Inside Social Innovation

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Environmental Sustainability and Development Apr 19, 2011

Show notes

With 2 billion new people expected on the planet by 2050, mostly in the developing world, fast growing nations now drive the planet's greenhouse gas emissions and present environmental sustainability issues. In this university podcast, Richard Morse, research associate at the Stanford's Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, discusses carbon offsets as a way to engage the developing world in climate change mitigation.

Morse demonstrates how difficult offsets are to implement in a way that unequivocally generates real additional emission reductions. He draws the lessons from the largest worldwide carbon offset experiment, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), one of the three market-based mechanisms established under the Kyoto Protocol as a means of allowing the industrialized countries to meet their national targets by investing in carbon reduction projects in developing countries. Morse was talking at the 2010 Climate Policy Instruments in the Real World conference, an event convened by the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) at Stanford University.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/richard_morse_environmental_sustainability_and_development

Design Thinking for Social Inclusion Apr 19, 2011

Show notes

Traditionally, designers have focused on enhancing the look and functionality of products. Now they are using design tools to tackle complex social issues—to find ways to provide low-cost health care, implement clean water systems, distribute mosquito nets, and get out the vote. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jocelyn Wyatt, social innovation lead at the award-winning consultancy IDEO, describes her organization's efforts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to use design thinking, a problem-solving system that is grounded in a client's or costumer's needs. Design thinking, with its focus on local expertise to uncover local solutions, allows high-impact solutions to bubble up from below rather than being imposed from the top. It provides both a way to create and sustain broader social inclusion.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/jocelyn_wyatt_design_thinking_for_social_inclusion

Entrepreneurs sociaux: rôles et enjeux Apr 18, 2011

Show notes

Cet atelier propose un éclairage détaillé sur les modalités de l'entrepreneuriat social, à travers les cas de la Green Team et de Green City Force. L'ESSEC est l'hôte d'un échange public avec deux entrepreneurs sociaux face à une audience active composée d'acteurs engagés dans l'innovation sociale et la préservation de l'environnement.

Les deux invités sont des précurseurs en matière d'entrepreneuriat vert. Malgré des domaines d'activités différents, conseil pour l'un, mobilisation civile pour l'autre, tous deux partagent une approche commune du capital humain et une pratique qui relève avant tout de la compétence plutôt que de l'investissement. Tour à tour et face aux réactions du public présent, Cyril Jacque et Lisbeth Shepherd exposent en détail le champ d'action de l'entrepreneuriat social. Quelles transformations apportées en matière d'emploi ? Quel mode de gouvernance et de coopération en entreprise ? Quelles innovations juridiques nécessaires ? Ces deux invités apportent la preuve que les entrepreneurs sociaux peuvent jouer un rôle fondamental, aux côtés des grands acteurs financiers, dans la transition vers une économie verte.

L'émission offre aussi l'opportunité de découvrir un panorama, dressé par Lisbeth Shepherd, des crises environnementale et sociale que connaissent les États-Unis ainsi que de l'évolution du cadre socio-politique en matière d'entrepreneuriat vert.

Cyril Jacque est l'un des membres fondateurs de la Green Team, société coopérative de conseil en développement durable qui compte aujourd'hui plus de 20 consultants sociétaires. La Green Team propose un modèle innovant de gouvernance grâce à son statut de coopérative où les rôles de salarié et d'actionnaire sont étroitement liés. Avec l'ambition constante d'élargir son champ de compétences, la Green Team concilie des individualités multiples et opère la rencontre entre des personnes issues des Sciences Sociales ainsi que des acteurs opérationnels. L'équipe mélange ainsi des expertises diverses pour proposer des solutions sur des sujets tels que l'altérité, le modèle de distribution alimentaire biologique, la coopérative d'habitants à destination de personnes âgées, l'hospitalité hospitalière, l'insularité durable, l'efficience 21 (collectivité territoriale),…

La Green Team est en soi un laboratoire qui fait entrevoir une nouvelle façon d'entreprendre et de penser les régulations qui accompagnent l'innovation sociale au sein d'une entreprise.

