Archive for August, 2011
5 Tips to Improve Your Environmental Non-profit Organization
Non-profit groups come in quite a few stripes. Take, for example, environmental advocacy. It encompasses both safeguarding the public from environmental threats and securing our natural resources.
As with all advocacy groups, there is an increasing recognition that future success will be tied to improving use technology and best practices.
Managing a firm focused on environmental issues can be extremely challenging. Persistent lack of resource means that many organizations rely on part-time or volunteer team members. Yet, there are a number of best practices and tools that can help such organizations address these challenges.
1. Increase collaboration
California alone has hundreds if not thousands of environmental advocacy groups. And in the last several years, there has been increasing levels of collaboration between environmental advocacy groups across states.
One driver of this pattern may be lower cost airfares, a trend that is now intensifying as fuel costs continue to drop. Another driver is the expansion of communications resources.
This trend can clearly be seen in the growing adoption of conference calling services that provide teleconferencing solutions to such organizations. Many such conferencing services are now offer free conference calling which has further increased the feasibility of collaboration without expensive travel required.
2. Use networking tools
The most successfully managed advocacy groups generate networks of supporters. These networks can take years to build. Whereas the conference calling tools described above are facilitating teleconferencing and collaboration, the new networking tools are facilitating an ongoing sense of feeling connected. Web based resources for networking have now become ubiquitous.
The trick is realizing that online networking is about more than creating a profile. It is about using the whole range of tools including automated updates, blogs, bulletin boards, and photo sharing. These networking tools also help members share the emotional support which is so crucial to sustaining enthusiasm.
3. Remain focused
The best managed environmental groups are ones that stay clearly focused on their mission and do not allow themselves to become distracted. Many environmental advocacy groups are resource constrained. For that reason, committing to five goals with total effort will generally yield superior results compared to tackling ten goals, with one tenth the effort for each goal.
4. Use Desktop Sharing
Some advocacy groups have far flung leadership teams, and it is difficult to have face-to-face meetings. Conferencing can only achieve so much. People often say they want the visual connection. Video conferencing has still not yet seen wide adoption but video conferencing is not the only way to generate a visual connection. Another solution is to use a desktop sharing system
Whether it’s broadcasting a PowerPoint document showing the group’s development efforts or a spreadsheet showing volunteer recruitment stats, desktop sharing can effectively bridge the gap of time and space.
5. Leveraging academic resources
Some people believe that academia is too far removed from environmental politics to be useful. However, many campus programs now offer training in environmental stewardship, policy or advocacy. Such programs are building blocks in the preparation of future leaders and grassroots organizers.
Students who are enrolled in these courses are good candidates to volunteer or lead efforts for your organization. Another effective approach is involving faculty or staff members who can provide perspective and advice. Students come and go but faculty generally remain.
The ideas are not expensive to carry out. Whether its better use of networking tools, free conference calling systems or desktop sharing, the cost of these resources is generally minimal in comparison with the expected benefit.
Tags: advocacy groups, calling tools, conference calling services, conferencing services, web based resources
2006 Sixth China International Electric Power Equipment and Technology Exhibition – electricity, equipment, exhibition – HC net electrical industry
Start time: 2006-03-22 End time: 2006-03-24 Venue: Shanghai Exhibition Center Contact: Shang Weiwei Contact Phone: 13816284980 Sponsored by: Shanghai Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Electric Technology, World Expo Group Shanghai International Exhibition Service Advertising Co., Ltd.
Sponsor: Trade Exhibition Service Co., Ltd. of Shanghai, Shanghai, Beijing and Trade Exhibition Planning Co., Ltd.
