A lover of life and an environmentalist at heart, Chris Bentley had spent over a decade looking for ways to minimize his environmental footprint. Based in Colorado, Chris was active in the entrepreneurial business community where he saw the Natural Foods movement adopt Organic Certification and the Outdoor Industry collaborate to build innovative sustainability tools. With over 25 years of success in the pet products industry, first with Aspen Pet and then with Only Natural Pet and “I and Love and You,” he knew there was an opportunity to drive impact in an industry he had grown to know and love.
Together with fellow sustainable business leader Marty Grosjean at Only Natural Pet, Chris partnered with sustainability icon Hunter Lovins at Natural Capitalism Solutions to develop a suite of sustainability tools that could provide their respective companies the resources they needed to implement sustainable business processes.
The outcome of this project was a world class toolkit built by Natural Capitalism Solutions that had far reaching potential. The new vision for these tools was to serve as a transformative catalyst that would enable the entire pet industry to engage more positively with the environment and communities where they do business.
When complete, Chris, Natural Capitalism Solutions, the Outdoor Industry Association, and 25 business leaders met at Global Pet Expo 2013 where they formed a new nonprofit collaborative that would share tools and resources to encourage adoption of sustainable business practices. KD Frueh at KONG Company, Tony de Vos at Cardinal Pet Care, Jim Thomas at Petco, Spencer Williams at West Paw, Stephanie Volo at Planet Dog, and Aaron Lambstein at Worldwise joined Only Natural Pet and I and Love and You to become Founding Members of the Pet Sustainability Coalition. These 8 Founding Members continued to make large financial contributions for five consecutive years that served as the Coalition’s primary revenue and lifeblood!
Caitlyn Bolton Dudas, PSC’s Executive and CoFounder was a part of the original toolkit team at Natural Capitalism Solutions. With a background in the nonprofit sector, a Master’s degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability and unrelenting passion for sustainable business, Caitlyn has grown PSC from a small grassroots gathering to a deeply credible, financially sustainable, and values led organization.
To learn more about PSC, our vision, partners, team and advisory board visit our About Us page.
