Hiut Deim Company, the sustainable denim pioneers

Jean image Source: http://www.albionman.com/ “Companies with a soul are so much more interesting than companies motivated purely by profit" (David Hieatt) In 1995 at the age of 36,  David Hieatt co-founded Howies, a niche active clothing business that wanted to produce…

Crystal Doors Fostering Sustainability and Community Growth

We are a small company with a turnover of £3 million, but we are making an impact way beyond our size. The manufacturing industry is beginning to wake up and take notice of the climate and ecological emergency around us,…

Divine Chocolate that empowers

“We need a future for cocoa farming which is sustainable- not just for chocolate companies and chocolate lovers but for the people growing the crop” (Sophi Tranchell, MBE, Group CEO Divine Chocolate UK, 1999-2020) Each year, some $100 billion is…

Phool and Fleather: India’s transformative biomaterial company

image compiled from images from @ Phool.co FB “Sustainability goes across everything I do….For example, there’s no leather; it’s free from PVC. There are lots of woven materials, which means a lot less waste” (Stella McCartney, fashion designer). The global…

ICSB – Humane Entrepreneurship Mini-Globe Award

Pleased to share that at the annual ICSB Mini Globe Award Ceremony held on 16th January 2023 I was delighted, honoured and humbled to receive the Award for Excellence in Humane Entrepreneurship for the development and promotion of Harmonious Entrepreneurship. Apart…

TerraWaste

“Towards a pollution-free planet with a pollution-free process" - Kristaps Cirius, CMO TerraWaste Largely as a result of man's entrepreneurial innovativeness, we produce 2.01 billion tonnes of waste a year, 86% of which is non-recyclable,  and, as a result of…

London Christmas Tree Rental

“Having a greener Christmas isn’t about making big sacrifices. If we each take small steps, collectively we can make a big difference” - Catherine Loveless, London Christmas Tree Rental At a time when deforestation is estimated to contribute some 10%…

Gwinllan Hebron Vineyard’s rare organic wine

“We strive to work within and in harmony with the ecosystem rather than attempting to radically alter and control it” (Jemma Vickers and Paul Rolt) Hebron vineyard, located on the Pembrokeshire/Carmarthenshire border in the foothills of the Preseli mountains in West Wales,…

Rodda’s clotted cream cultivates community spirit and charity

Cornish Clotted Cream – the food of the Gods (former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, 1809-1898) In the UK, according to the 1935 Goodheart, Sigler and Hoffman song “everything stops for tea” but not only that - on the last…

Takachar transforming waste biomass

In 2021, 30-year-old Vidyut Mohar, an India Engineering entrepreneur and Sustainability graduate of the Delft University of Technology, won the inaugural Earthshot prize with his business partner, Dr Kevin Kung, a biological engineering graduate of MIT. In 2015, they had…

Oxwash: shrinking environmental costs and impacts

“Focus on the team first, then the customer, then the investor and expect from your team what you expect from yourself. You can achieve a lot, but you are only human” - Dr. Kyle Grant Each year the £70bn garment…

Zero Carbon Guildford

“We aim to build a strong resilient community that can cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing planet” - ZERO Carbon Guildford. On  21st November 2021, Zero Carbon Guildford was opened in the centre of Guildford, a university town…

ORB: The National Organisation for Responsible Micro, Small and Medium Sized Businesses

“What was initially launched without specific altruistic intent became precisely that: a passion for making a difference that transcended the desire for personal financial gain” (Jill Poet). The National Organisation for Responsible Micro, Small and Medium-sized Businesses (ORB) is a…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship & its systems thinking roots

Fifteen years ago, I proposed the need for a new entrepreneurship education paradigm (Kirby, 2007). At the International Enterprise Educators Conference (IEEC2022) hosted by Swansea University last week, similar calls were made once more. First, in his keynote address, Professor…

Flawsome! Wonky, Wonderful and Wise on Waste

“Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from negativity” (Karina Sudenyte) Mother of twins, 22 year old Karina Sudenyte and her husband Maciek Kacprzyk were students at the University of South Wales in Cardiff when they set up “Get Wonky”…

Gandaki Urja fuels Nepal’s green economy

“These are difficult times and we wanted to chip in where we could” - Kushal Gurun. Kushal Gurung of Nepal is not just a Carbon Management Masters graduate of Edinburgh University, but a serial entrepreneur back home in Nepal. He…

