Green Options » social entrepreneur

A Practical Approach to Selling CFL in Developing Countries

Paul Smith — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:38:14 +0000

How do you sell $2 CFL lightbulbs in Nicaragua, a country where the average monthly income is $60-$100? If you’re Llamadas Heladas, you do it by directly demonstrating the savings, and appealing to their desire for reliable power. Let me back up. Nicaragua, especially in the rural areas, is a place that largely depends on generators for power. And it often goes out, due to various reasons, including too much power usage. People are quite price conscious there.

Putting those two together, Llamadas Heladas, a company that offers among other things a phone booth on wheels, partnered up with TecnoSol, a local renewable energy company, to promote the use of CFLs during Earth Month. Yes month, they don’t mess around down there. The joint campaign was called No Apagones. Basically, it’s reframing these lights to be a source of less blackouts, due to reduced energy use. They may cost four times a regular lightbulb, but they last 10 times as long, and use less energy, saving you both money and the headaches of power outages. A simple, compelling argument. Watch the video on their site. No Espanol needed, the message is clear.

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World Economic Forum Honors Social Entrepreneurs and Calls For Fast Reform

mcmilker — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:38:09 +0000

The World Economic Forum, held this weekend in Egypt, featured speeches by luminaries like President Bush of the USA; President Mubarack of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan but, eco entrepreneurs shared the spotlight.

Young leaders from the Middle East have called on their business and government leaders to implement reforms immediately and transparently if they are to fulfill their potential by 2025. “We need faster change to keep pace with what’s happening in the rest of the world,” said Amira Abdel-Aziz, a masters student at Cairo University.

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Green Claims Unveiled. Ecolabling.org Provides One Stop Shop for Confused Shoppers

mcmilker — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:42:20 +0000

Jacob Malthouse doesn’t have a plan to make a profit. His business, Big Room,Inc. has just released its first product, ecolabeling .org to address a need in the market, a need for some way to make sense out of all the labels making green claims… not to make money.

Spoken like a true social entrepreneur, I told Jacob when I spoke with him this week.

Ecolabeling.org addresses the challenge that many of us have: What do all of these certifications, seals of approval, standards and verifications actually mean. Is it truly green or is it just greenwashing? The independent database of over 300 labels (and growing) seeks to provide a one stop site for information on all types of green labels.

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Green Business Podcasts: Are You Tuned In?

Julie Sammons — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:37:58 +0000

In an entrepreneur’s world, staying current means staying ahead of the competition. Yet with all of the urgent tasks piling up on your to-do list, keeping tabs on the latest industry news and views can easily fall by the wayside. Don’t lose that competitive edge — listen to it.

My personal introduction to the growing menu of green business podcasts came while searching for strategies to make my commute time and gym visits more productive. Ranging from four minutes to forty-five minutes in length, these concise audio feeds speak directly to ecopreneurs through a mix of interviews, international news, trend analysis and expert commentary on the emerging green economy.

I’ve pre-screened the front runners and highly recommend these five favorites:

The Global X Series on SocialEdge
Ethical Corporation
GreenBiz Radio
Social Innovation Conversations at Stanford University’s Center for Social Innovation
IdeaCast from the Harvard Business Review

(descriptions after the jump)

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