Green Innovation in the City of Clean Tech
June 25, 2009 | Posted by Kyle Cahill in Events, Exchange
Boston was recently named the nation's "best city for clean tech" and we were fortunate enough to hold our second Green Innovation for Business Unconference across the river in Cambridge this week at Microsoft New England. Close to 100 business leaders, entrepreneurs, academics and advocates came together for a day-long group-think to figure out how to drive environmental improvements deeper and more quickly into the private sector.
Similar to our unconference in DC, there was no prearranged agenda and the day's sessions were determined in the morning by the attendees. Some key themes and questions emerged that we plan on exploring further through our Innovation Exchange in the weeks to come:
- The value and challenge in inspiring and empowering all employees from top to bottom of the organization.
- Companies don't do a good job incentivizing employees in green initiatives… how can we change it? Should we incentivize?
- Cultural change is emotional….how can we bring the intellectual environmental conversation down to the emotional and visual?
- It's a matter of understanding what's important to the employees…can we make environmental engagement fun and easy even when it's not part of their job?
- The need for better environmental data and imperative for more corporate transparency.
- How do we use open data to drive awareness, change and interest?
- How do we connect data to things that matter to people without breaching their privacy?
- How can we get the analysis out of the hands of the "priesthood" and into the hands of everyday people?
- The cultural barriers to environmental changes inherent in our behavior.
- Inaction is based on lack of awareness and lack of information but can we expect everyone to understand where things come from and where they go?
- Pain and benefits are the two drivers of change…Is there enough pain or a great enough benefit to catalyze environmental change?
- The biggest change we can hope for is to get people to ask "What difference does it make?" If they are ready to ask, then they're ready to hear answers.
- We have to think emotionally: think about they way people are, not the way we want them to be.
- Community dynamics are changing: Positive change no longer comes from the top down. It comes from the bottom up
The full agenda and session notes are available in the Green Innovation for Business wiki.
Next Steps
During a wrap up session at the end of the day, participants identified several macro and micro ideas for moving from idea generation to meaningful action:
- We should develop a strategic plan for the sustainability movement: We need to be organized to maximize our time, energy and other resources.
- Net Impact Boston is an existing community in Boston that can help continue the conversations.
- The EDF Innovation Exchange can also serve as a foundation for follow-up
- More examples need to be shared
- All participants should join the GIBU wiki
The final two EDF/Ashoka Unconferences will take place in Silicon Valley (San Jose) at eBay, August 5 and in Austin, at 3M, September 16th. We hope you can join us.
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