Geebiz Compendium

AH P HQ T QA M P R A R J T B D K B T L P I GJ J L R I V D J OF DU T E E E A L H J OA K K I J T L D V G I V XO E S CG R OF F U X U Y OG Y D F R T U I S H K T A OMOD D G Z L T U Y U S G R E E N Y D I R UOA DC S F V P R T I I A HN I T N T S FOS D S Y B A DG EDF P I Q J T ORO I C F P E V U CVQS J Y SGDH E K H F L V J X E B T I R OSWA Y OD B S F R L M S K A O E B I U B P MD Z B T V S NGD TO Y X J T P G E E A E U P E E CU S QM R S Y I J Z H I T F B N S S I E Y R N M ZWF E V U U K A Y OU T H C T E S MU T M J C R DW S N Y I E F N F N J S R T S D J R G F V G R A R G R L E D ES D M O K O L A I I I K K

C O N T E N T

Green Economy Eco-Business Innovation Initiative A Project of Peace Child International

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Foreword Introduction What is Geebiz?

History of Geebiz Youth Unemployment Crisis Brown Economy Green Economy Green Business Innovation Greenovators Sustainable products

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Sustainable transportation Sustainable energy Sustainable construction Sustainable waste management Sustainable lifestyle Sustainable idea Step by Step guide to become a green entrepreneur Geebiz Festival Peace Child International Be the Change Academy Network

Š Peace Child International, January 2013 President: David Woollcombe; Executive Director: Rosey Simonds Geebiz Project Director: Kata Szabo The White House, BUNTINGFORD, Herts SG9 9AH, UK web: www.peacechild.org www.geebiz.biz 2

F O R E W O R D

by David Woollcombe, President, Peace Child International

Business built the brown, fossil-fuelled economy; Business will now build the Green Economy -if governments legislate to make it happen. But they don’t: at last year’s Rio+20 and Doha Climate Change Summits, our governments flunked it. They are leaving it to us to avoid the apocalypse because they are more concerned with short-term matters -winning elections, gaining influence over their neighbours, winning economic battles for resources and power. So, what do we do? Wail and wring our hands? Protest, complain and demonstrate?!

Or just quietly start building that green economy and show how we can make a profit doing it? I hope, the latter!

We know our schools could do a much better job of teaching us how to do it -and explaining the dangers of NOT doing it. But, happily, most young people now get more than half their knowledge from the internet – not from school. So young people can learn how to meet this challenge themselves -partly! But it’s not easy! The dangers of exploding wind mills, solar generating systems that don’t work, GM foods, fish farming that spreads disease… building a Green Economy is complicated and schools, especially business schools, need to put it at the heart of their curricula: because it is an endlessly fascinating, exciting and profitable area.

Meanwhile, dive in with us and explore how you can help build the green economy in your community, your region, your nation, your world. You will read in these pages about first, faltering steps that some young people are taking to do this in their communities. For those who are successful, the rewards are infinite: the Billionaires of this 21st Century will be the entrepreneurs who build the green, sustainable economy. The momentum, and the ambition, needs to be massively accelerated over the next decade: but we feel this is a promising beginning. And every year, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, PCI will host a Geebiz Festival, we hope, at the UN, to showcase the latest achievements of young green entrepreneurs.

We hope you will be one of them!

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I nt roduc t ion If the present growth trends in population, industrialization and pollution continue, sometime within the next one hundred years we will arrive at the end of our non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, and metals. This will mean the end of our economic system. We have to come up with alternative solutions right now, instead of sitting back and enjoying what we have until it disappears. For that, we need a shift in our way of thinking, characterized by long-term thinking and responsibility for nature and humanity.

There have been decades of discussions going on about how to implement new policies in order to urge industries and societies to reduce their ecological footprints, but it seems that the desired transition is too slow. The human ecological footprint is likely to overshoot the physical limitations of the planet because there are significant delays in global decision making.

The inspiring young entrepreneurs who you will meet in these pages have all understood the urgent need to shift to new methods in consumption and production. They all have sensed the potential for innovation and profit in the building of a Green Economy and of finding new answers to pressing daily needs. They also strive to use their businesses as a way to educate people to challenge existing methods if they are not working any more.

As the world moves towards a Green Economy, there has to be corresponding encouragement of Green Entrepreneurship.

The younger generation can be the catalyst that will empower societies to move rapidly and effectively towards a sustainable future.

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W h a t i s Ge e bi z 1. A showcase for young green entrepreneurs with business plans and projects already in operation around the world.

The Green Economy Eco-Business Innovation Initiative (Geebiz) provides an opportunity for young green entrepreneurs to show what tangible steps they are taking towards the transition to the Green Economy. Above all Geebiz seeks to get youth to start thinking about green business as a possible, sustainable solution for their own future.

3 . Geebiz wants to connect and encourage creative cooperation between the stakeholders of green economy around the world.

We look to create an arena where we can feature existing young entrepreneurs from around the world as well as providing networking opportunities where youth can support each other through mentorship, and where ideas can be inter-generational. Geebiz also seeks to motivate business schools and universities to promote green entrepreneurship as a viable business model for the 21st century.

2 . A competition for youth from all over the world to come up with innovative green business plans.

The main target group is that of the young innovators between the ages of 18-30 who have developed a green business or business plan. Submissions are assessed by the quality of their business proposition, their innovation, their proven market research and the green criteria of the product.

They have to show the product life-cycle management and how it demonstrates resource efficiency.

Although we are not providing the winners with financial support, we help them to showcase their projects at selected international events and the forthcoming Geebiz Festivals.

Goal of the Geebiz Challenge ‌ inspire and encourage youth to help to build a green economy in their lifetime by coming up with innovative business ideas that serve their community based on renewable energy, resource effciency, social equity, and the restoration as well as the conservation of the earth’s eco- systems. ‌to persuade elders and government representatives that young people merit investments in their green economy business start-up efforts.

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The hi s t ory of Ge e b i z Since 1992, Peace Child International has worked with youth all over the world to raise awareness about the imperative of ‘sustainable development’. We have done this in many ways; through school education programmes to affect behaviour change, as well as sponsoring communication action projects that ensured sustainability. But although these personal actions were important it was not going to deliver a transition away from the brown, fossil-fuelled economy to that of a green, sustainable, resource-efficient one. For that, there needed to be wholesale government reform of regulations. And, essentially, the involvement of business.

Non-governmental organizations have traditionally had a somewhat jaundiced view of private industry.

Then, at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, many of us were amazed by how much private companies were investing in green initiatives, in contrast to the timidity of governments. Again, at the Rio+20 Summit, it was the private companies who were leading the charge to sustainability. Government efforts paled by comparison. Not all companies were involved. Coal, oil and gas companies were notably less enthusiastic partners than insurance and investment companies whose profit margins stand to shrink due to climate change and extreme weather.

“The Private Sector built the Brown Economy; the Private Sector will build the Green Economy as soon as governments create a regulatory environment that makes it profitable to do so.”

When we started our preparations for our Road to Rio+20 awareness campaign, it was our Chinese partner, 51SIM, who pointed out the central role that the Private Sector would play in forging the transition from the Brown to the Green Economy. They ran an exhibition of Chinese youth green business start-ups in Beijing – and were happy to internationalize the concept ahead of the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012, June.

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We believe that youth are more inspired by ideas and practical steps taken by other young people, rather than policies or declarations. We wanted to showcase what young people were doing to bring the green economy to life and at a global or regional level to inspire others to sit up and think what they could do. We want not only to inspire youth but provide a platform for young people to show their elders at global events and conferences the role that young people could play in effecting the transition to the Green Economy. The United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the UN Fund for International Partnerships were enthusiastic supporters, and the Government of Denmark offered some startup funds, so the Geebiz project was launched with a stimulating side meeting at the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil and later with an evening event at Rio’s startling Planetarium.

We continue to be inspired by what we learn about what young entrepreneurs are doing. We want the ones who have been successful to mentor and encourage those who have an idea but don’t know how best to actualize it. Our annual events aim to inspire succeeding generations of entrepreneurs to recognize the profit potential in the Green Economy. This book represents the first stage in our effort to do just that.

“Without peace, there can be no development, sustainable or otherwise!”

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Yout h unem pl oym ent cri si s

Challenges

The problem of youth unemployment is a chronically serious global issue which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

BAD NEWS 75 million of young people between

the ages of 15 and 24 are unemployed globally, with another 621 million who have given up looking for work. The problem is getting worse with another 600 million youth coming on to the job market in the next decade with, at best, 200 millions jobs awaiting them.

However, youth unemployment actually costs governments money. Whereas employed youth pay tax and stimulate growth, unemployed youth are a drain

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on the economy. That is why it is such a priority for governments to create jobs. Youth unemployment represents a global GDP loss of 2 to 5%. Just in Sub-Saharan Africa 4.6 millions of new jobs are going to have to be created each year to keep pace with the population growth!

“As youth, we are not only 50% of the world’s population today, but we are the 100% of the future. This is the decade for change. If you take charge and bring your ideas and thoughts into action, tomorrow will definitely be yours!”

- Ravi Theja Muthu, India 30 25

Global Central and South Eastern Europe East Asia Latin America & the Caribbean Middle East North Africa South Asia South East Asia & the Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa

20 15 10 5 0%

Unemployment

Youth

Adult

Education does not always result in getting you a job. According to the latest researches, in Tanzania, unemployment amongst those who went to primary school is higher than for youth who stayed home and worked on the farm. And unemployment amongst high school graduates is higher than that of primary school graduates! The problem in Tanzania is that the economy is not mature enough to create enough jobs for educated youth.

Conclusion? Youth have to create their own jobs!

GOOD NEWS Actual numbers show that youth are doing much better than older folks in starting up their new businesses!

Why? Because while we are young our main goal is to make something of our lives. Youth can be brave, flexible, open-minded, and are willing to upset the system if it is not working.

We can come up with crazy ideas, untainted by negative experience or failure and above all we have the potential of an indestructible power to create something new!

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B row n Economy It takes 100 tonnes of primeval forest vegetation to create a gallon of gasoline!

It has taken the planet 200 million years to compress and fashion that vegetation into oil and coal.

Experts calculate that, if we use just 60% of the reserves we know we have in the ground, we shall trigger catastrophic climate change; sea level rises, warmer waters lead to fish species disappearing or being forced to migrate to cooler waters, water shortages, etc. The fall out will be extreme, all because of our fossil fuel dependence. As long as the world continues burning carbon in a business-as-usual basis and oil companies are making so much money out of fossil fuels, it’s hard to get the actual economy shift to sustainable methods. As non-renewables become scarcer and harder to extract, fossil fuels become increasingly expensive, requiring the world’s poorest country governments to subsidise fuel costs for their citizens.

Humanity has hurtled forward in the name of progress for two hundred years. Now is the time to stop, and it is the young generation that is going to have to call that halt and come up with a new road map!

“Between 1900 and 2000, human use of the planet’s resources increased by 34 times and that resource demand will increase by a further 70% by 2050.” - The European Commission’s Road Map to Resource Efficiency

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A Brown Economy is one which depends on fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum or natural gas. In the process of producing them, great amounts of carbon dioxide and soot are released into the atmosphere.

By 2100, in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, up to 145 - 220 million additional people could fall below the $2-a-day poverty line, and every year, an additional 165,000 - 250,000 children could die compared with a world without climate change.

“While agriculture in higher-latitude developed countries is likely to benefit from moderate warming (2-3°C), even small amounts of climate change in tropical regions will lead to declines in yield. Here crops are already close to critical temperature thresholds and many countries have limited capacity to make economy-wide adjustments to farming patterns. The impacts will be strongest across Africa and Western Asia (including the Middle-East), where yields of the predominant regional crops may fall by 25-35% (weak carbon fertilisation) or 15 – 20% (strong carbon fertilisation) once temperatures reach 3 or 4°C. Maize-based agriculture in tropical regions, such as parts of Africa and Central America, is likely to suffer substantial declines, because maize is less responsive to the direct effects of rising carbon dioxide.” - The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (pointing out how climate change can be the greatest challenge for our economies).

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Green Economy

W ha t i s t he Gr e e n Ec onom y ?

The Green Economy is often accused of being a screen behind which banks and large corporations try to take over the natural world turning it into a large factory.

Some stopped using the phrase, feeling that it had become too controversial, preferring the phrase; ‘Sustainable Development’.

“A Green Economy improves human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. It is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.” - Definition of the Environment Programme of the United Nations, as we prefer.

We believe that the Green Economy is the only solution to avoid a total global breakdown, caused by natural disasters and economic collapse. But to build this economy, new investments and innovations have to get green light to offer real sustainable solutions in our everyday lives as in all levels of our economy. The Green Economy is low carbon, resource effcient and socially inclusive. It REDUCES carbon emissions and pollution, ENHANCES energy and resource effciency, PREVENTS the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Economy: Oekos + Nomos= Home + Management Ecology: Oekos + Logos= Home + Knowledge

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One Planet Living has created a framework describing the ideal Green Economy through these 10 principles:

A Green Economy... is Zero carbon... buildings are energy efficient

and delivering all energy with renewable technologies. is Zero

waste... waste is reduced, reused and recycled.

uses Sustainable means of transport... low carbon modes of transport are encouraged to reduce emissions. uses Sustainable materials... sustainable, healthy products are used with low embodied energy, sourced locally, made from renewable or waste resources. promotes Local and sustainable food... low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets are promoted while reducing food waste. creates Sustainable water... water is used more efficiently in buildings and in the products we buy; tackling local flooding and water course pollution.

Protects land and wildlife...

biodiversity and natural habitats are protected and restored through appropriate land use and integration into the built environment.

Develops culture and community... local identity and wisdom revives.

Promotes equity and local economy...

bioregional economies are created that support fair employment, inclusive communities and international fair trade.

Creates Health and happiness... active, sociable, meaningful lives are promoted for good health and well-being. http://oneplanetliving.org

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Gr e en B us i n e ss ...is the way a GREEN ECONOMY can be built!

A green business… ...produces eco-friendly products and services while staying harmless to the environment. The materials used for production are always eco-friendly, of high quality and, most of the time sourced locally in order to minimise carbon footprint. ...invests in alternative means of transportation as a way of minimising the use of fossil fuels. ...manages waste from the sourcing of materials through the process of production, transportation to customers, and consumption until the disposal. …can provide jobs and decent income to the members of society.

A green business is NOT one which engages in ‘GREEN WASHING’!

Many companies create a smoke-screen of environmental friendliness to make their products more attractive to consumers – using the Green Economy as an advertising tool. A classic example would be an energy company that runs an advertising campaign promoting their Solar division which in fact represents only a tiny percentage of their total not-so-green business, or may be marketed on the heels of an oil spill or other environmental disaster.

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Green entreprises are likely to create a whole lot more jobs in both developed and developing economies than the Brown Economy. A million dollars invested in building windmills, retrofitting houses, and similar porjects to become more energy efficient creates ten times more jobs than investing in oil prospecting.

Two examples to help you understand what we mean by a green business: A billion plastic bottles are thrown away every year. In April 2011, a young Filipino, Illac Diaz, thought of a clever way to recycle them. He filled the bottles with chlorinated water, glued them into a roof-tile and fitted them into a hole in the roof of a shack. The sun reflects through the sparkling chlorinated water and lights up the room. He calls the result a Liter of Light or Solar Bulb. It is a life-saver for communities living without electricity.

Illac has grown his business as a social enterprise, creating jobs for hundreds of young workers who make and fit the bulbs. The business is now in India, Indonesia, Colombia and Switzerland. Illac aims to have one million solar bulbs installed by 2015.

If a Linear Economy is one where you make a product, use it, then throw it away, a Circular Economy is one where you make a product, use it, recycle it, then use it again – repeating the process for ever!

The Renault Car Company in France has embraced this idea with its

Innovative CAR Recycling programme, ICARRE 95, which recycles 95% of every vehicle at the end of its life. Called a cradle-to-cradle recycling process, each car is cleared of pollutant materials, dismantled and shredded with the components moved on to a second life. Not only does this empty junk yards, it is a cost-effective way for the company to make new cars.

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I n no v a tion An Innovation is about something new; a radical improvement of an existing product or process; a clever adaptation or extension of an earlier idea.

“There is nothing new under the sun!� – meaning that, if you thought

of it, someone else, somewhere on the planet, has thought of it too. What Geebiz is looking for, is something that points in a new direction, something that stimulates new ideas in our thinking. The projects showcased by Geebiz are all innovative in a way. They are all unique and original, bringing improvements to their own local environment, showing something new and sustainable in the field of business. Geebiz celebrates and showcases those young people who are brave enough to stick their necks out and experiment, try new ideas that meet a definite social need.

A successful innovation is also one which delivers financial benefits for the consumer as well as the supplier.

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Eco-Innovation Eco-innovations are embracing new or significantly improved solutions introduced at any stage of the product life-cycle.

Their aim is to satisfy human needs and bring a quality of life while reducing the environmental impact, no matter whether or not that effect is intended.

The group of projects which have been selected for this book are all embracing eco-innovation at their heart. Here you will find local start-up entrepreneurs with businesses, business plans and ideas in energy efficiency, green production, green construction, waste management, and green transportation.

They are some of the most committed young people leading business in the field of green economy.

Divergent thinking The components of an innovators mind

Creativity

Venture

GR E E NOV A TOR S Co-Space Spud Marshall Christian Baum State College, PA, USA

Symbiose Elias Kindle, Michaela Hogenboom Triesen, Liechtenstein

Renergy Technologies Ravi Theja Muthu Bangalore, India

Walltop Forest Thang Phom Ngoc Hanoi, Vietnam

Citizen Energy Chris Castro and Edwin Luevanos Orlando, FL, USA

Creative Recycling Alina Blaga, Georgiana Cremene, Dan Dinu Bucarest, Romania

You Green Roger Koeppl São Paulo, Brazil Keynovations Ilyes El Ouarzadi, Yassir El Ouarzadi, Sameer Khan, Žarko Petrović, Hardeep Singh Dangh

Mir&Ryvi Laiden Mark Junjun Laguna, Philippines

Ghana Bamboo Bikes Bernice Dapaah Kumasi, Ghana

BaNaPads Richard Bbaale, Bukibila Village Uganda

Ben&Johnson Ben Maturwe Johnson Gituma Nairobi, Kenya

Green Dalmatia Marija Tresoglavic Zadar, Croatia

Bevis Bors Bogdan Iasi, Romania

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Sustainable products

BaNa Pads

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U ga n da

8 million women and girls have their monthly cycle in Uganda. They need at least one pack of 10 sanitary pads, which cost about 1 US dollar. Given that 70% of the population lives on less than 3 dollars a day, you can imagine that only a small proportion of girls and women can afford a regular supply of sanitary pads for themselves.

So, during their menstruation period, women and girls often expose themselves to infection by using unhygienic materials.

Also, they often have to stay at home, meaning they miss school 4-5 days a month. When they get back, they are under great pressure to make up for lost time and this contributes to bad grades and negative reports. “Those sensitive days” walk hand in hand with stigma and disgrace in Uganda, as society perceives menstruation to be a socially undignified act. As youngsters don’t get any proper sexual education either in school or from the family members, girls often don’t even know what is happening to them.

The BaNaPads Social Entreprise Ltd. is an innovative business manufacturing cost effective sanitary pads made from the processed stems of readily available bananas. They ensure that as many girls as possible have constant access to these pads in the rural Uganda.

“One of the most effective ways to prepare fellow young people to face the future is by teaching them to innovate and to help them become active, life-long learners.”- Richard

Who? Richard (30) recognizing this serious issue, initiated the local production of affordable and environment friendly sanitary pads for young women using stems of the fast growing banana plants in the central regions of Uganda, with the help of two friends Michelle and Susan (25, 27).

How? BanaPads has developed a micro-consignment distribution model which comprises a network of distributors. They are individual young women entrepreneurs who sell the pad-packs for less than half a dollar, and still make a profit on each on them. This is still less than half of the price girls would pay for foreign made sanitary pads. The pads are packaged for a monthly distribution in schools.

banana stems + paper waste = eco-friendly, all natural, cost effective sanitary pads

What happens with the used pads? BaNaPads has the solution: a waste

management and reusability system!

The special bins for used pads are made of aluminium and get warm from solar heat enough, to kill any viruses alive inside. When the pads are crushed into small pieces, the physical decomposition starts and are finally reused as natural fertilizers for the land.

www.banapads.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCte6nW-S-U 19

Sustainable products

Mir & Ryvi

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Phil ip p i n e s

If you thought you could only eat banana, papaya and tomato, think again.Now just imagine these amazing ingredients caressing and enriching your beautiful skin. From the organic farms of Laguna in the Philippines to Jeju Island in South Korea no one knows more about eco-innovation in the beauty care products than Mir & Ryvi Home of Organics Company.

This social enterprise manufactures handmade beauty products in the Philippines.

Who? Everybody has a hobby. Some people like to collect stamps and others love modelling, baking, or playing chess. What Laiden (32), Mark (30) and Junjun (28) like to do most is designing soaps. They started off offering their creations to friends and relatives at Christmas time. They had already been teaching arts to indigenous communities together since 2001 and in 2010 they decided to turn their passion into a real business.

