Webinar - How to Create an Effective Cause Marketing Program

This free webinar will take place on September 25, 2013, at 1:30 ET. It is intended for those who wish to tie their cause marketing promotions to real-world results (eg sales, traffic, loyalty, or engagement).

Join Anne Erhard, SVP, Cause Marketing at MSLGROUP, and Sandra Hijikata, March of Dimes Chief Revenue Officer, to explore cutting edge best practices for creating successful, mutually-beneficial cause marketing programs for retailers and consumer products that drive purchases and raise funds in this FREE webinar.

Event - The Future of Sustainability Reporting 2013

This event will take place on 6th of September 2013, 10.00 to 18.00, at the Conference Center of the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, Schumannstrasse 8, 10117 Berlin. It will be in German with simultaneous translation of the plenary parts English-German and German-English. It is being presented by BSD and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. This is one of the most important events on sustainability and integrated reporting since GRI's launch of G4 in May and a few months before IIRC's framework launch in December.

Collaboration and Best Practices in Sustainability

Research suggests that collaborative approaches are often the best way to succeed in the development and implementation of a sustainable best practice campaign. Collaboration is key because although best practice is an increasingly popular buzzword, real-world development and implementation is no easy feat.

Canadian research by the Network for Business Sustainability reveals that collaborating on green issues is the key issue facing companies with a strong record of sustainability. The complex and diverse nature of developing and implementing best practice means that companies need to share best practices and solve these difficult problems.

Twelve Online Tools for Greener Businesses

There are a growing number of online tools that make it easier for businesses to understand and assess their environmental performance and that of their peers. Here are a suite of 12 online tools from Environmental Leader. These tools run the gamut and deal with a wide variety of issues from construction to water. They are presented in the order that they were published.

RSK Tool Helps Construction Companies Manage Environmental Risk

RSK Business Solutions has launched a web-based tool to help UK-based construction companies mitigate environmental risk and drive legal compliance. For more information click here.

BASF Launches Sustainable Construction Website

BASF’s Green Sense Concrete reduced the carbon footprint of the One World Trade Center by 15,838,267 kg CO2 in the construction. For more information click here.

Guide - Green City Philosophy

There has never been a greater need for the people planning and running our cities, as well as the residents themselves, to understand the critical significance of green space in our urban environment. Working with green is a way to respond to the true needs of people when designing buildings, the public realm, transport and communications infrastructure. This is a goal to which every professional can apply themselves.

These guidelines are a starting point so interested parties can come together internationally and discuss techniques for urban development. What this set of guidelines shows is that the knowledge is already there. The theory, substantiated by empirical scientific research, proves that green infrastructure is a key element in constructing living spaces that work. This is powerful information at a time when budgets are being cut and every cost scrutinised. This set of guidelines and techniques will demonstrate to practitioners that investment and maintenance in green infrastructure is not a cost but brings value from a social, economic and environmental point of view – in summary the ‘Green City Philosophy’.

Guide - Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS)

This guideline on Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) was prepared by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank Group. The health and well being of a workforce is a key part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and it is crucial to the wider issue of sustainable development.

Research by Nuffield Health and Ashridge Business School asserts that “companies need to develop a strategic approach to health and well being and concentrate on building a ‘sustainable workforce’ if they are to remain competitive.” The UK-based report, Developing a strategy for employee wellbeing: a framework for planning and action, calls on companies to focus on improving employee well being as a way of strengthening an organization and reducing risk.

At a 2012 briefing in London, Nuffield Health chief executive David Mobbs said, “We already worry about the sustainability of the environment, but in the future it’s going to be about the sustainability of the health of your workforce. Health and wellbeing will become the new CSR,” said Mobbs.

Event - Accelerate: Collaborating for Sustainability Conference

Accelerate: Collaborating for Sustainability Conference, will take place on June 10 - 11 2013, in Guelph, Ontario. This conference focuses on the prescient topic of collaboration as it applies to sustainability. Change-makers throughout society are increasingly calling for greater collaboration to solve complex challenges, especially around sustainability issues. But there is precious little expertise in how to convene diverse groups and steward multi-stakeholder change processes.

Event - Connecting Water Resources 2013: Changing the Water Paradigm

The event, "Connecting Water Resources 2013: Changing the Water Paradigm," will take place on Monday March 18 to Thursday March 21, in Ottawa, Ontario. It will highlight the possibilities that exist for progress and innovation in water management. The event will explore ways of collectively dealing with the issues and challenges of water management.

This flagship event will provide a focus on the ways in which new technologies can best be applied. A significant portion of the discussions will focus on innovations and progress using novel approaches to applying existing and emerging research, knowledge and technologies to both policy and practice.

