Green Options

The Bhagidari of Delhi (India) Government, a citizen-government partnership initiative, has been making serious attempts at creating awareness amongst the citizens of Delhi regarding environment and pushing them towards more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Do you have a rain barrel for your home?

More and more homeowners are using rain barrels to conserve water while collecting soft, non-chlorinated rainwater to nourish grass and plants.

This weekend, in Calgary, Canada, Clean Calgary Association, in partnership with the City of Calgary, will hold its 8th Annual Rain Barrel Sale.

With spring coming, local residents there are thinking about their lawns and gardens. Water usage in Calgary doubles in the spring and summer due largely to lawn irrigation.

How many of us would love to own a green business but don’t know where to start?  There’s the business model, revenue forecasting, capital investment, incorporation documents, potential partnerships, competitive analysis, marketing, insurance, and a whole host of other considerations, including what to name the business.  It’s a daunting task, to say the least.

For those who are a bit cowed by the prospects of starting from scratch, there is another alternative:  buy into an existing green business.  There are a lot of would-be social entrepreneurs out there, and many of them started their business with the best of intentions, built if from the ground up, and for one reason or another, have hit a wall and either need to sell or are looking for partners.  I recently ran into the co-founder of a green business called WiseGrasshopper.com, an online lessons directory with a cool business model, low startup requirements, good opportunities, and a really great logo.  It turns out WiseGrasshopper’s initial round of funding has been drying up, and they are seeking partners or to sell the business outright.  My initial thought, as is that of many, is that since they’ve put in about a year’s worth of work and invested quite a bit of money in the operations getting the business going, the price tag would be astronomical, but I was very surprised at their modest ask.  The co-founder explained that these hard times have crimped the founders’ abilities to continue working on the project. (By the way, interested parties are welcome to write to info@WiseGrasshopper.com for more information).

So it is that this economic downturn has its pain.  So it is that this pain creates opportunity for others.  According to Dave Arthur, founder of GreenBusinessOwner.com, there is a lot of opportunity out there right now for people to buy into green businesses that others have already laid the groundwork and done all the heavy initial lifting for.   

In an effort to tackle Pakistan’s growing energy shortage, representatives of the burgeoning Chinese solar industry have offered to cooperate with the country on a high profile partnership to manufacture solar energy equipment.