Show Overview: Display cycle: Annual Exhibition area: 10,000 square meters
Exhibitors: 300 Trustworthy professional Brand Value
Annual “China International Electric Power Development EPETEE” Since its inception in 2000, each year in Shanghai, China. Continuously expanding the scale of refining on the basis of the subject, after five years of development, EPETEE has become the industry one of the leading brand of professional exhibition. Five years, from more than 20 countries and regions of the exhibitors have been made by more than 1500, Trading Audience of 12 million people, is China’s most influential businessmen wide attention to the gathering of power industry, renowned in the industry.
“EPETEE2006″ new look will be more, do more good development environment for stronger cooperation and meet the friends and guests. And more attention to quality show, invested heavily to expand overseas publicity channels to enhance the international influence, based in Shanghai, the world, serving the entire country.
China’s huge electricity market
Two years, large areas of the country ” Electricity shortage “Not only prompted the rapid development of the domestic power industry, electric power throughout Investment The significant increase is a direct stimulus to the market demand for electrical equipment. In the next 2 to 3 years, China Power Investment will be in a sustained high growth phase, a large number of power projects will be launched directly promote the rapid growth of the power equipment industry. In the context of a national power shortage, invest in power projects into sustained high growth period. Round of investment growth cycle power direct drive is the power shortage, power shortages because of inadequate generating capacity of the existing, but also the weak power grid structure, inadequate capacity and aging. Therefore, the increased investment in transmission and distribution assets, the future focus of China’s electric power investment policy.
Though there seems to this process due to power shortage situation and the obstacles are temporary, but in the future electricity supply and demand balance, the power industry restructuring will be put on the agenda. For the power industry, the growth of unlimited follow-up. While the overall growth of investment driven by power and the impact of structural adjustment demands, power transmission industry cycles continued desire for a decade, the main products related to power generation equipment and power transmission equipment manufacturers will usher in a golden growth period.
Exhibition List Organizer: Shanghai Motor Engineering Society
Shanghai Institute of Electric Technology World Expo Group Shanghai International Exhibition Service Advertisement Co., Ltd.
Organizer: Shanghai Exhibition Service Co., Ltd.
Trade Exhibition Shanghai Peking Plan Co., Ltd.
Supported by: National Grid Company Shanghai Electric Group Shanghai Electric Power Company Target group visitors National electricity authorities, power companies, Power, Power Engineering, power supplies department, purchasing department, substations, power plants, electric power environmental protection departments, power electrical equipment manufacturing enterprises, scientific research institutions of decision-makers and related personnel. Overseas and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan region’s energy and power industry professionals and business people.
05 year’s event recall
3-day exhibition attracted 25,361 professional visitors, including 4,351 overseas visitors. Feedback after the show that 83.25 percent of the exhibitors on display at this exhibition expressed satisfaction with results, 33.25 percent of the exhibitors are interested again in the sixth exhibition. Random access of 1,000 visitors who, 87.45 percent of professionals willing attention and interest in continuing to visit the next show, 86.76% of the professionals that are willing to recommend this show to colleagues or other business partners. Colorful
Events 1, during the exhibition, we will invite domestic and foreign government agencies, industry Organization Of the senior officials and electricity Expert Scholars attended the seminar and made presentations.
2, during the exhibition organized by various manufacturers may also apply for new products, new technologies, exchanges and conferences.
Exhibits: Various power generation technologies and equipment; transmission and distribution technology and equipment; power Transformer Raw materials and tooling equipment; power Communication scheduling technology and equipment; desulfurization and denitrification technologies and equipment; power Automation Control technology and equipment; power of information technology and IT integration products; in low-voltage electrical products; insulating materials; electrical maintenance special tools, fittings; other electricity-related software, media, etc.
Exhibitors are: Participation Fee Standard booth: (min. 9 square meters) A district
domestic enterprises: RMB980 yuan / M2,, B District: RMB880 yuan / M2,,
Joint ventures: RMB1080 yuan / M2, foreign enterprises: 280 USD / M2,
B. Indoor Raw Space: (18 square meters minimum)
Domestic firms charge: 800 yuan / M2, foreign enterprises fees: 210 USD / M2,
Others: Please communicate with us in time exhibitors to contact to get the latest show information
Address: 2368 West Zhongshan Rd, Shanghai, Building 10A Huading
Zip: 200235 Tel :021-54592323 54592318 13816284980
Fax :021-54253480 Email: zmes@zhongmao.com.cn
Show website: www.epetee.com
Contact: Shang Weiwei
Tags: electricity shortage, exhibition service, professional exhibition, shanghai exhibition center, shanghai institute
Workplace Transformation Specialist Offers The Key To Informed Sustainable Office Design
Office design and refurbishment company Morgan Lovell has pulled together the latest economic, technological and legislative information relating to green workplaces into a free online white paper.
Produced for Morgan Lovell by internationally recognised sustainability expert Beatrice K Otto, ‘Sustainable Office Design – Unlocking Performance and Productivity,’ is available as a free download at http://www.morganlovell.co.uk/useful-info/white-papers
Aimed at those interested in finding out how to combine environmental efficiencies with an inspirational workplace, the white paper acts as a signpost for users to a wide range of information within the sustainability sector. The paper also includes live links, providing a fast and effective means of downloading information from a comprehensive range of sources.
It also features case studies and an in-depth review of subjects including the use of energy, light, water, materials and furniture – as well as a glossary of green office terms.
David Henderson, managing director of Morgan Lovell, said: “Creating sustainable workplaces is an exciting area of interior design and build, which is moving into the mainstream – and this white paper is an important piece of research centred purely on the subject of green office design.
“Increasingly, green or sustainable developments are being termed high performance buildings because they not only tend to save on running costs, but there is also growing evidence that they can increase productivity and well-being for occupants through improved lighting and air quality.
“Where office buildings have been designed or refurbished to be more sustainable, productivity gains in terms of better quality of work and reduced absenteeism, and energy bills are reduced. Ultimately, more sustainable refits can therefore yield faster returns on investment than is commonly expected.”
http://www.morganlovell.co.uk
Ends
Editor’s notes: Located in London, Birmingham and the Thames Valley, Morgan Lovell is the UK’s leading office interior design, fit out and refurbishment specialist. With its own teams of designers, surveyors and project managers, the company can design, manage and deliver entire projects, with the benefit of just one point of contact. It is part of Morgan Sindall Group plc, a leading UK construction and regeneration group operating through four divisions of fit out, construction and infrastructure, affordable housing and urban regeneration, and an investment unit.
Morgan Lovell is a licensed BREEAM Offices Assessment Organisation. This means it is now licensed to measure the sustainability score of an office in order to identify ways companies can reduce high energy usage and waste, whilst increasing comfort and satisfaction for users of the building.
Media contacts: Contact Jane Shepherd or Jo Foster, Shepherd PR Limited. Tel 01538 308685/308099. Mobile 07985 129315
jane@shepherd-pr.com
jo@shepherd-pr.com
Tags: beatrice k otto, morgan lovell, refurbishment company, sustainable productivity, workplace transformation
Volunteer for Adeca Organisation Which Works for Sustainable Development in Nicaragua
It is a private non-profit organization that promotes sustainable development through economical and social projects to the poorest communities in the Carazo province. It receives help from different international non-government organizations, especially from the European countries. This placement needs volunteer because They work with low income families that can not afford to pay salaries to workers. They provide the materials to work with, but the families have to do the work. If you come and volunteer, you will be helping directly with a family, not an institution. If you come and volunteer, you will be helping directly with a family, not an institution. As part of the family you will have your tasks to perform every day, which might vary from season to season. These tasks could be bean picking, which everyone helps in, including the children; planting corn; and harvesting corn. Working in the tree nursery is also a common job. PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent changes in the Nicaraguan government, Adeca’s projects have decreased significantly. Construction projects have ceased. Conservation projects are still ongoing but the working hours for volunteers have decreased to only a few hours a day.
Volunteers can assist by doing the following tasks:
Plant trees where needed, work on the nurseries, and deliver the plants to families. Could help with a little bit of construction Volunteers must be of age 18 or above with minimum education of high school. This placement does not need any volunteers in the month of JAN- FEB- MAR- APR- DEC.
Volunteers with the following special skills are preferred for the placement:-
General Labour Forestry Environmental Science Biology Organic Farming Practices Perma-Culture Agriculture Alternative Agricultural Technology Soil Science Composting Systems Agriculture Business Management Basecamp International Centers welcomes all the interested volunteers from around the world to volunteer and make a difference.
If you are interested in this placement then please contact us for the details:
Email: info@basecampcenters.com Website: www.basecampcenters.com Mailing Address 298 Bagot Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7K 3B4 Phone: 613.541.7862 Toll Free : 866.646.4693 Fax: 613.541.1604
Tags: agriculture business management, basecamp international, construction volunteers, interested volunteers, organic farming practices
Brilliant Ideas: Cradle To Cradle Recycling
Tree huggers are good at highlighting the disastrous impact of industrialization on the environment. Technocrats, on the other hand, find conservation advocates to be blind to the social and economic justifications for industrialization. They maintain that if every environmental protection advice is observed thoroughly, it will set us back for decades, technologically and economically. Both groups view industrial waste and the products that we create, as destructive to the environment. The choice is between unchecked industrialization and restrictive environmentalism.
Is there another choice? As a matter of fact, there is a third alternative. Cradle to cradle recycling.
Have you heard of the book called “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking The Way We Make Things” by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, published in 2002? In this ground-breaking book, the authors explain that recycling, as it is done today, is in reality “downcycling” or “cradle to grave” recycling. We make floating buoys from styrofoam or produce news print out of white paper. The new products we fashion out of recycled materials are invariably lesser in quality to the original (due to materials degradation or contamination) or utilize very little of it (the remainder deposited in the landfills as dangerous waste).
Contrast this with how nature disposes of its excess. When a tree brings forth a thousand blooms to reproduce or replicate itself, it is probable that only one of those seeds will actually become a new tree. But, we don’t find the 999 other flowers wasted since all these fall down to the earth as nutrients to help begin the tree’s next reproduction cycle.
In nature, there is no such thing as waste. Waste is synonymous to food, everything goes back to the earth as sustenance. This is known as sustainability, every part contributes to “sustain” the cycle and the process is repeated unendingly without any unusable excess.
What if we can adopt nature’s way of sustainability and zero waste in our industrial production processes? What if every gizmo that we produce can be reutilized, recycled, or completely biodegraded to its organic components?
Cradle to cradle is the way to change “the way we make things” to mirror exactly the seamless process of sustainability in nature. How? Think of incorporating sustainability into every product. Engineers, architects, and designers will have to provide for end-of-life product handling while the product is still in the conceptualization stage. Is the gadget reusable? Are all components recyclable? Are the parts, paints, and coatings biodegradable?
A lady who goes shopping chooses between plastic bags or paper bags for her groceries. A town council in Germany considers if their town should keep burning coal or switch to palm oil for electricity generation. In our daily lives, we invariably fall into “lesser of two evils” kind of choices. Plastic will remain for thousands of years and coal is the dirtiest of all the fuels we use. Conversely, paper production kills trees, and palm oil production threatens extinction to rare primates.
Lesser evils. Since the start of the industrial revolution, we’ve been boxed into this appearance of limited options. Cradle-to-cradle recycling challenges this mirage of limited choices.
When sustainability is crucial and added in the very design of the product, the options become limitless for us. The authors see cradle to cradle recycling as the “next industrial revolution” and this “thinking outside of the box” may just be the alternative we all need to address the world’s waste problems. Paper bag or plastic bag? Why not an “edible bag?”
Tags: conservation advocates, cradle to cradle, economic justifications, protection advice, tree huggers