgers are already publicly available.

Wow, you made it to the end!  Thanks for reading.  Was that too long?  Incoherent?  Awesome?  Let me know what you think.

You can participate in this movement by joining the newsletter, sharing it with friends and adding comments below.  You can also support an E-CORP or start one yourself.

Peace & Love,

Mark