On Anniversary of 9-11, New Buildings at Ground Zero Site Promise a More Sustainable Urban Future
On September 11, 2011, Americans turned their eyes to New York City, and the vacant space in the skyline where the towers that fell 10 years ago would still be….
Becoming a sustainability consultant: why systems matter, and boundaries don’t
By now, the field of social entrepreneurship is an established career path, and MBA programs all over the country have launched tracks dedicated to its study. But another field of…
Weekly Roundup: World Water Week, For-Profit Hybrids and Protesting Big Oil
Didn’t have time to read the news this week? Every week, we report on the conversations surrounding the big issues in the world of social entrepreneurship and change. (this week by Rachel Signer and Blair Hickman)
The Bicycle Coffee Company: Sustainable From Bean To Cup
By now, most people have heard of “fair trade.” But the real-life, on-the-ground effects of the model are often overlooked. So here’s a quick breakdown of what fair trade really means.
Weekly Roundup: #f**kyouwashington, new strategies to fight climate change and questioning what really qualifies as poor
#f**kyouwashington The top American news this week: the debt ceiling. Mother Jones produced one of the best explainers I found, and the Huffington Post has a nice live-blog documenting the…
Solutions for New York City’s Sewer Problem
Last week, Harlem residents held their noses as millions of gallons of untreated sewage water flowed straight into the Harlem and Hudson rivers because of a sewage plant fire. On…
Citizen scientists set out to quantify the value of urban farms
In cities all over the U.S., urban agriculture has joined the farmer’s market as an accessible, even trendy, way for city dwellers to assert their commitment to living sustainably. But…
Creating the sustainable city: Are imagination and leadership enough?
Without imagination, humans would be incapable of innovating. So it’s no surprise, with over half the population worldwide living in overcrowded and resource-strapped cities, there are vibrant movements to re-imagine…
The importance of reaching out: Chris Clark of Sunflower Solutions
In this series social entrepreneurs discuss the importance of reaching out. From transforming strangers into business partners to saving flooded headquarters, our contacts and future contacts routinely prove integral to…
Slideshow: How Mafuta Sasa turns waste cooking oil into clean biodiesel
Michael Mwakilasa is not your typical Tanzanian entrepreneur, and Mafuta Sasa Ltd is not your typical African energy company. After spending a year experimenting with converting wasted vegetable oil (WVO)…
Big Solutions Start Small: How Ioby uses local crowdfunding to transform the global environment
Each Earth Day, programs, events and tree-plantings try to galvanize public awareness about environmental concerns.
But sometimes, widespread problems–like climate change–can seem so massive that individuals and grassroots groups may find it difficult to conceptualize how they can really make a difference–or even where to start.
NYC-based Ioby (In Our Back Yards) aims to change that.
Smaller isn’t always greener: why aren’t American homes more efficient?
Average American homes today are using essentially the same amount of energy per year as they were in 1970s – which seems odd, given the improvement of heating systems and…
BoP Slideshow: KOMAZA, innovations in microforestry and sustainablity in Africa
KOMAZA helps rural families in Africa plant and maintain small-scale, income-generating tree farms, a new concept they call microforestry. KOMAZA’s direct impact is threefold: First, KOMAZA workers hope to alleviate…
Interview: St. Bernard Project founders on risk-taking
In our risk-taking series, Tulane University and Ashoka U students Katie Smalley and Laura White shed light on the value of risk-taking. By interviewing social innovators about bold steps they’ve…
Growing Austin’s urban roots
Urban Roots started four years ago to connect students in Austin, Texas to their environment and food; today the project grows more than 25,000 pounds of vegetables and herbs each…
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