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Dr. Brian Natrass had an epiphany when University of London Professor Gordon Goodman, speaking to the leaders of the Earth Council in 1993, said that by the end of 2001 humankind would be lucky if there are 100 million people left on the planet. 

The ex-attorney said that Goodman’s research showed that the life sustaining resources, such as the oceans, forests and fossil fuels, are in a state of steady depletion, while human population is steadily growing. 

Since that day, when Natrass went into a fit of hyperventilation in front of the 21 leaders of the organization that promotes the implementation of the 1992 Earth Summit – including former President Jimmy Carter and the late Jacques Cousteau – he said he has “set out on a personal odyssey to find corporate responsibility.” 

“That information was overwhelming,” the keynote speaker told some 60 audience members at a seminar called “Improving Your Bottom Line,” a gathering at the Berkeley Yacht Club Wednesday to discuss the sustainable business model Natrass calls “The Natural Step.” 

With growing interest and concern in sustainable business practices – ones that take social and environmental issues into account – Natrass’ model and book “The Natural Step for Business,” is an aid for business people like the mother and son team of Orrel and Derek Lanter, the owners of Uncommon Grounds, Inc., a Berkeley-based specialty coffee wholesaler. 

“Since we’ve met Brian, we’ve been able to bring this out into the community as a model,” said Orrel Lanter, president of Uncommon Grounds, whom her son refers to as a “dynamo.” 

“I’m from the ’60s,” she said. “I’ve been a social activist forever, and (sustainable business) is an important movement,” she said. 

Derek Lanter, Natrass, Mayor Shirley Dean – who challenged the audience to make Berkeley the first sustainable urban community in the world – and others spoke at the meeting hosted by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, the West Berkeley Association of Industrial Companies and the Sustainable Business Alliance of Berkeley. 

“It’s the way to do business without destroying our livelihood, which is the world we live in,” Lanter said. 

Lanter added that half of Americans drink coffee, and it’s second only to oil as the largest traded commodity in the world. 

“By using organic farming methods, shade-growth techniques and fair-trade practices, we learn to be sustainable,” he said. 

Shade-grown coffee is grown under the existing rain-forest canopy. 

“Shade-grown coffee is grown in harmony with the rainforest,” said David Griswold, President of Sustainable Harvest. 

“Coffee is uniquely tied to the source of its supply. Rainforests have been denuded and clear-cut, (making organic coffee farming difficult).”  

Orrel Lanter said that coffee that is grown by small farmers is grown organically with plants shaded by forest canopy that also provides habitat for birds. Corporate-owned coffee farms have developed sun-intensive coffee strains that can grow without shade, but need lots of pesticides. Soil depletion is another problem on these corporate farms, she said. 

In some cases, farmers on small farms will receive only 20 cents per pound of coffee, which sometimes sells for $8 or $9 in the booming gourmet coffee market, Griswold said. 

However, farmers working for companies that participate in fair-trade – such as Uncommon Grounds – receive up to $1.50 per pound. 

Hillary Abell, Director of Development for the Oakland-based non-profit TransFair USA, a group that determines if a company is engaging in fair-trade practices, said that her organization places a fair-trade logo on products that adhere to authentic fair-trade practices. 

“We hope that this logo gets as much recognition as Juan Valdez,” she said. 

She added that consumer education is paramount. 

Dr. Natrass said that he is scheduled to meet with several large corporations such as Nike, Ikea and even the U.S. Marines. 

“The Marines say that they’re the first on the beach and into battle,” he said. “They want to beat the other forces into this.”