Green Options » green economy

Where are the Next Great Ideas for a Green Economy? Find ‘em… and Win!

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:25:58 +0000

Even with yesterday’s stock market rally, we’ve all got the economy on our minds… and, for the most part, we’re worrying about it. Our retirement accounts are shrinking, our jobs are less secure, and buying or selling a home seems like a fantasy. An injection of cash into the markets is welcome; an injection of new ideas is absolutely critical.

As I’ve noted in previous posts, Red, Green and Blue has teamed up with social media start-up ReframeIt to bring a higher level of transparency on energy and environmental issues to the presidential election. With the recent economic turmoil, though, we quickly realized we needed to connect these ideas with the economic concerns so many Americans now have. So, we’ve done that… and also added some financial incentives! Now, if you participate in the RG&B/ReframeIt scavenger hunt, you won’t just get a warm feeling from contributing to the stock of knowledge on both presidential candidates and their policy proposals — you’ll also have a shot at a $1000 grand prize, and a guest posting spot at RG&B.

For the latest details, check out yesterday’s post at Red, Green and Blue… and join us as we hunt for the information the next president will need to spur the transition towards a green economy.

Image credit: spaceodissey at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Four Reasons: Green still the way to go despite a nose-diving economy

Olga Orda — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:39:26 +0000

Photo credits: Wired.com.

Entrepreuneur.com recently wrote an excellent guide for small business owners on proactive moves they can take to survive - and better yet, thrive - in the nose-diving economy.

“You Can Weather the Economic Storm (Product price sensitivity and financial creativity can help you thrive in any economy)” is especially relevant for green entrepreneurs as many of the principles underlying Dennis Romero’s advice aligns with what sustainable business leaders already know: go for local resilience, understand the value of community-based goodwill and when in doubt, simply, simplify, simplify to the bare essentials (do the latest farm-fresh food recipes or eco-cleaning supplies mantras sound familiar, anyone?).

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Obama Must Be Listening To Van Jones, McCain Not So Much

Taylor Shelton — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:10:17 +0000

Although the cringing from last night’s uninspiring debate is over for the time being, today provides an excellent opportunity to look back at what was the first head-on collision between the two major party presidential candidates and the dual threat posed by global warming and our current economic crisis. This collision was the making of Ingrid Jackson, a student and social services worker from Nashville. In Tuesday’s town hall debate, Jackson asked:

“Sen. McCain…we saw that Congress moved pretty fast in the face of an economic crisis. I want to know what you would do in the first two years to make sure that Congress moves fast as far as environmental issues like climate change and green jobs.”
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Need a Green Job? Check Out Free Guide, Weekend Events

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:42:49 +0000

Looking for a real job, one that not only pays you but pays dividends for the planet as well? Well, if you’re in California, or open to moving there, a free “Green Jobs Guidebook” becomes available online tomorrow.

Developed by the Environmental Defense Fund in partnership with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the electronic guidebook can be downloaded here starting Sept. 25.

And if you’re looking to publicly advocate for the creation of more green jobs, why not join the Ella Baker Center’s Saturday, Sept. 27, Green Jobs Now! rally and concert? The event, part of the center’s Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. at Mosswood Park in Oakland.

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Liberal Democrats Advocate Green Ecomony

Chris Milton — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:12:51 +0000

It’s conference season in the UK, coinciding with the US Conventions. The difference is that UK political conferences happen once a year, while the US conventions happen once every four years.

The UK’s third party, the Liberal Democrats are not some kind of Ross Perot outfit who snipe from the sidelines. Liberalism is a a huge part of the British psyche — 100 years ago it was in the defacto Government/Opposition in a two party system and many UK politicians still cling to their liberal credentials.

Subsumed for a small time by the socialist agenda, liberalism may be set for a resurgence. Both Conservatives and Labour wish to prescribe remedies to the population, but only Liberalism allows the people to be educated and make their own decisions.

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10 Ways that Social Media and Sustainability Line Up

Max Gladwell — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:27:50 +0000

The mega-trends of social media and sustainability share plenty of the same DNA.

The Arnold Palmer is an exceptional beverage. It takes two individual beverages, iced tea and lemonade, each very good in their own right, and creates an even better one. That’s how we feel about social media and green living i.e. sustainability.

There is nothing inherently green about social media. The Web 2.0 revolution is driven by code and the Internet as a platform. According to Wikipedia, it describes this as a trend in “technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.” This is largely a virtual world.

