Social Enterprise
Salesforce GreenExchange: Open Source Sustainability?
Chances are that you've used a CRM customer relationship management tool for some job function at one time or another. Taming the wild beast of a CRM often became the bane of my past jobs- and to its credit, salesforce.com really leveled the playing field. Salesforce.com's product line, working from the cloud, not only made my pesky paper-pushing, number crunching data entry tasks more palatable, it also made them easier by being able to do it from any computer browser, instead of having to deal with a clunky software hulking on my desktop. Now salesforce.com is part of a revolution that could make companies' move to sustainability far more seamless through its hosting of GreenExchange (GX)
GX is a web-based marketplace designed for companies that wish to collaborate and share intellectual property (IP), with the hope that these firms can share new sustainability business models and technologies. Companies among the 10 that announced this venture with salesforce.com include Best Buy, Yahoo!, Nike, and Mountain Equipment Co-op. Companies participating in GX can choose the terms under which they share their ideas, such as a simple fee structure, attribution recognition, or even on-competitive use. By making their IP available and usable, GX's founding members hope that their companies will partner together in accelerating the development of sustainable products and processes.
One example that demonstrates how different industries could benefit from GX is Nike's Environmentally Preferred Rubber. This rubber uses 96% fewer toxins than the formula the footwear company had been using. Nike could hypothetically allow licensing this rubber for other company's footwear, for Mountain Equipment Co-ops bicycle inner tubes, or perhaps in the future, for automobile manufacturers. Best Buy could share its e-waste process with other retail chains. Green data centers at Yahoo! could become an industry standard for technology companies.
So the question arises: why would any company just give their IP, i.e. patents away? Answer: they aren't. GX allows for non-commercial research at universities, where much American innovation occurs. By working collaborating with other firms, a company like Nike can either save money by sharing resources with others, or limit certain patents to particular industries. In the end, companies will improve their IP by sharing and improving them, not just hoarding.
Should GX become successful, look for this platform to offer another method for consumers to gauge whether a company is truly "sustainable" and "socially responsible." It's one thing for a company to say that it's "green," uses LED lights, and will use all recycled products by 2018. Disclosing what patents and technologies it's sharing for the greater good, however, will give concrete examples that will show action... not just a snazzy web page with slick pictures of trees. Let's hope GX catches, on giving tangible results; I know I get weary of all the buzzwords that many companies just slather across their sustainability reports.
Source: Wellsphere / Leon Kaye
5 Green Apps We're Excited About for the iPad
While there could be a variety of effects of the success of Apple's iPad on the energy consumption associated with computing, applications developed for the iPad could also play a role in promoting low-carbon lifestyles like better fuel economy and home energy efficiency.
We'd been hoping that some of the iPhone apps developed for next-generation connected cars and home energy efficiency would be available for the iPad launch but there's actually very few. The lone official one we've seen that touches on home energy Control4's, which enables the user to control a thermostat and lighting (as well as audio, video, security) via the iPad device.
Apple says that most of the current 150,000 iPhone and iPod touch apps will be viewable on the iPad, but those are unofficial versions and won't necessarily be formatted well for the expanded screen or work exactly the way the iPhone versions work. But there's already over 1,000 official iPad applications available from some of the eager adopter app makers. And I'm expecting a lot more official iPad applications when the 3G (connected to cellular networks) and GPS-embedded iPad versions come to market.
Here's one official green application you can already get on the iPad, and 4 more green iPhone apps that we're looking forward to checking out the iPad versions:
1). Control4: Control4's iPad app was the only green-leaning official iPad application I could find as of iPad launch time. The free app basically turns the iPad into your central home dashboard, enabling the user to control a connected thermostat, lighting, entertainment systems (video, audio), and home security. To get this to work properly, of course you need to buy - and have a dealer install- the Control4 connected home system. An iPad app really plays into the sweet spot of Control4's offer: a high-end home product, slick design, and dashboard offering rich media around energy.
2). Tendril: We're not sure if Tendril has an official iPad app in the works (we're waiting to hear back on that), but the six year old home energy management startup plans to release an iPhone app to both select utility customers and consumers this year. Dubbed "Tendril Vantage Mobile," the iPhone app will enable users to see home energy consumption in real time, view dynamic pricing changes, and control connected appliances and thermostats remotely. Like with Control4's application, the iPad, more than the iPhone, could offer a superior centralized dashboard for home energy management.
3). ZipCar: ZipCar created a free iPhone app (iTunes) that enables ZipCar members to find, reserve, and lock/unlock ZipCars via iPhone. For the iPad version, ZipCar's service could use the larger screen to integrate more rich media, including navigation, directions, entertainment for, say, touring, and even syncing with audio and visual content. (We're waiting to hear back on if ZipCar will add more iPad functionality to its app.)
4). Nissan LEAF: Nissan has been working on an iPhone app that can connect with the information technology system of its electric vehicle the LEAF and can monitor battery charging and temperature controls (on/off). The LEAF doesn't go on sale until the end of December, so it's safe to expect to wait that long for the iPhone app, too. For an iPad version, Nissan could use the larger screen to better incorporate navigation, and entertainment.
5). Visible Energy: Young startup "VisibleEnergy" was an early advocate of turning to the iPhone for home energy management. And recently the FCC mentioned the company's iPhone app as an example of how IT can help the environment and global warming. As for Control4 and Tendril, an expanded screen and more rich media could help a Visible Energy iPad application make the consumer experience more interesting and more connected with the consumers digital content and the web.
Source: Earth2tech/ Katie Fehrenbacher
Test Your GREEN Acumen:
* Who played detective Robert Thorn in Soylent GREEN?
Al Pacino Charlton Heston Roy Scheider Gener Hackman
*What rural town was the setting for GREEN Acres:
Farmopolis Tatersburg Corntown Hootersville
*Which of these series did not feature Lorne GREEN?
Battlestar Galactica Bonanza Adam 12 Griff
*Which country's flag is complete solid GREEN?
Kenya Libya Zayre Egypt
*Who was the GREEN Party presidential nominee in 2008?
Ralph Nader Ron Paul Cynthia McKinney Carol Mosely-Braun
*What NFL team featured "Mean" Joe GREEN from 1969-1981?
Miami Dolphins Dallas Cowboys Pittsburg Steelers Minnesota Vikings
complements of Yahoo.com
