Solutions Lab 2010: Coming to a City Near You!

Green Innovation in Business 2010

Earlier this year we teamed up with Ashoka to galvanize a series of Green Innovation for Business Unconferences affectionately know as GIBUs. Open space "unconference" events were hosted by Google here in Washington, DC; Microsoft in Cambridge, MA; eBay in San Jose, CA; and then 3M in Austin, TX. Through these events some 450 business, government, and non-profit professionals got together to discuss what they are doing and thinking about to improve and accelerate sustainability in business.

We had a great variety of participants including representatives of large companies such as Cisco, IBM, and Accenture; innovators such as B-Corp and Carbon Clear; government agencies including EPA, Fish & Wildlife and the Texas Dept. of Transportation; and non-profits such as Net Impact and 511 Rideshare. Of course, since these were open space events, the topics of discussion were chosen by the participants. They included issues like inspiring behavior change, the role of government, the role of the C-suite, game changing technology, and making sustainability competitive. Notes from these events are available in the Green Innovation in Business wiki.

Reviews were strongly positive as reflected by this quote from Lee Milligan at the US Business Council for Sustainable Development about the Austin event:  "The conference was a great networking opportunity. It is a great way of finding other people in the local community who are working towards the same goals."

Based on the encouraging results from 2009 we've decided to continue and expand in 2010. The name has changed – to better reflect the results the events are intended to produce, we're now calling them "Solutions Labs" and responsibility for the events is shifting to the nascent "Green Innovation in Business Network" (that's from "gee boo" to "gib in" for those of you keeping score).  The ambition remains to support a well-informed, well-connected, rapidly-learning, network of innovators making business more sustainable. To reach more people around the country, the 2010 series will expand to at least 10 cities.

The first Solutions Lab of 2010 will be in the Research Triangle hosted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business on Thursday, January 28. Registration is open and early-bird rates are available until January 8, 2010.

A couple of notes about the Research Triangle Solutions Lab.  First, we're excited that RTI International has agreed to help support the event and assure we'll have delicious food. We still need a couple more supporters to guarantee that everyone gets to eat!  Second, we are looking for volunteers to join a "convening committee" and help with recruiting and coordination. If you can offer financial support or are interested in helping organize, please let me know.

The rest of the schedule is still in draft form, but here are the cities and months we have in mind:

• Washington DC – March
• Fayetteville, AR – March
• Silicon Valley, CA – April
• New York, NY – May
• Minneapolis, MN – June
• Chicago, IL – June
• Seattle, WA – August
• Boston, MA – September 16, 2010 at Microsoft in Cambridge
• Austin, TX – September

We are looking for good venues and members for the local convening committees in all these cities.  Let me know if you'd like to be involved.

Hope to see you soon in your town.

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