“To marginalized youth, ‘sustainability’ means having a decent job and the security of tenure.” - Laiden How? For the first two years they invested their own money, time and passion. They started selling their products in local bazaars. By nurturing a friendly and exclusive relationship with their clients, they were able to improve their products based on the regular feedback. Thanks to their passionate work, Mir & Ryvi products are already in the mainstream market and being promoted nationwide through on-line markets and almost 16 online stores nationwide.

“Follow your heart and see how your passion can collaborate with nature!”

Why? Perhaps, in some countries making soap might not be considered so innovative but in the Philippines there is the huge challenge of empowering local disadvantaged youth by creating jobs in the countryside with high unemployment.

Marginalized youth lack the possibility to pursue their studies. Often as the breadwinners for their poor families, they are left with no choice but dropping out of school. Employing these young people and young mothers, Mir & Ryvi provides them with a decent income, continuous training and the opportunity to finish their schooling while they earn their living.

“You will encounter so many challenges of establishing your own green business along the way – there will be times when no one believes in you, you run out of cash, your employees don’t follow you - so prepare yourself. Success can never be sweeter without these challenges. However, it is also important to find a mentor - someone who is knowledgeable, for example in company policy, human resources, taxation and reporting because you do not need to learn from ALL your mistakes - you can learn from the mistakes done by your mentors in the past.”

- Laiden

http://www.mirandryvi.com/

The company provides natural products within the beauty industry which is often full of synthetics and superficial beliefs of instant beauty. They establish longterm relationships with certified local organic farms who serve as the main source of their major raw material: fruit!

http://www.facebook.com/mirandryvi 21

Sustainable transportation

Mir&RyviBamboo Ghana Bikes Initiative

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Gha n a

You can always find something that can be used in a creative way, you just have to look around, fire up your creativity and start to realise your ideas. If it’s bamboo that is growing in your neighbourhood, why don’t you start to construct something really useful and innovative out of it?

What? In most African countries, bicycles are still used heavily as a means of transportation. The Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative ventures into this field with great enthusiasm. They produce locally handmade, eco-friendly bikes offering the smoothest ride on the roughest surfaces. These bikes can even be used to transport goods, thanks to the heavy-duty design and strength of the raw material. What’s more, this project creates direct employment opportunities for bamboo bike builders and improves the living standards in the most disadvantaged communities.

Who? The idea came from a group of university students, when they realized that most rural dwellers in Ghana lack the skills and the necessary knowledge to create wealth from the unutilised bamboo that grows abundantly in the wild all around them. Meanwhile, Ghana’s rural population has to transport their products far away from where they produce them. For this, they use imported, low quality bicycles not designed for the rough roads, or intense use they receive.

The Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative tackles these two challenges at the same time, directed by Bernice Dapaah(32) in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of central Ghana. She provides the project with a scientific background and responsible business skills.

This award-winning group is coming up with new ideas all the time: bamboo bike ambulances, “pedicabs”, bamboo bike carts and more – all being developed to meet the expectations of needs.

This will produce an indigenous business and provide much improved transportation options.

While carbon, steel or titanium frames all require high levels of energy during their production before being suitable for bicycle manufacture, the organic bamboo is cheap, sustainable and non-polluting to produce, and 100% recyclable at the end of its life!

How? Bamboo is the fastest growing plant of our planet. It has been used as food, medicine, and construction material for thousands of years. Bamboo improves air and water quality, its root system reduces soil erosion, and doesn’t take away many nutrients from the ground. The composite nature of bamboo gives it an enviable advantage over metal for absorbing road shocks and vibrations. Unique shockabsorbing quality of the bamboo provides a sturdy, yet comfortable ride for the biker.

http://ghanabamboobikes.org/ 23

Keynovations

In t er na tion a l 5 different nations, 1 team, 1 goal

Sustainable products energy

Inspire, innovate, implement... Keynovations

Have you ever been in a situation where you desperately needed your phone but the battery just went dead? Or have multiple electronic portable devices making you tangled in the web of charging cables? In these moments you would do anything just for a few precious seconds of energy in your cell or tablet.

Charging phones while running, dancing, or even just by walking seemed possible only in our wildest dreams. Now, this ‘keynovative’ team is likely to make our dreams come true!

What? Keynovations is ready to manufacture and implement the KEYBATT portable and eco-friendly self-charging battery system that can both reduce the electricity usage and enable devices to last longer. KEYBATT is a lithium-sulfur dioxide aluminum uni-bodied battery which will initially be produced for cell phones and then gradually expanded to cameras, portable music players, tablets and other electronic devices. It can harness the power of body movements and recharge itself, offering long lasting battery life to cell phones and smart phones.

“It can harness the power of body movements and recharge itself” Who? The creators of this fabulous innovation are five cosmopolitan young men from around the world. Ilyes, Hardeep, Samieer, Yassir, and Zarko (from left to right) met up during several international conferences, where some of the greatest minds and leaders in the business,

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technology, politics, and education came together. Our protagonists are passionate about entrepreneurship that can tackle the world’s challenges and improve lives. They decided to use all the knowledge and resources available from their respective fields of expertise in order to create something new which will have an impact on a global level.

That’s how Keynovations was born. “The members strive to hand in the keys to the society that will open many doors, believing that happiness is a basic measure of personal and social sustainable success, not just a temporary achievement in personal development!”

How? KEYBATT will be manufactured using standard electronic assembly techniques. All materials and components are readily available in many tools and hardware stores, making it cost effective for getting raw materials.

“We are choosing the materials with extreme care, taking into account the product’s lifecycle, from its initial production to the point when the consumer decides to invest in a new product.”

With the growing demand of portable electronics, investment in the KEYBATT in the present will be a great opportunity for the future.

Kinetic Energy + Innovations = KeyNovations

KEYBATT is a zero waste product that is efficient and environmentally safe. It is made out of recyclable materials that can be reused in either KEYBATT or other products.

The casing of the KEYBATT is made out of single unibody aluminium. This is a cheap recyclable metal that can be reused and collected once the life of the product is over.

The magnets and coils of a charging component of the battery can all be reused in future production.

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Renergy Technologies

Ind i a

The zero Carbon communities project

Sustainable energy

Ravi (21) is a young entrepreneur whose story leaves you amazed. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he is the co-founder and executive director of Climate Leaders India Network and the CEO of Renergy Technologies. He is the ideal of what a young entrepreneur should be and is a true champion of energy and climate solutions.

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What? One third of India’s rural population lives without electricity. Renergy Technologies is a successful green business focused on providing sustainable, affordable and reliable alternative energy solutions to people in rural areas. The firm is currently working on several projects in solar, wind, biomass and biogas, energy and waste management.

“Innovation and creativity in our thinking, the impact which our products have made on the lives of people in Chittoor and the trust we have won from our customers through reliable service and support, are driving Renergy Technologies, making it profitable to grow the business.”

Where? The “Zero Carbon Communities” project is delivering green energy technologies to the population in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh. The solar powered packs and cooking systems serve as an alternative to the expensive and carbon emitting energy sources like coal, fossil fuels, firewood and kerosene.

How can rural dwellers afford these green technologies?

