Jonathan Greenblatt wants to change the world, one bottle of water at a time.
In his keynote speech for the sixth annual Integrity Week, the co-founder of Ethos Water discussed how his company came to be and its continued mission to provide the world's children with clean drinking water.
Witnessing global poverty firsthand while abroad early in his political science career gave Greenblatt the idea for Ethos Water.
"I want to change the world," he told his parents.
And the statistics give weight to Greenblatt's mission: 1.2 billion people worldwide - about 20 percent of the global population - lack clean drinking water; 2.5 billion people do not have the proper sanitation. On top of this, five million people a year die from water-related health issues.
Greenblatt said the estimated cost to provide a lifetime supply of water to one person is only $25.
And so Greenblatt began to work toward his goal, starting small - working out of his son's bedroom with only a borrowed Volvo station wagon to distribute the product.
Greenblatt's goal was to raise $10 million in five years.
The local enterprise grew from individual health clubs, schools and cafes to Whole Foods stores, and five years ago to one of the nation's fastest-growing businesses: Starbucks.
As of today, Ethos Water is sold in 6,000 Starbucks coffee shops nationwide, reaching about 40 million people each week. For every bottle of Ethos Water Starbucks sells, five cents has gone to alleviating the global water crisis.
By 2008, nearly 100,000 stores will stock Ethos Water via Pepsi, which recently bought out the company.
The key to a succesful enterprise, according to Greenblatt, is authenticity. It is the genuine desire to do good that will ultimately sell your product to the people, he said.
"It's interesting to see how Greenblatt merges business with philanthropy," College senior Elana Wilf said.
Greenblatt hopes that Ethos Water will ignite a movement to convert individuals as well as corporations into activists who change the world through their products and purchases.
College sophomore Calvin Gruss said Greenblatt's speech was "inspiring: He really made you want to make a difference in the world."
