I have always considered myself someone who thinks outside the box, a free spirit of sorts, at least as much of a free spirit as one can be as a mother of four.

Last year, when a dear friend of mine approached me to partner with him to create an affinity program around the environment, I thought this could be really cool. He then introduced me to one of the most interesting and spiritual men I have ever met who was absolutely committed to saving the planet and was willing to put his money behind the quest. How fortuitous, I could finally use my expertise to create something that would actually make the world a better place for my children with two very supportive partners and dear friends. How empowering is that?

I had read a report by Focalyst that said “As consumers get older, they become more aware of their legacy and leaving a positive mark on the world, especially us boomers.” One could say I was just following my destiny. This all came about around earth day in 2007 when you couldn’t take a step without some reference to global warming and the environment. There is something to be said for being in the right place at the right time.

So, in a very eco-friendly loft in North Hollywood, California EcoPerks was born. The goal was to create a destination, online, where people could feel safe to express their opinions and know that those opinions matter and could affect change, where they could learn from others, where they could be recognized and rewarded for having a positive impact on the planet.

Our approach is pretty simple. Create a community of like-minded people who ultimately will become passionate about saving the planet. Enable them to share experiences about what they are doing in their everyday lives to positively impact the environment.

Provide an easy way for them to calculate and understand their own impact, and then give them a bunch of ways to reduce and balance that impact.

Sounds easy enough except for one small detail - most people don’t like change no matter how positive it can be.

We needed to come up with a way to make these changes interesting and compelling. Enter “EcoPoints”, the currency that earn our members really cool stuff. Then we had to make it really easy to earn EcoPoints. Do the stuff you normally do, tell us about yourself and the EcoPoints will start to add up. The best part, everytime you earn an EcoPoint it means you are potentially making a difference. Now how empowering is that?

We all belong to rewards programs, or airline mileage programs, or carry credit cards that provide points for the things we purchase right? Now I’m sure you’re thinking “why do I need another points program, another profile, another password to remember?”

Here’s the secret: these are the easiest points you will ever earn and you will get access to the coolest stuff ever. Plus, you can triple dip with our points program. If you use your airlines credit card in our shopping mall you’ll get your miles plus you’ll get EcoPoints and you’ll also get points to contribute to an environmental organization. What better way to get the things you need while helping the environment and being rewarded for it?

Our underlying message to our community is Cool the World…It Matters and You Matter. When we say "cool" the world we mean, literally cool our planet’s atmosphere but also cool, as in calm and compose. As a people let’s slow down (cool off) and compose ourselves and think clearly about what needs to be done. "Cool" the world - make the planet a "groovy, excellent" place. It matters!

So join us to save the planet and you get the perks.