Corporate Social Responsibility has been a recent pressing issue that pushes businesses to actively align their operations with Sustainable Development Goals. When this is put into practice, many businesses—especially small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)—find it difficult to establish a starting point that keeps their business activities balanced with the environment and society.
If you are a business owner with the same issue, participating in the upcoming Sustainabili-Tea Talks is a step in the right direction. The Sustainabili-Tea Talks is an online event that consists of panel discussions and speed networking sessions that will help you learn some of the best practices for sustainable businesses, and they serve as a terrific opportunity to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs.
GoConnect is proud to partner with Sustainabili-Tea Talks and to have had a chance to sit down with one of the event’s organizers, Philip Nguyen, to talk about how business owners and sustainability advocates can benefit from the event.
Event Overview
Sustainabili-Tea Talks is a three-day online event that will take place on May 25–27, with daily afternoon and evening sessions themed around tea to establish a casual and relaxed atmosphere for dialogue and networking. So bring your tea, coffee, or preferred drink to join online for the afternoon and/or evening talk and networking sessions.
On each day, a panel of three to five speakers will discuss the best-proven practices from cafes, restaurants, and other local businesses that have been implementing sustainable practices. Topics include case studies, waste reduction practices, benefits of community engagement, and opportunities in sustainable tourism.
A 45-minute speed networking session will follow, giving you the chance to engage with like-minded people, or even a potential business partner.
Who Should Join?
The event welcomes businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals across all sectors—such as owners of restaurants, cafes, co-working spaces, hotels, apparel shops, offices, or other companies in Japan. This is a great opportunity for you to share your ideas with other business people who are also passionate about supporting sustainability.
However, this event is not exclusively for business owners. Are you passionate about using sustainable services as a consumer? Feel free to get involved and voice your opinion on what you are looking for in a sustainable business or service.
Promoting Sustainability to Businesses
Organizing Sustainabili-Tea Talks is just one of many efforts that event co-chair Philip Nguyen is doing to push sustainability among businesses. With a background and PhD in environmental science, Philip was inspired by entrepreneurship as a way to create a bigger impact on the path towards sustainability. So, right after his doctorate, he jumped straight into the business world—with no experience whatsoever—and launched his own start-up, Gochiso Inc.
His first business endeavor was a reservation system connecting restaurants with non-profit organizations. He wanted to provide a tool for young people to find and go to restaurants that promote social values. If you made a booking through his site, 10–20 percent of your bill would be donated to a nonprofit partner of your choice from their list of partnered organizations.
However, everything has changed since Covid-19, and as promoting eating out did not align with safety precautions, he started to brainstorm ways to achieve his original goal of having an easy way for people to contribute to the environment and society. After engaging with local communities, he found that consumers had a hard time finding sustainability-focused shops, and shop owners had trouble reaching out to eco-conscious consumers.
That was the start of mamoru, an application that pinpoints shops which focus on sustainability, the businesses that are making an impact and increasing access to sustainable living for consumers.
Sustainabili-Tea Talks was born in alignment with the mamoru app, to grow the community of sustainability-focused businesses and increase access to sustainable living.
How to Register
You can RSVP for tickets to Sustainabili-Tea Talks now!
Online May 25–May 27
(2:30pm–4:30pm & 6:30pm–8:30pm)
Learn more about the speakers and sessions, and view different tickets and how to purchase below:
