This is an old post that I originally had at another site, but while catching up on some reading, I was reminded by the power of the interviews we did last summer, the stories we began to tell, and the sense of respect I have for China's migrant workers Earlier in the year while a few of my interns were inbetween assignments, I tasked them to get out of the office and do some street int…
Looking back 2 years ago, in the aftermath of the 5.12 Sichuan earthquake, it was clear that something had changed. That, through this experience and the millions of donations, another step forward for civil society awareness and participation had occured. It was a process that was largely controlled at the central level, and primarily benefited a small group of organizations. Which lead to a…
Typically, when speaking about sustainability, I preface my thoughts on the issue that my definition is not simply one that is based in environment. That in addition to the environmental issues faced, we must also look at how we align economies and societies to be more sustainable as well. In China, this definition tends to provide a level of tangibility that many are seeking as they look for a "…
As part of the 8th Europe Asia Young Leaders Forum, I was asked to present my thoughts on two questions: How do cities organize communal life and maintain social harmony? What can business contribute to these processes? .. and I was given 15 minutes to do so. The questions for me were ones that I regularly think about (particularly the first) as I walk through…
Recently, while reading Philanthro-capitalism, the author made brief mention of the fact that successful business people who took the time while traveling to get out of their hotels and have real experiences tended to give more thought to the role in their own communities. It was a point that, like Marketing 101 terminology, I already knew, but the way the author threaded the two issues, the mo…
In the recent Ethical Magazine article, NGOs and activists - Zealot, hypocrite or genuine article?, Brendan May writes out his thoughts on the various species of NGO that exist in his world. The tunnel-visioned zealot The hypocrite The angry activist The smiling salesman The overfed giant The genuine article The critical friend Doing a good job to highlight that there is…
With building the capacity of students being one of our core focuses, and great joys, I was privileged to once again be invited to speak in front of 150 AIESEC students as part of their Shaping Your Future Conference. As an organization that I think has one of the strongest communities of students, students who are socially minded, being in front of them for an hour an a half (speech, panel, and w…
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…