Sharing Sustainability Innovation

Movie: Globe Forum City Challenge Karlstad

Gregory Daniel — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:52:55 +0000

Karlstad plays host to some great innovations at the City Challenge Tour, Feb 25 2010. In this part we meet the innovators (swedish language). The organisers of the event were Fem, Stål & Verkstad and Globe Forum.

Innovators rehearsal in Karlstad has come to an end

Annelie Andersson — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:36:28 +0000

It was a student, a Norwegian, and a woman…..and I am not trying to tell a funny story about our lovely Norwegian neighbours, this is a true story about my afternoon. I have spent half a day at Karlstad University listening to innovators rehearsing their mind-boggling pitches that will solve some of the challenges that the world is facing today.

Seven brave contestants will be performing tomorrow for the opportunity to earn a spot at the grand finale, April 28-29 in Stockholm, and the possibility to find funding and support through Globe Forum’s extensive network. All the participants have showed proof of great ideas and some of them have already been establishing their business for over 12 years. All they are lacking is a partner to actually realize their idea, and some funding of just a million Swedish Crowns to reach the wide audience.

So whether you are a student, an investor, or a person working for a corporation, you should attend Globe Forum Tour in Karlstad tomorrow, February 25^th , at 12 to 5 pm at Karlstad University in the Pedagogiska Verkstaden Building.

And don’t come because I read somewhere that 61% of the earnings in a company were made through 14% of the new investments on innovation, come because we need to live in a more energy efficient world and these 7 contestant have ideas and developed concepts to show us how, and they are actually offering you a piece of that.

Make a change,

Annelie

Globe Forum Tour 2010

Annelie Andersson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:30:20 +0000

Innovatörstävlingen i Karlstad

Inför årets Globe Forum i Stockholm går Globe Forum på tour i Sverige för att finna de bästa miljötekniska innovationerna i landet. Första stoppet är Karlstad, den 25 februari. Tävlingen arrangeras av Stål & Verkstad inom ramen för interregprojektet FEM och Globe Forum i samarbete med klusterorganisationer, företag och universitet i regionen. Vinnarna kommer direktkvalificeras till finalen som kommer ske under Globe Forum, 28-29 April.

Miljötekniska innovationer är en förutsättning för att nå framtidens klimatmål. Området står inför en stor tillväxt och det gäller att redan nu synliggöra områdets betydelse och positionera sig inför framtiden.

Syftet med dagen är att visa varför området är av strategisk vikt för en regions framtida utveckling, lyfta fram de bästa hållbarhetsinnovationerna från regionen samt diskutera statens roll i främjandet av dessa nya företag.

Eftersom förmågan att kunna sälja in sin idé till kunder och investerare ofta är avgörande för en innovatör, kommer tävlingen att utgöras av 60-sekunders presentationer utan hjälpmedel där en jury tillsammans med deltagarna får rösta på de bästa innovatörerna. I en andra runda ställer juryn fördjupningsfrågor till deltagarna. Juryn består av investerare, innovatörer, forskare samt representanter från offentlig sektor och stora företag.

Tid och Plats: 25 februari, 12-17 , Pedagogiska verkstaden, Hus Vänern, Karlstads universitet

Deltagarlistan:

CaiLar
Projektet CaiLar presenterar framtidens livsmedelsförpackningar som kan baseras helt på förnyelsebara material. Ett miljövänligt koncept bestående av potatisstärkelse och lera med potential att ersätta plastfilmer. Materialet utgör ett effektivt skydd för matvaror samtidigt som pappersförpackningar blir lättare att återvinna.

Konceptet har utvecklats genom ett nära samarbete mellan Karlstads universitet och Sheffield Hallam University.

MacBat
Macbatmetoden regenererar batterier med hjälp av väl kontrollerade strömpulser som effektivt och skonsamt omvandlar inaktiva sulfatkristaller i använda sulfaterade bly-syra batterier till aktivt material. Metoden återskapar förlorad kapacitet och förlänger batteriets livslängd.

