Category Archives: Sustainability

Mexico’s biggest bakery creates website to promote its wind energy

January 9, 2013 – 3:20 pm

by Gabriela Boylan WHAT’S HAPPENING Bimbo, the largest bread and pastry company in Mexico, has launched Bimbo Verde Parque Eólico (Green Bimbo Wind Park), a website that invites people to be part of a virtual wind farm. In October 2012, Bimbo inaugurated Piedra Larga, celebrated as the world’s largest wind farm for the food industry […]

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CLIMATE CHANGE: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH RESURFACES

December 3, 2012 – 3:52 pm

by Hillary Plank Should brands join the discussion? After several years seemingly at sea, the topic of climate change rolled ashore in Superstorm Sandy this month. As images of flooded Manhattan, surrounding boroughs and several hundred miles of decimated shores flashed on screens around the world, and the human — and economic — impact was […]

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Mobile Tree Trolleys turn parking spots into leafy WiFi hotspots

September 11, 2012 – 1:11 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING For urban dwellers without a tree in sight, Matteo Cibic’s mobile Tree Trolley makes perfect sense. The Milan artist’s concept is a tree-cum-WiFi hotspot on wheels. Residents or neighbourhoods rent and park the trolley in any on-street parking spot. Where most urban environment projects are expensive and time-consuming, Tree Trolleys […]

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Savvy, sustainable innovation is trickling up from crowdfunded roots

August 28, 2012 – 11:58 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING A growing number of lauded, oversubscribed Kickstarter projects are aimed at solving sustainability issues like energy and construction. “Savvy” is the watchword as these inventions emerge from smart entrepreneurs and gain support from discerning fans. ReadySet Solar Kit, developed for Africa, is coming to the US after asking for $20K […]

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ON A CLEAR PITCH

July 31, 2012 – 4:41 pm

By Sumaa Tekur Drip. Drip. Enterprises around the world are turning their attention to the same cause: water sustainability. From the ground-up view, water-stressed communities across the globe are pressing the panic button. Two-thirds of global consumers are expected to face water shortages by 2025. Large-scale water issues are leading to unprecedented changes in the […]

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DIY movie theatres appear in Moscow courtyards

June 5, 2012 – 12:57 pm

by Anna Coppola WHAT’S HAPPENING A mobile movie theatre made of used wooden pallets has been  launched by non-profit group On The Way. After its premiere in one of Moscow’s courtyards, it’s starting to migrate across the city’s residential areas (TheMoscowNews.ru, April 3 2012). The project is focused on sustainability, not just in form but […]

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Phone booths stick around, and go green, in Italy

April 10, 2012 – 10:50 am

by Elisabeth Catuogno WHAT’S HAPPENING With the last of Italy’s old-school phone booths scheduled to be dismantled by 2016, Telecom Italia has noted that people are beginning to use them again (Panorama.it, 12 March, 2012). UbiConnected — a small telcom company from Turin — has proposed a green restyling of the traditional phone booth, and […]

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100 Mile House brings locavore principles to architecture

March 20, 2012 – 2:27 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Raise the roof for local! Sustainable architecture is taking a lesson from the 100-mile diet to build the 100 Mile House. Done right, every material used, from the foundation on up, is sourced, new or recycled from within 100 miles. The Architecture Foundation of British Columbia has launched an international […]

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Halfsies helps diners cut calories while paying it forward

March 6, 2012 – 1:15 pm

by Sheri Linden WHAT’S HAPPENING Generations of American kids were told to clean their plates because there were hungry children in the world. Halfsies bridges that leap of logic by inviting consumers to eat less while donating food where it’s needed. The Texas-based social initiative is designed to address three increasingly urgent global challenges: obesity, […]

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DON’T JUST PUT A BIRD ON IT

February 21, 2012 – 1:43 pm

by Sarah Fazio “I love your sweater.” “Thanks. It used to be a bicycle.” This “used to be a” refrain echoes as upcycling’s cachet expands beyond locavores, Etsy zealots and conscientious hipsters. Upcycling, the love child of recycling and reuse, turns castoffs into artisan crafts. I respect the practice. I even have a clutch made […]

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GreenZero device chargers slay vampire energy drain

January 31, 2012 – 1:45 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING “Zero idle power” to the people. That’s what Bracketron GreenZero device chargers and power supplies deliver — a way for energy-aware consumers to automatically staunch the flow of vampire energy (the suck from devices in fully charged or standby mode). Designs dubbed Mushroom and Stone add a designer’s eye to […]

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Daylight savings: Spain unveils nocturnal solar power plant

November 1, 2011 – 11:24 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING Gemasolar, near Seville, Spain, claims to be the world’s first 24-hour thermosolar power plant (DiariodeSevilla.es, 5 October 2011). The plant’s 2,600+ mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays to create superheated liquid salt during the day. The salt retains enough energy to generate power throughout 15 hours of darkness. Inaugurated on 4 […]

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Delhi Metro engineers stations to harvest rainwater

September 21, 2011 – 8:24 am

by Rasika Batra WHAT’S HAPPENING Imagine train stations that double as water sumps. That’s Delhi Metro in its third phase of construction. With the goal of decreasing its carbon footprint and conserving groundwater, every newly built station will have a rainwater harvesting system (TimesOfIndia.com, 3 September 2011). Rainwater will be collected not just from the station’s rooftop, but also from the […]

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Mountain Cleaners take on Himalayan cleanup operation

August 2, 2011 – 11:35 am

by Aditi Krishnan WHAT’S HAPPENING After a successful cleanup effort in 2010, Mountain Cleaners, a group of volunteers from around the world, including many from India, is taking on the task of keeping the mountains in the Chamba area in Himachal Pradesh pristine and garbage-free. Mountain Cleaners is preparing to clear the trash in time […]

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BinCam Facebook app shames users into recycling

July 26, 2011 – 1:08 pm

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Consumers may want to think twice before throwing a plastic bottle in the garbage instead of recycling it. BinCam, a specially programmed cellphone that attaches inside a trashcan lid, aims to change consumers’ bad habits by posting their non-recycled discards on Facebook (Inhabitat.com, 13 June 2011). Miscreants looking to reform […]

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