The Zero Carbon Communities is taking proven green technologies to the suppliers at an affordable cost by making minor modifications to them. They are working with regional rural banks to provide loans to the customers who are interested in buying solar power packs for domestic applications, and pay for them in monthly instalments.

“The scheme is very well received as it makes renewable energy solutions affordable”

Renergy Technologies’ involvement in the use of agricultural and municipal waste to generate energy, also addresses the critical issue of waste disposal. The firm is now in the process of launching innovative products like PVC Biogas plants, community solar cooking solutions, depolymerisation systems converting plastic wastes into fuel.

Taking sustainable solutions to the people reduces their dependence on fossil fuels and improves their standards of living. Thanks to Ravi and the Renergy Technologies, children can now learn and study at night while women can cook and work in the home after dark.

Ravi believes that now is the age for Green Technologies.

“There is a need to build the Green Economy to have a future which is sustainable and provides equal opportunities for all. Green Technologies are the only long term solutions to the problems the world is facing today. “ http://www.facebook.com/renergytech/info 27

Ben & Johnson

K en y a

Sustainable energy

Portable biogas digester for: the Generation of Reliable Energy

28

Great minds think alike. This is very true for the Ben & Johnson Inc.; a company run by two young entrepreneurs with a strong passion for innovation. Biogas is one of the most affordable and sustainable forms of energy and Kenya is ideally placed to produce it. B&J saw the potential and decided to to tap into a new green business.

What? The Ben&Johnson Company, operating in Kenya, is dedicated to make portable biogas digesters for on-going reliable energy. These biogas digesters are made of Butyl rubber liners and recyclable plastics. These materials are UV resistant and have a 20-year lifespan. The kits are portable since they are light in weight thus easy to market and install!

Who? Everything started as a school project and graduated to a sprawling green business. Ben, the CEO of the company is a project management student who has gathered substantial knowledge in his field over the last four years. His partner, Johnson, studies Energy Engineering; he is responsible for coming up with innovative ideas and overseeing the engineering aspect of this business.

Why portable digesters?

They cost almost the half price of concrete digesters. Not only that, they are also efficient with high gas production since they are temperature controlled.

“Fuel mainly used for cooking in homes and public institutions of Kenya and Eastern Africa is firewood collected from the forests and bushes by women and children as far as 6 km away.�

Why? It was the energy crisis in Kenya that inspired the young entrepreneurs to look for alternative sources in the underutilised potential of biodegradable waste.

Tonnes of biodegradable wastes are generated daily, by both animals and humans. Fuel produced from biodegradable waste is clean and cheap. By selling Biogas Digesters B&J contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions by 1,600 tonnes a year. This simple technology is not only energy saving and eco friendly, but also provides a wide range of improvements in overall sanitary and health conditions. http://benjohnsoninc.kbo.co.ke/ 29

Sustainable energy

Eco Fire

30

V ie t na m

Nearly 1 million Hanoi citizens burn coal for their daily cooking.

They suffer badly because when sulphurous coal burns, it produces toxic gases which can cause lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses. Despite this, it’s hard to convince people that the cheap toxic coal they are burning brings deathly effects due to its slow and silent killing. Eco Fire wants to change that.

What? Eco Fire is a social enterprise that develops technological solutions to address urgent health and environmental issues in low-income communities in Vietnam. Central to its work is the sale of Eco Carbon as a renewable fuel produced from agricultural waste like rice straw. Eco Carbon offers a safe and economical substitute to the burning of traditional coal, producing 50% fewer toxic emissions.

Who? Two years ago, on a trip to a small village nearby Hanoi capital, Hong Thai (22) met Le Hong Tam (24) who shared a common interest in working with environmental business. They soon realized the critical need of the countryside to have a better solution to the agricultural wastes and toxic energy from coal burning.

How? During the past 2 years, the project came through very different developmental phases. Initially, they only served rural villages where agricultural wastes problems prevail, but now they serve the entire Hanoi central area with a larger population. They also engage students from various universities to help market the products to customers.

“Actually, I want to share with other young entrepreneurs that a social entrepreneurial spirit is embedded into your heart by nature. Please activate it by pressing a button of passion.

Once you deeply understand and sympathise with a specific social problem, from the bottom of your heart, you will find a way to become a success through active learning of business and management skills, and fostering your determination of prioritising social missions over your personal benefits.�- Hong Eco Carbon not only costs 20 % less, but burns 20 % longer! In addition to producing greener energy and contributing to improved health, EcoFire tackles the issue of poor management of agricultural waste in rural areas.

http://thanoxi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id =77&Itemid=471 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWAakA4-7cU&feature=youtu.be 31

Sustainable products construction

Citizen Energy Corporation

32

U n it ed S t a t e s

It’s hard to understand the real challenges of growing environmental risks and ecological scarcities while we are sitting in a house provided with electricity, heating and all we need for a comfortable life. All we experience are the bills we pay at the end of the month. But things are changing because the price we pay for energy is getting higher and higher; no wonder that more and more of us are looking for ways to reduce expenses and save money.

So if you want to make your building energy efficient, but don’t know how to start, where better to look than the fresh green minds of the Citizen Energy Group?!

What? Citizen Energy is a consulting firm focused in Orlando, Florida. It has triple-super functions: • Educating young people and their customers about the energy efficiency life-cycle: the technique to assess the environmental impact of a product from the raw materials through the production process until recycling.

• Leading comprehensive assessments of building’s energy efficiency.

• Partnering with universities, industries, local governments, and community organizations to catalyse student-driven market transformation.

Who? It all started at the University of California, where Chris (24), Edwin (28) and a couple of friends got involved in an energy efficiency training programme about transforming buildings to energy-saving mode. Being deeply inspired, they realised that these kinds of training programmes could be replicated in other communities giving inspiration to other young people. So they put their ideas to action and established a new community-driven model: the Citizen Energy.

IDEAS for Biomimicry: Chris Castro at TEDxOrlando

“On my free time, you can find me playing Mexican mariachi music or Spanish flamenco, what a blend! Chris and I are both musically inclined, so our strategy sessions sometimes turn into jam sessions! It’s actually good for our work because we’re able to relax, exercise some of those other creative parts of the brain and take inspiration from the music.” - Edwin Buildings consume 74% of electricity that is generated in the USA, of which nearly 30% is wasted due to inefficiencies and poor operations. Huge amounts of electricity are generated using carbon-rich energy sources, producing tonnes of greenhouse gases. http://citizen-energy.com/ 33

Sustainable products construction

Walltop Forest

34

V ie t na m

As an innovation in interior design, this business taps into the heart of Vietnamese cosmopolitan lifestyles, injecting the spirit of nature where we thought it to be impossible.

What? WallTop Forest is a bionic plant furnishing for the information age, equally at home, in galleries, public spaces and cultural institutions. It integrates plants, design and technology to bring a sprinkle of Flora into the indoor densely populated cities. In Vietnam, as in all fast growing cities, green surfaces disappear and new buildings and smoggy roads replace them. Thanks to this project, a piece of Mother Nature moves into the living and working spaces, bringing a peaceful and healthy ambiance.

