Det nystartade svenska nätverket Cradle Net arrangerar stort C2C-event 29 april

Ur pressmeddelandet:

Kan du tänka dig en värld där allt du gör och konsumerar ger positiva ekologiska fotavtryck?
En värld utan avfall?
Cradle to Cradle gör den världen möjlig.

Den Nya Eko-industriella Revolutionen börjar torsdagen den 29 april kl 18.00 på Konstfack. Då får vi för första gången i Sverige höra den världsberömde tyske kemiprofessorn Michael Braungart, av Time Magazine utnämnd till ”Planetens hjälte”, berätta om det banbrytande konceptet Cradle to Cradle.

Cradle to Cradle (C2C) är en ny men självklar tanke; att förvandla avfall till näring i eviga kretslopp. I naturen existerar inget avfall – varför ska vi människor vara sämre?

Några exempel på C2C-produkter är glasspapper som smälter i rumstemperatur, bryts ner biologiskt och innehåller växtfrön. En fabrik som drivs av förnybar energi och som släpper ut renare vatten och luft än vad som tas in. Blöjor som du kan lägga i komposten och som kan bli biogas.

Under kvällen visar klädskaparen Matilda Wendelboe m. fl. upp världens första Cradle to Cradle-kollektion – kläder som du kan slänga i skogen eller ge tillbaka och få ut nya efter användning.

Dessutom finns möjlighet att delta i workshops med kreatörer, entreprenörer och organisationer som alla strävar mot nya lösningar där Waste = Food.

Tid: 29/4, kl 18-22
Plats: Konstfack, Stockholm
Begränsat antal platser!

För mer information och hur du anmäler dig till eventet, besök cradlenet.se

GUEST ENTRY

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There is a public call for tax relief and policy changes in Sweden to motivate corporations, as well as private donors, to support donations for research and charitable organisations (Regeringskansliet SOU 2009:59). Tax relief on charitable giving is the most important funding driver for the third sector in the UK and in the US.

Personally, I believe it would open up a tremendous opportunity also in Sweden to better integrate business with all of its stakeholders in society. It would be an important aspect of encouraging businesses to develop a broader and more efficient CSR strategy, in particular the SMEs, who currently may not think they can afford to do so.

Several high profile people have written articles in the daily newspapers to urge the government to vote for the proposition in order to stimulate the growth of social entrepreneurship. Among them is the director of the Fondation de Luxembourgh, Tonika Hirdman, in Dagens Industri on January 16^th. 

As much as I appreciate the proposal, in the debate things do get mixed up.  As a social entrepreneur, business is my focus. Not charity. The “social” aspect of my enterprise is that I wish to use my business acumen and my capital not only to generate a profit, but to actively strive to make a positive social change. It is in the mission of the company, in its measurements and affects all aspects of managing costs and income. It would also confuse the purpose of my operations, if what I do is labelled philanthropic, since I wish to reach a level of self-financing and profit where I can grow and develop just like other entrepreneurs.

In my role as consultant I have both started several social enterprises and guided other organisations that wish to contribute financially, but also with their products and services. They always want to make clear upfront that they do not wish to see these projects as philanthropy. They point out that they see it as taking their social responsibility.  Even so, in practice it is common that companies encourage employees and customers to fund raise for example, and that could benefit from the proposal.

For long-term engagement with the third sector though, I see two problems. First, the donor cannot expect anything in return. How do we then have a dialogue about the impact? Second, donations are an easy, but over time not very effective way for a business to engage with the third sector.

We need to call for additional economic incentives that consider the whole picture – today social enterprises often operate more like business than charity.

/Ruth Brännvall, Founder Njord Management Consulting Ltd

Alternative business models for good business are one of the main areas of focus for SE Forum. Read the latest debate article by SE Forum founder and board member Harry McNeil in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

During the climate change conference weeks in Copenhagen, some 190 talks and panel discussions will be held in the people’s climate summit, Klimaforum09, and here things will sometimes be said that don’t necessarily fit the politically correct agenda of COP15. I find myself in the audience of the open discussion session “Tackling Capitalism and the climate crisis” where the tone is harsh and the words are blunt when speakers lay out the facts and ideas of how root causes of climate change are inherent in the social relations of capitalism. It’s hard to argue against that capitalist accumulation is the main cause of man effected climate change. “In the last hundred years, the only times the CO2 level has been dropping is during serious economy crises and if we don’t understand the old capitalism and find a new good driver for economic growth we won’t be able so solve the climate crises”, the speaker argues. I’m thinking of the enormous dilemma the world’s political leaders are facing. Not only during these extremely important weeks in Copenhagen but every single day. Because how to accept the fact that we have been and still are building modern society on a formula that is not at all sustainable. The western world is built on the pillars of economic growth as if growth could be infinite. That we live on a finite planet have not been a concern up until now. And what are our leaders to do when an alternative driver is so hard to accept, and invent?

When Tim Jackson presents his ideas on “prosperity without growth” in the session “From globalization to localization of life and economy”, I’m once more filled with hope. The sustainability adviser to the UK government shows us how the old system based on income, credit and spending can’t continue. And he as an idea of how to do it. Another world with a new economic structure is possible, and why wouldn’t it? Part two of the talk is today, Thursday at 1 pm. Looking forward to it.

When not in the seminar rooms the people of Klimaforum is interacting around the many stands and exhibitions in DGI-Byen. In the halls things are buzzing. We are discussing new innovations, religion, politics, looking at acute climate effects and drinking coffee all at once. People networks are intertwining, business cards and folders passed around. The 2020 Climate Solutions Meshwork provides great tools of interaction and immediate collaboration. YourClimate.TV are broadcasting live from a small studio hosting a wide diversity of people from all over the world. Hope and frustration are ever-present and I’m glad to have the opportunity to take part of it all.

If you are in the vicinities of Copenhagen, come by and join the summit!

By Johan Rutherhagen, SE Forum