Earthsite

Founder · Closed · 2001–2016

One of the first digital agencies focused on sustainability. Web design, hosting, strategy and social media for natural food brands, sustainability organizations and nonprofits. Closed in 2016.

Clients
100+
Team at peak
10 people
Years of operation
about 15

The story

Empowering sustainable businesses with digital tools.

Earthsite was founded by Joey Shepp in 2001 with a simple but ambitious mission: to empower sustainable businesses with internet technology. At a time when digital tools were just beginning to reshape the marketplace, Earthsite positioned itself at the intersection of sustainability and technology — helping green businesses, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations build their online presence and reach wider audiences.

Impact

For nearly 15 years, Earthsite provided web development, digital strategy, and social media marketing services to a growing roster of clients in the organic food, nonprofit, and sustainable business sectors. The company became one of the first digital agencies focused exclusively on sustainability, supporting organizations that aligned with values of ecological responsibility and social good.

At its peak, Earthsite had a team of 10 professionals and worked with more than 100 clients nationwide. Its projects ranged from building e-commerce sites for natural food brands, to running social media campaigns for environmental causes, to managing the web infrastructure and digital catalogs for national sustainability events.

Notable clients

Earthsite’s client portfolio included some of the most recognized names in natural food and green business, such as:

  • Wallaby Yogurt
  • Numi Organic Tea
  • Rumiano Fine Natural Cheese
  • Redwood Hill Farm
  • Artisana Foods
  • Annie’s Homegrown
  • Fetzer Vineyards

Alongside these well-known consumer brands, Earthsite also partnered with nonprofits and events like Green Festival, Global Exchange, Roots of Change, and Care2.com, helping them expand their reach and amplify their impact.

Legacy

In 2016, after more than a decade of work supporting sustainable enterprises, Earthsite closed its doors as Joey turned to DailyNutra, the natural supplements company he had founded in 2014. The closure marked not an end, but a natural evolution: taking the lessons of sustainability-driven digital strategy into new entrepreneurial territory.

Today, Earthsite is remembered as one of the early pioneers of green digital marketing — a bridge between the rise of internet technology and the growth of the sustainability movement. Joey remains deeply grateful to the clients, collaborators, and team members who made Earthsite a success.

Client logos

Logos of 85 organizations Earthsite worked with over the years. Select a logo to see it larger.

Part of this

  • Talk

    Social Media Marketing for the Wine Industry (Handley Cellars)

    Speaker · Handley Cellars · Philo, CA · 7 August 2013

    Workshop for a winery team on social media marketing: storytelling, getting people to talk about the brand, wine marketing strategies, industry case studies and network-specific tactics.

  • Talk

    Social Media Marketing for the Wine Industry (Silicon Valley Business Journal)

    Speaker · Silicon Valley Business Journal · San Jose, CA · 17 July 2013

    How wine brands can use social media to build direct relationships with the people who drink their wine: storytelling, getting people to talk about the brand, marketing strategies, industry case studies and network-specific tactics.

  • Press piece

    Twitter handle @SocialVenture in the top 50 of social enterprise

    The Guardian Social Enterprise Network · 30 April 2013

    Joey's Twitter account was listed among the 50 most connected in social enterprise (research by Tweetminster).

  • Talk

    Social Media Marketing for the Wine Industry (Sonoma State University)

    Speaker · Sonoma State University · Rohnert Park, CA · 18 January 2013

    The same wine-industry social media material delivered to the Wine Intensive Executive MBA: an overview and best practices, wine industry case studies and resources, and specific tools.

  • Talk

    Personal Branding Through Social Media

    Speaker · Dominican University of California · San Rafael, CA · November 2012

    How to build a personal brand with social media: what personal branding is, discovering and telling your story, and creating and maintaining your brand, with advanced sections.

  • Talk

    Sustainable Work: Stay Sane, Increase Productivity and Live Longer in the Communication Age

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · May 2012

    Workshop on staying sane and productive in the communication age: the health dangers of sedentary, screen-heavy work and multitasking, with practices for the mind and for the body.

  • Talk

    MBA in Social Media

    Speaker · Venture Greenhouse · 2012

    How to run a start-up or small business on social media technology: internet trends, then applications to operations, marketing and finance, what comes next, and discussion.

