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Submitted by David Connor

In the second installment of a three part series on women leaders in the spotlight, David Connor speaks with Kym Fawcett, Manager Safety & Social Responsibility at Enerplus Corporation.

Hi Kym. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with the CSRwire community. We’ll get straight into the questions to discover the highlights of your professional and particular Enerplus stories to inspire and guide the future women leaders of tomorrow… 

Everybody has a different career history in the world of sustainability. What were the individual eureka moments that have steered your journey?

An early eureka moment was in the early ‘90s when I was working on a large scale, multi-year aquatic ecosystems study for the pulp and paper industry. The experience made me realize how critical collaboration is in our discipline and that collaboration needs to exist between both an organization’s internal and external stakeholders, regulators, academics and industry peers. Collaboration can result in solutions that are good for everyone, lead to the better or best result, and an increase in trust and acceptance. 

Another eureka moment for me was that the environment, health and safety, regulatory and stakeholder engagement teams need to be structured so that sustainability benefits and everyone is on the same path. At Enerplus, we brought these teams together to complement or mirror what we know is a sustainable structure, one that supports external collaborative relationships. 

Lastly, but a very important eureka moment for me, is that the art of influence is an essential skill for sustainability professionals.

If you had to write your CV as a Tweet how would you use the 140 characters?

Professional sustainability pusher.  Twenty plus years developing/leading HSE&SD organizations & programs. Active volunteer and advocate. I push it at home, too. 

Are there any particular books or authors that have stood out that have informed or inspired a course of action?

A few of the ones that quickly come to mind are:

• Talent, Transformation & the Triple Bottom Line, by Andrew Savitz

• Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

• Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, by E.F. Schumacher

Have you had any mentors, and if so, what did you learn from these?

Yes. I have been very fortunate to have some great mentors and they taught me valuable lessons, including:

• Be scrupulous in your attention to detail and commitment to accuracy;

• Be able to substantiate statements, facts and numbers;

• Always seek feedback, and do not shy away from receiving constructive feedback;

• Learn from mistakes and bravely turn negative feedback into an opportunity for improvement;

• Have patience, as things rarely happen as quickly or easily as you want;

• Be a genuine and active listener; and

• Do what scares you but will move the needle forward.

Which areas do you feel women leaders bring the most significant strengths to in accelerating the sustainable business movement?

I think women leaders have many strengths that can accelerate the sustainability movement. Three of these are:

• Women are wired for collaboration. This is a critical skill requirement in the sustainability discipline, which is all about successfully connecting and threading together many pieces and audiences. 

• Women care not just that people think, they care about what they think. This information is essential for accelerating the sustainability journey and solving complex sustainability challenges and opportunities.

• Multitasking. We juggle home and family, our work team, the team’s role within the company, our volunteer commitments and everything else that makes up the big picture, all while keeping a strong focus on the vision. Sometimes, each of those pieces have their own vision, making the juggling that much more interesting. 

Where does your role sit in the wider CSR / sustainability blend at Enerplus?

I lead the team responsible for managing health and safety, environment and sustainability, regulatory affairs, and stakeholder and indigenous relations across North America. We call this the Safety & Social Responsibility team. We are like artists. We:  sketch out the greater picture; bring the people together who want to help paint; foster their creative ideas and help them get their piece done; and then ensure the finished masterpiece is a vision of which everyone wants to be part.

Sustainability really is a mindset at Enerplus. I am fortunate to get to work every day with people from departments across the company who also really care about moving the company forward in our sustainability quest. We believe that by working together, we can be a great neighbour, and model what corporate sustainability should be and how an energy company can be.

What do you think makes Enerplus stand out from the growing crowd of sustainable businesses?

Being a safe and sustainable company is the most important thing we focus on. Keeping people and the environment from harm is paramount. We care about being one of the most responsible operators and a great neighbour, we care about being the best place to work and we care about being an attractive and profitable investment. 

We often hear from new employees and visitors that they can feel that Enerplus is different than most other companies. They sense the excitement and commitment we have to sustainability. We want to work hard at it, we want to engage with others who share our passion and because of that, we will continually improve. We also want to help and mentor other companies who want to be sustainable.

Who are the ‘intrapreneurs’ you believe deserve praise for their often unseen impact?

I think it is often the quieter people, the ones who have great and innovative ideas but have not yet found the voice to comfortably and confidently share them. I believe leaders need to work at finding those individuals, helping them find their voice and encouraging them to share their ideas.

