Archive for June, 2010

In a country known to have more cell phone than toilets, any mobile innovation is hot news. And so are solar innovations, for that matter. So if you can blend the two, then you seem to have the winning ticket.

Samsung India has just announced the launch of the world’s first solar-powered mobile phone, the Solar Guru. The Solar Guru is the first solar mobile phone to hit the market, and it is priced at INR2799 (US$60). While this price point is at the higher end of the low-cost mobile phone spectrum in India – Nokia phones start around INR1000 (US$22) – it is still affordable to a lower-class and middle-class demographic, especially in urban areas. Why this hasn’t been tried before, still remains a mystery in my mind, but I’m glad that it’s happening now. » Continue reading “The Winning Ticket: Solar Cell Phones”

Environmental disasters – from the Gulf Coast spill in the United States to the Bhopal disaster’s long-awaited trials in India – have been all over the news in recent months. Handling response efforts is an overwhelming task, and many of the best minds have been searching for innovative new solutions to mitigate future problems. This week, Beyond Profit brings you five social enterprises looking for creative ways to clean up.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Social Enterprise of the Day – Basel Action Network

International; Non-Profit

Basel Action Network (BAN) hopes to stop toxic trade before it reaches disaster-levels. BAN realizes that the effects of toxic spills and hazardous wastes – like the Bhopal disaster – disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities. As it stands now, it is easy for developed world powers to sidestep international restrictions and burden developing nations with cleanup and the responsibility of tending to long-term health issues. BAN works to stop countries from outsourcing their dirty messes.

BAN is named after the Basel Convention, an international treaty that attempted to limit the shipment of hazardous waste from developed to developing nations. But environmental organizations and national governments argued that the treaty didn’t go far enough, as it was easy to hide toxic exports behind the purpose of “recycling.” Now, organizations like BAN are working to ratify the Basel Ban amendment, outlawing waste trade entirely. They position themselves as the leading information source on all issues in toxic trade, and work closely with NGOs around to world to research and fight imports on hazardous materials. BAN shows that not all environmental disasters make the front page: everyday industrial wastes are being pushed into countries around the world.

Environmental disasters – from the Gulf Coast spill in the United States to the Bhopal disaster’s long-awaited trials in India – have been all over the news in recent months. Handling response efforts is an overwhelming task, and many of the best minds have been searching for innovative new solutions to mitigate future problems. This week, Beyond Profit brings you five social enterprises looking for creative ways to clean up.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Social Enterprise of the Day – New Generation Industries

United States; For-Profit

New Generation Industries CEO Joe Lauer comes to the oil-cleanup industry from an unlikely place: the oil industry. After working with private oil companies in hydrocarbon exploration for 27 years, Lauer envisioned using Kenaf fibers, an underused crop, as a durable and environmental replacement for oak mats used in the industry. But Kenaf fibers are highly absorbent and buoyant. The mats present a low-cost and eco-friendly way to clean up spills. And after using, Kenaf mats can be wrung and vacuumed to recover solid oil wastes for proper disposal. In the wake of the Gulf Coast crisis, New Generation Industries has been marketing their new product, OUT-SORBS. Made from Kenaf fibers grown in Texas, OUT-SORBS are a biodegradable absorbent mat that can be used to soak oil from affected areas. The mats were already used to handle small-scale spills, but Lauer hopes to use Kenaf to help with larger spills like the Gulf Coast disaster. One pound of OUT-SORBS has the ability to absorb approximately 1.2 gallons of medium-to-heavy oil. Avoiding complicated technology, New Generation Industries shows that sometimes the simplest solutions can prove to be the most effective.

In recent months, environmental disasters have dominated the front pages. In June, eight senior officials were finally convicted for the Bhopal disaster of 1984, when a toxic gas leak from a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant killed thousands and left an indelible mark on Bhopal, and India as a whole.  The rulings on a decades-old trauma came as Americans were struggling to recover from a weeks-old disaster. The BP oil rig explosion on April 20^th has soaked headlines for weeks. As oil continues to seep from the deepwater well, cleanup looks more and more overwhelming for government agencies and emergency responders alike. But while recovery from an environmental tragedy may seem daunting, social entrepreneurs are seeking innovative new ways to react. This week, we bring you five social enterprises trying to find creative cleanup solutions.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Social Enterprise of the Day – Ocean Therapy Solutions

United States; For-Profit

Ocean Therapy Solutions was born out of crisis. After the Gulf coast explosion in April, New Orleans businessman John Houghtailing joined with actor and environmentalist Kevin Costner and his business partner Patrick Smith. The three met to discuss the centrifuge technology they had invested in after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. What they found was a new way to collect crude oil in the immediate aftermath of a spill. The centrifuges spin waters in affected areas through a rotating containerpushing the oil to the top, where it can be siphoned off.  Just one machine can process 210,000 gallons of water per day.

After further developing the technology with experts in the field, Ocean Therapy Solutions marketed the product to B.P. Frantically searching for creative solutions, BP tested the technology and on June 10^th, signed a letter confirming its intentionto deploy 32 machines. Ocean Therapy Solutions demonstrates that where there is an overwhelming problem, some may find outstanding opportunity.

At the first annual Urban Transport Congress India in Mumbai, scholars and engineers from all over the world converged to discuss challenges facing Indian transportation. In a city like Mumbai, each road, walkway, and bus is filled to capacity. Just drive north on the Worli Sea Link (an 29.6 kilometer bridge) at rush hour, and you’ll understand the complex problem facing city planners. How do you effectively move Mumbai’s masses?

According to Professor Shivanand Swami, chief planner of the Ahmedabad Bus System, an increased focus on bus transport is the first step to better functioning transit. Professor Swami led a discussion on designated bus lanes as the final conversation in the two-day conference. “It’s about moving people, not vehicles,” Swami said. “A bus system will always be the backbone of any transportation system.” Designated lanes could decrease travel time by freeing busses of other road traffic, and increasing the frequency and reliability of Mumbai’s B.E.S.T. system. The Bombay and Electric Supply Transport bus system, a fleet of 3900 red busses, currently serves over five million Mumbaikers a day. » Continue reading “Urban Transport Congress India: Designated Bus Lanes a Viable Solution for Mumbai?”

After a trip to Pakistan in May, Beyond Profit has created a multi-part series, The Other Side of Pakistan, about a side of the country you may not have heard about before. We look forward to your comments and questions.

If there is a Guinness World Record for Largest Slum in Asia, Karachi would take home a blue ribbon by a technicality—its Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), a “katchi abadi” or squatter camp, on the outskirts of the city, houses 1.4 million, and thus edges out Mumbai’s Dharavi by a few hundred thousand. But, it’s not entirely correct to call it a slum. Over the past thirty years, through the work of the team that runs the OPP, this settlement has transformed into an area with concrete multi-story housing, electricity, and working sanitation systems, all through a bottom-up participatory approach that empowers the local community.

In the early 80s, Orangi was just a squatter settlement of several hundred thousand. Back then, you could have called it a slum, and you would have been right. But, the development folks that took it upon themselves to tackle Orangi noticed that the people were already getting their hands dirty trying to put things in order. Without the help of the government, or anyone else for that matter, the community members were trying to make their own sewer lines. Can you imagine? » Continue reading “The Other Side of Pakistan: Orangi Pilot Project”

By Diana Hollmann

The Customer Satisfaction Industry has been doing it for a while now – assessing the performance of companies by carefully listening to client feedback.

Today, it is common knowledge that in order to stay competitive, companies need to know how their customers experience a product or service. How else would companies know whether they provide what the customer really needs and whether the company is performing satisfactorily?

Over the past 40 years, private sector companies and specialized agencies have become experts in gathering customer feedback; creating industry benchmarks; learning from comparison with competitors; and, translating the lessons learned into continuous improvements of management and operations. » Continue reading “Social Investors – Listen to your Investees to Increase Performance”

All eyes are on the World Cup and South Africa. According to UNAIDS, 80 babies in South Africa are infected with AIDS during the time it takes to play one 90 minute match. This week we bring you five socially-minded enterprises and campaigns playing off the immense popularity of soccer and momentum of the World Cup to further HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Social Enterprise of the Day – Brothers for Life

South Africa; Non-Profit

What does it mean to be a “Man” in South Africa? The prevailing culture teaches South African men that masculinity is tied to sexual and physical aggression, sports, and dominance over women and that monogamy is unnatural for men. When combined with high rates of HIV infection, these cultural norms play a definitive role in the spread of the disease. The Brothers for Life campaign is harnessing the power of sports and celebrity to start a counter-cultural movement that holds respect for women and a rejection of risky sexual behavior as central tenets. The campaign, launched by President Jacob Zuma in April, partners with various international aid agencies to stage television and radio advertisements, along with public education drives. In order to grab the public spotlight, it enlists the help of international soccer stars like Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi. While the extent of the campaign’s reach is unclear, the website forum does offer some indication of success with its members’ surprisingly frank public discussions – an infrequent occurrence in this relatively conservative society.

The Technology That’s Seriously Upsetting the Aid Sector, and the Man Behind It

The $600 Billion Challenge

Postcards from Hell

‘CSR Is Not Charity — It’s a Win-Win Situation’

NETRA: MIT’s Low-Cost Mobile Phone Eye Test

Are Vegetarians Happier Than Meat Eaters?

Beyond Profit “On The Spot” with Sejal Desai of Seva Yatra from Beyond Profit on Vimeo.

Sejal Desai is the Founder and CEO of Seva Yatra, a new for-profit social enterprise connecting both people and organizations through cross-cultural service opportunities. Their intent is to tap into the latent desire to do good and act as a catalyst to giving. In this latest Beyond Profit “On the Spot” Interview, we learn more about Seva Yatra, who they are targeting, who benefits from their work, and how they are measuring their outcomes. Along the way, Sejal touches upon their greatest successes and greatest challenges going forward. If you want to be the next on a Seva Yatra journey, sign up on their website – www.sevayatra.com.