Green Options » boulder

LOHAS Forum 2009: Conscious Commerce, Green Capitalism, and Great Connections

Derek Markham — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:52:36 +0000

The 13th annual LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Forum, held in Boulder last week, brought some of the world’s most influential conscious commerce leaders, green businesses, and inspiring personalities together for three days, building connections and exchanging ideas for a brighter world and healthier planet.

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Over 500 people from all over the globe filled the St. Julian hotel, and representatives from about 260 businesses were in attendance. The air was filled with that electric feeling present at every gathering of like-minded people, and during breaks in the sessions, connections were made, business cards exchanged, and deals and joint ventures were being built.

For the LOHAS business owner, the Forum was filled with practical information, including sessions covering LOHAS Market Data, engaging multicultural markets, investing in human capital, and branding for sustainability. The LOHAS market worldwide is estimated at over $209 billion a year and growing, and includes businesses that focus on sustainable living, health and fitness, the environment, and social justice. This new-ish market is booming, and companies that attended the Forum were hungry to know more about bringing their message to the mainstream.

For the human side of businesses, speakers such as Hunter Lovins (CEO of Natural Capitalism), Wade Davis (National Geographic), John Marshall Roberts (author of Igniting Inspiration), and Andrew Cohen (EnlightenNext) inspired and energized their audiences to continue to be engaged in positive change.

The Forum wasn’t only comprised of small businesses and niche market representatives, either. Some large mainstream companies like Coca Cola, eBay, Facebook’s Causes.com, and Wal Mart were among the presenters, and for some, this crossover interest in LOHAS is a sign of things to come.

“As we find ourselves at a critical crossroads within the business community, LOHAS is in the perfect position to help expand the ‘green’ marketplace by facilitating new relationships across industries.” - Ted Ning, LOHAS Forum Director

With sessions like “Lessons from a Radical Industrialist” by Interface Chairman Ray Anderson, and “Fortune 500 Companies Going LOHAS”, with representatives from Coca Cola and Wal Mart, the Forum helped to highlight the bridges to sustainability being built by big business.

If your eco-business needs a boost and you’d like to build your network and be informed about the opportunities and lessons of others, you don’t want to miss the LOHAS Forum next year!

Image:epSos.de at Flickr under CC License

Municipal Solar Financing: The Biggest Revolution that You’ve Never Heard Of

Ariel Schwartz — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:29:26 +0000

The whole thing is happening without flashy ad campaigns, so it’s not surprising if you’ve never heard of municipal solar financing. But the financing program, also known as property tax financing, is a veritable underground solar revolution.

Malta to Become First Smart Grid Island

Ariel Schwartz — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:11:43 +0000

PG&E may be installing millions of smart meters in Northern California, but the nation of Malta (pop. 400,000) is about to become the world’s first smart grid island. IBM is building the island’s national smart grid network, which will consist of 250,000 smart meters placed in homes around the country.

Boulder, CO Becomes the First U.S. Transition Town

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:26:47 +0000

The Transition Town initiative has been a fast-growing movement in the United Kingdom for over a year, with more than 50 towns currently signed up. Now the United States is catching up as Boulder, CO becomes the first official transition town in the country.

The Transition Town movement started in Kinsale, Ireland when permaculture teacher Rob Hopkins started thinking about the possibilities of applying permaculture theories to entire towns, instead of just to individual plots of land. Hopkins’ Energy Descent Action Plan provides a blueprint for towns hoping to transition to a more sustainable way of life.

Boulder County Going Local is an ambitious effort to prepare the area for the ramifications of climate change and peak oil.