OLIO, the app driving a food share revolution

"The problem is much worse than we think. We have to wake up" - Dr. Monika van den Bos Verma of  Wageningen University, Netherlands Food waste is one of the major global sustainability problems.  According to the UN Food and…

the August Co. fashioning a better future

“Sustainability has 3 pillars – social justice, economic development and environmental protection – we are trying to contribute to each of these” - Vidhi Singhal Having read a report that a plastic bag had been found in the ocean at…

Flexi-Hex: packaging that protects the planet

“We’re not here to take on big plastic.We’re here to keep making better decisions and to partner with people up for doing the same.” What do a group of designers with a love of the sea and surfing have in…

Sea inspiration for education and eco-tourism

“I’m motivated to live by, and inspire others to live, a sustainable life that helps to preserve the planet rather than deplete it” - Sarah Holden The human population is fascinated by water and each year millions of people flock to…

Rosario Garden Project: urban regeneration seeds hope

“The best way to help a community is to give it the faith and knowledge to help itself” - New Scientist, 2nd August, 1962 Rosario, estimated population 1.7 million, is located 300kms (186 miles) North West of Buenos Aires, Argentina.…

LabCycle – revolutionising the recycling of Laboratory Plastic Waste

wastes pic: Bath.ac.uk While research is intended to identify solutions to problems, laboratory-based research can also contribute to them, in particular to the current sustainability challenge. Annually some 5.5 million tonnes of single-use plastic is produced by life sciences research…

Ocean Ag startup ALORA unveils ‘the most salt-tolerant terrestrial plants on the planet’

“I would encourage every person, from every age, every colour, religion, gender, location to ask themselves ‘why you are here? Why do you exist?’ It is so important to know the answer to that question”. (Luke Young) Luke’s answer to…

ZeLoop – the app that rewards for not littering

bottle pic: by tanvi sharma “If bottles were made of gold, nobody would litter them in nature” - Eric  Schaffner The damage that plastics can do to the environment is well documented. One million plastic bottles are produced a minute…

Egyptian University ‘Chito-Shrimp’ feeds multiple sustainability projects

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for  a lifetime”. Formerly known a SIFE (Students into Free Enterprise) Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform.…

Pawprint – digital entrepreneurship with purpose

After graduating in 2001 with an M.A. in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, Christian Arno set up “Lingo24” a B2B technology-enabled translation service which grew into a £10 million business employing 200 full-time staff in the UK, Netherlands, New…

Round 2 of the HES Harmonious Enterprise Online Competition

We are pleased to announce that The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society has now completed the first round of its Online Competition beta testing. Six teams from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) and the International University of Malaya-Wales (IUMW)…

Riding the Wayve for sustainable, accessible, and safer mobility

According to the World Health organisation, 1.3 million people die each year from car crashes caused by human error, while some 4.5 million people are estimated to die from the effects of air pollution and the particulate matter produced, particularly…

Effa – Ukrainian eco-business inspires

Having worked as a multinational company project manager for 10 years, but never having felt that she fitted in there, Dasha Kichuk founded Kyiv-based Effa1 in 2018 in partnership with her industrial designer husband, Ilya, a graduate of Kharkiv State…

Nuddy: One gal. One shower. One big idea.

Nuddy isn’t just a word, it’s a feeling. To feel free + vulnerable, yet empowered. Not just when you’re ‘in the nuddy’, but all day, everyday - Nuddy Nuddy is a female-led startup. It was founded in July 2018 by…

Welsh Luxury Hamper Co. showcasing local businesses

In 2019 20-year-old Abigail Chamberlain of Chepstow founded the Welsh Luxury Hamper Company Ltd. to showcase the quality products on offer in Wales. Because of her dyslexia, Abigail left university where she was studying music and enrolled on a different…

Nexus Power’s bio-organic fast charge batteries

Nexus Power “Entrepreneurship is not only about everything we do physically…it is about the emotional strength the founders possess. It is about having the same enthusiasm throughout. It is about believing in yourself and your team, and most importantly, it…

Chelsea Rock – disrupting the diamond business?

