Earth Promise “21 in 21″ Interview Series: Adam Berg, Founder of Earth PromiseAdam Berg, Founder of Earth Promise Adam Berg is the founder of Earth Promise (www.earthpromise.com), an online community dedicated to bringing people together who want to take better care of the environment which launched in April of 2008. Prior to founding Earth Promise, Adam spent his entire career in the market research world. His experience spans many areas of research including on the client and supplier sides, as well as in the online and offline environments. In addition, he spent two years living in small town in Japan, working as a business manager and English instructor. Earth Promise: Tell the reader a little about yourself. Adam Berg: Here is Adam Berg in a nutshell. I was born and raised in New York City and most of my career has revolved around market research including positions at A.C. Nielsen, SportsLine, Citrix Systems, and Simmons Research. The SportsLine job opportunity relocated me to Boca Raton, Florida in 1996 and I have been here since. I have been married to my wife Heather for 13+ years and we have two daughters, Emily (9) and Molly (6). I went off on my own regarding market research and started consulting and it was about this time that I started thinking about my starting my own company. I guess I got the entrepreneurial bug. Had a bunch of different ideas but Earth Promise was the one that hit me. I started developing it in 2007, launched it in 2008 and have been having a blast since. EP: What was your first, ah ha! Green moment? Did it act as your inspiration for starting Earth Promise? (starting, why set the way it was, etc) AB: I have always been aware of the environment and the need to care for it. I remember having Earth Day celebrations at my high school and remember the apartment building I grew up in recycling. In terms of specific impactful times, I would say I had two ah ha! moments. The first was when I was living in Japan in 1993-1994. I lived in a very small town and I remember them burning garbage in the fields. The smoke, the smell, and simply the act always stuck with me. While I didn’t say at the time, “this is offensive! We need to rise up…”, I spoke to people about it there and most of the foreigners were impacted by it. But that is how things were done in this town at that time. I hope things have changed since. The second, which did have a major impact in the development of the idea for Earth Promise, was the day I saw, Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth. First off, I was a bit freaked out by the statistics and information that was given in the movie. I knew there was an environmental problem, but I had no idea it was this bad. I think a lot of people got that. At the end of the movie when they played the Melissa Etheridge song, I Need To Wake Up, and showing the small things we can do, I wanted to find a site that I can track the changes I plan to make to help the environment. The movie showed me that even a simple act by me, one person, can make a difference. I searched for a place to document changes that could be made in one’s lifestyle and connect with other people about ways to help the environment. The lack of websites that focused on this was my inspiration to create one. EP: Since the site has launched, what trends are you seeing with regard to the activities and types of promises people are making and keeping on the site? AB: I’d have to say there are three trends I am seeing from what people are doing on the site and both of them are positive. The first is that people are making more promises. Early in the process, people were making just a handful of Earth Promises. Don’t get me wrong, even one Earth Promise is a good thing. Now as people are signing up, they are making a lot of them. The second relates to the promises that are made. Now people are making them across categories, like home, cars, travel, office and others. Before, I was seeing people focus their changes in one area. So you take these two trends are there are more promises in more area. That is a very good thing. The third and probably most important trend is that there are more promises listed as kept. People are keeping the promises they made. This is the goal in the end. It is easy to make a promise. The key thing is to keep it. EP: What was the inspiration for “21 in 21” interview series and what were your main goals for it? Why did you choose the interviewees that have been scheduled? AB: I wanted to do something special for Earth Day. There are celebrations around the globe as there should be. I had recently read some very interesting interviews about the environment and I thought how it would be cool to have a series of discussions with people from different areas of the green world. The original thought was to have a handful of interviews. But the response to the idea of the interviews was so positive that I wanted to go for it and get 21 for April leading up to April 22nd. The main goal for the project was to get the perspective of what is happening relating to the environment from different points of view and this is what influenced who I decided to choose to be interviewed. We wanted people from different arena, including the political world, media, educators, activists, entertainment and such. What I was impressed with was the response to doing the interviews. Almost every person I asked, no matter how busy they were, said yes. They knew the importance of Earth Day and making people aware of the issues and how we can all help. EP: What do you think are some misconceptions about going green? AB: I would say there are two that immediately come to mind. They are that going green is expensive and that if I do something, it won’t make a difference. Going green is not expensive. In fact, it will save you money. For example, take small steps around the house and in your daily life. If you make a point of conserving water, it is a positive step for the environment and it will bring your water bill down. If you can lessen the amount of time you drive, you will save money and help the crisis by using less gas. If you purchase energy efficient appliance, yes there is an initial cost, but the amount of electricity you use will decrease dramatically which will save you money and once again, help the environment. In most changes that the average person can make, there is a way to save money. People may say, “how would me changing my light bulbs to CFLs make a difference with the global crisis?”. Well, basically it is a little plus a little plus a little equals a lot. If you make that change and lots of others do too, that adds up to some substantial changes overall. That is why it is important to spread the word as well. Tell others about some of the steps you are taking and then maybe they will tell others. Education of these small steps will add up to a positive change. EP: Let’s say you get a one hour meeting with President Obama. What advice do you give him about making Earth Promises in his life? AB: Good question. I would break this into two pieces. President Obama the person, and President Obama the president. As the person, the advice I would give him would be the same as to you. The changes that you make around the house would apply to him as well, except maybe for a bigger house! Just like you should turn the water off when you brush your teeth, or recycle paper in your office, I would ask him to do exactly the same. President Obama the person is impacted the same amount by the environmental situation as you and I are. As for President Obama the president, I think the key step would be to not make this issue political. When that happens, the level of cooperation decreases, and in the end, concessions are often made and key steps to help the environment may not taken. I am happy that he is making the environment a key issue. In almost every speech, it is mentioned. I would say keep it as a priority. It has to be. Educate others as much as he can and work with world leaders to get them on the same page. If the Democrats and Republicans can get on the same page, and the political world and corporate world can get on the same page, and the nations of the world can get on the same page, we can take the necessary steps needed to help fix this problem. EP: Who out there is making the most difference in your mind? AB: As stated in the previous question, I think one of the key ones is President Obama. This is on his agenda and he sees helping the environment as a way to help other issues we face today from security, the health of the economy and the creation of more green jobs. Al Gore of course. To me, he was the guy who brought this issue to the general public. Before his movie, I think people knew of the issue and figured politicians and companies would be the ones to fix it. He educated many, including me, on how we can make a difference. There are also a set of celebrities who are making this a priority which is great. From Brad Pitt and his work in rebuilding New Orleans to Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurie David and Sheryl Crow and others spreading the word, it is key that they are investing their time and money to help this situation. Many people would rather listen to them than a politician, so it is a positive step they are taking. EP: What is the most vital message you hope people will take away from their experience on Earth Promise? AB: I go back to what I said a few answers ago. That everyone can make a difference, whether you live in a city or a small town. Whether you are rich or poor. Whether you are President Obama or your average Joe. The small changes you make will help. People should investigate the changes that they can make in their daily lives and see how easy many of these steps can be. If we all get behind this cause, we can make a difference individually as well as influence politicians and corporations. When they see that the environment is top of mind for the people, they will understand that they too need to get behind this. EP: What is the one Earth Promise you are going to make in the future that you have not done yet? AB: Personally, there are many ways I can continue to make changes. I have made a bunch but there are always more. A hybrid car is definitely in my future. I also plan to replace some of my appliances to more efficient ones. EP: Thank you. 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