Increasingly, those addressing water management recognize that success must extend beyond technological solutions for isolated challenges and take action within more systemic approaches. By stepping back, and allowing ourselves to rethink the paradigms through which we are approaching the challenges, possibilities for progress emerge.

Event - GreenTech Insight for Innovation Workshop - Telling Your Story: Communication for Innovative Businesses

GreenTech Insight for Innovation Workshop - Telling Your Story: Communication for Innovative Businesses will take place on February 19, 2013, at the Innovation Park, 945 Princess Street, Kingston, Ontario. Is what you do complicated and difficult to explain? Learn how to communicate to your stakeholders in a way that makes them listen, care and understand. This intensive ½ day session will feature expert guidance on how to effectively communicate the value of your business or innovation.

Help Support the Training of Climate Leaders

There are few things we can do on this Earth that are more important than supporting environmental education. The Climate Reality Project is an organization of more than 4,000 volunteers who travel the country to deliver Al Gore's climate change presentation to hundreds of thousands of people in schools, community centers, businesses, and places of worship.

"Doing these presentations has led me to the realization that we are all leaders in some way. And we all need to rise to the challenge and fight against climate change.Together." said Harriet Shugarman, one of the Climate Leaders.

The Green Cup Challenge®

The Green Cup Challenge® (GCC) was launched in 2007, it is an annual month long inter-school energy challenge that takes place each January/February to call attention to peak winter energy use. Originally designed to help schools measure and reduce electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions, GCC provides hands-on learning opportunities for students and school staff, including facilities managers, to work together to reduce their school’s carbon footprint. GCC integrates education and action, quantifies progress and aggregates success.

Free Online Education

Distance learning is part of a growing trend that makes it easier for people to learn online, often in very flexible formats that accommodate busy schedules. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) is amongst a number of educational institutions that are offering free education online. Others include Academic Earth, Khan Academy and the Open University (OU). These schools provide a number of courses in a great many different disciplines including those that relate to the environment.

The Green Schools Alliance

In response to Mayor Bloomberg’s challenge to New York City (NYC) institutions to reduce their carbon footprint 30 percent by 2030, on October 11, 2007, 46 schools gathered at the Allen-Stevenson School in NYC to explore solutions to climate change. After this meeting, with support from the Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, school associations, and numerous other partners, GSA was officially launched. Today it is a global network of schools guiding schools, which addresses 21st Century climate and conservation challenges. It includes more than 3,000 public, private and independent schools in 40 U.S. states and 12 countries, and represents more than two million students. GSA’s Student Advisory Board, comprised of high-school and college students, helps to steer its programs, mission and goals.

Crafting a Positive Environmental Narrative

Positive narratives may be our best hope for fostering desperately needed environmental action. Decades of ecological warnings have failed to produce the necessary societal changes. The enthralling realities and fascinating mysteries of the natural world offer endless inspiration for an alternative message that is both factually accurate and emotionally appealing. One of the most universally attractive messages we can communicate is the idea that we are part of the web of life that surrounds us.

Biodiversity is no longer the exclusive domain of academics. As revealed by the plethora of science oriented subject matter in popular media, Americans are increasingly fascinated with accessible portrayals of the natural world.

Pessimism is Impeding Environmental Advocacy

While it is easy to understand why so many environmentally concerned people are fearful and pessimistic, these attitudes detract from the goal of improving our environment. Fear is well warranted, we are on the verge of a widespread ecosystem collapse and we have reached 400 ppm of atmospheric C02 in the arctic. However, rather than just ask how bad things are, we should be asking how we can best address the calamities we face within the time we have available.

Fear mongering does not move us forward, if anything, it alienates people who most need to be brought into the discussion. The reaction to Rio+20 is a great illustration of the point. The summit in Rio has been justifiably described as “weak,” ”remarkably listless,” and a ”disappointment.” Sometimes the zeal of some environmentalists makes it hard for them to recognize progress. The business community’s commitments were the one bright spot at Rio, nonetheless they too were subjected to a barrage of harsh criticisms.  One article suggests that progress at Rio was derailed by big business. Some even dismissed the entire process, claiming that the summit was hijacked by powerful corporations.

Increasing Collaboration to Build a Sustainable Future (Event)

On May 10, from 1:15-2:45 pm EDT,  join moderator Paul Rowland, Executive Director of the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and a panel of higher education and industry thought leaders to discuss ways these sectors can increase collaboration to further the goals of the UN’s RIO +20 conference in areas including research, education, workforce preparation, sustainable practices, engineering solutions.