Can making serious environmental and social obligations more fun actually encourage more people to do so? We believe so. Join us for the next Challenge Workshop on April 20th!
Under recruitment, especially for girls, GenAustin could be a great target group to co-host an event and probably generate some good publicity as well.
I just received a survey from my martial arts studio asking all members to vote for 1 of 10 new ideas for a tagline or suggest an additional idea. it took only a couple seconds and increased my commitment to organization (by becoming a contributor in its development) as well as helping the organization ensure their new tagline will be authentic. Free survey tools like SurveyMonkey could do this via email and you could also have a fishbowl voting system in-studio.
I think that fundraising should be raised to more than 10%, try and shoot for 15% to 20%. I have not done the research but if you have a 501(c) you can capitalize on the ability for donors to write it off on their taxes.
One thing that works well that I do with my clients is offer up their services to charitable causes to get their name out there. For example, if there is a fundraising gala for say a cancer organization or battered women organization like Caritas, then donate X gift certificates for the blind auction or door prizes. Great way to get your name out there at a relatively low cost.
We cannot to continue to ignore the low quality of food consumed in our country. This starts with the base farm-grown stables but extends as well to everything in our freezer and fridge. Last week, i was having a homecooked dinner with friends and we happent to look at the meat packaging only to learn that it wasn't just meat -- it was also suger, preservatives, and artificial flavors! Our food is processed unecessarily! Go to the sources that are mentioned here for better tasting, healthier food as well as reduced impact on air, land, and water.
Austin Chronicle offers free advertising for non-profits. There is an form to fill out for considerations which must be submitted several weeks in advance. I can provide a copy by email (couldn't find it online).
Giving City - a new online magazine for Austin focused on community involvement and philanthropy. Contact them about doing an article on Sun Dragon - the non-profit model and scholarships would be very appealing to these readers. http://givingcityaustin.wordpress.com/
Hi Welcome to the Sun Dragon wiki discussion. Feel free to start a conversation, continue an existing thread or discuss anything workshop related. We look forward to hearing from you!
Fast Company published an article, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/133/green-business-mr-right-now.html, that recognizes that while 'clean coal' is a pretty lack-luster solution compared to truely green energy solutions, it is a step in the right direction. A stop-gap measure to make improvements while the real solutions are developed. This is similar to the greenwashing issue you discuss here -- its true that companies are slow to understand the dramatic changes that are needed but in the meantime we can benefit from small improvements, which are better than nothing. Positive response to small improvements will encourage increased investment by corporations into cleaning up their act, getting us to the full solution faster.
This past Sunday I went to the Eco Series presentation concerning The Pecan Street Project. Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken and Michael Bates from Gridpoint laid out their ambitious plan to turn Austin into the renewable energy capital of America. The aim is not just to drive the science behind the movement but to lay a template for energy companies and communities both large and small across the US.
Just as Austin built itself into a leader in tech, so to can we turn it into a model for renewable energy. They are combining the tools and resources provided by the major tech companies, the universities, the local energy provider, and the people working on renewable energy with a shared vision for a consumer driven call for energy independence. Austin is uniquely suited for such an endeavor thanks to the independence of our states energy grid, the willingness of companies like Austin Energy to help develop a new business model, our assemblage of progressive technology companies, and a future thinking administration.
One of the major issues they face is the model by which all utility companies currently operate. The are paid to create and transmit energy. In most cases this is by burning coal or gas and running the power through their distribution system in one direction. The power that they transmit decides their revenue. There is no model for customers to produce or store their own power. What incentive do the energy companies have? Creating a new profitable and sustainable model will be of the utmost importance for the future of renewable energy if we want to avoid these goals dictated to us through less than inclusive legislation. Cap and trade will certainly be part of it, as will energy companies switching from giving renewable energy users rebates to making them partners. Like the cell phone industry, consumers would receive revenue for helping the utility company create power that can be transmitted back to the grid.
I must admit this is hugely exciting. They have a number of bright people working hard to provide the city recommendations this coming August. I will keep up on the progress as we see new technologies and creative business models created right in our backyard.
Added 'sneak peak' of the conference line up above (attached PDF). Not yet posted to their website --- Net Impact Austin liks to make sure you are IN THE KNOW!
i've been thinking about upgrading to a new HD TV thinking i would enjoy networking it and that i'd be saving some energy for the planet - ha! looks like i was wrong about the energy. i'll keep on keepin' on with my 1996 Phillips Magnavox
Thanks for distributing this information to your management! This EDF program certainly looks like a great opportunity.
I wanted to clarify that the services are not 100% free to the host company. Companies need to allocate management time and are asked to pay a portion of the Fellow's salary. This is still low cost and a great way to get focused resources on preparing CBA documentation for improved sustainability - something that tends to get bumped to lower priority in lean times.
Good luck - I hope you are successful in becoming a host company!
I shared this blog with executives at my company. It looks like a great oppportunity to get some knowledgable and free assistance to identify, prioritize, and create the business case for improved energy efficiency at work. We need this help to get our programs started! Thanks for posting!
If you are involved in or passionate about education, please consider joining Net Impact, The Broad Residency, Education Pioneers, Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), and Project GRAD in Houston for a networking event on Jan 22nd. This is one event of several being held in cities across the nation to connect business professionals with education organizations.
You can find more information about the event posted on the Events page of this website.
I plan on driving to Houston to attend. Please contact me if you would like to carpool (please note: I am likely to travel earlier so that I can cover several meetings during this trip but you could go to a museum or otherwise enjoy Houston during the downtime.)
Robin Schneider of Texas Campaign for the Environment (robin@texasenvironment.org) is leading the formation of a “Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance” to ensure our region takes the aims of "reduce, reuse, recycle" to a whole new level. Whether it's the vision of green collar jobs or the nightmare of expansions of problem landfills or the threat of methane gas contributing to climate change, the time has come for a strong grassroots movement on these issues. The Alliance can be a vehicle for public education of Central Texas residents, businesses and elected officials about pathways to Zero Waste. It can also advocate for new Zero Waste initiatives.
The first public meeting of the Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance will be:
Monday Jan 5th at 6:30 pm
at the Austin History Center
at the corner of 9th and Guadalupe. (Street parking is free after 5:30 pm.)
Contact Robin if you are unable to attend but interested in being including in the organization's distribution list.
It's time that Texas joined the international effort aiming for Zero Waste. It won't happen unless there is a broad, active base of support for it.
With some effort, the City of Austin's plan can serve as a springboard for other public institutions - cities, counties, universities, school districts, state government - as well as small and large businesses to set Zero Waste goals and plans too. (Imagine the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce recruiting Zero Waste businesses to our region, as they are now doing with clean energy sector!)
To compound problems in Austin, the San Antonio facility that processes our recyclables can not handle the increased raw materials. At this point, though they are picking up the bins, there is no single stream recycling in Austin.
The City Council did vote to implement the ambitious zero waste by 2050 preliminary plan two weeks ago. In light of the fact that we do not have a recycling plant here and the budgeted funds for this project have been redistributed to other projects in the past, it will be slow and costly to implement this plan.
The good news is that we now see how commodities prices do indeed effect these efforts and can build in contractual safe guards to ensure price does not drive this process. It would be nice if market forces helped drive the issue, but this is much more a social and environmental issue than it is a business opportunity.
To help this process, we need to be vigilant in seeing the city and state adopt these resolutions AND invest in them. Unlike renewable energy there may be no solid business case for recyclables which makes it more difficult for political support on both sides of the aisle. The only way to do that is to apply friendly pressure to our representatives to act, and act now.
Net Impact is a global networkof leaders who are changing the worldthrough business.
Can making serious environmental and social obligations more fun actually encourage more people to do so? We believe so. Join us for the next Challenge Workshop on April 20th!
Green Mountain Energy is offering a chance to offset your days carbon footprint at the Net Impact Anniversary Party. Come support us at:
http://budurl.com/NetImpactParty
Under recruitment, especially for girls, GenAustin could be a great target group to co-host an event and probably generate some good publicity as well.
Cool project, nice list of ideas.
I just received a survey from my martial arts studio asking all members to vote for 1 of 10 new ideas for a tagline or suggest an additional idea. it took only a couple seconds and increased my commitment to organization (by becoming a contributor in its development) as well as helping the organization ensure their new tagline will be authentic. Free survey tools like SurveyMonkey could do this via email and you could also have a fishbowl voting system in-studio.
Corrected now. Thanks for pointing that out.
Its Roy Spence and not Ray Spences, "Its not what you sell but what you stand for."
I think that fundraising should be raised to more than 10%, try and shoot for 15% to 20%. I have not done the research but if you have a 501(c) you can capitalize on the ability for donors to write it off on their taxes.
One thing that works well that I do with my clients is offer up their services to charitable causes to get their name out there. For example, if there is a fundraising gala for say a cancer organization or battered women organization like Caritas, then donate X gift certificates for the blind auction or door prizes. Great way to get your name out there at a relatively low cost.
What's on family dinner tables in fifteen different homes around the globe? Check out this revealing photo essay from Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html
We cannot to continue to ignore the low quality of food consumed in our country. This starts with the base farm-grown stables but extends as well to everything in our freezer and fridge. Last week, i was having a homecooked dinner with friends and we happent to look at the meat packaging only to learn that it wasn't just meat -- it was also suger, preservatives, and artificial flavors! Our food is processed unecessarily! Go to the sources that are mentioned here for better tasting, healthier food as well as reduced impact on air, land, and water.
Two additional resources that were not discussed:
Austin Chronicle offers free advertising for non-profits. There is an form to fill out for considerations which must be submitted several weeks in advance. I can provide a copy by email (couldn't find it online).
Giving City - a new online magazine for Austin focused on community involvement and philanthropy. Contact them about doing an article on Sun Dragon - the non-profit model and scholarships would be very appealing to these readers. http://givingcityaustin.wordpress.com/
Hi Welcome to the Sun Dragon wiki discussion. Feel free to start a conversation, continue an existing thread or discuss anything workshop related. We look forward to hearing from you!
Fast Company published an article, http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/133/green-business-mr-right-now.html, that recognizes that while 'clean coal' is a pretty lack-luster solution compared to truely green energy solutions, it is a step in the right direction. A stop-gap measure to make improvements while the real solutions are developed. This is similar to the greenwashing issue you discuss here -- its true that companies are slow to understand the dramatic changes that are needed but in the meantime we can benefit from small improvements, which are better than nothing. Positive response to small improvements will encourage increased investment by corporations into cleaning up their act, getting us to the full solution faster.
He is an incredible guy, who is incredibly gifted. But, he's an even better person! Keep an eye on him in Austin.
This past Sunday I went to the Eco Series presentation concerning The Pecan Street Project. Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken and Michael Bates from Gridpoint laid out their ambitious plan to turn Austin into the renewable energy capital of America. The aim is not just to drive the science behind the movement but to lay a template for energy companies and communities both large and small across the US.
Just as Austin built itself into a leader in tech, so to can we turn it into a model for renewable energy. They are combining the tools and resources provided by the major tech companies, the universities, the local energy provider, and the people working on renewable energy with a shared vision for a consumer driven call for energy independence. Austin is uniquely suited for such an endeavor thanks to the independence of our states energy grid, the willingness of companies like Austin Energy to help develop a new business model, our assemblage of progressive technology companies, and a future thinking administration.
One of the major issues they face is the model by which all utility companies currently operate. The are paid to create and transmit energy. In most cases this is by burning coal or gas and running the power through their distribution system in one direction. The power that they transmit decides their revenue. There is no model for customers to produce or store their own power. What incentive do the energy companies have? Creating a new profitable and sustainable model will be of the utmost importance for the future of renewable energy if we want to avoid these goals dictated to us through less than inclusive legislation. Cap and trade will certainly be part of it, as will energy companies switching from giving renewable energy users rebates to making them partners. Like the cell phone industry, consumers would receive revenue for helping the utility company create power that can be transmitted back to the grid.
I must admit this is hugely exciting. They have a number of bright people working hard to provide the city recommendations this coming August. I will keep up on the progress as we see new technologies and creative business models created right in our backyard.
Here's to an exciting 2009!
Added 'sneak peak' of the conference line up above (attached PDF). Not yet posted to their website --- Net Impact Austin liks to make sure you are IN THE KNOW!
Line up looks good - I plan to attend
i've been thinking about upgrading to a new HD TV thinking i would enjoy networking it and that i'd be saving some energy for the planet - ha! looks like i was wrong about the energy. i'll keep on keepin' on with my 1996 Phillips Magnavox
Thanks for distributing this information to your management! This EDF program certainly looks like a great opportunity.
I wanted to clarify that the services are not 100% free to the host company. Companies need to allocate management time and are asked to pay a portion of the Fellow's salary. This is still low cost and a great way to get focused resources on preparing CBA documentation for improved sustainability - something that tends to get bumped to lower priority in lean times.
Good luck - I hope you are successful in becoming a host company!
I shared this blog with executives at my company. It looks like a great oppportunity to get some knowledgable and free assistance to identify, prioritize, and create the business case for improved energy efficiency at work. We need this help to get our programs started! Thanks for posting!
If you are involved in or passionate about education, please consider joining Net Impact, The Broad Residency, Education Pioneers, Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), and Project GRAD in Houston for a networking event on Jan 22nd. This is one event of several being held in cities across the nation to connect business professionals with education organizations.
You can find more information about the event posted on the Events page of this website.
I plan on driving to Houston to attend. Please contact me if you would like to carpool (please note: I am likely to travel earlier so that I can cover several meetings during this trip but you could go to a museum or otherwise enjoy Houston during the downtime.)
Robin Schneider of Texas Campaign for the Environment (robin@texasenvironment.org) is leading the formation of a “Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance” to ensure our region takes the aims of "reduce, reuse, recycle" to a whole new level. Whether it's the vision of green collar jobs or the nightmare of expansions of problem landfills or the threat of methane gas contributing to climate change, the time has come for a strong grassroots movement on these issues. The Alliance can be a vehicle for public education of Central Texas residents, businesses and elected officials about pathways to Zero Waste. It can also advocate for new Zero Waste initiatives.
The first public meeting of the Central Texas Zero Waste Alliance will be:
Monday Jan 5th at 6:30 pm
at the Austin History Center
at the corner of 9th and Guadalupe. (Street parking is free after 5:30 pm.)
Contact Robin if you are unable to attend but interested in being including in the organization's distribution list.
It's time that Texas joined the international effort aiming for Zero Waste. It won't happen unless there is a broad, active base of support for it.
With some effort, the City of Austin's plan can serve as a springboard for other public institutions - cities, counties, universities, school districts, state government - as well as small and large businesses to set Zero Waste goals and plans too. (Imagine the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce recruiting Zero Waste businesses to our region, as they are now doing with clean energy sector!)
To compound problems in Austin, the San Antonio facility that processes our recyclables can not handle the increased raw materials. At this point, though they are picking up the bins, there is no single stream recycling in Austin.
The City Council did vote to implement the ambitious zero waste by 2050 preliminary plan two weeks ago. In light of the fact that we do not have a recycling plant here and the budgeted funds for this project have been redistributed to other projects in the past, it will be slow and costly to implement this plan.
The good news is that we now see how commodities prices do indeed effect these efforts and can build in contractual safe guards to ensure price does not drive this process. It would be nice if market forces helped drive the issue, but this is much more a social and environmental issue than it is a business opportunity.
To help this process, we need to be vigilant in seeing the city and state adopt these resolutions AND invest in them. Unlike renewable energy there may be no solid business case for recyclables which makes it more difficult for political support on both sides of the aisle. The only way to do that is to apply friendly pressure to our representatives to act, and act now.