We’ve got a great opening speaker — honest!

We’re thrilled to announce that Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, will be a featured opening speaker at the 3^rd annual Green Schools National Conference.

Over the past 14 years, Honest Tea, the company Seth co-founded in 1998 with Professor Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management, has thrived as consumers have shifted toward healthier and more sustainable diets.  In March 2011, Honest Tea was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company, helping to further the reach and impact of Honest Tea’s mission by becoming the first organic and Fair Trade brand in  the world’s largest beverage distribution system.  Today, Honest Tea is the nation’s top selling ready-to-drink organic bottled tea, and is carried in more than 100,000 outlets.

An entrepreneur at heart, Seth started with lemonade stands and newspaper routes as a kid, created a non-profit urban service program, and nearly pursued a prize-winning biotechnology idea before he started Honest Tea in his kitchen back in 1998. Since then, the company has initiated community-based partnerships with suppliers in India, China and South Africa, and has created marketing partnerships with the Arbor Day Foundation, City Year, and RecycleBank. In addition to being named one of The Better World Shopping Guide’s “Ten Best Companies on the Planet based on their overall social and environmental record,” Honest Tea was also listed as one of PlanetGreen.com’s “Top 7 Green Corporations of 2010.” In 2010, The Huffington Post ranked Honest Tea as one of the leading “8 Revolutionary Socially Responsible Companies.”

Need more green credentials? In 2008, Seth co-founded Bethesda Green, a local sustainability initiative in Honest Tea’s hometown. The initiative helped area restaurants convert their grease waste into biodiesel, and has diverted over 200,000 lbs of electronic waste from landfills.  Bethesda Green hosts Maryland’s first green business incubator, with twelve start-ups currently in residence.  Seth serves on the boards of Bethesda Green, Happy Baby, The Calvert Foundation, the American Beverage Association, Repair the World, and the Advisory Board of Net Impact. In 2011, Seth was appointed by Governor Martin O’Malley to the Maryland Economic Development Commission.

So…what are you waiting for? Register now to join Seth in West Palm Beach!