Norsk Solkraft
Innovationen är en carport med solceller på taket, som förutom att skydda mot väder och vind dessutom producerar energi. Lösningen gör att miljövänlig energi kan produceras på platser som egentligen inte är ägnade för energiproduktion.

P-Timer
Innovationen P-TIMER är en mobil enhet som är avsedd att spara energi på parkeringsplatser med motorvärmaruttag. P-TIMER är konstruerad så att den med hänsyn till aktuell utomhustemperatur anpassar strömuttaget till tidpunkten när bilen ska tas i bruk och minskar därmed elförbrukningen. En P-timer kan också användas för andra ändamål som t ex laddning av el- och hybridbilar.

Oscar Carlsson
Innovationen är en databas över de koldioxidutsläpp som alldagliga matvaror producerar för att transporteras och de utsläpp som konsumenten själv släpper ut i samband med inköp av matvaran. En personlig hemsida är kopplad till databasen där konsumenten själv får fylla i vilka matvaror hon/han köpt och får därmed möjlighet att räkna ut sitt utsläpp av koldioxid.

Willy Ociansson
En borrhålsbooster rör med hjälp av luftbubblor om i grundvattnet i en djupborrad energibrunn och påskyndar därmed energitransporten mellan bergvägg och kollektorslang. Borrhålsboostern reducerar antalet borrhålsmetrar med bibehållen effekt och ger därmed en mer kostnadseffektiv anläggning. Tekniken kan också möjliggöra ett ökat framtida effektuttag.

Precer
Precer utvecklar en unik teknik för småskalig elproduktion genom förbränning av fasta biobränslen (exempelvis pellets eller flis). Tekniken är anpassningsbar för att användas som återladdningskälla i alla olika typer av hybridfordon samt för el- och värmeproduktion till bl.a. bostäder och fritidshus.

Windowfarms

Annelie Andersson — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:15:56 +0000

NYC artists Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray about their hydroponic project called Window Farm.

In New York City a group have moved on to sourcing food directly from their apartment windows. No joke.

The organisation is called Windowfarms, and is a new movement toward hydroponic, vertical farming in urban areas.

Why not start to grow your own okra, cherry tomatoes, and lettuce from recycled water bottles in your windowsills.

Read on windowfarms.org

Happy farming!

Annelie

Great names join Globe Award Jury

Martina Nee — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:46:36 +0000

Globe Award Jury consists of the most recognizable, experienced and noted representatives in the field of sustainability. This year joining such outstanding names like Prof. Mohan Munasinghe – the Nobel Peace Prize winner 2007 – will be Prof. M. S. Swaminathan – “the Father of Economic Ecology” and Dr. Carlos Arruda, Professor and Director of International Relations at Fundação Dom Cabral.

“He is a living legend” said Secretary General of the United Nations Javier Perez de Cuellar about Prof. M. S. Swaminathan who is also known as the “Father of the Green Revolution in India”, for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.

He was one of three from India included in TIME Magazine’s 1999 list of the “20 most influential Asian people of the 20th century” , the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. Professor Swaminathan is a member of numerous, leading, scientific academies, such as the Royal Society of London and the U S National Academy of Sciences. He has received 58 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world. He currently holds the UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai (Madras), India. Due to his extraordinary achievements and experience he will be joining the Sustainability Innovation Globe Award Jury.

Dr. Carlos Arruda is at present a chairman of the UNICON board (USA) and a member of the World Economic Forum (Switzerland) Council on Talent and Diversity of the Technical Advisory Council of Instituto Venturus (Brazil). He has obtained his PhD diploma in International Business from the Bradford Management Centre in United Kingdom. Apart from business activities and educational work, Dr. Arruda is an author of books and articles on the topics Internationalization of Brazilian enterprises, Competitiveness and Management of Innovation. Thanks to his experience in the sustainable development area and Latin American background he will provide multidimensional view on sustainable cities across the world as one of five members of the Sustainable City Globe Award Jury.