The move toward sustainability, on the other hand, is taking place entirely offline in the actual world. It is about balancing our impact and more wisely managing our natural resources. The United Nations describes it as commitment to “the provision of a secure environmental, social, and economic future.”

As different as they are, these two trends share one key quality: they’re changing the world for the better. They are changing politics, business, culture, and society. In the following we explore 10 ways that the trends of social media and sustainability intersect as well as align.

Special Note: Sustainablog and Max Gladwell are supporting Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). By clicking this l i nk and signing up for SocialVibe, once featured in our Ten Ways to Change the World Through Social Media, you’ll effectively donate $1 to the cause. We also encourage you to watch the live telecast on ABC, CBS, and NBC, September 5th, at 8:00pm ET/PT.

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Putting Green In The Bank

Jake Kulju — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:33:07 +0000

Building sustainable enterprise. Protecting the environment. Investing in social equity.

Doesn’t sound like your bank? That’s because it probably isn’t. The soon-to-be-new e3bank in Philadelphia is positioned to be the first green triple bottom line bank in New England.

From infrastructure to product and service offerings, everything the organization is involved with will be built upon the triple bottom line values of people, planet and prosperity. The bank is mobilized around a green economy and a sustainable environment, as well as supporting growing consumer and business demands around these issues.

“A commitment to the future is embedded in the DNA of e3bank,” chairman Sandy Wiggins said. “The financial industry has a large role to play in the societal shift to a sustainable world. The emerging green economy needs to be fueled by financial products and services specifically designed to accelerate its growth, and serviced by financial experts who ‘get it’ and who understand the urgency of this shift.”

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ABC’s for Green Investors and Entrepreneurs

Mark Winstein — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:48:16 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I’d like to thank Green Options for inviting me to join their team of writers.

I’ve been an eco-entrepreneur my whole career, over 25 years. These days, I help connect green leaders and the general public in new ways that accelerate benefits to people and the biosphere.

One of the most vital, energetic, and promising links between green leaders and the general public is green investing. In my opinion, the world of finance shapes our economy even more than government, yet it is one of the least understood fields, especially for environmentally-minded people.

Leadership in finance is essential to getting a grip on society’s ecological footprint. Still, most green activists focus primarily on pure education and government policy. A smaller group of activists focuses on corporate policy. For the past 7 years, I’ve focused exclusively on how to actually finance green businesses and infrastructure projects. In the weeks ahead, I’ll be stepping you through what I’ve learned, and bringing some of these murky concepts to light.

I first started writing on this theme in March of this year. If you’d like to review the earlier installments of my ABC’s column, please visit these original ABC’s posts on my personal blog.

Ask me a Question

“Strategies of Abundance” for Green Business Ecopreneurs: First, Stop Paying the Banker

John Ivanko — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:20:24 +0000

This is the first of several posts describing “Strategies of Abundance” for ecopreneurs and green business owners.

Even in financially tough times, these Strategies of Abundance reflect interrelationships between personal finance and business, especially for small business owners. The key for ecopreneurs is how they use their business to make the world a better place. Profits from a green enterprise are the catalyst for ecopreneurs to achieve their Earth Mission, whether to restore ecological integrity or make photovoltaic systems affordable to all.

STRATEGY #1: Stop paying the banker.

The longer you hold a mortgage, the more you work for the bank and the more profitable you make them. For comparison, below is a chart from our book, ECOpreneuring, reflecting how interest can pile up on a $100,000 mortgage at 7 percent interest for terms of 15 and 30 years. While the monthly payment is less for the 30-year mortgage (the primary reason many of us choose it), we end up paying more than double for the use of the same pot of money.

By accelerating our mortgage payments on our 30-year fixed mortgage by paying down the principal when we could, we have the ability to earn less income to pay the bank than if we did otherwise over the long-term. Prepayment on principal is usually acceptable and completely legal. Every time you pay down the principal, the remaining interest and balance is recalculated, meaning that more of your regular monthly payments go to the principal and not interest payments.

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Intriguing Green Companies - Success Stories in Progress

Carol McClelland — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:22:17 +0000

One of my favorite parts of Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference was hearing green success stories that are unfolding around the country.

During the first day of the conference, the focus was on defining the green economy and demonstrating that taking care of the environment can mean the recovery of the economy as well.

On the second day, the focus shifted to sharing examples of green economy successes. I found these examples to be educational and inspiring. I’ve provided links to a few of these examples to allow you to explore the progress of these companies.

