ABOUT THE AWARD
The Greg Steltenpohl Pragmatic Visionary Award seeks to encourage and support innovators, entrepreneurs, and change makers building a more positive, plant-centric food system. With a $100,000 annual prize, the award celebrates vision in action and values manifested through businesses that generate personal, community, and planetary health.
Each year, The Greg Steltenpohl Pragmatic Visionary Award will present funds to an early stage food-venture to enable or expand the accomplishments, reach and impact of their work. In collaboration with the Plant Futures Initiative, recipients will participate in a documentary case study to share and inspire others to implement ways of transforming the world of entrepreneurship, capitalism and culture.
Innovations in any capacity of the food system from “soil to soul” are of interest. Alongside the merit of the team and its strategy, initiatives will be evaluated for their embodiment of four core entrepreneurial principles that Greg championed throughout his career:
SYSTEMS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
A holistic understanding of the food system that leads to purposeful engagement with one or more interconnected issues of the food system – such as personal well-being, environmental health, equity and access – inherent at the core of the enterprise and its design.
PRAGMATIC
VISION
The ability to define a more positive future while maintaining a bias for action; recognition that positive transformation is an ongoing process free from perfection.
ETHICAL
LEADERSHIP
A values-driven mindset that benefits a broad and diverse group of stakeholders (consumers, employees, producers, mission participants) particularly in the areas of diversity, inclusion, justice, and security.
CREATIVE
TRANSFORMATION
Working to evolve commerce and culture from ego-centric to community and eco-centric organization.