These unique experts will select laureates for the Sustainability Innovation Award 2010 and the Sustainable City Award 2010. They will help to reach an objective and fair verdict. Therefore their contribution to Globe Award’s development will be crucial.

The Globe Award’s main purpose is to explore and support researchers, innovators, cities and companies that are leading in sustainable development. The awards are handed in four categories: the Sustainability Research Award, the Sustainability Innovation Award, the Sustainable City Award and the Sustainability Reporting Award. The candidates can send in their application from December 1st to February 28th 2010, at www.globeaward.org/apply.

Globe Award will be presented for the fourth consecutive time at the solemn gala at Nordiska Museet in Stockholm April 29th, 2010.

Awareness of global warming

Annelie Andersson — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:22:05 +0000

Global warming is not newly known, nearly half a century before Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” this film was made.

The exerpt is from the well known educational documentary “Unchained Goddess” produced by Frank Capra for Bell Labs television program “The Bell Telephone Hour.”

/Annelie Andersson

Time for a mental shift!

Anders Modig — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:27:10 +0000

The sun has been working hard since the beginning of the earth’s history, c. five billion years ago. It’s sending us enormous amounts of energy, each hour the same amount that the entire humanity is using for a whole year. It’s causing the wind to blow, the water to move, the trees to grow. And it’s also behind the formation of oil, coal and peat. How do we dare to call solar power, wind power, water power and bio fuels alternative energy?!

Time for a mental shift!

Humans have been using fossil fuel for some few hundred years, but we have been using solar power, wind power, water power, bio fuels for as long as we have existed. Therefore, from now on, we should regard fossil fuels as alternative energy, fuels that humans used for a short period of time compared to before and after (!) the fossil era. The true and sustainable energy sources are of course the sun itself and its derivates.

Each of the energy sources solar, wind, water and bio fuel could theoretically provide humans with enough energy with already existing technology. Not to mention technology that will be developed in the near future. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s run into the real energy era and use the huge potential for business as well as keeping our planet sustainable!

/Anders Modig
Program Director at Globe Forum

Do you know a sustainability hero?

Martina Nee — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:40:17 +0000

Think about that innovator you met, that amazing individual who was so passionate about his solution for a more sustainable planet… Don’t you think he deserves recognition?

Or the company you work for, are they putting efforts in sustainability reporting? Fantastic!

How about the city you live in, shouldn’t the project on recycling, or perhaps solar panels or bio gas buses be recognised?

Or that professor at the local university, his research could probably help many!

Suggest your candidate to Globe Award!

Connect locally to leverage sustainable values

Annelie Andersson — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:31:32 +0000

It all started when natural products industry veterans, Mark Retzloff and Paul Repetto, embarked on a search for organic milk and happened upon a cooperative of small organic dairy farmers in Wisconsin. The cooperative consisted of a handful of visionary dairymen and women who believed in organic values, exactly the ideals Retzloff and Repetto sought.

With the escalating demand for organic milk, one organic oasis would not suffice. In 2001, they established the Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) program to help dairy farmers transition to organic farming. In addition to helping dairy farmers “go organic”, the program also aimed to co-create innovative practices with suppliers to ensure Horizon could guarantee its customer the quality they expected.

Leveraging the relationships with supplier and looking at smaller niches are all important ideas in an effort to be more innovative. This approach has made Horizon a $250 million brand with essentially no manufacturing at all, and it is through their suppliers that they are able to introduce new break-through products such as organic baby formula.

While you will open up possibilities in innovation whenever you look outside for ideas and inspiration, your chances of finding the right opportunity go up considerably if you have a good idea of your values and what you want.

As Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favours the prepared mind.”

~Annelie

Will Poland be a hero also in the new climate protocol?

gustavgorecki — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:32:23 +0000

Poland holds back the new climate targets in Europe. Not very good in relations to ambitious goals. But is the hero the one that sets the highest goals or the one that achieves them?

Poland deserve some commend due to the fact that the country has decreased their CO2-emissions by 30 percent since 1990, during the same period Spain has increased their CO2-emissions by 50 percent…

Kind regards,

Gustav Gorecki