Green consumerism

E-junkyard, i.e. E-waste collection center will be the core to bridge formal and informal sector. Our company will provide education (e.g. how to do segregation, simple dismantling, health and environmental hazard of the waste) and proper facilities and equipment (e.g. shelter, gloves, boots). Informal e-waste collector will provide the man power (waste picker) and simple transport (e.g. pedicab) to operate the e-junkyard.
The commonly viewed as valuable from e-waste is PCB board, mainly due to its gold and copper content. In the informal sector, extraction of these metals involved unsafe use of mercury solution, in which the vapour was inhaled by the recycler, and the waste water is discarded freely to the environment.
As our company is specializing in PCB board recycling, we have established a recycling facility meeting health and environmental safety standard. We will buy this component to be recycled in our facility, thus reducing the environmental impact from recycling operation in informal sector. E-junkyard collector can sell the rest of the components to our network of authorised and certified recycling facility.

When the amount of rain falling exceeds the land's ability to absorb it, the result is stormwater runoff. Without treatment, most of the stormwater that runs from the land into our waterways is unhealthy for people and bad for the environment. Runoff can carry chemicals, metals, bacteria, viruses, organic compounds, and other pollutants directly into creeks, lakes, rivers, and streams. Stormwater runoff can cause severe erosion and flooding.
GlaxoSmithKline has recognized some of these problems and has now started to correct them. The company has decided to build LEED certified buildings along with increased sustainable work sites. They have presented and increased the awareness of programs like 2 degrees a sustainable website for their employees. We now can increase the way our colleagues gain a stronger education by the introduction of GreenTreks videos with graphic views concerning the problem of pollution. These films also explain the concepts related to decreasing stormwater waste. Some examples they provide include the cost saving methods of rain barrels and rain garden usage. The use of interesting multimedia and social networking can only increase the comfort level of the employees to watch these productions.
I had the opportunity to send one of the GreenTreks videos to my teammates in New England. The feedback was very positive. The primary comment was I did not realize that stormwater down a sewer could cause problems. This is the reason I would like this proposal to be recognized.

Adonya Imports aims to have positive social impact on varying levels. Most directly, we provide the artisans we work with a chance for a rewarding employment opportunity that is sustainable all year. Many of the artisans are those previously left out of the workforce, like women and disabled. By creating more demand than their local markets can provide, we are introducing new streams of income that will not only improve the lives of the artisans and their families but also the local community, We are also committed to supporting artisans that use low impact materials. There is an art behind turning nuts, seeds and plant fibers into amazing wearable works-of-art and Adonya Imports aims to share these treasures with the rest of the world.

By creating a brand that combines style and sustainability, we hope to create a rippling effect of opportunity and empowerment for the artisans and the consumers. We provide our customers with a convenient and fashionable way to contribute to positive social change. They will be attracted by the unique and practical products and will be engaged by the story and culture behind the craft.

A manufacturer dyes a fabric lot the wrong colour. A film production wraps up their work and has bolts and bolts of fabric they don’t need. Whatever the case, unused fabric is looking for a home—and that home is usually the landfill.

That’s where Our Social Fabric comes in. We ask for the unused excess fabric, collect it, and store it. Once a month, we open our doors and sell it at reasonable rates to the creators in our community, connecting them with raw materials they would never otherwise pick up. The funds go to collecting and recycling more fabric.

A most recent example is an assessment we have underway with the Vancouver Airport. They are committed to increasing their bikeability and the usability of their facilities: they want to increase bike access to their buildings--terminals and beyond.

We have conducted a standard assessment of their infrastructure (buildings, location, parking facilities) to determine where they have hit the mark and where/how they can improve their bikeability socre. Additionally, we are working with them on a custom assessment to do a route mapping analyis to ensure that the bike route bringing folks to and from their facilities are optimal.

This assessment will have an impact on their future expansion and building plans, and is demonstrative of a real commitment to sustainable transportation options.

The Mobility Pass has the potential to help our government and universities meet their commitments to greenhouse gas reductions, increasing public health and safety, as well as contributing to the social economy.
It is both a smart card that provides access to a network of sustainable transportation options, from buses, rapid transit, car shares, and taxis to bike-shares and car rentals, and an online system for Mobility Pass users to plan trips and coordinate activities like ride-sharing. While there will be obvious major environmental benefits, current research suggests there will also be some key social and economic advantages that could provide solutions to current issues and improving our communities. Primary activities include further research and analysis, a business and financial plan.

