Carl Frankel is a nationally-known entrepreneur, consultant, writer and journalist specializing in business and sustainable development. His areas of expertise include planning, strategizing, visioning, leadership, strategic communications, ‘green’ business, and the “art of the start.”
He is currently president of Our Community Networks (OCN), a social enterprise that builds and manages local and regional online community portals that enable people to connect locally. OCN differs from other community portal businesses in that it uses a distributed, multi-partner architecture. The company’s specialized software is attached to local organizations’ websites and then interconnected, enabling community information to be shared no matter what website “door” the user enters through. OCN dedicates a minimum of 20% of profits to cause non-profits that are partners in its networks.
Frankel has been working in socially responsible business since the late 1980s, when he authored business studies on green consumerism and the commercial implications of environmental technologies. In 1990 he founded Green MarketAlert, a newsletter tracking green business strategies that he wrote, edited and published until 1994. He then became North American editor for Tomorrow Magazine, which tracked issues relating to global corporations and sustainable development. He also served as Contributing Editor to Yes! The Journal of Positive Futures, and as Senior Columnist for Green@Work Magazine.
Frankel subsequently served as Manager of Special Projects and Advisor to the Chairman of ManyOne Networks, a cutting-edge social enterprise.
Frankel’s 1998 book, In Earth’s Company: Business, Environment, and the Challenge of Sustainability (New Society), has been called “the best book I have seen about the business aspects of sustainable development” (David Buzzelli, co-chair, President’s Council on Sustainable Development).
His 2004 book, Out of the Labyrinth: Who We Are, How We Go Wrong, and What We Can Do About It, “takes the literature on sustainability to a new level” (Hazel Henderson). According to Interface chairman Ray Anderson, it is “a magnificent book and required reading for anyone who yearns for a better world.”
Frankel is also a lead author on a major paper on social enterprise, The Emerging Fourth Sector, that will be published by the Aspen Institute in 2008.
As a consultant, Frankel has worked with large corporations, socially responsible start-ups, business and sustainability consultancies, and non-profits. Past clients include Collins & Aikman, the WorldWide Fund for Nature, the Buckminster Fuller Institute, the Conference Board, Canopy Development, Natural Logic, Ecos Corporation, and many more.
As a speaker, Frankel has keynoted major conferences such as GEMI and CERES. He has guest lectured at programs like the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, corporations like Nike and Con Edison, and universities, including Cornell University and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Prior to specializing in business and sustainability, Frankel owned and operated Entelechy Corp., a business research company specializing in the commercial potential of new electronic technologies. At Entelechy Corp., he oversaw the publication of over 80 book--length business studies involving market research and market sizings.
He previously worked as a criminal lawyer and in publishing.
Frankel is a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School.