Social Entrepreneurship: The New “Hybrid” Organization
Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation are the new “buzz words” when it comes to both the business and non-profit sectors. Many people believe social enterprises to be a mix of both worlds, incorporating the social impact focus of non-profits, with the financial stability, or financial returns, of a business. Some are even calling these emerging […]
Best Practices in Water Management: A Look at LA
The city of Los Angeles is home to 3.8 million people living in 469 square miles. It is the second largest city in the US, behind New York City (which has a population of 8.2 million people that miraculously live in 302 square miles of land). During the last few decades, the City of Los […]
Purpose, Values, and Action: Corporate Responsibility in SMEs
Multinational Corporations have been at the center of the discussion surrounding corporate responsibility. This has occurred for two main reasons: 1. Multinationals have received a significant amount of “bad press” in recent years – from oil spills, to child labor scandals, to world financial meltdowns – pressuring them to “shape up” 2. Multinationals maintain significant […]
The Carbon Capture and Storage Debate: Are we “Locking Out” the low carbon energies of the future?
As explained in a previous post, Government policy can have enormous impact in shaping our technological base in the future by promoting the “locking in” or “locking out” of certain technological innovation. Just as Governments can help incentivize the “lock in” of renewable energy technology into our energy future, their decisions can also play a […]
The EU Emissions Trading System and the Complexities of Incentivizing a Clean Energy Future
The European Union has been working diligently to promote the expansion of a low carbon economy. They have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, passed a relatively rigorous energy strategy for 2020, and created the largest Carbon Cap and Trade System in the World: the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). To briefly explain how the EU […]
Certification Schemes in Properly Managing our Environment
One major question I seem to struggle with all the time is how to know whether or not we are making smart choices as consumers. How do we know whether or not the fish we are eating comes from an over fished lake or river? How do we know if the Ikea table we bought […]
Economic Growth, American Politics and NeoLiberalism
Over the Holidays, I have found myself having several conversations regarding Microfinance: its benefits, its costs, the theory behind its popularity, the practical results on the ground, and why so many people – especially in the US – believe that helping the small entrepreneur will innately help the rest of the population. The latter specifically […]