How?

What makes the Mobility Pass so convenient, is that you use one smart card to access all of your transportation options. This would be a reloadable card, which has a chip allowing it to be refilled automatically, or online, similar to personalized cell phone payment systems permitting pay as you go or monthly plans, offering choices like unlimited bussing.

The website associated with the card would also provide intermodal trip planning and up to the minute rideshare options.

Users will have the option of choosing the mode of transportation they desire, from a wide range of alternatives. Some of the options will include busses, rapid transit, ride share, taxis, ferries, car share, bike share, car rentals and other city-to-city transport options.

Conservatiopreneur is a way that combine economic and conservation aspects. The first model is making a forum joining the native citizen that concern in developing mangrove tree. I know that many mangrove habitat is near the fish pond so I make corporation with the fish pond guide to make association. The association is “Perkumpulan Petani Mangrove” which headed by mr. Muhson Soni. The goal of the association is to take care mangrove tree until they can life without problem such as rubbish and destroyer. The first step of my plan can have result to make entrepreneurship condition in wonorejo people.
Second, Me and my team have a big influence about explain the beneficial of mangrove tree and the importance of mangrove tree to human. So, we plan to make students association to make coorperation with wonorejo people association. In the easy way, we (students) act as a marketer from mangrove product to sell all of the country. We consider that the present world is dominated by young people. We named our association as “Consuat. Conservatiopreneur Students Association”.
As we know, we have to make brand from our product so we can compete with other commercial product in real market. The last, both organization combine as one organization named “Es air Laut” that only have goal to sell product about syrup and making franchise.

I am building a software on the web, together with a team of 15 people, that will be a platform for this process. Anyone who has an idea for a product can go to the platform and open an ideia page. She or he will first fill a form similar to a common market briefing proposal, explaining what is this idea, which and how problems will be solved, and why the regular market solutions are not good yet. After this is done, the person can publish the ideia, and it will be available for 45 days for people to contribute, passing through three stages of a specific methodology, which includes: Conceptual phase, Viability phase and Refining phase. Our main differential will be on conceptual phase, which will be totally crowdsourced, and on viability phase, in which our design team will project the product as sustainable as possible, using only low-impact manufactured materials produced by local communities. After this three stages are done, the product will enter a pre-sales stage at Catarse.me, and will only be produced if the minimum goal for producing with low impact is achieved. When the product is sold, the revenue of the product will be divided among everyone who was involved in any part of the process, accordingly to the importance of this persons involvement.

A young female expresses her personal identity and creativity through fashion. But she is also influenced by marketing and the media and feels compelled to stay on top of the latest trends to fit in. She shops at low cost, chain retailers weekly and buys more than she needs. She finds herself replacing worn out or out-of-style garments often, and the clothing piles up.

After a trusted friend shares ‘My Garment’ on Facebook she is intrigued. An incentive entices her to use the tool and share it with friends. After learning about the pair of jeans she is wearing, such as how much water is used to grow the cotton, the pesticides that were used on the cotton crops, the low wages of the garment workers, and how far they travelled before she purchased them, she is aware of the bigger picture.

She now makes the connection between how her individual consumer choices impact ecological and social systems globally. She then learns that it can be easy and fun to make a difference and help support sustainable fashion. She decides to buy less, learns to look for versatile & quality garments, repairs & restyles existing pieces and supports local fashion designers. She now washes her clothing in cold water, hangs them to dry, and donates any used pieces to charity. She uses the Smartphone app to direct her to local secondhand and vintage stores, boutiques carrying sustainable fashion, community clothing swaps, tailors and sewing workshops. Through this fun lifestyle switch she has also inspired her family and friends to follow suit, and together they are making a difference!