What one piece of advice would you offer women wanting to make a career in EHS / sustainability?

Easy: go in with your eyes wide open. It is a fascinating career and you have many opportunities to make a difference and touch a lot of people both inside and outside your organization. Be tenacious, stay flexible, listen and keep your eye on the vision.

Kym Fawcett is a member of NAEM's Board of Directors and is on the organizing committee for NAEM’s Women’s EHS & Sustainability Leadership Roundtable, taking place April 14-16 in San Antonio. To network and learn from leaders like her, please visit http://womensleadership.naem.org/index.php

In case you need a reason to say “vive la France,” the French parliament just gave you one.

Last week, the governing body passed a law that requires new buildings in commercial zones to be partially covered in either plants or solar panels, Agence France-Presse reported.

French environmental activists urged the government to pass a law requiring new buildings to cover their entire roofs with plants. However, the government managed to work with the activists, who support the new law.

France lags behind in PV capacity

France lags behind other European countries when it comes to solar deployment. France only installed 613 megawatts of solar photovoltaics in 2013 amongst countries that installed at least 1 gigawatt in previous years, a 2014 report by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) found. In 2011, France installed 1.77 gigawatts.

Solar PV capacity in France has increased much more slowly than in Germany, Spain or Italy, Reuters reported in November. In June, France had 5,095 megawatts of PV capacity, accounting for 1 percent of the energy consumption in the first half of 2014. Neighboring Germany had almost 37,000 MW.

Green roofs and PV panels reduce urban heat island

Urban regions are warmer than surrounding rural areas. For example, Fresno, a city in central California, is at least 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than its surrounding rural areas. Four or 5 degrees may seem like a minuscule difference, but 104 degrees Fahrenheit as opposed to 100 degrees is more intolerable.

Why are urban areas warmer? Buildings and roads have replaced open land and vegetation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains. That means that surfaces which were moist and permeable become dry and impermeable. This causes urban regions to become warmer, forming an island of higher temperatures -- known as an urban heat island.

Heat islands cause a number of negative impacts, according to the EPA, including:

• Increased energy consumption to compensate for higher summer temperatures


• Increased emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from power plants


• Impaired water quality because hot pavement and rooftop surfaces transfer excess heat to stormwater that drains into storm sewers and increases water temperatures as it is released into streams, rivers, ponds and lakes

One way to reduce the urban heat island effect is by installing green roofs. Although a green roof is costlier than a conventional roof, it will save about $200,000 over its lifetime, a Michigan State University research team found. Almost two-thirds of the savings come from decreased energy needs.

Green roofs are not the only way to cool an urban heat island. A 2014 French study discovered that solar panels also reduce the effect. In other words, solar panels provide energy that is good for the environment and provide environmental benefits by reducing the urban heat island effect. Très bon!

Image credit: David Werner

Workers in the oil industry are about to become victims of their own success. As the American oil industry has hit its boom through the advent of new drilling techniques such as tar sands extraction and hydraulic fracking, oil prices have plummeted -- bringing gasoline prices down with them.

But these new techniques, which were developed years ago, only came into play in recent years as oil prices went up to the point where they became economical. The techniques have been so successful that the U.S. has climbed to the head of the pack, surpassing Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer. Inventory is at record levels, and prices have tanked. As production peaked, hiring was on the rise -- creating instant boom towns in states like North Dakota and Texas, and overseas in places like Perth, Australia, Brazil, and in towns along the coast of the North Sea.

Oil companies don’t like prices this low, but the only way to get prices back up is to cut production, and that means laying off workers. That started in January. By now, worldwide layoffs have already exceeded 100,000. The cuts will tear a wide swatch through the economy as not only will the laid-off workers cut back on their spending, but also a great deal of collateral spending associated with oil production will also see a decline. The 59,000 layoffs among oil service workers in the U.S. dwarfs the 7,100 layoffs in manufacturing that occurred over the same period.

There is more than a little bit of irony here, as conservatives and fossil fuel interests have long pushed back against any number of measures to encourage energy conservation and the growth of renewable supply, calling them “job-killers.” Meanwhile, when it comes to jobs, renewable energy is lighting up the scoreboard. The U.S. solar industry added 23,000 new jobs in 2013, bringing that total up to 142,000. That’s a 20 percent growth rate.

