My Cleantech dinner discussion group this month researched relevant investments to see where the money was going.  The problem with this is that not everyone provides a clean definition of Cleantech as I did in my first post.  People conflate the term with renewable energy, or with clean (air, water, agricultural) technologies in the developing world. 

But the Cleantech Group seems to consider the right scope.  They operate the Cleantech Index (CTIUS), which is comprised of “47 companies that are leaders in cleantech innovation… from alternative energy and energy efficiency to advanced materials, from air & water purification, eco-friendly agriculture/nutrition to power transmission, etc.” (index website). 

At least I thought this was in alignment with my definition.  But when I looked into each one of these 47 companies, I was a little surprised at what I found.

(more…)

Malaria infections worldwide now number around 350 to 500 million cases a year, with over a million deaths, mostly among the young in Africa.

Public health professionals know that long-lasting insecticide treated bednets prevent transmission of malaria by protecting families that sleep underneath them. Knowing that, what do you do: freely distribute these nets, which cost between $1-4 to produce and distribute, or try to sell them, albeit at cost? Which strategy do you think will reach more people? Which strategy will prove to be more sustainable over time? Who should pay for this? (African public sector expenditures on health range from $6-21 per capita and in theory can cover everything from HIV/AIDS to schistosomiasis to family planning and delivery.)

A recent Business Week article captures the essence of the debate. On the one hand,

Advocates of free distribution worry that selling bed nets—even at heavily subsidized prices as low as $1—puts them out of reach of poor people and slows uptake. Indeed, a recent study in Kenya found that free distribution of bed nets raises their use to 66% of the population, compared with just 7% when they are sold commercially.

(more…)

I am going to risk sharing what I felt was a major epiphany, knowing that such an experience is virtually impossible to pass on to others through writing.

As I was trying to break down what my company (employer) does in to one word - I came to the conclusion that it was “influence”. I spent a lot of time trying to form arguments for other words, but none seemed to ring with truth like the word “influence”. Once I came to this realization I thought, this mental exercise has really helped me to understand my company. Well that didn’t last long. My epiphany was that what every organization in the world does can be boiled down into one word: “influence”. I realized that two or more people would never get together to form organizations, gangs, companies, groups, clubs, institutions, associations, networks, etc. if they were not seeking to influence others. Why go through the effort of forming a group of people if there is no purpose. And how can there be any purpose in an organization of people without there being some goal to influence other people to do things, say things or think in a certain way. Even if founders who form an organization claim they only have the goal of socializing and that there is no motive to try and influence others, you have to ask why form an organization? Why not just get together without forming a group?

(more…)

If you like the idea of highlighting positive impact on society and the environment and you want to highlight people or organizations that make a positive impact as well, be sure to sign up for the PosiPeople Beta Test.

In case you’ve forgotten, PosiPeople is a community-driven forum that gathers and highlights content, products, and services that make a positive impact on society and the environment. The site works as follows:

1. Any member of the community submits a link to content to the site.
2. The community then votes for the content they like best.
3. Content that receives the most votes in a certain period of time is promoted to the main page of the site.

I bet your wondering how you might use this site. So, I’ve listed out some of the uses after the jump.

(more…)

I was recently pointed to an article about biomimicry in today’s Wall Street Journal.  Author June Fletcher could have found some more deeply biomimetic examples, but she captured the essence of biomimicry’s potential a sight better than The Economist managed in their article on biomimicry in last fall’s Technology Quarterly.  While The Economist focused mostly on radical architectural gambits, some of which bore only a passing resemblance to biological systems and many of which existed only on paper, Ms. Fletcher’s article for the Journal focused on a wider variety of biomimetic applications that are both real and close to home.  So now that these normally staid business publications have written on the subject, is biomimicry officially mainstream?

(more…)

Tata announced its new Nano car, a one lakh (100,000 rupees) car. This car, measuring 5′ by 10′, will be the cheapest car in the world. And probably one of the smallest. It is only a little bigger than the two person smart car. The Nano is designed with Indian families in mind and I cannot help but wonder if only children would fit in the back seat.

The Nano, also called the People’s Car, represents an engineering achievement and the attainment of Tata’s vision of making car ownership accessible to millions, starting in India. Rural Indians will no longer be at the mercy of long-delayed buses to reach urban centers. Couples or families piled on a motorcyle can switch to safer transport. Demand for this car will extend far beyond India.

So what’s not to applaud? Well, the public health and environmental impact for starters.

(more…)