Founded in Great Britain around 1989, Green Drinks is an international organization with more than 400 chapters around the world bringing people together over the environment. Green Drinks was brought to St. Louis by Krista Durlas and Brian Merkel in the early 2000s when they moved here from Chicago, which had a very large and active Green Drinks chapter.
Until 2013, St. Louis Green Drinks met monthly, usually at Schlafly Bottleworks. Core organizers included KatyMike Smaistrla, Brian DeSmet, Matthew Brown, Phil Judd and Terry Winkelmann. At the time, it was one of the few places to explore topics such as renewable energy in a social setting. The team worked hard to produce monthly educational sessions featuring panels of experts in the non profit and emerging green business community.
Elsewhere in the world, Green Drinks are more social than educational and more industry-focused than public.Â
In the 2020s, Green Drinks is presented locally by Earthday 365.Â