According to the National Electrical Contractors Association, there are now over a million American jobs associated with renewable energy. The breakdown is something like this:

• Solar                                    142,000


• Wind                                    75,000 to 80,700


• Hydro                                   200,000 to 300,000


• Geothermal                          25,000


• Biomass                               470,000


• Energy efficiency                 380,000

Internationally, the numbers are even greater. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the number of jobs associated with renewable energy (direct and indirect) worldwide, was a total of 6.5 million by the end of 2012. China had the largest number, following by Brazil, then the U.S.

Meanwhile, in the American oil fields, rig counts, drilling permits and well completion rates continue to head south. Some are looking to the government to repeal a 40-year-old law that prohibits American oil companies from exporting crude. If the ban was lifted, inventory levels would drop, and prices would begin to rise again. In the meantime, production keeps chugging along, like a runaway train. Some experts predict that oil could hit $20 a barrel at the bottom.

A study by the consultancy HIS, claims that anywhere from 394,000 to 859,000 new jobs could be created by 2030 if the oil export ban was lifted. Roughly three indirect supply chain jobs would accompany each job in the oilfields, while twice that many would occur in the broader economy.

It’s hard to say exactly what the impact of this would be on climate change. On one hand, rising gas prices would likely lead to people curtailing their driving, but it would also mean more fracking and more tar sands production.

The bottom line for surviving climate change seems to rest on leaving as much fossil fuel in the ground as possible. And as Alex Taurel, deputy legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters, says: “It doesn’t make any sense to export oil and spur destruction of public lands to only benefit oil companies and provide oil to China.”

So, those jobs would come at a high price to the planet. Why bother with that when energy efficiency alone is expected to create 1.3 million new jobs over the same time interval, while clean energy can add another 4.5 million net new jobs?

For more information, check out this story on Alternet.

Image credit: aoenday: Flickr Creative Commons

The past few years we have witnessed financial institutions, including banks, invest in clean energy projects. Bank of America is one example of a company that has invested in renewables, but now there are signs water will be the next frontier of both investment and social responsibility within the financial sector. Two of the largest banks in the United States have taken bold action on addressing the growing water disaster underway worldwide.

Recently BofA and Wells Fargo each announced US$1 million commitments to water projects. Both companies conduct a brisk business in California, which is lurching towards a worsening drought crisis. And much of the world is struggling with diminishing supplies of fresh water while local populations grow and citizens demand more of it. If the banks are starting to take water seriously, then finally this precious but undervalued resource may finally start scoring the investment and resources that are desperately needed.

Bank of America has partnered with Water.org, a social enterprise founded by Matt Damon and Gary White that uses market-based solutions to expand access to water around the world. The organization has long worked with large companies to develop long-term and sustainable answers to water challenges. The $1 million grant that Bank of America promised to Water.org will allow as many as 100,000 microloans for securing access to clean and safe water in India. Water.org’s most successful program in India and other developing nations has been WaterCredit, a microfinance program that allows citizens to borrow money to access municipal taps, build and maintain toilets or start small businesses related to water and sanitation needs.

Meanwhile Wells Fargo has committed $1 million to Imagine H2O, an NGO that runs several programs focused on entrepreneurs working on water-related technologies and innovations. Imagine H2O in wrapped up its sixth annual water competition, at which it announced US$200,000 in cash and in-kind services to two start-ups. According to Wells Fargo, the funds given to Imagine H2O are part of bank’s program offering a total of US$100 million by 2020 to non-profits and universities in order to boost the emerging “green” economy.

Banks wishing to make an impact on the sustainability front should consider grants similar to that of Bank of America and Wells Fargo for several reasons. First, as we are currently experiencing here in California, entire economies are threatened with collapse if there is not enough water to sustain people, businesses and agriculture. In addition, as dark as future scenarios appear to be in a world with less water, there are also numerous opportunities for investment, from water recycling to infrastructure projects.

Finally, what these banks have done is not a simple act of corporate philanthropy: they have invested in organizations that have a reputation for finding new ways to address the water crisis instead of slapping a band-aid on what is an increasingly difficult challenge. Whether they are protecting businesses in California or improving water security in countries that are the home of many companies’ supply chain, ensuring continued supplies of water is one of the most compelling risk management strategies a financial institution can tackle.

Based in Fresno, California, Leon Kaye is a business writer and strategic communications specialist. He has also been featured in The Guardian, Clean Technica, Sustainable Brands, Earth911, Inhabitat, Architect Magazine and Wired.com. When he has time, he shares his thoughts on his own site, GreenGoPost.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Image credit: Water.org’s Flickr page

Human rights has been a compelling issue in the Middle East for centuries, and no political situation underscores that more than the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Populations on both sides of the Green Line (the demarcation that separates the state of Israel from the West Bank and Gaza) have their share of poverty, unemployment and homelessness. These economic factors have grown worse, not better, in the past decades.