  • Talk

    Communicating Sustainability Using Social Media

    Speaker · Agrion · Online · 28 September 2011

    Webinar on communicating sustainability with social media: internet and social platform trends, why transparency and authenticity suit sustainable business, and how to avoid greenwashing.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Social Good (EcoFair Marin)

    Speaker · EcoFair Marin · September 2011

    Ten ways social media can serve social good: education, democracy, love, money, disaster response, mobility, local news, citizen science, local food and farming.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Sustainable Enterprise

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · 13 May 2011

    Workshop on social media as the tipping point for sustainable enterprise: internet trends, then applications to operations, marketing and finance, what comes next, and questions.

  • Talk

    How the Internet Is Redesigning Business (USGBC Redwood Empire Chapter)

    Speaker · U.S. Green Building Council Redwood Empire Chapter · Rohnert Park, CA · 20 April 2011

    Internet trends and what they mean for operations, marketing and finance, drawn from an MBA in digital media curriculum, followed by what comes next and discussion.

  • Talk

    Social Good Media: How to Leverage Social Media for Social Good

    Speaker · Dominican University of California · San Rafael, CA · April 2011

    Guest lecture in a Green and Social Marketing course on social media for social good: social media trends, a revolution in education, and examples of social good media.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Green Careers

    Speaker · Eucalyptus Magazine Green Careers Expo · April 2011

    How to use social media to advance a sustainability career: growth in green jobs, a personal brand, profile tips for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and documenting your work online.

  • Talk

    How the Internet Is Redesigning Business

    Speaker · California College of the Arts · San Francisco, CA · 10 March 2011

    Internet trends and what they mean for operations, marketing and finance, presented as the basis for an MBA in digital media curriculum, followed by what comes next and discussion.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Local Government

    Speaker · County of Marin · San Rafael, CA · 2 February 2011

    Short presentation to Marin County government on social media for local government: usage trends, the new marketing landscape, open government and data, and best practices.

  • Talk

    Leveraging Social Media for Sustainable Business (Greentelligence teleseminar)

    Speaker · Greentelligence · Online · October 2010

    Teleseminar on how social media principles align with sustainable business: transparency, cooperation, localization and networks, and how social media is changing media.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Sustainable Business (Presidio MBA, Fall 2010 refresh)

    Speaker · Presidio Graduate School · San Francisco, CA · October 2010

    Updated Presidio MBA session on social media for sustainable business with a larger applications section: mobile check-ins, group buying, crowdfunding, social ads and micropayments.

  • Press piece

    Joey Shepp interviewed by Cohn & Wolfe at Sustainable Brands 2010

    Cohn & Wolfe · 14 June 2010

    Conference interview on brand leadership and transparency.

  • Talk

    Advice From the Experts on Social Media Engagement (Sustainable Brands ’10)

    Panelist · Sustainable Brands · Monterey, CA · 10 June 2010

    Panel on social media as a change agent with Triple Pundit and Justmeans: the ecosystem of communities, news and brands, case studies, social media disasters and practical advice, with live Twitter questions.

  • Press piece

    GreenSmith Sessions: interview with Joey Shepp of Earthsite

    GreenSmith Sustainable Business Consulting · June 2010

    First guest on a podcast-style series about technology and green business.

  • Talk

    The Social Currency of Social Media (LOHAS Forum 2010)

    Speaker · LOHAS Forum · Boulder, CO · June 2010

    Why social media is worth more than its direct sales: measuring return, engagement as social currency, and case studies on brand value, leads, customer support and crowd-sourced innovation.

  • Press piece

    What’s the Social Currency of Social Media?

    TriplePundit · June 2010

    TriplePundit write-up of Joey's LOHAS Forum talk on engagement as social currency.

  • Talk

    Socially Responsible Media

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · May 2010

    Workshop on social media marketing for sustainable enterprises: principles, policy and ethics, crowd-sourced CSR, and a step-by-step plan from strategy and account setup to network building, content, ads and analytics.

  • Talk

    Social Media Rules (SocialBiz 2010)

    Speaker · SocialBiz · Petaluma, CA · 30 April 2010

    Talk on the rules that come with social media's power: listening first, community not consumers, brand monitoring, FTC disclosure, social media policy and ethics, and measuring return.

