Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’

Posted on May 5, 2009 - by admin

Renovation Innovation for Sustainability

Posted on February 9, 2009 - by Vic Desotelle

Reconsidering the Meaning of “New” Technology

A critical piece to technological success in an emerging era of the green (or sustainable) design marketplace is to, not just create cool, cutting edge technologies, but to also define design itself differently so that technology’s underlying processes comply with the new principles of triple bottom line (sustainability) management. That is, we must redesign our underlying methods for designing technologies. To do this, we will have to take a much bigger look at how we define – not just the end-result, but also reconsider the actual design processes themselves by asking questions such as: ‘why’ are we designing a given technology in the first place?, ‘how’ does this technology need to be created with alternative design principles in mind (see Bucky Fuller’s Design Science as an example)?, ‘what’ will be different about the form and function of the end-product?, ‘who’ does the technology affect?, and what is its (w)holistic impact on the greater earth ecology of living systems?

I’d love to hear from you all what you and your teams are doing to make this shift in technology design thinking.

Vic Desotelle

http://DiscoveryFuel.com

Posted on November 30, 2008 - by Vic Desotelle

Sustainable Innovation: The Organizational, Human, and Knowledge Dimensions

Contributing Editor: René JornaWith a Foreword by John Elkington
http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/catalogue/innovation.htm
HOW SUSTAINABLE IS INNOVATION?

Problematically, most contemporary patterns of innovation in human social systems and organisations are not sustainable. This prevents people from learning effectively, from recognising and solving their problems, and from operating in sustainable ways. It is arguably why societies, businesses and industries around the world are so unsustainable.

Sustainable innovation is a pattern of social learning and problem- solving that is, itself, sustainable. The sustainability of innovation, moreover, is linked to the sustainability of its outcomes, which manifest themselves in what people produce and do in the world. Sustainable innovation, then, is a necessary precondition for sustainability in how societies and organisations function – the ways they organise, the products and services they make, the energy and resources they use, and the wastes they produce.

As challenges such as demographic pressures, ethnic tensions, terrorism, global poverty, pandemics and abrupt climate change force their way into mainstream politics and business, so we see growing interest in innovation, entrepreneurial solutions and, critically, issues such as how to ensure successful solutions replicate and scale. Sustainable Innovation aims to illustrate that shift. Instead of simply focusing on environmental and technological matters, it views and evaluates innovation-for-sustainability in terms of the human, social and management challenges and responses.

Developed from the Dutch research programme `Knowledge Creation for Sustainable Innovation’, this book presents empirical research and cases to develop a theory of sustainable innovation that is based on management of knowledge, knowledge and cognition and innovation approaches.

Sustainable Innovation suggests that knowledge and innovation will be the key drivers of social and corporate sustainability in the years ahead. It will be essential reading for managers and researchers in areas such as sustainability, innovation, knowledge management and organisational learning.

———–

To place an order for this title at a discount of 10%, or to view/download `The Foreword` by John Elkington, `The Preface` and `Knowledge creation for sustainable innovation: the KCSI programme` by Rene Jorna

Please visit the Greenleaf website at:http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/catalogue/innovation.htm

You can also request a review copy or inspection copy from this site – see the home page: http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com

Posted on November 2, 2008 - by Vic Desotelle

Seemingly “green” state ballot propositions

The language of propositions can be quite manipulative. I often think I’m voting yes when no is what I wanted, and visa versa. Below is a trust-able source – the Union for Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org), to help you choose well at the polls on Tuesday.

When you go to the polls this Tuesday, November 4, you will face a pair of seemingly “green” state ballot propositions.

As you may remember from our earlier e-mails, a closer look at both initiatives reveals fundamental flaws that make each initiative harmful, not helpful. Based on our thorough analysis of each proposition, the Union of Concerned Scientists urges you to vote:

NO on Proposition 7, which is loophole-ridden and so poorly drafted that it could actually hinder the development of new clean, renewable energy sources in California, like solar and wind power, and
NO on Proposition 10, which would throw nearly ten billion taxpayer dollars into a program promoting natural gas and other transportation fuels that could achieve little or no reductions in smog or global warming pollution.

On a more positive note, we encourage you to support a pair of helpful ballot propositions by voting:

YES on Proposition 1A, which is a bond measure to begin construction on a California high-speed train system. Once built, the train system is expected not only to ease growing automobile and plane traffic, but most importantly, to reduce emissions of global warming pollution and save energy overall.
YES on Proposition 2, which will ban some of the worst practices of polluting CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), and is an important step in promoting a modern approach to agriculture that is productive, humane, and more healthful.

Read more on all four ballot propositions below and don’t forget to vote on Tuesday, November 4. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. If you have a vote-by-mail ballot and haven’t already mailed it in, you can drop off your completed ballot at your polling location on election day. Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Chris Carney
California Outreach Organizer
Union of Concerned Scientists