One Catholic priest wants to help improve the odds for the poorest that live on both sides of the Green Line. Father Sean McManus, best known for his success in helping to reshape the way that U.S. companies did business in Northern Ireland during its civil war in the 1980s, believes a similar strategy can work in the Middle East -- specifically, in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

The Holy Land Principles

The Holy Land Principles (HLP) are eight fairly succinct guideposts for companies planning to do business in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. While they have neither legislative nor legal power, they have a compelling voice where it often counts: with the shareholders. Their purpose, says the organization's website, is to "ensure that American dollars do not support discrimination, human rights abuses or violations of international law in the Holy Land (which it describes as "Israel/Palestine," as well as Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem).

All of the principles are the kind of things we'd like to see in corporate America. In fact, they are meant to reflect the very virtues that American consumers have said they believe in: fair hiring principles and no discrimination in layoff, recall or termination. The principles also reject any kind of corporate endorsement of military service unless the job responsibilities specifically require such training.

This last point is an interesting addition, since Israel is one of few countries in the world that require conscription by almost all citizens -- men and women, secular and devout. The only sector of the population it doesn't apply to as a whole is the Arab citizenry, who are exempt but have been known to volunteer in the military as Israeli citizens.

Holy Land Principles 'enhance America's security'

According to the website, the principles are not a means to support divestment, disinvestment or reverse discrimination, better known as the "BDS" concepts that have been used to wield influence against companies that do business in the Palestinian Territories and, in some cases, in Israel.

On the other hand, argues the organization, "corporations will enhance America’s security" by sending the message to populations in the region that America stands for fair and ethical business principles.

But in truth, the Holy Land Principles probably won't resonate with all corporations or their shareholders with investments in the region. To date, Fr. McManus' doctrine has received relatively little endorsement from American companies. As of this writing, only one company has endorsed the principles.

Setting ethical boundaries in foreign countries

If there is anything that corporate America has learned (and painfully at times) about overseas investment, it is that American values aren't always understood, interpreted or endorsed by foreign cultures the way we think they should be. Arriving in a foreign country with a set list of dos and don'ts, including preconceived limitations on funding that may be not only acceptable but legally expected, may put corporations at a disadvantage when seeking licenses and investment opportunities.

But the McManus principles also have some unsaid social parameters that aren't evident until one examines the supporting documentation -- all of which are published by outside agencies or writers. And it is there that many companies may have found some points of discomfort.

The principles don't protect everyone

Although none of the principles mention it, the supporting documents (and the website's about page) assume that Arab and Christian workers need protections that Jewish and other ethnic workers don't. All workers are at risk of discriminatory behavior. Developing a standard whose language and supporting sources address that carries the strongest message.

Unclear geographic boundaries

Despite the fact that the report aims to address human rights in three distinct regions, the majority of the documentation HLP uses to make its case focuses on working inequities in Israel. At the same time, little reference is made to conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, where wages are lower and employment protections are either less or nonexistent. Several of the sources it uses do not recognize Israeli-governed areas that were established under the Oslo Accords.

Israeli census and culture are complex

"[Almost] 40 percent of the families in Israel that live under the poverty line are Arab families," notes the report, Arab Citizens of Israel at Work. As in most countries, demographics and cultural traditions often have a play in employment statistics. While the number of Jewish poor is not as large, the overall number of Israeli poor suggests that there is more to the story than discrimination or class. By some sources, 1 in 5 Israelis are below the poverty line. By others, 1 in 3 are impoverished. And one of the largest sectors of Jews under the poverty line comprises Israel's most religious Jews. The demand for Israeli, nonprofit soup kitchens and homeless assistance for all populations has ballooned in recent years.

"More and more Israelis are working, and staying poor regardless," notes the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.

Human rights or politics?

The HLP has some laudable humanitarian aims. But are the goals of the authors it cites in the supporting documents the same?

The language used by some of the sources that HLP cites in reference to Israel give the unfortunate impression that politics, not global principles of human rights, are at the core of problems in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. References to "the Zionist state of Israel," Israeli "occupation," and the tenor and political focus of material written by some of the supporting sources can undermine the HLP's goals to ensure human rights are applied regionally, not just politically.

