GreenBiz changing name to Trellis

GreenBiz, which launched in 1999 to cover the intersection of business and the environment, is changing its name to Trellis Group.

Co-founder and chairman Joel Makower writes, “‘Trellis’ offers a wealth of connotations and metaphors beyond the obvious arboreal one: an open network of interwoven and interconnected pieces; a platform or framework on which to build something of value; a support system that provides stability and signals a direction in which to move.

“All these resonate with us as we confront an era in which social, political and economic issues are inextricably linked with environmental ones, a complex web of climate, plastics, biodiversity, water, social equity and other crises that requires more nuanced approaches and innovative thinking — from sustainability leaders, as well as from us.

“GreenBiz.com actually goes back more than 25 years to 1997, when I created a presence on the burgeoning World Wide Web for my then-six-year-old monthly print publication, ‘The Green Business Letter.’ In 1999, seeking to create a home for the growing lode of online resources on the topic of business and the environment — from associations, nonprofit groups, academics, consultancies, public agencies and companies themselves — GreenBiz.com morphed into a nonprofit knowledge hub: “The resource center on business, the environment and the bottom line,” read its tagline.

“In 2006, veteran B2B publishing exec Pete May and I purchased GreenBiz.com and its assets from the nonprofit to create a new company to commercialize the website. We added digital media, events, a professional network, research reports and more.”

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