In 2018 the market value of the 147 million carats of mined diamonds was $76 billion, and the industry employed some 10 million people in 50 active mines, found mainly in Russia (43 million carats), Botswana (23 million), Canada (23…

Vivobarefoot’s regenerative steps

"We believe the closer people are to nature, the more they will protect it" - Vivobarefoot Founded in 2012, Vivobarefoot is an innovative London-based shoe company whose pedigree dates back almost 200 years. In 1825 in the village of Street in…

BoomGrow – saving the planet one vegetable at a time

BoomGrow is an award-winning Malaysian farming company whose mission is to transform farming by producing 100 per cent clean and nutritious vegetables delivered directly to the consumer. It is located in Kuala Lumpur in the Klang Valley and was founded…

Volta Greentech – reducing cow methane omissions

"If all the cattle in the world joined together to start their own country, they would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases” - Bill Gates Globally methane is responsible for 30 per cent of global warming, and the world’s…

The House of Baukjen

“We care deeply about our people, our customers and our planet” (Baukjen de Swaan Arons). The House of Baukjen is a family-run women’s slow fashion business located in North West London. It comprises two branches, the core brand, Baukjen, and their…

Petit Pli – sustainable clothes that grow

Clothes Waste Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels “We believe that designs which meet real human needs will never be thrown away” - Petit Pli The global fashion market is valued at around $3trillion or 2 per cent of the world’s GDP, and…

A HES Letter to Santa

Santa Klaus, Santa’s Grotto, Finnish Lapland. Christmas 2021 Dear Santa, Doubtless, you are busy preparing for Christmas, but we thought we ought to write to you, all the same, mainly to wish you a peaceful and joyous Christmas. This time…

Optim Energy – piezoelectric energy harvesting

“Young entrepreneurs and innovators are working hard to create a low carbon energy market” - Jeremiah Thoronka Mankind needs an alternative to fossil fuels. Solar, wind and water-generated energy are all possibilities, but with the present technology, they can be…

The washing machine project improving lives

Humanity is the washerwoman of our society that wrings out its laundry in tears - Karl Klaus, 1874-1936 The handwashing of clothes is a simple but time-consuming and energy-sapping task that has been a significant source of invention for centuries.…

Stella Vita –  world’s first solar powered mobile home

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes" - Marcel Proust (1871-1922) The Coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on international travel in general and international tourism in particular. With the…

Online Harmonious Entrepreneurship International Student Start-Up Competition 2022

Special #GEW2021 announcement Over the past 12 months, the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society (HES) has promoted the concept of Harmonious Entrepreneurship and produced 50+ case studies to exemplify and prove the conceptdeveloped an educational MOOC composed of 10 learning units Now,…

Welsh Manumit Coffee Roasters – freedom through coffee

image credit: girl: I.am_nah Another Wales-based case study to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship 2021 #GEW2021 “In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free”. ( Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865) While slavery was abolished in most countries 150 or more…

Bringing hope back to to the valleys

The extraction of oil, coal, and minerals brought, and still brings, a cost to the environment -- Irish singer/songwriter, Bono, 1960 A HES case study based in Wales to celebrate #GEW2021. Wales, often referred to as “the land of song”…

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2021 with HES

a week of activity to celebrate GEW2021 A lot has happened in the 12 months since we launched the Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society in GEW 2020. Not only have we published the conceptual article on which the Society is based but…

Two remarkable women of different ages and backgrounds united in their message to the World’s Leaders

In commenting on LinkedIn on COP26 (the UN climate change Conference of the Parties), Suzanne Mooney MBE, Founder of The Lost Food Project, proclaimed, “If only Sir David Attenborough were a world leader”. She was, of course, referring to Sir David’s powerful…

Float8, sustainable and cost-effective solutions to land shortage

“Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill” (Stephen Hawking, 1942-2018). One aspect of the sustainability challenge, all too frequently…

Sanergy, a HES case study, finalist in The Earthshot Prize

We must “remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem solve. People can achieve great things”. (HRH The Duke of Cambridge) Launched in October 2020 by HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Earthshot…

MarinaTex asking the right questions

MarinaTex, image: licensed to use Plastics waste is a major global problem facing the planet, affecting life on earth both on land and in the sea. The problem is that it is non-biodegradable and can exist in the ecosystem for…

