
A GE bigwig is calling the political battle between economy and environment "nonsense." At a clean energy investment conference last week, Mark Vachon, Vice President of GE's Ecomagination program, said "environmental performance" is a key driver for business. "There’s this theory that you have to pick one: economics or environmental performance. That’s......read more
If necessity is the mother of invention, then the state of the environment should be driving innovation around the world. And indeed it is. In our new series "The Big SHFT: 10 Innovators Changing Our World," we team up with Ford Motor Company to profile leading innovators who are shaping new sustainable businesses and influencing positive change around the world. Executive produced by SHFT......read more
Tom Szaky is the quintessential eco-entrepreneur. While a freshman at Princeton, Szaky founded a company that recycles garbage into plant fertilizer, then packages it in discarded soda bottles. Fast forward five years, and TerraCycle Plant Food is available in every Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart, and more than 3000 other locations. Today, TerraCycle is finding new uses for trash, creating products......read more
With the proportion of people living in urban centers at an all-time high--and national governments seemingly incapable of promoting the shift toward sustainability--cities are in the best position to implement solutions to big problems. NYC's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg agrees, and he's putting his money where his mouth is. This week Mayor Bloomberg announced a new competition to......read more
Last year may have seen its share of public environmental dissapointments - the defeat of the EPA smog emissions reduction proposal is one that comes to mind - but there were some great innovation stories in 2011. In both the laboratory and the market place, the private sector was barreling ahead with a ferocious appetite. Lets raise a glass of SHFT House Wine to the inspiring innovations......read more
More people are living in cities than ever before, and the global urbanization movement is showing no signs of slowing down. By 2008, the number of people living in cities surpassed the amount of people living in rural areas for the first time in history. In terms of sustainability, the inexorable urbanization trend poses both challenges and opportunities for a more eco-friendly......read more