Israel, Israel/Palestine or Isreal?

Unfortunately, spelling and historical attribution matter, particularly when it comes to wooing the ethical support of companies and business leaders in a region that is divided by political differences. Referring to the geographic area as the Holy Land makes sense, since it is, in fact, a sacred land for many cultures. But recognizing Israel by its legally accorded name (not Israel/Palestine, or Isreal[sic] as the links to the supporting documents state) is just as necessary as recognizing the existence of the West Bank and Gaza.

Lastly, some of the greatest strides in ensuring fair pay, benefits and protections for Arab workers continue to go unrecognized. Recent steps taken by businesses owned by Israeli Jewish entrepreneurs or jointly owned or operated by Jews and Arabs, have helped to set benchmarks for not only better pay for the people HLP cites, but also for improving relations between communities and cultures. Manufacturing companies, agricultural groups, architectural firms, research facilities, museums, educational institutes focused on sustainable living, hospitals and other businesses have taken ownership of these societal goals -- and on both sides of the Green Line. None of these businesses has been cited as an example advancing human rights.

Annual shareholder meetings

In the coming weeks, the Holy Land Principles will be up for vote at the annual shareholder meetings of two major U.S. companies. Both operate businesses in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank: Corning (April 29) and Intel (May 21). It will be interesting to see the outcome.  According to Fr. McManus, General Electric (which held its annual meeting this weekend) and Corning previously appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission to exclude the HLP resolutions, and the appeals were rejected. No explanation was given for their appeals, but they may mean that the HLP will have an upward battle promoting the standards at this time.

No two countries are the same, and no two political conflicts present the same set of challenges for foreign investors. But language can carry just as powerful a message as the humanitarian goals being put forth. Ethical standards that call for the rights of all workers and cultures, not just those of a minority, ensure fair and transparent treatment for all. And while the standards are attracting the attention of foreign investors, they are also sending a global message that human rights is a global entitlement that should never need to be justified.

Image of Arab children: Justin MacIntosh

Image of residents at soup kitchen: Government Press Office, Israel

Image of 1947 rally of Jewish and Arab farm workers: GPO

The United Nations has a goal, and it's a steep one: To halve the world's extreme poverty rate by the end of this year.

Actually, it's only one of eight goals that were established for the planet at the start of the new millennium. The others are equally steep and include ensuring that every child (boys and girls) can access and complete primary education, ensure global environmental sustainability, and halt and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS.

And most challenging of all is their target date: the end of 2015.

While the U.N. is still a far way away from the completion of these targets, it had made considerable progress, the agency said. According to the agency, extreme poverty rates were cut in half by 2010, five years ahead of the actual goal.

"Despite this impressive goal," however, "1.2 billion are still living in extreme poverty."

So, filmmaker Richard Curtis ("Notting Hill," "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Make Poverty History") and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation want to give the program a tiny push: They want to mobilize the entire planet.

To launch this effort, called Project Everyone, they have put together an impressive list of resources from around the world -- a kind of go-to list of experts who know the culture, languages, media, and strategies for reaching populations near and far. Experts include Brazilian television celebrity Caldeirão do Huck; author Paulo Lima, known for his talent in reaching young readers in multiple countries; and media moguls like Nizan Guanes of Africa Advertising and Mandalah.

Last year, Curtis called on radio stations from around the world to help support the project by broadcasting it to every area of the planet. He calls the U.N. Millennium Development goals a "checklist for the world" and says everyone deserves the right know about them.

"Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could say to people, this is the optimistic version of the future, the first generation to live without extreme poverty and the first and last generation to live with climate change?" said Curtis after announcing his challenge to radio stations last year.

In September, the U.N. is due to set new goals for the next 15 years. Curtis and Project Everyone want to ensure the world is ready, so they are launching Action 2015: an even larger campaign to ensure all 7 billion world members are engaged and know that the outcome of these goals affect them as well.

"The hopes for Action 2015 are huge," said Sara Jacobs, spokesperson for Action 2015. "Already thousands of people are mobilizing behind the campaign around the world, and we want and need millions more speaking out for the future they want, so world leaders know they have to act, and act big in 2015."

Image of children at Ebola treatment center: United Nations

Video: Action/2015 - New Year's Eve 2015 - Rio de Janeiro from Mandalah Conscious Innovation.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Unreasonable.is.