Argan oil harmonious ventures

oil pic credit: Pixabay “The entrepreneur shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield” - John-Baptiste Say (1767-1832) Today Argan oil is considered the most effective anti-ageing oil in…

“The people who give you their food give you their heart” (Cesar Chavez, 1927-1993)

The tragic scenes of refugees fleeing from war-torn Afghanistan bring home, all too vividly, the plight of the “barefoot entrepreneurs” – those people who live ”primarily in marginal, poor and excluded places and contexts” (Imas et al. 2012). While the problem is…

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant” -Robert Louis Stevenson (1859-1893)

credit: seed (Photo by Joshua Lanzarini) This last week, Felicity and I have been busy promoting Harmonious Entrepreneurship “in the flesh” so to speak. First, we spoke twice at the 15th annual Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) conference hosted by Aston University (ieec.co.uk).…

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world” (Margaret Mead)

Antur Cymru (Welsh Adventure) is a social enterprise providing support for businesses in Wales. Owned by shareholders in the community who do not profit individually from their investment, they have agreed surpluses should be reinvested in the company. It was…

The Greatest Threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. (Robert Swan)

Tourism has a major economic impact particularly, but not exclusively, on the developing economies of the world. Prior to the Covid 19 pandemic, it accounted for 10 percent of the global GDP and it is anticipated that it will contribute…

Small is beautiful (E.F. Schumacher, 1973)

“ To create a world full of giving” is the mission of Japanese serial entrepreneur Masami Sato. After attending college in Japan she traveled the world and was disturbed by the poverty and inequality she discovered. Eventually, she ended up in…

Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay (Sallust, 86-35BC)

Since Global Entrepreneurship Week 2020, The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society has posted case examples of systemic, harmonious enterprises that have focused not just on “ making as much money as possible” (Friedman, 1970) but on Elkington’s (2004) Triple Bottom Line of Profit-People-Planet. Each…

“May it be a light to you in dark places when all other lights go out” (J.R.R. Tolkein)

Originating in the 16th century, but not becoming commonplace until after William Murdoch’s invention of the gaslight in 1802, street lights are now regarded as an essential feature of modern living. Not only do they aid security but they contribute…

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that” (Martin Luther King)

WaterLight (E-Dina) According to SDG 7, by 2030 the aim is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. The problem is that in 2021, only 9 years away, some 940 million people (13% of the…

“He was a wise man who invented beer” (Plato, 427-347 BC).

Beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks in the world. Its origin dates back some 5000 years, possibly more, and by 2018 188.79 million kilolitres were being consumed, the equivalent of approximately 298.2 billion bottles. However,…

The best anti-poverty program is a world class education (Barak Obama)

As Nelson Mandela recognised “Education is the most powerful weapon for changing the world” yet it is estimated that in 2020 260 million children globally were not being educated and millions more were not receiving a good quality education. This is particularly…

Notpla: God created seaweed…The seaweed made the world”

Seaweed is an extremely versatile and important product. Amongst others it is a food, a fertiliser, a medicine, a fuel, a cosmetic and, significantly, a vital element in the ocean ecosystem, producing oxygen, absorbing nutrients and providing a habitat for…

“On a bicycle made for two”…or three, or more!

Despite its image of pure, unpolluted mountain air, the air quality in Nepal is one of the worst in the world, particularly in the country’s capital city, Kathmandu. Here the incidence of smog is five times greater than it was…

Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay (Sallust, 86-35BC)

Since Global Entrepreneurship Week 2020, The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society has posted case examples of systemic, harmonious enterprises that have focused not just on “ making as much money as possible” (Friedman, 1970) but on Elkington’s (2004) Triple Bottom Line of Profit-People-Planet. Each…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society and the G7, June 2021 –  “How beauteous mankind is! Oh Brave new World”(Shakespeare)

In between relaxing by the sea, cosying up to the new President of the USA, having a beach barbecue, and meeting the Queen, the leaders of the 7 strongest economies in the world (the G7) clearly did some serious thinking…

“There’s a way to do it better – Find it” (Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

Though a profound invention that has impacted significantly on modern society, plastics are a major sustainability challenge as they do not decompose and contribute to environmental problems both on land and in the sea, as well as to the health…

AD870 England, King Alfred may have burned the cakes, but in the 21st century, women and children…

