Test - creative capitalism

Showing posts with label creative capitalism. Show all posts

Coke and the WWF's CO2 Eating Billboard

July 13, 2011 Add Comment Edit

The WWF has collaborated with Coca-Cola since 2007, together they have focused on freshwater conservation, including Coke's agricultural supply chain. The two work together on action plans aimed at mitigating risks to some of the world’s most important freshwater basins and watersheds that are threatened by dams, pollution and damaged habitat.

Coca-Cola is also working with the WWF to render its advertising message in an environmentally appropriate medium. On June 23, the World Wildlife Federation and Coca-Cola unveiled a billboard in the Philippines that actually eats CO2.

The 60 x 60 foot living billboard in Manila is made of thousands of Fukien tea plants and was created in conjunction with Coca-Cola Philippines’ Live Positively sustainability program. The billboard is shaped in the iconic outline of a coke bottle and written across it is the statement ‘This billboard absorbs air pollutants.'

“We are proud that we have brought to life the first plant billboard in the country. It is an embodiment of our company’s Live Positively commitment to making a positive difference in the world by incorporating sustainability into everything that we do. With this, we hope to inspire Filipinos to join us in our journey, because we know that together, we can make a positive impact,” stated Guillermo Aponte, president of Coca-Cola Philippines.

The billboard is using pots made from recycled bottles that contain 3,600 trees, which live off a mixture of organic fertilizers. The novel advertising employs an efficient drip irrigation system which saves water and fertilizer. Each of the 3,600 trees on the billboard can absorb up to 13 pounds of CO2 a year. When fully grown, the billboard will absorb a total of 46,800 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Global 100's Most Sustainability Corporations in ...
The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
Coke's Zero Waste Carbon Neutral
Earth Hour for Business
Water Management Webcast: Cities and the Global ...
America's Most Sustainable Businesses
Environmental Leader's Most Read Stories of 2010
Pepsi Refresh Project's Cause Marketing Videos
WWF-UK's Green Game-Changers Initiative for Business
WWF's Long History of Helping Businesses to be ...
Cooperation Between Business and Environmental Organizations ...
Social Media and the Green Message: WWF Global ...
WWF's One Planet Leaders Program
IMD and WWF's Sustainable Business
WWF Celebrates Canada Water Week
WWF's Canadian Living Planet Report

Green Product Design Network

March 31, 2011 1 Comment Edit

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.

November 27, 2010 Add Comment Edit

Social capitalism is a new market-based economic system. It addresses the problems inherent in both capitalism and socialism. Traditional capitalism often overlooks human and environmental interests and the central planning of traditional socialism impedes a rational allocation of resources.

In social capitalism, governments create greater profit opportunities for entrepreneurs by investing in desirable future industry and technologies (like rewable energy).

The essence of social capitalism is that markets work best and output is maximized through sound social management of the macroeconomy. Social capitalism posits that government regulation, and sponsorship of markets, can lead to superior economic outcomes.

Government investment in the green economy or securities regulation are examples of social capitalism. Regulation should be as limited as possible, however, regulation is needed to ensure that individuals and corporations do not exploit markets for personal gain at the expense of market growth, economic stability and environmental sustainability.

For business, social capitalism is the ability to create positive, healthy development. Businesses practicing social capitalism give back to society while creating an environment that is conducive to profit maximization.

Social capitalism is not hostile to free markets or the private ownership of property. Instead, social capitalism recognizes the unique success of capitalism, particularly under appropriate social supervision. Social capitalism thus seeks to create a balanced approach to business and the role of the state, with a view to optimizing the business environment for maximum sustainable economic growth.

Coke and the WWF's CO2 Eating Billboard

Green Product Design Network

Social Capitalism