Who and How? It is the genius born in the hands of a group of young architects, designers, technologists and environmentalists building a new way of interacting with nature. The sculptural terrariums effortlessly combine modular architecture, basic laws of physics, embedded technologies, and mobile computing. Walltop Forest shapes the greenery in elegant structures wrapped in a field of sensors to help monitor their health. The frame is crafted with cedar wood and copper piping, surrounded by digital sensors and integrated lighting controlled by smartphone applications. “When the aesthetic meets pragmatic�

“Mankind is increasingly leaving nature behind, migrating to concrete jungles where green space is at a premium. Yet urban dwellers will always long for a connection to the earth...”

WallTop Forest has gone to the basics. The model strives to offset carbon footprint in an artistic and interesting way without making it a cliché. It is professional and contemporary; incorporating sustainability values. WallTop Forest’s mission is to integrate diverse disciplines into a new paradigm that changes the way people live and interact with nature. www.walltopforest.com 35

Green Dalmatia

Cr o a tia

Sustainable products waste

Green Dalmatia Initiative proves that if you look deeper into the well of alternative solutions you will find more affordable, eco-friendly ways to power everyday activities.

What? Green Dalmatia seeks to convert the waste of olive mills and surrounding forests into briquettes that can be used as a precious source of energy. By turning the pomace into briquettes, they can be used as a renewable source of energy. The briquettes can be burned by a machine attachable to the boiler system, so the cost is cut in half. Since their oil mill is already functioning as a financially stable business, the production of the briquettes not only provides a source of energy for the business but also creates additional income.

Who? Marija (28), Robert (29) and her team near to Zadar, Croatia are passionate about olives and everything that can be made out of them.

“The

most amazing thing about olives is the fact they never stop giving. The beauty of their olive fields brings them serenity and peace. They believe in the incredible quality of olive oil, that gives health, nourishes the body, and there’s even more…”

“Don’t waste the waste! It’s such a shame!” - Marija

36

Why? The Mediterranean basin is well known for its olive production. Every year a huge amount of precious oil is squeezed out from the olives and sold both locally and to international markets. Each season an average mill spends around 5000 Euros/6500 Dollar on electricity, so, with escalating fuel and energy bills, the cost during milling season for powering the machines and the water heating systems gets higher and higher. Meanwhile after the milling season, the leftover waste is collected and burnt down before the new season begins.

Pomace + Natural leftovers = Energy!

“People get lazy and a little bit too comfortable once they find themselves in a situation that already functions well, and are unprepared for a change‌The main advantage we have is that we have an all-natural product that is right here waiting for us to make the best of it.â€? - Marija Green Dalmatia aims to: 1. Collect the leftover pomace from the oil mills. This eliminates the waste and owners would no longer have to bother with obligatory waste removal.

2. Clean the forests from debris to prevent fires and use it as an essential supplement of the briquettes.

3. Make briquettes out of pomace and forest debris. Biomass briquettes avoid adding fossil carbon to the atmosphere.

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Sustainable products waste

YouGreen Cooperative

38

B r a zil

The world is swimming in waste. The fact that 75% of the world’s waste is not recycled while the world market for waste is worth around US$410 billion a year is shocking.

YouGreen is a waste management initiative aiming to build a cooperative system throughout Brazil for waste collection. The goal is to create recycling chains for recyclable materials, engaging the entire society from the production to the final consumer with the participation of government and private sectors.

Who? The project was created by an enthusiastic Brazilian; Roger (24) from Sao Paulo who acquired a good knowledge of Reverse Logistics. Reverse Logistics seeks to find the most effective flow of materials and uses for unwanted waste: aiming to regain the value of that waste through getting back to the logistics chain until it’s finally worn out and needs recycling

“I became aware that few people knew how to do the Reverse Logistics. Then I saw an opportunity to finally start up a social business where I could help hundreds of people who are in vulnerable situations.”

How? As one of its first actions, YouGreen started to collect used vegetable oil from neighbouring restaurants, households and companies. This waste produces three different kinds of products; biodiesel, soap and candles. The next project is a waste collection scheme which aims to sort out 37,000 kilograms of waste every month thus creating 15 jobs. YouGreen plans to collect recyclable waste from the customers and take it to sorting centres before being sold to recycling companies.

“Our focus is to act by the cooperative principles, transforming customers into partners, stimulating creative entrepreneurship in the constant search for sustainable solutions.”

YouGreen is more than a recycling cooperative.

It seeks to make a waste revolution for environmental preservation and social inclusion, involving other cooperatives and associations, civil mobilisations, research centres, and educational institutes. It also wants to encourage interaction between organisations, exchanging services and products, providing mutual support as well as creating green jobs.

“I like to be someone who energises people and gives them good vibrations. And above all, I love peace and movement” - Roger

http://www.yougreen.com.br/en www.facebook.com/yougreen.coop @YouGreen_coop 39

Sustainable products waste

Creative Recycling

40

Rom a n ia

Who would think that all those things we consider to be useless waste, could be turned into beautiful decorations and articles of use?

Why? Alina (28) has always liked the idea of recycling but she wanted to do something creative about it. After studying and volunteering abroad, she joined some highly inspiring workshops with artists and activists from all around Europe. Returning home to Romania, she invested her inspiration, experience and networks and, together with two friends; Georgiana (28) Dan (26) founded the D’Advent Association and started the Reciclare Creativa project addressing a key sustainability issue – how do we manage our waste. From that moment on, the team has grown exponentially with passionate and talented people.

“Creative recycling means people being passionate about transforming objects, materials, little things, parts and pieces into interesting and useful things, or simply to try pure and crazy art… as a manifesto of our own creativity” - reciclarecreativa.ro Why? Creative recycling actions are relatively isolated in Romania. Freedom of expression and creativity were not among the core values of the communist regimes. Nearly 60 years of dictatorship affected people’s way of thinking about creativity. Being deprived of materials and intellectual resources over such a long

“We like to think that we can be superheroes without supernatural powers. And creative recycling gave us the wings to connect people, to bring environmental issues to the forefront with creativity, passion and art. You can also be a superhero...just invest in your green passion!” period means there is a great deal of suppressed creativity in people’s minds. The idea of Creative Recycling came to life in order to provide a platform where people can realise their creative activities, in both urban and rural areas. Thanks to the enthusiasm and willingness to experiment of practitioners such as these, there is now an opportunity to inform, communicate, promote and develop common actions in the field of recycling. http://reciclarecreativa.ro/en www.facebook.com/ReciclareCreativa.ro

How? Based in Bucharest, Creative Recycling is all about communities. In only 1 year, the project has grown from an abstract plan to a community movement. Professionals, architects, designers, artists got involved mainly in volunteer work. Step by step schools, youth centres and festivals with limited budgets called upon them to organise workshops or redesign their spaces in an innovative and creative way by using waste. They are now being contacted by companies and NGOs that are organising events and invited to share their knowledge through workshops. Next, they plan to go even further with building the first construction from recyclable materials in Romania that will become an open space for art workshops, freely available to the community.

41

Sustainable products lifestyle

Symbiose

42

L ie c ht ens t ei n

This project proves, that no matter how developed a country is, there’s always something to do to make things greener and more sustainable! A greener state of mind can contribute greatly to the development of the green economy.

Symbiose is an initiative of an enthusiastic young couple aiming to create an environmentally and socially more active society in their tiny country; Lichtenstein, where there is still a lot to be done to get people involved in sustainable activities!