Carbon Voyage provides its customers (transport users):
• the opportunity to reduce transport costs through sharing, utilising empty return journeys and choosing providers through an online auction process that incorporates user ratings
• help in reducing pollution and carbon impact of transportation through collaboration
• capacity sharing through the use of social networks where trust exists between users
• association to green/ ethical transport
• ability to consolidate financial and carbon reports from their journeys
Carbon Voyage provides its suppliers (transport companies):
• additional revenue generation from otherwise empty journeys or unused capacity
• spare capacity advertising tools
• ability to subcontract otherwise unprofitable jobs via Carbon Voyage platform
• increased fleet utilisation (which has greatest impact on companies with small fleets)
Carbon Voyage benefits society and hubs by:
• reducing congestion in urban areas
• reducing pollution (CO2 and gas-engine particulates)
• increasing operational efficiency at transport hubs, venues, and other areas

Example 1: GCR organized an event called The Metro Vancouver Indian Arm Disposal Event. In September 2010, Green Coast Rubbish in partnership with Metro Vancouver offered the residents of Indian Arm a one-time, water access only, free debris disposal and recycling drop-off event.
This first of its kind event enabled Indian Arm residents to recycle and dispose of waste responsibly, conveniently and economically. This initiative recovered and recycled nearly 5 tonnes of metal and garbage, 90 litres of paint, 18 litres of used oil and 32 industrial and marine batteries.
This clean up event coincided with the national Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up and was held at the Cates Point Park dock facility in the District of North Vancouver. Cabin owners had the opportunity to bring in various types of debris by boat where it was appropriately sorted and disposed, and recycled.

Example 2: Following the City of Vancouver’s Summer Live Festival, held July 8-10th in Stanley Park, Green Coast Rubbish was called in by the City of Vancouver to dispose of 1155 pounds of polycoat milk cartons, in addition to approximately 45 pounds of plastic that had been left behind by party goers the day before. We are please to have been able to divert and recycle 100% of the material we hauled.

The basic blocks of our model are:

Customer : Our customers are poor and victim of kerosene lamps.

Microfinance Bank/Institutuions : One who finances individuals/communities to buy solar lanterns/micro gird.

Product Manufacturers : One who manufactures parts/products required to deliver our solution.

Solution Provider : One who does market study, field survey, analyse income and design suitable recovery plan, negotiate with manufacturers, negotiate with microfinance for better interest rates, facilitate microfinance executive in collecting installments etc.,

The differences what it makes are:
*Cost Savings
*Income Generation
*Better Study Environment
*Safe and Healthy Homes
*Reduction in Carbon Emissions

For detailed benefits what it can bring, kindly refer Benefits section in "http://wp.me/s2G2dU-4".

Cranbrook, BC is somewhat unique in that our sewage treatment already consists of innovative green technology at the end of its cycle. However the sewage settling ponds which are at the front end of treatment are located a few hundred meters away from commercially owned greenhouses. These greenhouses remain empty in winter and are used solely for ornamental nursery crops in spring and summer. This is an opportunity waiting to happen. Adjacent to the City Settling Ponds is a large area of undeveloped City property which could be used for a City initiated industry. (see schematic drawing)

My idea consists of extracting some of the heat from the sewage settling ponds and transferring it a short distance to use for growing winter crops under glass. Cranbrook is the sunniest city in BC and has never tapped into this resource. By also capturing solar energy, the greenhouses could receive extra hours of light for optimum growing conditions in winter.

If the commercially owned greenhouses could be used on a trial basis it might be possible to eventually develop a winter food production facility on the adjacent City property which would create employment and help to sustain the city and surrounding area’s food supply.

If the city owned its own greenhouses on its own property, the same greenhouse, food production facility could also be used year round for more hot weather crops in summer.

All that remains between the idea and the actual working system is a feasibility study which potentially could be funded through this competition.

EstiloE.co is a web platform where registered individuals can upload pictures of the things they don't use anymore and give them a price that only administrators will see. Other registered individuals will find objects they need and like and they will make an offer to the system in terms of price. The app will match the wants and the haves and make the price offer to both sides and they will realize the transaction using a payment system online. This way objects that otherwise would be thrown into the trash can will have a second chance. We have been trying a bartering system for 5 years in Bogota, with a great deal of success. We have carried out more than 40 events with more than 500 attendees and lots of free press. We have been invited to different cities in Colombia and in Latin America to bring the Trueque but we haven't been able to do so for economic reasons. Internet based object exchange is a low transaction cost alternative that gives the opportunity to individuals to have what they want for less than what they expected and resolves the growing dilemma of what to do with the things that people don't want anymore but that are still useful. EstiloE.co will charge a comission to the transaction in order to cover operating and financial costs. In Colombia this costs are approximately 15 - 20% of each transaction.