Here in Boulder, Colorado the mood is impatient when it comes to the future of energy in the United States. The pace at the national level is not quick enough to deliver the clean-energy future that many Coloradans view as crucial to the future viability of our economy and environment. As a result, the (more…)

If you are a smart grid expert and have a brilliant idea, you may win $21,000 and a trip to Berlin, Germany to meet with Siemens Smart Grid Experts.

The technology giant will choose five winners as part of a contest to identify five top sustainable business or technology proposals. (more…)

Some companies are taking action to address climate change in spite of international gridlock. Bombardier is one of those companies, having received accolades in Canada for it’s commitment to sustainable business practices to taking innovative engineering approaches to getting employees involved. (more…)

Economic growth is such an established mantra in political and economic circles that it can seem almost outlandish to question it. Tim Jackson not only questions it but affirms we can do better without it. His book Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet, published last year, is based on a report he wrote earlier in the year as Economics Commissioner of the Sustainable Development Commission, the U.K. Government’s independent watchdog.

The prosperity Jackson writes of is our ability to flourish as human beings. It transcends material concern. It has to do with such matters as physical and mental health, access to education, relationships and sense of community, meaningful employment and the ability to participate in the life of society. He argues that in the developed countries we can (and must) have such prosperity without the economic growth paradigm that currently rules our thinking.

Jackson recognises the difficulties of the situation we have landed ourselves with.  On the one hand growth is unsustainable, at least in its current form. The burgeoning consumption of finite resources and the heavy costs being imposed on the environment are accompanied by profound disparities in social well-being. (more…)

CleanTechies sits down with John Viera, director of sustainable business strategies for Ford Motor Company, for three questions.

CleanTechies: What are your day to day duties and the big picture of your job?

John Viera: Basically, my responsibilities are two-fold. My organization is responsible for our sustainability strategies and also responsible for environmental policy for the company. So, when you think about those two pockets – the sustainability strategy, you can think about it in a couple of different buckets. Everything we do from a sustainability strategy standpoint has to have economic goodness to it. I say that because when we talk about doing things that are environmentally friendly and whatnot, we say that it does need to have a good business case. We’re not the philanthropic arm of Ford. There is a philanthropic arm. It’s called the Ford Fund. And what we do is we set up strategies that make business sense.
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