Justin Smith

This is Justin Smith’s home page.

Here is the associated website.

One of my friends, Kyle van Houtan, a conservation ecologist and ethicist at Duke University, just had work covered by NATURE (additional press coverage here and here) about the ecological impact of shrimp trawling off the coast of China. Google Earth assisted Kyle and fellow researchers by providing vivid imagery to accompany their published findings.

Update: Here’s another article in today’s New York Times Science Times.

There was some great press coverage a few days ago about the “fourth sector” movement–a growing movement in America to take a better approach to capitalism that combines for-profit and socially-beneficial business practices in what are now being called “for-benefit” companies. These are companies that care about making money–but only with the best interests of all stakeholders (employees, local communities, neighbors, suppliers, and customers), not just investors, in mind.

Last Sunday’s New York Times business section featured several entrepreneurs and catalysts in the “fourth-sector” space. One of those catalysts, B Lab, is led by two friends, Bart Houlahan and Jay Coen Gilbert, former co-foudners of AND 1, with the help of another friend, Todd Johnson of Jones Day. Jay Coen Gilbert was also interviewed on NPR’s “Marketplace” on Monday afternoon.

I think B Lab is very interesting because of the depth with which it is attacking the challenges of metrics and institutionalization. Essentially, its goal is to fertilize the development of “B Corporations,” for-profit companies who are out not only to return money to investors but also to practice business in a thoroughly socially-beneficial way. B Lab hopes to accomplish this by 1) providing companies with a holistic framework by which they can measure and improve the way they do business, 2) building a strong marketplace brand around the “B Corporation” certification, and 3) helping companies bake their values into their long-term DNA by amending their articles of incorporation with “for-benefit” language. I think the latter is a particularly messy/interesting challenge, because a) many companies get sued by investors when they try and do things differently, and b) when new management takes over the socially responsible values are often dropped.

I’m excited by the “fourth sector” movement in general because it’s not being fueled purely by the left or the right, but rather by both “evangelicals and environmentalists,” so to speak. It’s my hope that demand for “B” products and services will accelerate the growth of the fourth sector movement, which would be great news for lots of people around the world.

“Addiction feels good, even when it kills…”

- From the song “Arctic Wastelands in the Quest for Character” by Splendour Hyaline

“Two feet can only walk one path.”

- African proverb, via Mark van Steenwyk

“Remember, the ark was made by an amateur, but the titanic was made by professionals.”

- Dave Barry

“Wisdom is gained by being with someone who is wise – it’s not something you can read about. That’s why I don’t want my kids to grow up far away from their grandparents.”

Story: “I don’t know how to be a leader!”
Cleveland: “That is the point…do what you think is right.”

“Hypocrisy is acting a role without the intention of becoming.”