It is estimated that in the developing economies some 3 billion people cook their food on open fires, using solid fuel, usually wood. Apart from polluting the atmosphere, the smoke from the fires kills an estimated 3 million people, mainly…

Tred: The Millennials Lead The Way

Water pollution: Brian Yurasits, 2019 How did a meal in Glasgow lead to the UK’s first green debit card made from recycled ocean plastic? Well, it is quite simple, over a meal with a friend, one of the co-founders of…

“Waste not want not” (1772, idiom) or “wilful waste makes woeful want” (1576, idom)

For two student entrepreneurs, Josh Shefner and Claire Friona, long-established idioms are a living reality. Both are students of Engineering at Milwaukee School of Engineering, and both are passionate about poverty elimination and the eradication of waste. They are also…

An Innovative UK solution to the Global Pollution Problem Caused by Urban Trucking

In the USA it is estimated that trucks/lorries (Heavy Goods Vehicles/HGVs) account for 5% of the number of vehicles on the road but 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, while in Europe the Environment Agency estimates that HGVs…

The world is green and beautiful, and we are its custodians

(Image credit: North Wales Police) In an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, it has become law in many countries for people to wear disposable face masks. 129 billion face masks are being used globally each month and in…

The “Grameen” Bank of Wales

Outside of Wales few people know of Karen Davies but in South Wales, she does what Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank do in Bangladesh. Through her not-for-profit microfinance social enterprise, “Purple Shoots”, which she established in…

Latika Golyan demonstrates the need for graduate entrepreneurs in Nepal

Nepal, population 28.61 million, is a factor-driven economy meaning it relies on its people and natural resources. Over 55% of the population is under the age of 25 and there are some 450,000 students enrolled at different universities in the…

“Oh Food! Magical food! Wonderful Food! Marvellous Food! Beautiful Food!”

Despite Lionel Bart’s “Oliver” eulogy of food, it is a problem. We need it to live, yet both an excess and a shortage can kill us. Some 850 million people, globally, are believed to be undernourished and each day an…

Fast Fashion and the reGain app conundrum

The trend to Fast Fashion, particularly among young people, is having a significant negative impact on the planet. While most of the garments produced are sourced internationally, particularly from low-income countries, and may appear, therefore, to be addressing SDG goals…

Who wants to be millionaire?

In the global knowledge economy, universities have become the catalyst for economic and social development and many have added to their two traditional missions of research and teaching a third mission that involves the transfer and commercialisation of the intellectual…

Gjenge Makers: Build Alternatively, Build Affordably, Build Sustainably

“Build Alternatively, Build Affordably, Build Sustainably” – the motto of Gjenge Makers in Nairobi Between 1950 and 2017 the world produced some 9200 million tonnes of plastic waste, of which only 2700 million tonnes (29%) was still in use in…

Sustainability Education through the entrepreneurial recycling of glass bottles: Oseng-Rees Reflection

Reception desk, UWTSD. Photo: T. Oseng-Rees. Being brought up in 1980s Norway, “environmental awareness, frugality, creativity, independence and empathy for everything and everyone” is fundamental to Dr Tyra Oseng-Rees, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Wales Trinity St.…

Affordable Sustainable Social Housing in Wales

As a result of urban-rural migration and the demand for second homes in the countryside, there is a shortage of affordable social housing in Wales, and, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, this is contributing significantly to the level of…

Sanergy and the Power of Systems Thinking

Currently, some 2.5 billion people globally do not have access to basic sanitation, and some 1 billion defecate outdoors, exposing themselves, their families and their neighbours to faecal bacteria. As a result, half of the hospital beds in developing countries…

Too Good To Go

In 2016, three entrepreneurs from Copenhagen, Leeds and Paris co-founded “Too Good To Go” (http://toogoodtogo.org) a social impact company intended to address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 Sustainable. Consumption and Production, also supporting 13 Climate Action. Globally 1.3 billion…

Harmonious Entrepreneurship and the Terra Carta: a charter for Nature, People and Planet

Professor David A Kirby and Mrs Felicity Healey-BensonCo-founders The Harmonious Entrepreneurship Society Launched on 11th January, 2021 by HRH The Prince of Wales at the “One Planet” Summit in Paris, the seventeen page Terra Carta is a seminal document that…