By Unreasonable.is Staff

The up-and-coming millennial generation is entering an unforgiving marketplace riddled with high youth unemployment — over 20 percent in Europe and nearly 15 percent in the U.S. On top of this, they enter straight out of an education system that doesn’t seem to prepare youth with the best tools to succeed. One startup makes it their mission to empower youth to create their own projects and jobs by providing a new framework.

“We’re expecting to have business superstars when many kids don’t start thinking about business until they are almost 20 years old,” says Matija Goljar,  co-founder and CEO of Ustvarjalnik, a Slovenian startup. Goljar is a 2014 Unreasonable Institute alumni who partners with high schools to provide after-school entrepreneurship programs for youth. “That’s not going to work. You’ll never get a gold medal at the Olympics if the team starts to train when they’re 20 years old.”

Matija and the team at Ustvarjalnik — pronounced “oost-war-yall-nick,” meaning “creative place” or “creative machine” in Slovenian — arms hundreds of youth in Slovenia with tools to create a meaningful career through entrepreneurial thinking. “We all see the problems in the educational system, and yeah we all want change,” says Matija. “We don’t want to change the education system—instead we want to compliment it.”

The program has three simple keys. First, they put an emphasis on fun; tasks designed to break comfort zones and encourage relationship building with influential community members. For example, go take a picture with the mayor.

Secondly, they put an emphasis on action. “We don’t care about business plans. We don’t care about ideas,” says Matija, “We want to see the real deal. We want to see the thing sold. We want to see the app built. We want to see the kids actually succeed.” Instead, Matija and the Ustvarjalnik team encourage participants to test ideas then rapidly iterate them; a concept found in lean startup principles.

“I took an entrepreneurship class in high school,” Jernej says, a mentee and first-hand witness of Matija’s program. “We were told to pick an idea, and start writing a business plan. Our idea at the time was 24/7 computer support. We still got an A, even though we wrote in our business plan that we’ll employ five people in our first month (plus four founders), and everyone will have big salaries. That kinda seemed unreal, and discouraged me from entrepreneurship. Then Matija told me about lean startup and my mind was blown.” Jernej is now a student at Watson University, a social entrepreneurship school in Boulder, Colorado.

Lastly, they provide a massive amount of positive encouragement. “We work with them to make their project happen,” says Matija, “So if they say ‘Hey, we want to make a submarine that’s capable of reaching the Titanic,’ we as mentors say, ‘OK, where do we start?’ And then they actually do this.” And they did. A team of students gained access to Slovenia’s only battleship to prototype a submarine dive with the help of mentors.

The program has seen incredible success since its inception in 2011. Matija’s first student, now 20 years old, wanted to be a photographer and now just got invited to Red Rocks, a well-known concert theatre in Boulder, Colorado, to take pictures for concerts there. A student group developed a wristband that alerts Alzheimers patients when they need to take their medication. Another student group developed a mobile app that gained one-hundred thousand users within months without any online marketing. A seventeen-year-old student created a computer keyboard that charges itself when people type on it. And another sixteen-year-old drummer was invited to TechCrunch Disrupt last year to showcase an iPad app that listens to the drumming and creates musical notation.

Ustvarjalnik has grown to one-third of Slovenia’s entire school system. Now they are partnered with Up Global — a nonprofit dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and grassroots leadership—and they’re expanding globally by creating an online scale kit and support system for mentors in communities around the world to take to their local high schools.

Here’s how it works: high schools pay Ustvarjalnik to provide an after-school program, global events and entrepreneurship curriculum, and Ustvarjalnik in turn pays the mentor—a local entrepreneur who wants to bring the curriculum to their local community—a stipend for hosting the program at the high school. Each kit creates enough working capital for the program to break even within a couple months of being deployed.

School administrators in Taiwan, the U.S., Spain, Greece, Kazakstan, and elsewhere are eager to bring the programs to their schools because they empower kids and incite creative action—something greatly needed in today’s high-school environment. “We teach people how to empower themselves,” says Matija, “We’re enhancing education.”

When talking about how to fix our education system, a piece in Time magazine last year has serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Scott Gerber, stating that eighty-seven percent of youth in America desire to pursue entrepreneurship. Introducing kids to entrepreneurial thinking at an early age can not only be a key to meaningful career creation, but also a key to economic growth. “We’re simply the entry-level system of the pyramid of entrepreneurship support,” says Matija, “We’re creating the base. We will be sending people to Stanford, sending people to Watson, sending people to Techstars, sending people to Unreasonable someday. And that’s our role in the whole system.”

