Social Entrepreneurs Bringing Solar Solutions To Africa

Posted on April 27, 2012 by quest

Students from NYU Abu Dhabi were among the Hult Global Case Challenge winners. NYU Abu Dhabi’s solution focuses on creating a network of entrepreneurs and technicians who will sell and fix solar lamps in a sustainable way. Many Africans still rely on kerosene lamps for light. Hult International Business School (formerly known as the Arthur D. Little School of Management) is the first global business school with campuses in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai. The other two wiining teams are Carnegie Mellon and Hult International Business School . The winning teams were honored for their commitment to eradicating poverty at the Hult Global Case Challenge in New York City, hosted by Hult International Business and the Clinton Global Initiative. The three winning teams beat thousands of students from the world’s best business schools for a US$1 million cash grant and were honored by President Bill Clinton.

Started three years ago by Hult graduate Ahmad Ashkar, the Hult Global Case Challenge is the largest and most respected initiative of its kind. Harnessing the power of crowd sourcing, the Hult Global Case Challenge attracted students from 350 colleges and universities to provide solutions to the real challenges facing three NGOs. These are Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable housing; SolarAid, which brings renewable energy to impoverished communities; and One Laptop Per Child, which provides low-cost computers to children.

Speaking in support of the winning team’s solution, SolarAid CEO Steve Andrews said: “Our goal is to eradicate the kerosene lamp from Africa by the end of this decade. That’s simply a huge challenge, which will only be possible with massive innovation. Having the top students from around the world competing to come up with great ideas for how we will do this is an extraordinary boost. It’s already changing the way we think and work.”Ahmad Ashkar, the founder and CEO of the Hult Global Case Challenge, said: “This initiative aims to revolutionize how we think about the world’s most pressing social challenges. With US$1 million in seed capital, students from all over the world have a chance to establish social enterprises that achieve real results.”

Washington, D.C. Gets Top Environmental City Ranking

SunRun Invests $150 Million In Home Solar Systems

Posted on April 26, 2012 by quest

A subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp today announced the creation of a new renewable energy tax equity fund with Sunrun to support the purchase and installation of more than $150 million in residential solar systems across the United States. Sunrun is a market leader in home solar and this is the company’s sixth renewable energy tax equity commitment from U.S. Bancorp.“U.S. Bancorp has been our trusted partner for years and is instrumental to Sunrun’s continued success as one of the largest providers of clean, affordable solar energy for American families,” said Sunrun co-Founder and CEO Edward Fenster.Through its substantial tax equity commitments, U.S. Bancorp has helped Sunrun bring affordable solar to thousands of homes across the country.

Sunrun came into the market in 2007 as a way for homeowners to go solar without high upfront costs. Sunrun owns, insures, monitors and maintains the solar panels on a homeowner’s roof, while families pay a low rate for clean energy and fix their electric costs for 20 years. Typical Sunrun customers pay a lower rate for solar energy than what they pay for electricity from their utility companies. Sunrun installs over $1.5 million in solar every day and has more than 20,000 customers in ten states.

A recent report from Sunrun and PV Solar Report, an authority on solar market data, shows solar power service is becoming the preferred way for homeowners to go solar. For example, solar power service grew 174 percent in California in the first two months of 2012 compared to the first two months of 2011. It has generated over $100 million in growth for the California economy so far in 2012. One in every three California homeowners who installs solar does so with Sunrun.

Think Like A Man Thinking Green

Washington, D.C. Gets Top Environmental City Ranking

Posted on April 24, 2012 by quest

MaxPoint Interactive, a company that helps retailers and brands drive local in-stores sales with its innovative Digital Zip technology, today issued the results of an indexing study that analyzed billions of data points to determine the U.S. neighborhoods that are the most eco-friendly. Washington, D.C ranked the highest based on their passion for environmental news and issues. It was followed by Austin, TX, and Honolulu, HI. San Francisco which ranked number one in an Economist study last year followed in at number four.

“The results of this Interest Index were particularly surprising because we found that we have clusters of consumers who are ‘talking the talk’ and some that are ‘walking the walk’ when it comes to acting in an environmentally friendly way, yet both groups are important to advertisers” said, Gretchen Joyce, chief operating officer of MaxPoint Interactive. In this particular indexing study, MaxPoint discovered that there are two very distinct neighborhood types when it comes to going “green”— those who demonstrate interest by reading and discussing environmental issues and those who make purchasing decisions to support environmentally friendly products.

Using the data gleaned from this index, MaxPoint implemented highly targeted neighborhood-level digital ad campaigns for a major luxury car dealer was looking to increase overall brand awareness of its new hybrid vehicle high-end eco-friendly vehicle and drive sales. It also provided insight to a major solar solutions company was interested in targeting the neighborhoods across the U.S. most likely to purchase a solar panel to power their homes. As a result of a focused digital advertising campaign, the company was able to target consumers passionate about the environment, who own homes, and have an average household income of $60K or higher.

