Green Drinks: Simple, Unstructured...a talk with founder Edwin Datschefski

LiveGreen recently had a chance to sit down for a pint and a chat with Green Drinks founder Edwin Datschefski. Actually, it was virtual...Edwin being in the UK, LiveGreen from San Diego. ;)

Communication is key...we are very grateful to Edwin for allowing us an interview with one of the visionaries behind the fastest-growing environmentally aware communities in the world. In more than 200 cities around the world, Green Drinks is an unstructured, informal and random networking idea that brings people together every month to talk about all things green. I think the logo for Green Drinks Chattanooga encompasses the philosophy behind Green Drinks best.

The beginnings of Green Drinks is unlike any I’ve ever heard of. In 1989, Edwin found himself in a northern London pub called The Slug and Lettuce. While sharing a pint with several of his green design colleagues, Edwin noticed an enviro-minded acquaintance at a table nearby. As it turned out Edwin said, the friend was sitting with a few of his eco-conscious mates, so we pulled some tables together…and so a movement was born.

The original founders of Green Drinks are Edwin Datschefski, Yorick Benjamin and Paul Scott. A few years after starting Green Drinks, Edwin focused on setting up the greendrinks.org website in order to spread this great idea to other cities. Such a simple idea has brought like-minded people together in places like New York, London, and Amsterdam…all the way to places like Buenos Aires, Malta and San Juan.

What does Edwin see for Green Drinks in the next five years? More cities! Apart from that, we've toyed a lot with the format, but the basic theme of unstructured, informal random networking seems very stable and I don't see it evolving much though we give it every opportunity to do so.

Visit the greendrinks.org websites to find a local meeting near you. All you have to do is show up, grab a drink, and start talking. Cheers!