Want to bring Ustvarjalnik’s program into your community? If you’re a mentor, school administrator, or investor interested in bringing or financing a program in your community, email matija@ustvarjalnik.org.

Image credit: Jurij Vizintin/Ustvarjalnik via Facebook

MIT’s Climate CoLab is looking for “high impact” ideas on how to deal with climate change through 22 contests that are now open to the public.

There’s even some semi-serious money involved for the winners. Contest topics cover a range of testy and tricky climate change issues, from adaptation, rural resilience, transportation, geoengineering and waste management to the “energy-water nexus.”

A project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence, the Climate CoLab seeks to “harness the knowledge and expertise of thousands of experts and non-experts across the world to help solve this massive, complex issue.”

“As systems like Linux and Wikipedia have shown, people from around the world—connected by the Internet—can work together to solve complex problems in very new ways,” said MIT Sloan professor Thomas Malone, director of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and principal investigator for the Climate CoLab project.

Climate CoLab has a growing community of more than 30,000 members from around the world. Anyone can join the platform — even Sens. Jim Inhofe or Ted Cruz — to submit their own ideas, or comment on and show support for other proposals on the site.

The CoLab said the U.S. Carbon Price contest is returning this year, which seeks innovative policy and political mobilization strategies on how to implement a carbon price in the United States. Serving as Advisors for this contest are Former U.S. Secretary of State, George P. Shultz; former U.S. Rep. (R-SC) and current director of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative, Bob Inglis; and, former U.S. Rep. (D-IN) and current president of Resources for the Future, Phil Sharp.

A number of contests are run in collaboration with other organizations, such as the World Bank Negawatt Challenge (Urban Energy Efficiency); the MIT Sloan Latin America Office (Energy Solutions for Latin America); and the City of Somerville, Massachussetts, (Atypical Solutions for Going Carbon Neutral).

Additionally, this year the Climate CoLab team announced a new set of contests in which people can create climate action plans for major countries, and for the whole world. In these contests, members combine proposals that have been submitted in other contests and use a suite of climate modeling tools to project the real-world climate impacts of the plans they create.

All contest winners will have an opportunity to present to people who can support the implementation of their ideas, including policy makers, business executives, and NGO and foundation officials, CoLab said. They will also be invited to showcase their proposals at MIT this fall, where a $10,000 Grand Prize will be awarded.

Submissions are due before May 16, 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time.

It's kind of a climate change contest wiki, only cooler because, well, MIT.

Image: MIT Climate CoLab logo via MIT

By Paresh Shah

You know that feeling you get when you've given someone the perfect gift. You watch in anticipation as she unties the ribbon and unwraps the box. You see her face light up with joy and excitement, and you have a connection that brings you closer together. It’s these moments of connection that create harmony in the world.

Sure, the holiday season can be stressful and make you want to pull out your hair, but the giving spirit brings out the best in people — both personally and professionally. So, don’t say goodbye to those happy, connected feelings as soon as the holiday decorations come down. You can hold on to this giving spirit — and the benefits that come with it — all year long.

Creating a giving company culture is a powerful way to boost employee satisfaction, customer retention and even financial performance 365 days a year. Studies show that expressing gratitude can increase happiness by up to 25 percent, and happy employees are more productive.

A giving culture is about more than charity

Los Angeles car dealership company LAcarGUY is the epitome of a giving culture. The company gives to cystic fibrosis research, and CEO Mike Sullivan sponsors events such as the famous Manhattan Beach Pumpkin Race. When anyone in Southern California thinks about buying a car, the first company that comes to mind is LAcarGUY. After all, why not buy a car from the guy who made it possible for your child to beam with pride as he raced his decorated pumpkin?

But people such as Mike understand that a giving culture is about more than sponsoring events or donating to charity. Giving cultures foster a spirit of service, and employees volunteer, mentor and serve as leaders to create a sense of connectedness in their communities. Leaders of companies that develop this culture build a giving mindset that extends well beyond their teams to their customers and the rest of the world.

Giving is a vital part of my company, Glimpulse. My team often begins meetings by expressing gratitude, making sure to acknowledge our staff members’ contributions. Each person shares something simple yet powerful, such as “My job got easier because of…” or “Today, I’m inspired by…”

These powerful sentiments put the group in the right state of mind to work through challenges and recognize the contributions that each person is making. It’s also a great reminder that life is all about giving and that there are lots of ways to give as a company.

