John S. Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), stressed the urgency of addressing the incoming glut of electronic waste and other ways businesses and individuals can get in touch with their “green DNA” at California Black Chamber of Commerce’s annual Summit last week. The theme of this year’s conference at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel was “California Going Green,” and Shegerian was asked by the Chamber to provide insights on the future for green business and policies that work for both the environment and the economy.
Addressing a capacity audience of California’s premier black business leaders, Shegerian described his motto that “green is good” by explaining to the crowd that “…first you have to make a profit in your choice of green business as you get to participate in the green revolution. Then you can save the world! But you cannot accomplish anything relevant if you do not first create a sustainable company, focused on the bottom line.”
The California Black Chamber of Commerce is the largest African American non‐profit business organization in California, representing hundreds of businesses, affiliates and chambers of commerce throughout the state. The “California Going Green” conference was their biggest event of the year.
“It’s an honor and privilege to have been asked to speak at this important event before such an esteemed and influential audience,” said Shegerian. “It’s very rewarding to find groups of businesses within the greater business community that are willing to take the time to share ideas and spread the message of getting greener through simple and highly proactive measures. We tip our hats to the California Black Chamber of Commerce for taking such a leadership role in helping us promote the concept that ‘Green is Good’ and that there are both fiscal and environmental benefits to be gained through the proper recycling of electronics.”
Shegerian closed the panel discussion with a statement by Dr. Martin Luther King that is printed over the front door of ERI’s headquarters, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” Shegerian argued that everyone can be part of the green revolution, no matter where they are situated. “You have to look at everything we do and realize that all the old paradigms are in the process now of being transformed,” he said.