Gamesa - a Spanish based, worldwide wind power company founded in 1996 “is engaged with the manufacturing, sale, installation and operation and maintenance of Gamesa wind turbines” in the USA, Canada and around the world. With a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, headquarters in Philadelphia, and three offices in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Texas, Gamesa has completed wind farms in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas and has plans in progress for additional wind farms in other areas. Establishing this company in Pennsylvania is expected to add 1000 jobs across the manufacturing plant and the headquarters. Additional jobs will be found in other areas where they have offices and wind farms.
Johnson Control - Originally founded to manufacture an electric thermostat in 1885, this global company, with 140,000 employees in more than 1,300 locations serves customers in 125 countries, has become a global leader in “automotive experience, building efficiency and power solutions.” Johnson Control has a fairly long history of sustainability and social responsibility and has a plan to be carbon neutral in five years. One of their most exciting energy efficiency projects will require 60,000 new employees in major cities around the United States to conduct energy audits and retrofit the buildings to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gases, and lower utility bills. You can scan job openings within North America and beyond.
Terracycle - In 2001, two college students founded an innovative company that packages waste (fertilizer created from worm waste) in recycled waste (used soda bottles collected by students and community groups around the country). In 2004, Home Depot started carrying their product, now Whole Foods, Wal-Mart Canada, and many other companies carry a variety of products produced by Terracycle and distributed in recycled packaging. The company never manufactures their packaging. Instead they set up collection brigades for particular packages that have been previously used (a soda bottle, a yogurt container, a juice box, or a energy bar wrapper) and pays the senders a few cents for each item delivered. Take a look at Terracycle’s products to see how they’ve come up with viable products that are made from or packaged in recycled items. Voted one of the 100 most innovative companies in 2004, it’s still worth tracking their growing and expanding success! Explore their career opportunities to learn more about how they work.

Innovation is one of the keys to the green economy. Add inspiration to your life. Watch for innovations in your geographic area and your profession.

Reporting in from Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference

Carol McClelland — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:27:45 +0000

I’m in Pittsburgh, PA this week for Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference. Although we are only half way through the event, I have a few insights to share tonight.

As the conference started this morning, it was immediately clear that this gathering was a bit different from most. The conference has been coordinated by Blue Green Alliance, a strategic partnership between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club. Not an alliance I would have imagined! Would you?

The groups that came together to convene this meeting include a number of other unions, environmental advocacy groups, businesses, foundations, academic institutions, selected cities and states. As noted by a number of speakers, at first glance these groups might not seem to have much in common…except for one thing. The environment and the need to find ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

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The State of Green Jobs

Carol McClelland — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:22:09 +0000

If you are trying to plug into the green economy as a business owner or a green employee, I encourage you to read Kevin Doyle’s recent Hire Definition post on the GRIST blog.

Kevin Doyle, the president of Green Economy, a Boston-based training, consulting, and research firm and coauthor of The ECO Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World, provides us with the best “State of the Green Job” summary I’ve seen.

If you are looking for clear-cut data about the number of green jobs and which industries provide the most green jobs, you are likely to be a bit frustrated by Kevin’s assessment of green employment.

Much like the recent GreenBiz’s State of Green Business report I wrote about recently, Kevin’s post highlights more questions than it answers.

The fact is the green economy is too new to quantify in any meaningful way. Not having clearly understood definitions of the variables that need to be measured is the biggest obstacle to solid statistics.

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The Environmental “New Deal”: Will France Lead the Way?

Heidi Strebel — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:56:47 +0000

The first phase in the French government’s environmental "New Deal" is complete. Jean-Louis Borloo, the minister of ecology and sustainable development, hosted a conference in Paris last Thursday to present the results of that initial phase and to launch the second phase. In his press release, Borloo employed rousing terms to describe a momentous turning point in French society.

After a time of inquiry, now is the time for action, and France will be present at the forefront of the fight for human rights in the 21st century. The environmental new deal is an unprecedented democratic process. The role of the State is essentially to facilitate collective action. Its mission is to foster synergy between common and sometimes competing causes. After several weeks of debate one thing is clear: dialogue works and solutions exist.

Stirring indeed. But what makes this program so exceptional? The multilateral nature of the first phase, and the democratic or collective nature of the second, according to Borloo, adding that France can lead the way for the rest of the world by fashioning a sustainable society. "As both producers and consumers we will be subject to major changes, but those changes represent an opportunity for our economy, our health and our children." Sustainable living and economic growth are not incompatible. "By protecting the environment we prepare our companies for the economic competition of the future, we improve our quality of life, and we prevent illnesses caused by pollution."