“This project will provoke profound changes in people’s perception of sustainability by making it local, easy and fun!”

Who? Having led their studies in Strategic Leadership, Michaela and Elias (26,26) decided to turn theory to action.

Even though their country has the strongest financial sector and a high quality of life, they experience a low public awareness when it comes to sustainable development. SYMBIOSE brings people together to co-create a resilient and sustainable community which benefits from each other’s knowledge and abilities.

What? SYMBIOSE’s purpose is to empower people to take responsibility for their actions on a daily basis, in their work and free time through community projects. Moreover, they create an environmentally engaged proactive community while serving as a consultant for businesses and municipalities.

How will SYMBIOSE get Liechtenstein minds Green and Active?

Communication Symbiose is fostering dialogue in all segments of society about a sustainable future. This project provides programmes where young people and decision-makers can meet in order to create a general vision of a connected and sustainable society of Lichtenstein.

A Sustainability Map There are numerous sustainability projects and sustainable practices already in Liechtenstein but they are not connected! By making them visible on an interactive online platform all these projects can now recognize each other and start cooperating easily! This platform is called: the Sustainability Map. Crowd-funded implementation of projects A set of concrete actions of independent projects embracing creative solutions will be developed through brainstorming. Through the crowd-funding platform anybody can get involved in the different projects. Symbiose will provide mentorship and know-how to empower young initiative-takers to carry out their projects and ideas. In this way, the vision of a connected and sustainable society of Lichtenstein can become reality within the close future.

www.symbiose.li facebook/SymbiosefL 43

co.space

U nit ed S t a t e s

A deeper sense of home

Sustainable products lifestyle

Move in for a year and move out as the green entrepreneur of the future!

44

The world will only be able to survive the economic and environmental crises if economies can shift to sustainable methods in their business practices. For that, businesses and entrepreneurs have to come up with sustainable plans. And as we know, without inspiration there is no creation and no innovation. This project provides an incubator for all those future entrepreneurs who will be the pioneers of the Green Economy.

“What can be more inspiring than living with change makers?�- Spud

What? Co.space is an original initiative that aims to help nurture and enable future world-changers to grow by creating and connecting environments for innovation and creativity. Co.space’s interest is to support a global social innovation movement by creating affordable, collaborative co-living spaces for students and young professionals. By linking international networks of change-makers, co.space homes will be launched around the world and linked together by providing video communication in each home so that participants can be in seamless communication with one another. Students are given opportunities to apply sustainability innovation and social entrepreneurship in local community projects and global internships.

“By fostering nurturing environments where worldchanging ideas are encouraged, co.space will help facilitate the exchange of ideas around the world and develop a deeper sense of purpose for the residents of the home.”

Who? Based in State College, Pennsylvania Spud (25) and Christian (25) are childhood friends and founders of co.space.

Their journeys have taken them around the world form Jamaica to Sweden, giving them a wide range of experiences in different companies. After working independently for a couple years, the two friends joined forces in 2010 and began implementing the early stages of co.space. Ever since, it has been one exciting ride!

Co.space seeks residents who are active in the sustainability and green entrepreneurship movement and works to accelerate their personal careers and ventures. The homes themselves are designed to be examples of green architecture. From solar panels to greenhouses attached to the kitchens, the co.space homes will demonstrate what living in a sustainable world might look like.

Attention! Co.space is looking for students, community member, business leaders

or local politicians to serve as local champions in cities around the world who are willing to step up and lead a team to bring the co.space to their community!

“You have nothing to lose! At no other point in your life will you have as much freedom as you do now to risk all for that single passion or idea that has always been nudging at you from within. Take a chance and follow your dreams - the first step is always the hardest!” http://thecospace.com

facebook.com/thecospace 45

Sustainable idea R omani a

Bevis

Nowadays we take it for granted that plastic bottles are a problem we have to live with if we want to buy our favorite beverages. We don’t care about the billions of plastic floating in the oceans, because drinks are a daily necessity. Nature has to pay the price just because we are thirsty, even if it’s not necessary to be like that!

Who? Bogdan (19) from Romania has ambitious plans to radically reduce the plastic and waste production in his country and all over the world.

What? BEVIS has a comprehensive plan for making reusable polycarbonate and aluminium bottles for everyday use rather than just manufacturing plastic bottles.

The project aims to create strong partnerships with beverage companies who, instead of using plastic bottles, will use ‘BEVIS fountains’ to provide their most popular drinks! The fountains will be beverage tanks placed in public places, available to anybody, any time.

Why would we want to buy bottles all the time when we could have our own personalised hyper-trendy, reusable ones: the Bevis bottles!

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BEVIS can...

• Significantly reduce the use of plastic bottles by an environmentally friendly quality substitute.

• Promote an environmentally aware lifestyle without having to be deprived of our favorite beverages.

• Create jobs by employing people from disadvantaged groups, especially youth.

• BEVIS bottles will be personalized and a cool accessory, a way of expressing yourself and showing where your interests lie.

Why? 100 million plastic bottles are used worldwide each day; their production consumes 9 million liters of fuel.

More than 90% of the cost of bottled water is due to the cost of the bottle itself. Beverage companies invest significant amounts of money in bottling and transportation. Using BEVIS they could cut these costs dramatically and beverages could also become cheaper for the customers!

‘Once, a friend of mine asked me what I want from life. I simply said: “Everything”. My dreams haven’t changed much up to this date: I want to meet great people and change normal people into extraordinary individuals; I want to change the world, influence the way education and business work these days.’ - Bodgan

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St ep -by -s t ep guide to become a Green Entrepreneur If, like so many of us, you find yourself unemployed upon graduation, don’t get down-hearted: think about how you can claim a stake in the $20 trillion dollar Green Economy which will develop in the next decade.

Here are some simple steps to get you started:

1

Take

3

Develop

a

walk

around

your

neighbourhood. See what the major problems are.

Think about sustainable, green solutions to them. Talk with neighbours and other business people about what their thoughts and ideas are about the solutions. Learn! a

business

idea!

Brainstorm with friends, follow up hunches and intuition, hurt your brain thinking of things that you can do, go out, get drunk, relax, turn off your mind and let ideas flow into it… Whatever you do, it has to start with a BRILLIANT idea.

Something that makes you cry ‘EUREKA!’ and want to go hug someone… And, of course, it has to be GREEN!!

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2

Learn

4

Calculate,

everything

you

can

about

the Green Economy! Check out the websites and pack your brain to over-flowing with information about the challenge!

very

carefully,

if

your

business

idea is viable. Is there a gap in the market which your idea will fill? Is there any competition?

Why is your idea better than that of the competition? Are there people out there who would pay for your green business idea?

5

Develop

a

Business

Plan!

There are masses of online sites to help you! Just make sure you prepare every aspect of the Business Plan. Pay special attention to explain why your idea is so eco-friendly and green!

6

Get a mentor... or better; two mentors! Business people or teachers who will support you through the dark times which inevitably happen.

7

Get a loan and get started! This is often the hardest bit, but with persistence, you should be able to succeed. Try to find a programme that offers a non-collateralised loan. Though it is tempting, don’t rely on a rich uncle to gift you funds: you may get started but, when you go to a bank later to get a loan to expand your business, you’ll not have any credit history to demonstrate your trust-worthiness as an entrepreneur.

Good Luck and remember the Golden Rule: NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!!

Useful links PCI’s compilation website of educational materials about sustainability- www.rioplus20education.info America’s best guru about sustainable business and ‘getting gold from green’-www.andrewwinston.com Rocky Mountain Institute; one of America’s finest think tanks on green solutions -www.rmi.org The Post Carbon Institute; leading the transition to a sustainable world -www.postcarbon.org Masses of educational material about the circular economy - www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org Help for your Business Plan - www.iplanner.net/business-financial/ Loan issues- www.kiva.org Raise Crowd who likes and supports your idea! - www.kickstarter.com Andrew Winston’s Strategies - www.eco-strategies.com 49

Gee bi z f e stival: the celebration of a creative youth for green innovation The dissemination of green innovations and technologies can be even more difficult and complex than coming up with a new idea or solution.

Geebiz aims to launch an international jamboree of green initiatives where creativity, innovation and experience can come together to encourage and promote the practical steps towards a low-carbon economy!

Targeting young creatives and entrepreneurs with green projects and businesses the Geebiz Festival will serve as a venue for workshops, round tables and lectures. And what will make it a real Festival? The ambiance will be spiced up with film contests, concerts, performances, and cultural programmes from all over the word to make the ambiance even more inspiring!

The first Geebiz Festival will take place in November of 2013 to coincide with the Global Entrapreneurship Week.

There-after we plan to organize it every year throughout the world, in collaboration with the UN offices.

For more info follow www.peacechild.org, www.geebiz.biz 50

The Geebiz Festival will: Raise awareness of the business opportunities in green economy.

Be a showcase for the most successful green enterprises started and managed by youth.

Host experts, practitioners and academics and researchers.

Broadcast the latest research and data on green growth.

Promote practical steps and examples for youth to follow on how to achieve the necessary transition to green growth and prosperity.

Serve as a hub for effective sales, marketing, distribution, and after-sales service strategies Enable the rest of the world to discover what an incredibly exciting prospect is living in a green, sustainable future!

Pe a c e Ch i l d Int er na t ional Miss i o n : empowering Young People!

“In Papua New Guinea, a Missionary discovered that, when warring tribes of head-hunters made peace, they exchanged a baby. The children grew up with each other’s tribes and if, in future, conflict threatened, the elders sent the children out to negotiate peace between them. Such a child was called, a ‘Peace Child.’”

Peace Child started in 1981 with a performance of the musical play, Peace Child, in London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The play went on to become a useful instrument in the citizen diplomacy effort to end the Cold War, bringing the first Soviet youth and rock stars to the USA on a cultural exchange in 1986. With the Cold War over PCI moved to tackle the war that humanity was waging against the environment. Following the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, the organisation mobilised youth around the world to develop an education campaign to learn about sustainable lifestyles. PCI produced some 30 books and lesson plans on the subject, each one written, edited, illustrated and designed by young people.

In 1999, PCI launched the World Youth Congress series to explore the most useful roles that young people can play in the sustainable elimination of poverty. The first Congress was held in Hawaii; the 6th was held in Rio de Janeiro, ahead of the UN’s Rio+20 Earth Summit proposing ambitious solutions to the impasse of sustainability. It was the Rio Congress that proposed that youth green job and enterprise creation should become PCI’s priority for the next decade. Expanding the network of Be the Change Academies is a big part of that priority but also promoting peace, greater regional collaboration through visa-free travel, using the Peace Child Passport is another priority. We are committed to ending the global apartheid which allows youth from the industrialised north to travel where-ever they wish, while youth in the South find it increasingly impossible to travel anywhere.

Everything about PCI is youth-run and co-managed with elder staff on hand to offer guidance as needed. The Peace Child family is always expanding! Mail us and become an affiliate!

outreach@peacechild.org 51

B e t h e Ch an ge Academy New o r k Former Peace Child volunteers had the idea of starting an informal business school for the most disadvantaged young people. As most of them were either Indian, or working there, they were drawing on Gandhi’s famous call to self-reliance: “Be the Change you want to see in the world!�

After several years of planning and found-raising, the first pilot Be the Change Academy was set into action in Kisumu,Kenya. Rhoda was one of its first graduate.

Rhoda is in her late twenties, married with four children, all boys. She wanted to change some things about her life: to earn more money and be able to send her boys to secondary school. She enrolled in the BTCA as it was only 10 minutes walk from her home, in a community centre. The training took place over 10 weeks. Twice a week her training group met and learned about different topic, such as market research, customer care, book keeping, and environmental sustainability. After she finished the trainings, she got a certificate to prove to others what she has learned.

The next step was for her to write a business plan about her idea.

Rhoda had some vocational training before, so she was good at tailoring and dress making, and that is what she wanted to do. But she needed a new sewing machine, and a little shop, as working from home was not possible for her. With the help of the volunteers of the Be the Change Academy, she wrote her business plan, and presented it to a selection panel of judges, who asked her questions about her idea, about why she should get a loan to start her business, and why she thinks she will be able to pay it back.

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Rhoda was able to convince the board that she could do it, and she received a loan from the BTCA’s revolving loan fund. This means, as Rhoda pays the money back, another young person gets the chance to start up a business.

Rhoda received ÂŁ150 as a non-collateralized loan, which does not sound much, but made a huge difference in her life. She never had so much money in her hands at one time. She was able to buy a sewing machine, and pay rent for a little shop at the side of the road where her products are seen by more people. She bought some materials and fabrics and made some samples, so people could see the quality of her work.

After she received the loan, she and the other loanees met on a weekly basis, as part of the differential mentorship approach. During these meetings they discussed the challenges they were facing, and how to overcome them. Staff also visited her in her shop to have a look how she is doing.

Now, a year later, Rhoda has repaid the full loan, and says her life has changed a lot. She now has her own, decent income and feels much more independent.

The Be the Change cycle starts when a young person walks through the door of the Academy. After the successful pilot in Kenya, the Be the Change Academy project is now scaling up as an eco-friendly, sustainable solution to tackle youth unemployment globally.

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If

you were to stand on the hillside of History on January 1st 3000 – and trace the winding path of human civilisation across the last three thousand years, you’d notice that, for the first 18 centuries, development moved slowly, in harmony with nature.

From 1800 to 2100 – the development curve lurches violently upwards with population, consumption, industrialisation and economic activity increasing geometrically driven by coal, oil and gas – treasure created by planet earth over millions of years and recklessly consumed by us in just 3 centuries. As fossil fuels run out after 2100, we shall, if we’re lucky, return to less rampant growth, and green, sustainable lifestyles based on renewable resources. A Green Economy.

We are the generation who must build it. And this little booklet will show you how some of us around the world are already trying.

Project Director: Kata Szabo Mentors: David Woollcombe, Rosey Simonds Graphic Designers: Iandara de Lanteuil, Romain Oria Editors: Stephen Swai, Janne Geurts, Ann-Katrina Bregovic, Virginia Pontarolo, Fanni Szilvas

Geebiz is sponsored by the Government of Denmark with support from UNDP and UNFIP