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½ Marketing, ½ Consulting Company Sustainability Champions, Innovation Fanboys, Selling Green before it was Sexy, CSR Re-thinkers, Connecting Problems to Solutions, Moderate Activists. Nice People.

[oliveventures]

Yesterday’s Papers. Food Waste In Singapore Going Up, currently 796,000 tonnes / year 

[treehugger]

Facebook wants to use solar drones to bring internet access to the world

[cressence]

Uniqlo tells its sharing is recycling story.

Clothes are donated to refugees and victims of disasters through UNHCR and World Vision.

[unconsumption]

The Rapid Packing Container uses less cardboard, easier to recycle, reduces waste. (And it’s easier to pack, and open.)

 Video here [uploaded by Alan Wolf]

Via BoingBoing.

[wildcat2030]

This greenery filled Beehive Tower for Heron Quay, London is a vertical farm inspired by the hexagonal forms of the honeycomb. Designed by Rory Newel & Lucy Richardson, the 220m high ‘Hive’ is a place for green thumbs to reside and to cultivate all kinds of plants, especially edible ones. The structure features a number of sustainable systems such as an army of wind turbines that sits atop it and a rainwater collection system to water the crops within it. (via Beehive Tower is a Honeycomb Inspired Vertical Farm for London | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building)

[oliveventures]

Nice.

[else-self]

[oliveventures]

via zenarchism

[bmwusa]

Lightning fast—the #BMWi8.

[oliveventures]

STB launches guidelines to get event organisers, hotels to go green in Singapore

See on Scoop.it - Trends in Sustainability

From CNA - The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has launched sustainability guidelines for the Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Singapore.

In a statement on Tuesday, STB said the guidelines are drawn from international standards and are meant to encourage local players to meet global sustainability requirements.

It said the guidelines apply across the business events ecosystem, including hotels, venues, event organisers and meeting planners, transportation, food and beverage, and audio-visual set-up.

The areas they address include waste management, efficient use of water and energy, and getting employees to develop a commitment to sustainable practices.

The statement said the first event to adopt the guidelines is the Responsible Business Forum on Sustainability Development to be held at Marina Bay Sands from November 25 to 26.

Download the STB Sustainability Guidelines For Events

Olive Ventures's insight:

Find out more about Sustainable Events Management, and international standards such as ISO 20121, and Carbon Footprinting with ISO 14064: http://oliveventures.com.sg/act/2013/01/02/instep-sustainable-events-programmes-2013/

See on oliveventures.com.sg

[oliveventures]

Electric car tests charged up for second phase in Singapore

See on Scoop.it - Trends in Sustainability

A second phase is on the cards for the testing of electric vehicles when the initial trial ends this month, and it could involve a bigger fleet.

Sources said government agencies are in talks with the trial participants about such a move, but they have not finalised the details.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA), when contacted, would say only that further trials may involve car-sharing and commercial vehicle fleets.

The tests to gauge the viability of electric vehicles in Singapore started in June 2011 and now includes 89 electric cars and 61 charging stations.

NEEDS A PUSH

Somebody has to come in and be the catalyst and push that issue along. So far, whatever has been done is not significant enough. The Government can do more.

- Mr Thomas Jakob, managing director of Bosch Asia Pacific, on the need for more charging stations to drive up demand for electric cars

See on straitstimes.com

[gensgaia]

[oliveventures]

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2013/nov/20/which-fossil-fuel-companies-responsible-climate-change-interactive

via gensgaia 

[gregmelander]

ELON MUSK

An enlightening interview with Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and led Tesla Motors and PayPal. He talks about how he thinks, his first principles and how to design.

[betype]

Honest Conference.

[oliveventures]

Panel Discussion on #sgflood / #ponding (Stop complaining about it and check out what they're doing about it!)

See on Scoop.it - Trends in Sustainability

In this special mid-month session of Green Drinks, PUB’s Chief Engineer for Drainage Planning, Ridzuan Ismail shares their strategic approach in drainage design and flood management in Singapore. Following this, we have a panel discussion moderated by Grace Chua of The Straits Times, with Ridzuan, Eugene Heng from Waterways Watch Society, and Liew Yien Phin from Black & Veatch.

 Join us!

Olive Ventures's insight:

See you there!

See on oliveventures.com.sg

[ryanpanos]

The Guardian | Via

[oliveventures]

Nice ads.

[oliveventures]

How To Feed The World

The world has long produced enough calories, around 2,700 per day per human, more than enough to meet the United Nations projection of a population of nine billion in 2050, up from the current seven billion. There are hungry people not because food is lacking, but because not all of those calories go to feed humans (a third go to feed animals, nearly 5 percent are used to produce biofuels, and as much as a third is wasted, all along the food chain).

The current system is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable, dependent as it is on fossil fuels and routinely resulting in environmental damage. It’s geared to letting the half of the planet with money eat well while everyone else scrambles to eat as cheaply as possible.

While a billion people are hungry, about three billion people are not eating well, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, if you count obese and overweight people alongside those with micronutrient deficiencies. Paradoxically, as increasing numbers of people can afford to eat well, food for the poor will become scarcer, because demand for animal products will surge, and they require more resources like grain to produce. A global population growth of less than 30 percent is projected to double the demand for animal products. But there is not the land, water or fertilizer — let alone the health care funding — for the world to consume Western levels of meat.

[fastcompany]

How we’ll grow the next generation of buildings with bacteria…

[smartercities]

Vertical Farming Is Key to the Smart Cities of the Future | STATETECH

Smart cities could look very different from today’s urban centers. Streetlights could be communicating with bus stops, and subway trains could be solar powered. Population growth will force local government leaders to rethink more than just transportation and housing. As the population increases, the real estate needed to grow the food we eat will become increasingly scarce. Some experts have suggested that a new agricultural approach called vertical farming, also known as urban farming, could solve this problem. In a model that is already being tested in Singapore, crops are grown indoors in tall buildings. The benefits are extensive, the technology is powerful and the results are delicious.