More grand statements. There is a sense of deja vu. And I cannot help but ask, as I have been asking repeatedly over the last few weeks, is there any substance behind the hype?

Within a week of taking office last Spring, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a meeting on sustainable development and the environment. The gathering marked the beginning of the larger program that constitutes the "New Deal." In the first phase of the program, members from different sectors of society were assembled in six working groups that convened over the summer, with each group focusing on a different environmental issue. Representatives of NGOs, companies, unions, local councils and government bodies joined scientists and other specialized experts to confer on the status quo and to draft a plan of action.

The novelty lies in the diversity of the participants. Individuals and interest groups who are normally at loggerheads with one another were brought to the same negotiating table. Each delegate was equal in status with the next, and could contribute fully to the proceedings.

For example, working group number one was focused on climate change and energy needs. Jean Jouzel and Nicholas Stern were co-presidents of the group. Jouzel is an eminent French geochemist and climatologist who has carried out extensive research on climate change in Antarctica and Greenland; Stern is a prominent British economist and author of the renowned "Stern Review," a report which presents the impact of climate change on the global economy.

The NGO camp for group one consisted of delegates from international alliances such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), as well as envoys from national environmental groups. The employee camp was composed of representatives from different labor unions, including engineers, railway workers, technicians, and white-collar workers. The employer camp was comprised of leaders from various business associations, both general confederations and industry-specific alliances such as the Union of Chemical Manufacturers, and the Federation of Road Transportation. Finally, the state camp consisted of directors of government bodies such as the National Forestry Office and the Energy and Environment Agency.

It is hardly surprising that the government website features interviews with delegates who are by and large satisfied with the process and the outcome of the working groups. They admit that the challenges were great, the stakes were high, and there was a considerable time constraint, but they also refer to lively debate, a genuine exchange, progress and consensus. Delegates’ observations and remarks featured on an NGO website are much more subdued.

Bernard Cressens, program director at WWF France, participated in the workshops devoted to the subject of greening French agriculture. No one boycotted the meeting, Cressens says. A coalition of NGOs was even able to distribute a list of suggestions for use during one of the sessions. But as soon as the group began to focus on the details of a particular matter, someone, often a representative from the French Ministry of Agriculture, always raised an objection. "So — reduce the use of pesticides, yes that’s a good idea but it’s impossible; increase the percentage of organic farming in France, yes but is there the market for it; defend domestic biodiversity yes, well maybe, but…"

Olivier Louchard, a member of Climate Action Network, attended several workshops dedicated to questions of transportation and methods of reducing CO2 emissions. While he feels that the discussions were "relatively constructive," and some promising proposals were made, he was troubled by the time constraints, calling them "completely unrealistic." "It’s not possible to establish a national climate plan in only two months and certainly not one that can be implemented by the current government over the next five years." So Louchard wonders whether the government might not have its own plan of action, one that will be followed irrespective of what emerges from the working groups and the public debate.

Last week each working group drew up a report, outlining the conclusions of their discussions and providing suggestions for immediate, mid-term and long-term actions. The reports were presented at the conference on Thursday, and the second phase of the "new deal" was launched: the public debate. Anyone can participate in the debate, either by attending one of the regional meetings scheduled across the country from October 5 to 19, or by visiting the government website set up specifically for the occasion. The website is hosting a forum where the French people can leave comments on any of the reports, which are available in full and condensed versions. They can also take the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with one another.

Borloo concluded the conference by saying it has not yet been proven that another type of economic growth is possible. "But if all parts of society work together, if each day every one of us makes the right choices, if at every moment and in every aspect of our lives we vote for sustainable alternatives, then it is my conviction," he said, "that it is possible." Thus France can provide a model both in Europe and around the world, of a healthy growing and sustainable economy.

Yes, sounds great. And no, I’m not being sarcastic, or at least not regarding the general idea of the whole thing. The very fact that the working groups convened, engaged in dialogue and presented their reports, is an accomplishment in itself. The forum for public debate represents a unique opportunity for French citizens to participate and thereby hopefully become more engaged in the transformation toward sustainable living.

But, Borloo and company have cried green, twice in one month. There was the promise of the first eco-friendly Rugby World Cup. Then there was the promise of the ultra-cool green techno parade. In both cases, the government ministry and the organizing committees vowed to take actions that were entirely within the realm of the possible. So, if a promise to install proper recycling facilities at a sports stadium or along the route of a music parade cannot be kept, how can the pledge to revolutionize an entire society be taken seriously?

Image source: UMBC edu

Environmental "New Deal" French Government Website

Alliance for the Planet