For many managers who are looking to build a CSR or sustainability platform, creating the internal buy-in necessary to support the goals of the program can be a significant hurdle to overcome. That, regardless of program strength, moving the proposals up the chain of command and across business units can be THE hurdle that will determine how its funding gets allocated, whether or not it receives …
With less than a month to go to Shanghai EXPO, I have been receiving a number of requests for my opinion on the "sustainability" of the EXPO itself. It is a subject I addressed for the first time while speaking at a Net Impact event, and followed that up with a review of the UNEP report (part 1 and part 2) of the event, and most recently I was interviewed by NPR and following the recent JUCCCE…
If you are looking for something to do on Earth Day,then look no further than the Greennovate Earth Day event. A full compound affair, this year Greennovate has a lot of activities that will help participants learn about ways they can improve their lives, community and environment in very tangible ways: It might sound like we want you to do all our work for us, but don’t worry! The idea is tha…
1. Chengdu’s power saving technology world-leading, filling domestic gap On March 12th, Chengdu Gaowei Power Saving Technology Co., Ltd officially announced its latest R&D results costing 6 years and a few million yuan – the energy-saving technology and equipment of the submerged arc furnace and electric arc furnace. It is reported that this power-saving technology not only fills the domestic…
As part of our first official discussion in the Social Entrepreneur committee, and one in fact that is often had in the wider community, we began a process of finding a way to put our finger on how to categorize a social enterprise vs. an NGO. Clearly, it was a conversation hat was not going to be solved by the 8 of us, and clearly it is a question that will only be answered in time, however to h…
Why shouldn't one expect to see more companies follow Google's lead? simple.. The people who runs the worlds largest firms are by and large not invested in their firms beyond their pay package. Executives are commodities whose decisions are made by the short term equation that with profits comes opportunity (for them), and is not about building companies. On the whole. That, for all the argum…
Went through my inbox this weekend and came across an email from a friend who had sent along their list of preferred China environmental bloggers and sites, and thought I would pass it on to you. A few of them I frequent, but others are new to me, so proceed with caution. If you have others that you feel are worth mentioning, please let me know in the comments section. English Sites/ Blogg…
If you have been following China for any amount of time, then you will know that China is good for a chart that will shock and awe readers. Few, if any, in the cleantech space have as much power as the one above, from the Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP study China’s Promotion of the Renewable Electric Power Equipment Industry (download here), and why I chose to pull it out is twofold. First, just loo…
If necessity is the mother invention under normal circumstances, then transparency is the mother of all necessity in China. It is something that we have seen over the years as crisis's propel the media further,something that the recent Yale 360 article As China’s Pollution Toll Grows,Protesters and Media Push Back eludes to: In recent months, protests over the severe illnesses caused by China'…
Late last week, when the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released new regulations (right click to download here) governing how China based NGOs register their inbound donations, several media outlets (AP, SF Examiner, and SCMP) put out coverage that would leave many to believe that this new regulation was going to have an immediate and negative impact on NGOs operating here: "China has s…
Over the holiday, I was catching up on some Big Think clips, and I came across the ... interesting... clip from the Economist's New Your Bureau chief Matthew Bishop where he discusses philanthropy in China. What I found ... interesting.. about the clip was that he seems to paint the picture that China, and its philanthropists, are having to become givers as part of an exercise whereby they…
This weekend, while attending the Three on The Bund Sustainable Business and Society Event, I knew that it would be one that I would be interested in, as at the top of the ticket you had thee leaders of business management schools talking about sustainability. Moderated by PhD Lu Xiongwen ,Dean of Fudan University's Business School, the main event was really when Prof. Richard Locke got up to s…
The recent study The Greenness of China: Household Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Urban Development, a collaboration from researcher from UCLA, HArvard, and Tsinghua PhD candidates, takes a look at urban emission growth.. .using largely economic data.. and it is quite an interesting study. Download PDF here China urbanization is associated with both increases in per-capita income and greenhouse g…
In the lead up to, and in the middle of, the recent Copenhagen discussions the role of China as either the biggest polluter or as the biggest Cleantech investor has been the focal point for many. It is a bipolar focus that has defined many of the discussions on China in the past, and as the recently reviewed debate on whether China is a developed or developing country highlights, it is a condition…
Fresh off several conferences and meetings where discussions centered around smart grid, wind power, and other renewable energies, yesterday's tour of the Shanghai Municipal Waste Facility proved to be a very interesting site visit. Operational for three years now, this facility (one of two facilities in Shanghai) incinerates about 1,500 tons of trash a day from five districts of Shanghai (Shangha…