  • Talk

    Open Brands (North Bay Growth and Innovation Forum roundtable)

    Speaker · Northbay Growth & Innovation Forum · Santa Rosa, CA · 28 April 2010

    Roundtable talk on open brands and radical transparency, covering FTC endorsement guidelines, company social media policy, measuring return and case studies, with a companion deck on content, Facebook and Twitter management.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Internal Company Communications

    Speaker · ORC Western Occupational Safety & Health Group · Sonoma, CA · 2 March 2010

    How companies use social media inside the workplace for employee engagement, team collaboration and remote training: ten principles, case studies such as Deloitte, tools and adoption.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Sustainable Business (Presidio MBA, Spring 2010)

    Speaker · Presidio Graduate School · San Francisco, CA · 22 February 2010

    Presidio MBA class session on social media for sustainable business: trends, ten principles, why sustainable business suits transparency, stories and how-to steps.

  • Talk

    Exploring the World of Business Networking (Dominican University panel)

    Panelist · Dominican University of California · San Rafael, CA · 11 February 2010

    Class panel on business networking: panelists shared how networking shaped their careers, then answered student questions on approaching contacts, following up, and using LinkedIn and Facebook.

  • Talk

    Social Media 101 (Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster)

    Speaker · Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster · Rohnert Park, CA · February 2010

    Seminar on social media for sustainable business: trends, ten principles, and stories such as the Green Festival's year-round use of social media, ending with how-to steps.

  • Talk

    Web Design and Development

    Guest lecturer · Dominican University of California · San Rafael, CA · February 2010

    Introduction to building a website: types and objectives of sites, the development process from discovery to maintenance, hosting and analytics, ways to pay and find a developer, and content management systems.

  • Talk

    Open Brands: How Social Media Is Pushing Radical Transparency on Brand Management

    Speaker · LinkShare Symposium West · San Francisco, CA · 28 January 2010

    Social media and radical transparency in brand management: who controls a brand, FTC endorsement guidelines, company social media policy, measuring return, and case studies including The North Face and drugstore.com.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Green Business (Green Wine Summit panel)

    Panelist · Green Wine Summit · Santa Rosa, CA · 2 December 2009

    Panel on green communications as media and green practices both shift. The deck covered social media trends, why transparency suits green businesses, and how social media differs from older marketing.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Sustainable Business (Presidio MBA video)

    Speaker · Presidio Graduate School · San Francisco, CA · December 2009

    Presidio MBA session on social media for sustainable business: trends, ten principles, stories and how-to steps.

  • Talk

    Social Media for Sustainable Business (Green America Green Business Conference)

    Speaker · Green America Green Business Conference · San Francisco, CA · 11 November 2009

    Social media trends, ten principles and stories for sustainable business, including the Green Festival's year-round use of social media, with questions taken on Twitter.

  • Talk

    Going Green Makes Business Cents

    Co-presenter · First United Presbyterian Church · Oneonta, NY · 1 October 2009

    Community workshop for business owners on saving money by going green: energy efficiency, waste and water, with case studies of small businesses that cut costs.

  • Press piece

    Interview with Michael Leifer, InfluenceXchange

    influenceXchange · October 2009

    Video interview with Joey.

  • Talk

    Sustainable Social Media (Bioneers panel)

    Panelist · Bioneers · San Rafael, CA · October 2009

    Panel remarks on social media as a tipping point for sustainability, built on six ideas: radical transparency, many-to-many communication, reputation and accountability, collective wisdom, real-time collaboration and hyper-localization.

  • Talk

    The Green Workplace

    Speaker · CESSE 2009 Conference · Orlando, FL · 22 July 2009

    Workshop on a greener workplace: e-waste and energy waste, energy-efficient lighting and computing, the paperless office and a human resources approach to green initiatives.

  • Talk

    The Open Brand: Beyond Greenwashing (Green America webinar)

    Speaker · Green America · Online · July 2009

    Webinar on moving beyond greenwashing: the seven sins of greenwashing, how social media shifts control of a brand to the community, and case studies of campaigns that worked and failed.

  • Press piece

    Solar Living Institute Keeps Its Eye on the Prize (mentions Joey’s keynote)

    Examiner.com (LA Green Life) · 15 June 2009

    Examiner write-up of the Solar Living Institute's Green Careers conference at UCLA, noting Joey's session on why Twitter is useful for business.

