Derrick Emsley is not only a brand champion but also a champion for our planet. With over 100 million trees planted, Emsley and his team now have their sights set on planting ONE BILLION trees. They do so through their model of planting ten trees whenever they sell a piece of clothing, tentree. You may be one of the many who discovered the brand during the pandemic when it became time to move from your traditional work wardrobe to something comfortable enough to wear while being stuck in virtual meetings all day yet stylish enough to feel still confident on camera. But tentree is no pandemic prodigy or overnight success. Derrick co-founded the business back in 2012. The idea sprung out of the tree-planting business he founded in college, with mixed results, leaving him feeling he could create something more impactful.

That new venture is now a social enterprise with 60% annual growth, powered by tentree directly connecting consumer action and environmentalism. The conversations that tentree consumers create as they realize their positive impact motivate Derrick and his team. tentree and Derrick are more than changemakers. They are innovators. To better track and showcase tentree's tree planting progress, the company developed veritree, a tool to collect data and manage data directly from the field, verify it against things like geospatial analysis, and inventory every tree so they are never double counted. This venture has now become a separate business which supports hundreds of organizations with their tree-planting goals. With over ten thousand companies globally committed to tree planting, veritree may soon outpace its parent.

Concerning partnerships, tentree, a certified B-corp, is understandably rigorous in determining who is the right fit. They earn the right to be every day, which results in collaborations with like-minded organizations such as National Geographic, Ocean Wise and Plant a Million Corrals. Despite these partnerships, you won't hear Emsley preach about sustainability. He and tentree live by the term "Environmental-ish," which is part of how they make environmentalism inclusive. Living environmental-ish means taking small earth-first steps that add to significant change for our planet. Small, sustainable steps have led to the sale of tentree products in fifteen countries through over 1,500 retailers across North America and Europe, with a growing team of nearly one hundred colleagues. They practice what they preach.

 In Derrick Emsley, the future of brand champions is right before us. Soon, he will be right in front of our SponsorshipX Whistler delegates.

Dive into the origins of tentree, from its humble beginnings as a college project to its evolution into a global social enterprise with 60% annual growth. Explore tentree's innovative approach to environmentalism, including the development of veritree, a tool to track and manage tree planting progress.

Join us at SponsorshipX Whistler to hear more from Derrick and be inspired by his vision for a greener, more sustainable future.

By Mark Harrison (MH3)

What about the most-watched television event in the world?

At the time of its showing, the Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremony in 2008 from the Beijing National Stadium – better known as the Bird's Nest – was the main stage for the program that garnered over two billion viewers for four hours of broadcasting of the 15,000 performers from all over the world. The ceremony, the most-watched television event in history, occurred on Friday the 8th, 2008, at 8 pm – the prominence of the number eight being its association with prosperity and confidence in Chinese.

Over 10,000 athletes will be ferried by 160 boats on a 6km route passing by famous landmarks, including the newly renovated Notre Dame Cathedral, and ending at the Eiffel Tower. The river parade will follow the course of the Seine, from east to west, departing from the Austerlitz bridge beside the Jardin des Plantes and passing around the two islands at the city's centre (the Île Saint Louis and the Île de la Cité) before passing under several bridges and gateways. Athletes on board the parade boats will get glimpses of some of the official Games venues, including Parc Urbain La Concorde, the Esplanade des Invalides, the Grand Palais, and lastly, the Iéna Bridge, where the parade will come to a stop before the ceremony finale at the Trocadéros. 

Several hundred thousand spectators will be watching from the shores as boats stream past (like my pun) and augmented by over eighty onshore screens. The original plans for two million live spectators are in flux due to logistical and security concerns.

Undeterred, the Olympic Broadcasting Service has elaborate plans to cover this unique event from land, sea, and air. The broadcast team will utilize three helicopters, eight drones, and four specially built stabilized boars, each fitted with seven cameras and three robotic arms. If you don't believe your mobile phone is a movie camera, you should now, as the OBS will deploy more than two hundred mobile phones as what they call "POV cameras" in National Olympic Committee boats. Thank you, 5G!

Meanwhile, the AFP will deploy dozens of content gatherers and hundreds of camera positions along the route on every facet, team, and Opening Ceremonies presentation to outlets worldwide in six languages. 

From a project planning standpoint, the OBS and AFP see the Paris Games as two events. Given its magnitude, impact, and planning requirements, the Opening Ceremony is a stand-alone event, while the Games themselves are a separate event. In both cases, the broadcaster and media gatherer plan to go to great lengths to celebrate the city and country's history. That starts with a nod to Paris being the birthplace of cinema.

In December 1895 in Paris, the first presentation of a projected moving picture to a paying audience was staged by the Lumière brothers. In tribute to this innovation in Paris and to capture the city's beauty, the OBS will utilize cinematic lenses for the first time in Games history. These lenses bring more emotional storytelling in broadcasts for MLB and NFL, and I suspect they will do the same in Paris.

While the cinematic approach is a nod to history, the next wave of broadcasting is also receiving its nod as new sports to the Olympics, such as Breaking, Skateboarding, and 3v3 Basketball, are being shot and broadcast live in 8k, which will provide incredible detail and lifelike imagery. Now, if only I had an 8k TV!

A significant non-technical feature of the 2024 Games broadcasts is the ongoing effort to ensure gender balance. These Games are touted as the first gender-equal Olympics in history, which, due to the complexity of national athlete selection, may still need to be realized, but that is the plan. The OBS is putting t

Thoughtful and inclusive planning in place to ensure equal representation behind the camera.

These plans include a 50% increase in hiring of female commentators in comparison to Tokyo 2020 and staffing two-thirds of broadcast venue management roles with women. A critical ongoing initiative is the IOC Portrayal Guideline, which ensures that all athletes are featured for their athleticism, not superficial reasons. Suffice it to say that the broadcast product should feel more inclusive to the viewer by being more diverse behind the camera and on the microphone. 

In addition to pushing harder for gender equality, the OBS is also highly conscious of reducing its sustainable footprint. Despite the expansion of coverage, use of more innovative tech, and the complexity of the Opening Ceremonies, they claim to be using 29% less power for their efforts. It will be heralded as a creative and impactful approach if they succeed.

I doubt that Mr. Bean will be returning to the Paris Opening Ceremonies, but I suspect the organizers will have some celebrity cameos for the fans. No doubt. However, we all know the athletes are true stars of the Olympics. Paris 2024 will be a thrilling opportunity to witness packed venues cheering on these competitors who have worked all their lives for their Olympic moment. 

It will be the first time since 2018 that international fans from across the globe will experience the Games’ environment in real life. 

Indeed, the pandemic convinced me that sports aren't sports without the fans. You will agree. That impact applies to the in-person experience and the broadcast experience almost equally. Fans in the stands and throughout the city of Paris will make the athlete experience even more rewarding and bring an exciting atmosphere to you wherever you are watching. However, you are consuming, whether it be your mobile phone, your flatscreen at home or on a movie theatre screen near you.

Mark Harrison