A powerful question is: “How can I help?” It makes us all feel good — to give and to receive.

How to build a giving culture at your company

Many leaders scoff at the idea of giving in the workplace because they think it costs too much. But a truly giving culture doesn’t necessarily have to cost anything. Rather than buying people expensive gifts or handing out lucrative bonuses, start with giving your time to other people.

Here are a few powerful ways to give back to your team without spending a dime:

1. Give your attention. As a leader, simply taking the time to really get to know your team members is one of the most powerful acts of giving. We’re all busy, but making time for your employees shows them that you care about them as individuals.

Tiane Mitchell Gordon, former senior vice president of diversity and inclusion at AOL, would devote a full hour to each of her staff members once a month to talk about whatever that person wanted to discuss — personal or professional.

2. Give insight. I have yet to meet anyone who couldn’t use a little guidance from someone more experienced or skilled, but corporate culture often makes it nearly impossible to ask for help when you need it. As a leader, you can make this easier by encouraging employees to spend time helping others through sharing their unique business and non-business talents. It’s not about taking over someone else’s job; it’s about playing together as a team.

3. Give information. Sharing information and data with employees fosters trust. It also gives employees the opportunity to contribute in ways they wouldn’t be able to without key information. Once you’ve armed employees with what they need to know, you’ll see the energy, support, and insights from everybody come together in new and exciting ways.

Contrary to popular belief, people won’t hoard and protect data; they’ll actually share and help one another. If a person in your company starts hiding data to protect his own interests, squash it right away. That’s the beginning of politics, division, and self-interests being put above team goals.

4. Give acknowledgement. Send thank-you cards, informal lunch invites, and other small tokens of appreciation to team members who go above and beyond. Don’t make it a big corporate thing, though. Keeping it personal will make it resonate more than a formal reward or bonus program. If it’s authentic, the word will get around.

5. Give enjoyment. No one wants to say it, but expecting employees to spend every second at the office working is simply unrealistic. Breaks are important, even when they happen spontaneously throughout the day. Creating a company culture where people are free to share stories, make jokes, dance, and send one another funny Vines can keep things fun and light — even in times of high stress.

Like anything else, giving requires constant practice, but building a giving culture is well worth the effort. Your employees will be more productive. And when your employees are happy and engaged, that attitude trickles down to your customers. Ultimately, a giving culture promotes prosperity for everyone involved.

Image credit: Flickr/State Farm

Paresh Shah is an experienced entrepreneur, executive, yogi, life coach, and dad of four kids. He’s the founder and CEO of Glimpulse, the Human Expression Company that creates products to challenge, inspire, and equip people to be happier, healthier, and more giving through authentic self-expression.

Consumer goods giant RB (formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser) is partnering with international children's charity, Save The Children, in an effort to help eradicate child deaths from diarrhoea in India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

 Along with the development of two innovative new hygiene and sanitation products aimed at preventing, controlling and treating the condition, RB will fund a Stop Diarrhoea programme which will fully implement the World Health Organisation and UNICEF 7-point plan to ensure comprehensive diarrhoea control.

The two new products are a multipurpose soap bar that can be used by families for cleaning and washing hands (including children from the age of one) and the second is a ‘game-changing’ toilet powder to make the use of pit latrines more hygienic. The powder keeps flies away, which reduces both faecal matter and the transmission of germs. The benefits of the toilet powder should encourage communities to make better use of the more hygienic pit latrines, as opposed to defecating in public areas.

For the first time, RB will not be making a profit from these products and the revenue will be reinvested into the Stop Diarrhoea programme and fighting diarrhoea. They will also be produced locally, encouraging entrepreneurship, in addition to reducing the overall carbon footprint and transport costs associated with their manufacture.

Rakesh Kapoor, chief executive of RB, said: “We believe that businesses like ours have a responsibility of delivering value to the society beyond the returns to the shareholders. We have used our core R&D business to develop products to help stop children dying from diarrhoea, this is the first time RB has developed and tested products specifically for consumers at the bottom of the pyramid”.

The products will be piloted in Pakistan and Nigeria with plans to roll them out into India by the end of the year.

The products have been developed through a model of ‘open innovation’ bringing together some of the world’s leading chemical scientists, enzyme specialists, fragrance experts and academics from around world, including BASF, Novozymes, Tagasako and University of Nairobi. This open and collaborative approach to innovation represents another first for RB in the development of the two new products.

 

Picture credit: CJ Clarke/Save The Children