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From May 3-10, hundreds of New Yorkers will participate in thefirst Shop Your Values Week , a project of the New York City -based startup Ethikus . The aim of Ethikus is to generate more business for smallenterprises whose practices embody certain principles ofsustainability in the realms of product-sourcing, employeerelations, community engagement, and environmental impact ormitigation efforts. By looking at those four criteria, Ethikusidentifies businesses they want to invite into their network, whichfunctions as a sort of ethics-focused Groupon by providing consumers with vouchers to use in those businesses. We look to see that they are engaging in decent businesspractices. It doesn t need to be all four of the criteria. Andit s a somewhat subjective judgment, an intern at Ethikus,recent college grad Justin Jahng, told Dowser. We re focused oninclusion, not exclusion, as a means toward creating change. IN PICTURES : Benign Design: An Exhibition of Sustainable Problem-Solving But Ethikus is more than just a green Groupon. The organizationalso helps companies improve their sustainability practices if theydon t meet enough of the aforementioned criteria. The energyauditing company Sage , one of Ethikus partner organizations, works with willingenterprises that don t quite make the cut for Ethikus network byoffering free energy audits and recommendations that will makebusinesses more energy efficient. Additionally, Ethikus exists to help consumers find smallbusinesses that match their interests in environmental and socialsustainability. We want to build more ethical consumption in New York City bylinking businesses that do good with consumers. We do this bygiving consumers the information they need to choose where theyspend their money, explained Jahng. Jeff Hittner founded Ethikus in mid-2011 after six years of leading IBM s corporate social responsibility department. He was looking fora more intimate work environment, and a more direct way to effectchange. I was tired of the bureaucracy, of working through many layers ina big corporation, he told Dowser. With Ethikus, the amazingthing is that you can create change just by walking into a smallbusiness. It s incredible how receptive they have all been. Since last fall, Ethikus has been able to sign up around 200businesses throughout New York City. At the time of writing, nearly1,000 people were signed up for the Shop Your Values Week pledge,where people state that they will only shop locally, ethically,and sustainably. During that week, Ethikus is hosting a series of events in conjunction with their partner organizations, including anoutdoor dance party with food trucks on May 4 th , and a bicycle tour of restaurants in Ethikus network on May 5 th . Additionally, Ethikus has paired up with Bard College s MBA in sustainability program to offer a scholarship competition. Partnerships are an important element of Ethikus mission andapproach to social change. They work with numerous communityorganizations, like the aforementioned Sage, the Lower East Side Ecology Center , the environmental crowdfunding site ioby , and more. This is about succeeding through collaboration, Hittner said. We need to get nonprofits sharing in this vision. And evenwithin Ethikus, collaboration is the work ethos. Hittner admittedthat, despite founding the organization, around 85 percent ofthe ideas it runs on had come from his co-workers during meetingsat their makeshift office in his apartment in the East Village . I am an expert from automobilevideorecorder.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Car Video Recorder with GPS Manufacturer , China Mini Sport Digital Video Camcorder, Automobile Video Recorder,and more.
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