Environment

Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, and Profits

By cjliu | June 14, 2012

Sweet Beginnings is a triple bottom line social enterprise business offering transitional green collar jobs producing honey in one of the most severely economically disadvantaged communities in the city of Chicago. Sweet Beginnings is located in an urban neighborhood setting and manufacturing and marketing honey-based personal care products under the beeline® label throughout the Midwest region at Whole Food stores and high-end specialty boutiques, like Mark Shale. Show Highlights:

Part 1: The Sweet Beginnings of Beeline products: Brenda Palms Barber CEO of Sweet Beginnings shares her incredible story. Her company offers jobs as bee keepers to ex-offenders, protects the fragile bee population, and offers natural clean skincare products. Get inspired by Brenda’s conviction and tenacity and how she helped her community.
Part 2: Open up your minds and hearts: Bees and ex-offenders have more similarities than meets the eye. Both have a social stigma and are sometimes feared by others. However, like bees, ex-offenders can play a vital role and can contribute to society if given a chance. You’ll be buzzing with excitement after you hear what Brenda has done with bees, you may be off buying a hive yourself?

About our Guest: Brenda Palms Barber Chief Executive Officer, Sweet Beginnings, LLC Board of Directors, North Lawndale Employment Network The NLEN mission is to improve the earnings potential of residents in North Lawndale, one of the most severely economically disadvantaged communities in the city of Chicago. Because of the lack of job opportunities available to NLEN clients, Brenda developed an innovative social enterprise business called Sweet Beginnings, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of NLEN, Sweet Beginnings is a transitional jobs program that provides green collar jobs producing honey in an urban neighborhood setting and manufacturing and marketing honey-based personal care products under the beeline® label throughout the Midwest region at Whole Food stores and high-end specialty boutiques, like Mark Shale. Under Brenda’s leadership, NLEN received one of the first 2006 MacArthur Foundation Awards for Creative and Effective Institutions, the Shore Bank Community Impact Award in 2007 and the federal Going Home Pilot Program in partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Most recently, Brenda has joined the Board of Directors for the Emergency Fund. Brenda holds a Bachelor degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and in July 2008 attended the Harvard Business School, Strategic Perspectives in Non Profit Management, as a Roman Nomitch Fellow, and scholarship recipient. Brenda was also a member of the second class of graduates from the Chicago Urban League’s nextOne program, an intensive business marketing entrepreneurial training program that included classes at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Most recently, Brenda was featured in the April issue of Chicago Magazine as a 2009 Green Awards recipient, was the 2008 Aspen Institute Ideas Fellow, and was awarded the 2009 Phenomenal Woman Award by the Black Women’s Expo. Recent Media: ABC’s Living Green; NPR, The Story with Dick Gordon; The Root.com – Green Hero Award; 2009 NBC Jefferson Award; Chicago Sun-Times; Chicago Tribune; Chicago Urban League; Next TV on Fox; ABC’s Living Green with José Saunders. Resources: