by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Innovation in technology has spawned many new business models, one of the more interesting being access over ownership and the sharing economy. And it seems the sharing economy is already alive and well in South Africa.
Tag archives: green sky thinking
Green Sky Thinking: What millennials want
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) In order to attract this generation’s future leaders, thinkers and consumers, business needs to emphasise innovation and positive societal impacts. This is according to Deloitte’s Global Millennial Survey 2013.
Green Sky Thinking: I make therefore I innovate
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Design-hungry patrons certainly got their fill at the end of February 2014 with Design Indaba’s signature lineup of creatively inspirational speakers, complemented by the prestigious GUILD exhibition, Africa’s first international design fair. In keeping with Cape Town’s WDC premise “Live Design, Transform Life”, sustainability was a key theme across both.
Green Sky Thinking: Innovation that matters — the business case for sustainability
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Economic efficiency is environmental efficiency’s quick win when convincing hard-nosed business practitioners about the benefits of investing time and money in sustainability initiatives. What better case than a direct financial ROI that goes straight to the bottom line?
Green Sky Thinking: “Live design. Transform life.”
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) The role of design has indeed evolved and broadened rapidly in the past decade. Concurrently, the design process has also evolved and human-centred design is now finally enjoying centre stage.
Green Sky Thinking: Make time to make Christmas…
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Christmas and sustainability are not natural bedfellows. Or are they? As it happens, our lack of time seems to escalate towards year-end and we find ourselves quickly popping into a shop and buying cheap mass-produced Christmas decorations because it’s easy and quick. But, while they may appear cheap, once you factor in the costs of resource-intensive materials, manufacture and usually shipping, the hidden cost is to the planet.
Green Sky Thinking: Movement marketing
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Creating a consumer movement, as opposed to an ad campaign, is not new to the world of marketing but has certainly gained momentum over the past decade. The most obvious reason for this is the growth of social media, but I believe there is more to it than this.
The word ‘campaign’ describes an operation intended to achieve a particular objective. In our industry, this usually means trying to convince a group of people to choose your brand over another. It’s planned, targeted and, most often, involves an element of persuasion.
A ‘movement’ is more organic, albeit equally premeditated. Movements tend to take on a life of their own, and people join a brand movement because of like-mindedness and shared personal values. In other words, you stand for something and people choose to be a part of it; they’re buying into what the brand represents and not just buying the brand.
Green Sky Thinking: The need for thneed
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) In March last year The Lorax came to our big screen in all its 3D glory and with a star-studded cast of voices including: Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito and Ed Helms. If you missed it, you can listen to the story here, a charming fable of corporate greed (represented by the Once-ler and his superfluous, but fast selling thneeds) and its consequent environmental damage.
Narrated by The Lorax who ‘speaks for the trees’, it’s a pertinent story and the cinematic release seemed timeous and considered, until you realise (or remember) that the original story was in fact written in 1971. That’s right, Dr. Seuss warned us against the dangers of not caring for our environment 40 years ago.
Green Sky Thinking: Know your foodprint
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Nearly half the world’s food production never makes a plate. That’s two billion tons of food wasted, every year. Perversely, nearly one billion of the world’s population are malnourished. Put these two facts together and there’s clearly a distribution problem at the crux of the global food crisis.
Green Sky Thinking: We are as we eat
by Colwyn Elder (@colwynelder) Over recent years the sustainability movement has served to reconnect people with where their food comes from, what’s in it, how and where it’s grown and its nutritional content.