————————————————————————

More Information about California’s Ballot Propositions

NO on Proposition 7
Shifting our country’s reliance from fossil fueled electricity to clean and renewable sources is one of the most effective ways to reduce global warming pollution. Combating global warming is the most significant challenge of our time. That is why it is so important to get the solutions right. Unfortunately, Proposition 7 gets it wrong, creates more uncertainty, and would likely set back our efforts to transition to a clean energy future.
Based on the experience of UCS experts on the design and implementation of renewable electricity standards in California and across the country, we are convinced that the serious flaws of Proposition 7—such as creating new compliance loopholes for utilities, setting counter-productive policies on energy pricing, and discouraging smaller-scale renewable projects-would prevent California from achieving our state’s clean energy goals. Worse still, if Prop 7 passes, fixing the initiative’s serious mistakes would require another new ballot measure or a two-thirds super-majority vote in the state legislature.
UCS strongly supports effective policies to increase renewable energy in California and is actively working towards increasing the state’s renewable standards in ways that will help, not hinder new renewable energy development in the state.
Read our detailed Prop 7 fact sheet online.
NO on Proposition 10
Because of its flaws and weaknesses, Proposition 10, would be a poor use of public bond funds at a time when the state is facing a multi-billion dollar budget crisis. Prop 10 would cost the state about $10 billion over 30 years to pay off both the principal ($5 billion) and interest ($5 billion). UCS is dedicated to finding and promoting cost-effective alternatives to petroleum fuels that will reduce the pollution that causes global warming, but Prop 10 is neither a smart nor a cost-effective solution. Three quarters of the $5 billion in bond funding in Prop 10 would be dedicated to incentives with flawed or inadequate environmental criteria. Prop 10’s rebates give natural gas an unfair advantage over other alternatives, while excluding or providing inadequate support for vehicle technologies that could provide much greater environmental benefits than natural gas in the long run, such as hybrid heavy duty trucks or plug-in hybrid electric passenger vehicles.
California has better and more cost-effective regulatory and legislative policy options available to reduce air pollution and global warming emissions from passenger and heavy duty vehicles. UCS urges Californians to reject Prop 10.
Read our detailed Prop 10 fact sheet online.
YES on Proposition 1A
This $9.95 billion bond measure will fund construction of a high-speed rail system in California which will eventually cost $40 billion when fully built out. The High Speed Rail Authority expects additional funds to come from federal and private sources. While we do acknowledge that the cost of the high speed rail is significant compared to other climate change solutions, UCS considers high speed electric trains crucial to solving our long term transportation problems and reducing the pollution that causes global warming. If ridership expectations are met, this high-speed train system would help reduce traffic demand along certain corridors, decrease the number of air flights, and help reduce harmful global warming pollution. Prop 1A has broad support among the environmental community. More information can be found here.
YES on Proposition 2
Many CAFOs (confined animal feed operations) use crates and cages to crowd too many animals into too small an area. Raising animals in these unnatural and unhealthy environments pollutes water and air, lowers property values in neighboring rural communities, and fosters excessive overuse of antibiotics leading to harder-to- treat human diseases. Passing California’s Prop 2 is one important step in promoting a modern approach to agriculture that is productive, humane, and more healthful.
Read our new issue briefing: “The Hidden Costs of CAFOs” (PDF file size of 1600 KB)

————————————————————————

Tell your friends about this message and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Posted on October 27, 2008 - by Vic Desotelle

Vic on Sustainable Innovation

I have long awaited the day when business and technology begin to use principles of sustainability as the foundation for creating and using products and services. Well, the future has arrived and I’m all over it.

Under concepts like ‘triple bottom line’ and ’social responsibility’ the idea of innovation is showing up in new ways. Thus, I will be spending ample time discussing these kinds of concepts and looking at how their use in day-to-day development within your company will dramatically improve not only your production but also your companies attractiveness to potential clients and investors.

All of us carry underlying beliefs that drive the creative process, and today’s view of innovation carries many assumptions. Unfortunately, these assumption lead to dangerous results because the correct “checks and balances” have not been implemented. Because of this, it is now essential that we use a broader perspective when creating and assessing various forms of innovation.

One idea is to blend three different concepts of innovation into one; Social innovation, organizational innovation, and technical innovation. Each of these carry their own individual ability to create cool stuff. Yet, when actively used together during an innovation process as a sort of “3-lens perspective” your outcomes are kept in check and actually pushes you beyond your present level. Furthermore, it will help you to make better decisions for your company and for the planet. Using this 3-lens perspective, you will be able to track and monitor improved efficiency of the solutions or outcome you create.

So stick with me on this one. Let’s dive in with both feet and talk about this thing called ’sustainable innovation’. I want you to ask questions and address some of your greatest fears, concerns … and, yes, potential opportunities that you think can arise by jumping into this new form of innovative process. Are you in?

Posted on October 6, 2008 - by Vic Desotelle

Vic on Keepin’ it Green – the Color of “Sustainable Innovation”

As most of you who clicked into this space: green is no longer a do-good concept. No, in fact it has become a manditory part of defining any business, any organization, any city … really anything that we humans have the ability to think about and create will forever be different because of the green movement and its identity with how we manage our home  – that big round house we call Earth and all the living communities that inhabit it.

Green for me, goes beyond the idea of ‘environment’. In fact, I find that most talk about the environment often separates us two-leggers with big brains; as if we lived in the environment but were not apart of it. This is a wakeup call: We are “THAT”. And this means that how we address green has to address our interconnectedness with anything that we normally discuss as if its something outside of ourselves.

So, in this section of the blog, we will be having conversations about green as essential to the way we see ourselves. From that we create what we need and what we want. This is called innovation from my view. So as we move into what many believe is a critical period in determining the future of human-kind, we will talk about things that address green (or sustainability) as a catalyst for creating next-generation innovation. This is why we have set the primary theme of this blog as ’sustainable innovation’. Join me on this journey. Give me some feedback.