• by Tony Silber , Staff Writer, January 24, 2022

Salesforce and Fortune magazine’s Brand Studios are teaming for a 12-episode streaming documentary-style series featuring everyday people working to solve climate-related challenges.

Called “The Ecopreneurs,” the series debuted last week at Salesforce+, a service that offers live experiences and on-demand original content across a wide spectrum of roles, industries and business types. The idea is to take viewers out of the conference room and into real-world ventures, as well as share Salesforce’s and Fortune’s values around making business a platform for change.

The first episode of the "Ecopreneurs" highlights Michael Stewart, the co-founder-director of SeaTrees, a nonprofit entity that works to regenerate and protect “blue-carbon” coastal ecosystems. Blue carbon coastal ecosystems — mangroves, seagrass and salt marshes — are effective at sequestering carbon dioxide and can store up to 10 times more carbon than tropical rainforests.

But humans overlook these coastal ecosystems and continue to destroy them at a staggering rate. SeaTrees seeks to plant mangrove trees and restore kelp forests, coral reefs, seagrass meadows and conserve coastal watersheds.

“If we don’t stop before it’s too late, everything on the planet will become toxic and unable to support life,” Stewart said in a media announcement. “Saving the future lies in valuing emission removals as much as emission reductions, which is where SeaTrees comes in. We’ve found that people love the tangible idea of planting a tree. For us, it’s ‘plant that same tree in the ocean.’ ”

The series was produced by Fortune. The magazine’s team will host in-depth content on the ecopreneurs and the climate challenges highlighted in each episode.

“Business efforts to address environmental problems are clearly on the rise, with companies large and small devising innovative business models to help save the planet,” Fortune CEO Alan Murray said. “By partnering with Salesforce, we intend to shine a spotlight on some of the most exciting and effective entrepreneurs in this space. It’s part of Fortune’s continuing effort to make business better.”

Upcoming episodes will feature other climate and sustainability entrepreneurs, including Donnel Baird, founder-CEO of BlocPower, Grant Canary, founder-CEO of DroneSeed, and Constantino Aucca and Florent Kaiser, co-founder-CEO of Acción Andina.

“This first episode highlighting Michael Stewart’s entrepreneurial journey with SeaTrees is a chance to introduce viewers to the urgency of tackling climate change and the opportunity for businesses to be a driving force in this effort,” Whitney Johnston, Salesforce director of ocean sustainability said. “Salesforce’s blue-carbon program launched last year is dedicated to lifting up ecopreneur voices and inspiring others to get onboard.”