Can “Green Gamification” Save the World?
Green gamification — using games to engage stakeholders and solve intractable problems — are all the rage. In Gaming the Environment for Positive Change, we learn more about the UVA Bay Game, and other creative approaches.
Funding Closes on First Nationally Focused Impact Investment Fund
SJF Ventures and Citi Community Capital, Citigroup’s community lending and investment group, announced the closing of SJF Ventures III LP, the first nationally focused Impact Investment SBIC fund. Licensed by the US Small Business Investment Corp. (SBIC) under its new Impact Investment Initiative, the SFJ Ventures III fund will make equity investments in growth-stage cleantech and “positive impact” companies.
Bridging the Gap Between Lawyers and Social Media Managers
TriplePundit is at SXSW this week, bringing you the latest thinking on CSR, social media, and more. Our first dispatch: how to bridge the gap between the corporate social media types and the lawyers. What’s going on here, and why should you care? If you’ve ever tried to launch, well, pretty much anything creative or [...]
Is the USDA Local Farm Program a Ruse for Big Agriculture?
Could Americans’ tax dollars be paying for greenwashing by the United States Department of Agriculture? Those who are suspicious about the KYF2 program have every right to be suspicious.
Hawaii Becomes Test Lab for GM Fuel Cell Vehicles
Fuel cells hold great promise as an emission-free way to power cars and other vehicles, but range is the bottleneck. Without a national infrastructure to support fuel cell re-fueling, drivers are pretty much stuck to a network of local charging stations. That could change fairly rapidly, if a test under way by the Department of [...]
BP Cuts a Deal on the Deepwater Horizon Spill
Just days before BP was set to go to trial with a group of more than 100,000 plaintiffs, the company announced over the weekend that it would agree to a settlement of $7.8 billion dollars.
A New Conservation Ethic for the 21st Century
By Peter Kareiva, Robert Lalasz and Michelle Marvier By its own measures, conservation is failing. Biodiversity on Earth continues its rapid decline. We continue to lose forests in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There are so few wild tigers and apes that they will be lost forever if current trends continue. Simply put, we are [...]
Dubai’s Sustainability Agenda Must Start With Health
Submitted for the TckTckTck Rio +20 Blogging competition, this article by Leon Kaye explores how Dubai and the United Arab Emirates can confront climate change from a public health perspective.
Hasbro Fights Aliens from the Deep and Climate Change, Too
Hasbro, Inc., better known to millions of board game aficionados as the force behind Battleship, has just been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Agency for its efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Army Green: DOD Leads Fight For Renewable Energy
The U.S. military is the world’s largest fuel consumer. The DOD and DOE have set their performance goal to have 30 Net Zero Energy facilities by 2030.
Building a Sustainable Future Requires More than Science
Contrary to popular belief, humans have failed to address the earth’s worsening emergencies of climate change, species’ extinction and resource overconsumption not because of a lack of information, but because of a lack of imagination, social scientists and artists say.
One More Time: Clean Energy Standard Act Introduced in Congress
Sen. John Bingaman and supporters are once again introducing federal legislation that would require power utilities to generate electricity from clean energy sources. Though the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012 is once again likely to be shot down in Congress, the push for a long overdue overhaul of federal energy policy focused on clean energy looks certain to be a “hot button” issue right through the November elections.
Perspectives on Limits to Growth: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Planet
The Club of Rome and the Smithsonian Institution’s Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet are hosting a symposium on March 1, 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launching of Limits to Growth, the first report to the Club of Rome published in 1972.
Obama Hammers the GOP’s Energy Plan
Obama nailed the GOP when it comes to energy issues, while speaking at the University of Miami last week.
Organic Equivalence Deal Affords International Markets for Organic Producers
A transatlantic organic equivalence arrangement has been negotiated between representatives from the US Department of Agriculture and EU Agriculture and Regional Development department, allowing for more market access of organic products certified under both the EU and US organic standards. This means that although these sets of standards do contain certain variances, the US National [...]
Economist Misses the Mark with Overfishing Editorial
A recent editorial in The Economist would have us believe that of all the problems facing the oceans—acidification, plastics pollution, decline of habitat—overfishing is the easy win, the simple fix. Really, the article argues, this whole overfishing mess is the fault of fishermen. If fishers would just wise-up to the long-term environmental consequences of taking too much, they would make the well-informed and uncomplicated choice to just simply catch fewer fish. This naive finger-pointing exercise is about as helpful and logical as driving past an unemployment line and yelling out the window, “Get a job!”
Scientists Urge Reform for a Broken Global System
Unless governments work actively to build a brighter future for humanity, climate change, poverty and loss of biodiversity will worsen and continue to exacerbate existing global problems, top scientists warned ministers attending the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) governing council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday.
Whole Foods, Costco, PF Chang’s Tied to Squid Fishing Slave Labor
A six month investigation conducted by Bloomberg Businessweek found evidence of debt bondage on fishing vessels operating in New Zealand’s waters. The report traces the controversial seafood sources to popular U.S. retailers and restaurants.