  • Talk

    Social Media Marketing 101 Workshop (Earthsite)

    Speaker · Earthsite · Fairfax, CA · 12 June 2009

    Beginning-to-intermediate hands-on workshop on social media marketing for business: key concepts, listening first, the skills and budgets needed, then setting up and maintaining LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

  • Talk

    Green Careers Conference LA: Closing Keynote

    Speaker · Green Careers Conference LA · Los Angeles, CA · June 2009

    Closing keynote on using social media to build a personal brand and land a green job: profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and telling a cohesive career story. A bonus session looked at what green jobs look like.

  • Talk

    Speaker at the 6th Northbay Growth & Innovation Forum

    Speaker · Northbay Growth & Innovation Forum · Santa Rosa, CA · May 2009

    Customer-powered marketing for small and mid-sized businesses: social media trends, concepts, case studies and how-to steps.

  • Talk

    The Open Brand: Beyond Greenwashing (Sustainable Enterprise Conference 2009)

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · May 2009

    Sustainability messaging in a world of radical transparency: greenwashing failures and the seven sins, social media as a shift in who controls a brand, and how to respond.

  • Talk

    Green Search Engine Panel at AltSearchEngines Day

    Speaker · AltSearchEngines Day · San Francisco, CA · 30 March 2009

    Panel on green search at the second annual AltSearchEngines Day conference in San Francisco.

  • Talk

    Online Tools for the Future of Filmmaking

    Speaker · Wild & Scenic Film Festival · Nevada City, CA · 10 January 2009

    Workshop on online tools for filmmakers: script writing, raising money, casting, location scouting, equipment, editing, stock footage and distribution.

  • Talk

    The Open Brand: How Twitter Is Pushing Radical Transparency in Brand Management

    Speaker · Twitter 140 Conference · Mountain View, CA · 2009

    Introduction to a panel on open brands: how Twitter pushes radical transparency in brand management, with case studies including the Chevy Tahoe video contest and AmazonFail.

  • Talk

    Green Marketing 2.0 (EcoTuesday Sonoma)

    Speaker · EcoTuesday · Sonoma, CA · 24 June 2008

    How new media can carry green marketing built on trust: moving beyond greenwashing, free do-it-yourself tools such as blogs, video and social networks, and the web tools a small virtual business can use.

  • Press piece

    Interview on the Making It All Click online radio show

    Making It All Click · 14 May 2008

    Long-form interview on sustainability, entrepreneurship and values-driven web platforms.

  • Talk

    Green Marketing 2.0: It’s About Trust

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · May 2008

    Why peer-to-peer online communication is replacing top-down marketing: trust, moving beyond greenwashing, and free do-it-yourself tools such as blogs, video and social networks.

  • Press piece

    Holiday Waste Clogs Bay Area Landfills

    CBS 5 (KPIX), San Francisco · November 2007

    Green Beat segment on holiday gift-wrap waste, with Joey as a green expert.

  • Talk

    Web 2.0 Is Empowering Sustainable Business

    Speaker · Sustainable Enterprise Conference · Rohnert Park, CA · May 2007

    How start-ups and big businesses use Web 2.0 collaboration tools to improve results while lowering environmental impact, with demos of low-cost software.

  • Talk

    Keynote at Green Drinks: Delivering Green to Mainstream

    Speaker · Green Drinks · Novato, CA · 2007

    Delivering green to the mainstream: who the green consumers are, positioning green through authenticity, transparency and third-party verification, why they favor the internet, and online marketing tools.

  • Talk

    Panel: Decision Making 2.0 (Net Impact Professionals Summit)

    Speaker · Net Impact Professionals Summit · Chicago, IL · 28 October 2006

    Panel on how information technology can help consumers and employees make decisions friendlier to planet, people and profits, framed as a hands-on session rather than a technology pitch.

  • Press piece

    M.B.A.’s With Three Bottom Lines: People, Planet and Profit

    The New York Times · 8 January 2006

    Feature on business schools adopting a triple bottom line, quoting Joey as a Green MBA graduate who now leads internet marketing for Green Festival and helped found a web company for sustainable businesses.

  • Portfolio

    Earthsite websites

    Websites

    Screenshots of 37 websites Earthsite designed and built for natural food brands, sustainability groups and nonprofits.