What is Carrotmob?
Carrotmob is a non-profit organization that creates incentives for companies to make
socially-responsible business decisions by building a network of consumers and
leveraging the power of those consumers to give companies financial rewards.
OVERVIEW
Corporations have the power to improve their environmental impact in profound ways.
This power is often neglected in the absence of economic incentive. Our solution is to
organize consumers to provide an economic incentive to companies who do good.
Carrotmob will target consumers and companies globally, focusing on improving
corporate environmental practices. We will create a broad network of consumers and
form partnerships with other larger advocacy groups to use their research and
infrastructure. Together we will implement campaigns focusing on different industries.
For each campaign, we will identify opportunities for making practices in a certain
industry more environmentally friendly, and approach the companies in that industry
with suggestions. Interested companies will "compete" with how much "good" they are
willing to do. Companies will propose actions they are willing to take, on their own
terms. We will evaluate which offer is the strongest from an environmental standpoint,
and accept it. Our network of consumers will then reward the chosen company with an
unprecedented kind of shopping spree to boost short-term company profits, as well as
by defining that company as the most responsible in its industry, to boost long-term
profits. As a result, the most socially-responsible business decision gets the most profit.
RATIONALE
Campaigns will be designed to improve the natural environment while also being highly
profitable for companies we work with. The traditional attitudes of consumer advocates
have held that a focus on increasing profits is precisely what has aggravated the climate
crisis. They see corporations designed to disregard moral concerns in the unyielding
quest for profits, and they see in the business world a catastrophic inability to invest in
changes that could help mitigate the threat of climate change. They are correct. But
what they have not seen is that these same traits of corporations can be harnessed to
power a solution. If environmentalists can BECOME the profits, then corporations will
follow us.
PLAN OF ACTION
We are seeking funds for one year's worth of salary for the founder, a CTO and a COO.
During the first year we will build our network starting with a younger demographic,
growing through online social networks. Early campaigns will focus on local
communities and smaller businesses where the impact of a modest-sized network will
be felt. We will grow through partnerships with other groups, as well as through a
diverse marketing effort to reach broader segments of the population. With growth and a
track record of success, we will begin dealing with larger companies. During the first
year we do not expect any revenue. Later revenue will come from (socially and
environmentally screened) advertising. For example, our members will display usergenerated
images and videos as ads on their Facebook profiles via the Carrotmob
application. The social and viral aspect of this advertising is in demand, as indicated by
the hype around Facebook Beacon. Facebook members will be more receptive to our
system than they were to Beacon, since ad content itself will be user-generated, and
Carrotmob's non-profit status will make people feel that they are helping a good cause
rather than being used only to boost someone's profits. Besides advertising, other
potential revenue sources include labeling, certification, consulting, or being a shopping
portal. These models may be pursued only as far as the trust of our network allows.
A UNIQUE AND PROMISING APPROACH
This approach is unique from the perspective of both consumer and company.
Consumers will finally have an effective tool to proactively inject their values into the
consumer products market. Choosing a specific brand is a profoundly simple action. It's
easier than signing a petition, costs little or nothing extra, and it's not time-consuming,
confusing, radical or mean-spirited. There is no obstacle to participation. On the other
side, companies will appreciate advocates who allow them to internally define what
actions they can take, and who will never treat them like criminals. Most companies
prefer to do good, and we will enable them to finally justify good actions with profits from
increased sales. We will also decrease the high costs of acquiring new customers and
provide free press and promotion so companies can save on marketing and advertising.
Furthermore, an initial focus will be on energy usage, and we may suggest energysaving
actions to lower emissions and save money, allowing companies to articulate
their environmental improvements to investors in terms of operational cost savings.
THE TEAM
Founder Brent Schulkin is an aspiring Renaissance Man. He is a connector of people
and of ideas. Rich with creativity and leadership experience, he has put his Stanford
degree to use working at Google, then as an independent documentary filmmaker, and
most recently in the corporate team-building space, creating elaborate, customized
events for his clients. Carrotmob's advisory board includes a wide range of advocates,
issue experts, business executives, leading thinkers and experienced entrepreneurs.
A NEW LEAF
Carrotmob is novel, and perfectly suited to bring together the talent and passion of
existing advocacy groups with the power of online social networks and the latent desire
for change that exists within so many casual consumers. The most exciting thing about
Carrotmob may be that we can end the tradition of hostility between activists and
business. Today we strive to make these important changes using a framework of
positive cooperation. The best company wins, the consumer wins, and the planet wins.
Brent Schulkin, Founder
carrotmob@gmail.com
www.carrotmob.org
Created by: Rene Jorgensen 6 months ago