Micro-Credit Sector Scandal Reinforces Need for Impact Investment Standards
Impact investment is at a crisis point: Clean up now or lose credibility. How can they meet the challenge?
Proof that Disclosing Carbon Emissions Increases Stock Prices
A new study by the University of California provides evidence that companies that publicly announce information about their carbon emissions will see a significant and almost immediate increase in share price.
5 Outcomes of Rising Gas Prices
Gas prices are up now and while the reasons change every time, this trend is nothing but new, no matter how surprised we are to find the new prices hanging on a sign at the gas station. This is why it’s actually not difficult to see what’s going to happen next. Here are five outcomes to expect in the upcoming months.
Half A Billion Acts of Green Have Now Been Completed
Back in 2010, in the months preceding the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day an ambitious campaign, called A Billion Acts of Green was launched to inspire individuals all around the world, to make a commitment to reduce their impact on the planet. Today, The Earthday Network, announced that they have reached the halfway [...]
Dubai: Great With Details, but Overall Design Needs CPR
When it comes to details, Dubai is a global leader and the quality of life and business climate both have tremendous benefits. But when it comes to overall design, Dubai could use some CPR.
Ben & Jerry’s Launches Campaign Against Citizens United
The founders of Ben & Jerry’s, Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield launched their campaign against Citizen’s United on February 13 on the MSNBC show, the Dylan Ratigan Show.
National Defense and President Obama’s 2013 Clean Energy Budget
As far as clean energy and green jobs go, President Obama’s 2013 budget includes a Christmas-in-July package of initiatives that are designed to help pull the U.S. out of recession while transitioning the economy to cleaner, safer, more reliable and less price-spikey forms of energy.
How Sustainable Taxation Can Create a Circular Economy
There are businesses already today which are benefitting from sustainable development strategies of ‘natural capitalism’ or the so called ‘circular economy.’ Here are some examples.
Current Engagements
Best Practices in Corporate Volunteering
Communicating Corporate Responsibility with AHA
The Future of Fair Trade with Fair Trade USA
Bard College MBA in Sustainability
Sustainability Ratings and Key CSR Topics
How to Invest for Income and Impact
Energy Options: Pros and Cons from Solar to Nuclear
[coming soon] The Green Beer Series 2012
[Register for our GRI Certified Training Course]
Where We’re Going
Have your event listed here.
San Diego: June 4-7
Sustainable Brands 2012: Join us as the Sustainability, Brand Strategy and Innovation Communities convene to shape the future. Discover and participate in the sustainable brand revolution by collaborating to shift consumer demand, drive heretical innovation, and evolve the business case. 20% Reader discount with code "nwtripsb12".
Webinar: June 5
Running an Effective Corporate Volunteer Program with AngelPoints: Key clients discuss how they put the AngelPoints Volunteering solution to work for them. Attend this webinar to learn best practices, tips & tricks - and how to get an effective volunteer program off the ground at your organization.
Seattle: June 11-12GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Portland & Seattle: June 13 & 14
Sustainable Industries Economic Forum:
Join keynote speaker Van Jones and sustainable business leaders from dozens of innovative companies for an interactive presentation and conversation on The Access Economy and how it affects you and your business, as well as high-impact networking. Register now for Portland on June 13 & Seattle on June 14.
NYC: June 27-28Responsible Business Summit USA: Discover how to fully embed and integrate CSR in your organization. Learn how to collaborate with key stakeholders and establish competitive edge using proven CSR strategies. Hear best practices from GAP Inc, Timberland, Lockheed Martin, Life Technologies, Campbell Soup and many more.
Minneapolis: July 19-20GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Boston: Sep 13-14GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Have your event listed here.
San Diego: June 4-7
Sustainable Brands 2012: Join us as the Sustainability, Brand Strategy and Innovation Communities convene to shape the future. Discover and participate in the sustainable brand revolution by collaborating to shift consumer demand, drive heretical innovation, and evolve the business case. 20% Reader discount with code "nwtripsb12".
Webinar: June 5
Running an Effective Corporate Volunteer Program with AngelPoints: Key clients discuss how they put the AngelPoints Volunteering solution to work for them. Attend this webinar to learn best practices, tips & tricks - and how to get an effective volunteer program off the ground at your organization.
Seattle: June 11-12GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Portland & Seattle: June 13 & 14
Sustainable Industries Economic Forum:Join keynote speaker Van Jones and sustainable business leaders from dozens of innovative companies for an interactive presentation and conversation on The Access Economy and how it affects you and your business, as well as high-impact networking. Register now for Portland on June 13 & Seattle on June 14.
NYC: June 27-28Responsible Business Summit USA: Discover how to fully embed and integrate CSR in your organization. Learn how to collaborate with key stakeholders and establish competitive edge using proven CSR strategies. Hear best practices from GAP Inc, Timberland, Lockheed Martin, Life Technologies, Campbell Soup and many more.
Minneapolis: July 19-20GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Boston: Sep 13-14GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
Have your event listed here.
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