I don’t know what it’s like in your country, but the Netherlands has been flooded with visits by Cradle to Cradle icon Michael Braungart. It’s almost as if he lives (or loves) here. Makes me wonder: where is William McDonough? Isn’t he as much C2C as Braungart? I’m curious to see him.
Now that probably no little NGO can afford to hire Al Gore as a lecturer, let’s see who IS able to attract him to their company. I just read that he’s a senior advisor to Google and is also on the board of Apple Computers (they got him in 2003 already). Whadayaknow, my two favorite corporations as well!
Oof, it’s been a while, but here’s more news on the sustainability front! Yesterday, Google announced it’s huge new corporate social responsibility project on renewable energy:
“The newly created initiative, known as RE<C, will focus initially on advanced solar thermal power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other potential breakthrough technologies. RE<C is hiring engineers and energy experts to lead its research and development work, which will begin with a significant effort on solar thermal technology, and will also investigate enhanced geothermal systems and other areas. In 2008, Google expects to spend tens of millions on research and development and related investments in renewable energy.”
What great news this is, and what a cool name RE<C is! Hopefully Google will share it’s knowledge to other businesses.
This is lovely, funny, creative and even green! This is what the authors of Do the Green Thing (a supernew interactive online community) says:
“How do I get the most out of the site?
First thing, you should sign-up to make sure you get the two video things every month to make you smile or think (or both) and be inspired to do that month’s Green Thing.
Then there are really three main areas on the site.
Do it which is all about the current month’s Green Thing actions, things that can help you do it, explanations of why you should do it, more things you can do and what impact it all makes.
Then there’s View it which is where you’ll find all the content from Green Thing and its community: videos, photos, podcasts, applications/games, blogs/comments and other lovely stuff.”
In the Netherlands, if a product claims it’s ‘a source of fibres’ or ‘good for your hearth’, this claim first has to be approved by the European Commission. How about ‘this product is friendly to the environment’ or ‘we fight against global warming’ etc.?
Today I saw a salmon product in my supermarket, a product that I usually avoid because of the empty oceans. However, for the first time, I saw a new label on the product: ‘We support sustainable fishing’. A glance at their website taught me that they’re not talking about a sustainable environement, but a sustainable health: their focus was on food safety issues. This made me think about claims. Sustainability claims. Can anyone claim their product is good for the environment? Even if it’s not true at all?
With incredible amounts of companies offering services for climate neutral living, and with all those companies compensating their own carbon dioxide emissions, I can’t help but wonder: there must be millions, perhaps billions of trees to be planted in the coming years for all that CO2-neutralness! More specifically: where do we find the space for planting those trees? Will natural habitat and biodiversity disappear to make place for those trees that will ease our guilt of adding to global warming? Those trees that will eventually be burnt or die and give us back the carbon dioxide we wanted to compensate from the start…
Ilse Media, owner of Schoolbank, Ilse Searchengine and Startpagina, will launch a new Green website for consumers who want to lead a greener life! The site is scheduled for release october 1st 2007.
I will keep the url secretly hidden, because the site is not yet officially released. But check this blog for updates!
The Dutch newspaper Trouw has en extensive news database on environmental news. The site includes an active forum, an interactive FAQ, things to do (i.e. restaurants, shopping, online stores) a gardening contest, and much more!
Just an idea: how about setting up the first worldwide Green Theme park? Think of roller coasters, fairytale forests, and one or two attractions that become your unique selling point to customers (other than your average eco-geek). Have everything powered by solar and wind energy and sell organic and/or fair trade. What an accomplishment this would be, and imagine the media attention it would get as free publicity!
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
Een wereld te winnen by
Authentic: How to Make a Living By Being Yourself by Neil Crofts
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken
