Event - Inspiration 2013

Inspiration 2013 will take place on the 31st of October at the Royal Geographic Society, London, UK. Inspiration is about what we've deemed the life cycle of ideas, from having an idea, testing it, shaping it and delivering it as a successful commercial venture. The event is premised on the notion that ideas and innovation can make the difference between success and failure in uncertain times.

Event - Innovations in Technical Education to Advance Sustainability: Student Leadership

Innovations in Technical Education to Advance Sustainability: Student Leadership will take place on June 6-8, 2013 at Alfred State SUNY College of Technology, NY. The conference, with its unique focus on technical education, is an excellent opportunity to connect and build working relationships with a diverse range of education and sustainability professionals. This year's conference will feature keynote presentations from Leith Sharp, a campus sustainability pioneer who was the founding director of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability and who served as Executive Director of the Illinois Green Economy Network, and Roger Ebbage,Executive Director of the Association of Community College Energy and Water Educators and Energy Management Program Coordinator at Lane Community College.

GE's Ecomagination Program (Video)

This video addresses GE's innovative ecomagination program. Through this initiative GE is developing innovation and technology for alternative energy and eco-friendly solutions such as electric car technology, clean coal, biofuels, and wind power. GE believes ecomagination is more relevant today than ever. Find out why in this video presented by Steve Fludder, the former vice president of GE's ecomagination, and Mark Little, director of GE Global Research.

GE's Mark Vachon Says Greentech Opportunities are in the Developing World Not in the US
GE is Helping Nestle to Save Millions of Gallons of Water
GE's Investments in Green are Paying Off
Video: GE Creating Jobs with Fuel Efficient Airplanes
GE's Immelt Calls Current US Energy Policy "Stupid"
GE is one of the Top Climate Innovators
Cleantech Partnerships
Best Green and Sustainable Business Twitter Feeds
Growing US Corporate Investment is Powering Sustainability
Video: Ecomagination Winniner Solar Roadways
The World's Greenest Companies
Green Public Relations
US Cap-and-Trade: Obstacles and Solutions
US Cap-and-Trade: Positioning

Top Climate Innovators

GE, Alcoa, Johnson Controls, Ford, Intel and Hess are leaders in the innovation of clean-tech solutions and products, mitigation of climate change-related risks and management of carbon emissions, according to a rating by risk analysis company Maplecroft.

DIY Machines With Minimal Environmental Impact

In many ways machines are the defining feature of our species and a new DIY movement illustrates the ways that machines can benefit humanity while minimizing their environmental impact. It ultimately depends on how the machine is made, what the machine does and who has access to it. It is increasingly obvious that we need to develop new machines that serve humanity without destroying the environment. Some of the most interesting machine manufacturing projects are being created in the "do it yourself" (DIY) movement.

Video: Innovation is the Solution to Climate Change

Here is a four minute logical breakdown on how innovation is the solution to climate change, and how you can save the world. This talk is the result of reflections on development, sustainability, and clean technology. It represents the philosophical foundation for why innovation can help us solve humanity's grand challenges.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Green Product Design Network

Students, faculty, staff, and business leaders are invited to join the Green Product Design Collaboration Network to invent sustainable products. Their intent is to develop "a different approach to product design."

The Green Product Design Network (GPDN) began with a group of leaders from the University of Oregon with expertise in green chemistry, product design, business and journalism and communication with an interest in inventing sustainable products that can be readily adopted and marketed to our larger society.

The goal is to take ideas from invention to the marketplace in a way that has a more expedient and lasting impact on society.The Green Product Design Network–in accordance with the University of Oregon’s emerging academic plan, and “Big Ideas”–has been selected as one of five key projects that the University of Oregon (UO) is supporting and highlighting as a major strategic initiative for the UO.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2011 The Green Product Design Network held an event titled, Perceptions of Green Product Design and Green Marketing, at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. The business of green product design was explored through two presentations by Kiersten Muenchinger (UO Product Design) and Kim Sheehan (UO Journalism and Communications) exploring materials, marketing, waste and misconceptions about environmentally-friendly product design.

The Green Product Design Network is confronting challenges related to our dwindling resource base, climate change, chemical contaminants, the viability and success of our financial markets, and the emergence of new technologies. The best solutions to these problems will come from research cutting across many disciplines and from the creation of tailored, multidisciplinary education programs for our students. This is the aim of the GPDN.

Their strategy is to develop a network that is inclusive and taps the potential of the wide range of scholars needed to tackle these large challenges and allows for broader participation than typical Center and Institute structures. In addition, a network structure facilitates open participation from external strategic partners including those from industry, government, and NGOs. Networks are flexible and nimble, even at large scale – there is minimal fixed infrastructure and participation can define membership while project leadership can easily change as focus shifts.

Their Vision involves enhancing synergies to Impact the “Triple Bottom Line:” People, Planet, and Profit. Inventing and marketing profitable products that truly are green. This requires a broad interdisciplinary approach—and the UO is uniquely equipped to provide it. The GPDN provides a unifying theme to leverage strengths in the arts and sciences, architecture and allied arts, business, journalism, and law to provide a systems approach to:

• Improve understanding about how new products affect the environment, our economic structures, and society.
• Invent greener products, materials, and chemicals.
• Discover the best business models and practices to deliver these innovations to society.
• Create meaningful educational programs for current and future generations.The strength of this strategy is that it will enhance synergies between the three pillars of the "triple bottom line:" people, planet, and profit.

Contact Julie A. Haack for more information, go to the Green Product Design Network Website and see their Facebook page.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Innovation and the Development of Sustainable Products or Processes

Although each business faces unique challenges, developing sustainable products and processes offers a powerful competitive advantage. Developing a sustainable product or process is a complex endeavor with many interrelated concerns.

To develop a sustainable product or process businesses must find ways to assess and reduce their environmental impact. This concerns everything including raw materials, transportation, manufacturing processes, energy-consumption, disposal, and replacement.

Sustainable innovation demands ongoing optimization of every aspect of the product or process, including material selection, energy requirements, product safety, marketing, distribution, legal regulations, and end-of-life considerations.

When evaluating a sustainable product it is important to consider the entire life cycle and employ an integrative approach to innovation.

Businesses are increasingly innovating sustainable products and processes. Visionary business leaders who anticipate the winds of change and creatively develop sustainable products and processes will thrive in the rapidly changing economic landscape.
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