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Generation G: The leading societal and business mindset

Posted by Administrator on Feb 27, 2009 at 10:13 pm in Bridging the Gap, Reaching the Top
Generation G Trendwatching.com, an "independent and opinionated consumer trends firm" February 2009 trend briefing focuses on "Generation G" — G as in giving, generosity, gift.
Generation G captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy — and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care — the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large
[...]

Sustainability = Opportunity

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 23, 2009 at 9:04 am
While some visionaries (Storm Cunningham, Bob Willard, John Elkington) have been saying it for a long time, the rest of the world seems to be suddenly waking up to the fact that sustainability represents the greatest set of opportunities to restore the environment, make people's lives better and rebuild the crumbling economy we've seen since, let's say, the Great Depression. For example, the December issue of Mother Jones was entirely dedicated to the subject. Sustainability is increasingly being seen as integral to success rather than a frill; indeed we here at Challenge Your World believe it should be a strategic priority for any serious 21st [...]

Climate Entrepreneurship Taking Off In India

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 15, 2009 at 12:13 pm in Closing the Loop

I just got this article off Facebook through my friend Caroline Howe, who I met doing cross-border (i.e., Canada-US) climate work in 2005. She's been over in India for the past year, helping build local capacity amongst young people to develop and implement their own energy and sustainability solutions. It's by Thomas Friedman, a prominent New York Times commentator.

Tim O'Reilly: Tackling Big Problems Will Lead to Big Payoffs

Posted by Administrator on Feb 13, 2009 at 9:17 pm in Bridging the Gap, Reaching the Top
Over the past year, Tim O'Reilly has been pushing people to "work on stuff that matters" — to focus on tackling our biggest problems. Stuff like health care, education, energy. O'Reilly acknowledges that nonprofits and government matters, but emphasizes that entrepreneurs need to get involved. This is everybody's business:
I want to make clear that "work on stuff that matters'' does not mean focusing on non-profit work, causes, or any other form of "do-goodism"... it's essential to get beyond that narrow box. I'm a strong believer in the social value of business done right. We need to build an economy in which the important things are paid for in
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Meanwhile, A few blocks away...

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 13, 2009 at 9:19 am in Reaching the Top
So yesterday I posted about visiting the awesome majesty that is the MaRS Centre (still haven't figured out what MaRS stands for... perhaps a prize for anyone that can?) Well the next day I headed down to the Centre for Social Innovation on Spadina Avenue to visit a very different kind of centre for excellence in social entrepreneurship. CSI was founded just 5 years ago by Executive Director Tonya Surman, because she had just had her second child and (in her own words) was 'bored out of her f*%#ing mind!!!' A long time social activist/innovator/entrepreneur, Tonya dreamed up the idea with Margie Zeidler, owner of Urbanspace Property Group, which [...]

Life Discovered on MaRS!

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 13, 2009 at 1:24 am in Reaching the Top
Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Lisa Torjman, Associate in Social Entrepreneurship at MaRS, an incredible complex in downtown Toronto that brings together researchers, start-ups, legal experts, investors, medical professionals, technologists and student interns to advance innovation in science and technology, with a particular emphasis on bio-medical research. It was founded 11 years ago by Dr. John Evans, a prominent Toronto doctor, and former President of the University of Toronto. He realized there was an urgent need for a convergence centre at the cross-section of the University of Toronto, Queen’s Park (the Ontario provincial [...]

Moving forward on the journey

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 06, 2009 at 4:19 pm in Inside Story
Yesterday we spent part of our weekly sustainability meeting brainstorming ideas for actions we can take in the short term to reduce our environmental impact and be more sustainable. We came up with a pretty decent list:
  • Business Cards on recycled paper
  • Re-used paper
  • Smaller cards
  • Check with SD before signing purchasing agreements/ordering
  • supplies Develop and implement supplier sustainability agreement
  • Green energy for the server(s)
  • Double sided printing
  • Turn off lights/electronics
  • Last person out checklist
  • Scratch paper pile
  • Reduce printing
  • Meet with building director
  • Identify
[...]

Calling all transportation entrepreneurs

Posted by Cameron Stiff on Feb 04, 2009 at 9:34 am in Closing the Loop
I am 100% committed to sustainability, but recently I've been thinking about getting a car. It's because each morning I experience the frustration of an inefficient and underfunded transit system. In one direction is a bus which never comes on time and is often so packed that I end up walking to the metro (not so much fun in minus 30 temperatures). In the other direction is a 15 minute walk to the closer metro, which is also always packed and hot (because our subways run on rubber wheels and tracks which generates an incredible amount of heat). I've often wondered if it wouldn't be possible to capture that excess heat and use it to heat buildings [...]
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