Green News Wall

Water Farms Help Consumers Find Fresh Local Food

Posted on April 23, 2012 by quest

In honor of the 41st Earth Day the Recirculating Farms Coalition released a new interactive map that shows consumers where to buy fresh produce and seafood, and decorative plants and fish from innovative farms. The organization is a collaborative group of farmers, fishermen, educators, scientists and others who promote unique growing methods – recirculating farming.”Recirculating farms are amazing – they use inventive ways to be space, energy, and water efficient,” says Executive Director Marianne Cufone. “Because they can be so eco-friendly, Earth Day is the perfect time to get the word out that these farms are operating all over the U.S. Our new map helps people find and learn about them.”

Recirculating farms are what they sound like; they use naturally cleaned, recycled water, without soil, to raise plants and fish. There are many styles of recirculating farms, but generally they all fall into three categories: hydroponic (plants), aquaculture (fish), or aquaponic (plants and fish).Though recirculating technology is not new – it is similar to that used for ages in hanging gardens, fish ponds, and modernly in aquariums – it is ever improving. Today, these farms can grow more, in less space, using rainwater and renewable energy sources like solar power. Still, they are not well known in the U.S.

One focus for the Coalition is to raise awareness about these farms. Creating a map that shows commercial recirculating farms is a way to reach out to people who want to visit and purchase from the farms and are interested in supporting local, sustainable businesses.The new map uses color-coding to identify the type of farm and provides location and contact information. It is a work-in-progress, the Coalition expects to add more farms and additional details to each entry, including what is grown and where products can be purchased if they are sold off-site.”We are always learning about new recirculating farms, and farmers are contacting and joining the Coalition. This map will expand and be an important resource for consumers who want sustainably grown, fresh local food. We are excited to debut this in time for Earth Day, to help.

Eco Friendly Travelers Growing Greener

Think Like A Man Thinking Green

Posted on April 22, 2012 by quest

As an industry leader in environmental innovation, Sony Pictures has long experimented with energy-efficient light sources and technologies for use in its productions. But for the Screen Gems feature Think Like a Man, Sony Pictures took its efforts a step further and reached an industry first by using 100 percent energy-efficient (LED) lighting sources on the production.

“Sony Pictures is committed to making great content with a smaller and smaller energy footprint, and Think Like A Man is a great example of Screen Gems’ continuing tradition of actively reducing the impact and waste of a major feature film production,” says Gary Martin, President, Production Administration, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Conventional lighting for a motion picture requires a significant amount of energy to run and generates a lot of heat on set. This, in turn, must be cooled using air conditioning, requiring additional control equipment. Compared to a conventional incandescent bulb, however, LED lighting can generate over four times the amount of light with the same amount of energy and is also able to maneuver into tighter spaces and be transported more efficiently.

Think Like A Man

“Although not perfect, energy-efficient lighting is making great strides. We were excited to incorporate this industry-first in lighting into our production, and look forward to continuing to work with manufacturers to test and improve the technology,” says Mason McConnell, Executive Director, Set Lighting, Sony Pictures Entertainment. In addition to many other efforts, Think Like a Man further greened the filming by shooting the production in locations near the Sony Pictures studio lot, cutting both transportation requirements as well as the need to construct sets. It also used many environmentally-friendly products and processes in the daily administration of the production. The movie is based on Steve Harvey’s book “Like A Lady Think Like Man.”

United Takes Off With Earth Day Eco-Skies Program

Posted on April 22, 2012 by quest

United Continental announced its enhanced carbon offset program in celebration of Earth Day, providing customers the opportunity to calculate and offset the carbon footprint associated with their air travel and cargo shipments. While United and Continental each had a similar initiative, this new program focuses on offset projects that go beyond climate change and provide social and economic benefits in communities United serves.

“We provide an incredibly efficient service to hundreds of thousands of customers every day and continue to focus on investments in the latest fuel-efficient aircraft, advancement of biofuels and operational improvements,” said Jimmy Samartzis, managing director of global environmental affairs and sustainability for United Airlines. “Our Eco-Skies commitment to the environment drives action today, and our redeveloped carbon offset program now enables customers to contribute to emission-reducing projects in communities we serve.”

After booking a trip with United, customers have the opportunity to visit United’s carbon offset program website to make a contribution to offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with the travel. While calculations are based on a comprehensive carbon footprint of the flight operations, the calculator only assigns the emissions associated with individual passenger travel. Through its partnership with Sustainable Travel International (STI), a non-profit organization, United offers customers a choice of three carbon reduction projects in communities it serves: forest conservation near San Francisco, wind power in Texas, biodiversity preservation in Belize. United’s Eco-Skies program, is designed to make a positive impact on the environment – in the air, on the ground, at its facilities, with business partners and across communities.