Lisbeth Shepherd a joué un rôle important en matière d'entrepreneuriat social avec dix années en France où elle a été co-fondatrice de l'association Unis-Cité. Après quelques années en Californie marquées par la collaboration avec Van Jones, fondateur de "Green For All", Lisbeth est depuis un an à New York où elle est à l'initiative de la création de Green City Force.

Green City Force est spécialisée dans le secteur de l'efficacité énergétique. L'entreprise mobilise des jeunes en situation difficile avec pour missions de réduire les émissions carbones et d'améliorer les conditions de vie dans les quartiers. Sensibilisation des habitants et formation polyvalente des jeunes sont au cœur de la stratégie de cette entreprise.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/entrepreneurs_sociaux_roles_et_enjeux

Local Clean Energy for All Apr 14, 2011

Show notes

It is not surprising to learn, as the population of the world expands at an ever-increasing rate, that the demand for clean and affordable energy is placing unreasonable expectations on our fragile ecosystem. Alexis Belonio has accomplished the seemingly impossible and developed a clean burning cooking stove and continuous-flow industrial flow burner. Belonio's cooking stove uses a finely tuned gasification process that produces a clean-burning fuel. The Rice Husk Gasifier's simple and elegant design allows rural communities to build the stove themselves, sourced from accessible resources and local talent, while potentially saving two million metric tons of energy loss each year.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/alexis_belonio_local_clean_energy_for_all

Environmental Sustainability in Electricity Apr 14, 2011

Show notes

The electricity industry is a significant area in which policy changes could have an impact on environmental sustainability. In this audio lecture, Stanford Professor Frank Wolak considers how different utility rate structures might accelerate or delay the vision of an intelligent energy supply/demand nexus in the home. He discusses the inevitability of –– and political barriers to –– dynamic pricing, outlining the role of hourly and critical peak plans in motivating customers to reduce their consumption. He also talks about how renewable energy should be priced to encourage investments in energy storage technologies. Wolak was talking at the 2010 Climate Policy Instruments in the Real World conference, an event convened by the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) at Stanford University.

Frank A. Wolak is the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in the Economics Department and the director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. His fields of research are industrial organization and empirical economic analysis. Since April 1998, he has been chairman of the Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) of the California Independent System Operator. In this capacity, he has testified numerous times at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and at various Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives on issues relating to market monitoring and market power in electricity markets. Wolak has worked on the design and regulatory oversight of electricity markets internationally in Europe, Australia/Asia, Latin America and the United States. He received an SM in applied mathematics and PhD in economics from Harvard University.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/environmental_sustainability_in_electricity

Promoting Philanthropy Through Collaboration Apr 14, 2011

Show notes

Taproot is a nonprofit that engages millions of business professionals in pro bono services both through its award-winning programs and by partnering with companies to develop their pro bono programs. In this audio interview, founder Aaron Hurst speaks with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Ashkon Jafari about how the organization started and how it creates its cross-sector collaboration. He discusses how nonprofits can qualify for grants, and offers his vision for the organization.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/aaron_hurst_promoting_philanthropy_through_collaboration

Carbon Pricing for Environmental Sustainability Apr 05, 2011

Show notes

One controversial environmental sustainability issue has to do with using carbon pricing as a means of reducing greenhouse gases. In this university podcast, Harvard professor Robert Stavins lays out two instruments for carbon pricing: taxing CO2 emissions and issuing tradable carbon permits that major league polluters must buy for each ton of CO2 they send into the atmosphere, also known as "cap and trade." He explains the ins and outs and pros and cons of both. Stavins was talking at the 2010 Climate Policy Instruments in the Real World conference, an event convened by the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development (PESD) at Stanford University

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/robert_stavins_carbon_pricing_for_environmental_sustainability

Safe Water in Communities Mar 31, 2011

Show notes

A Single Drop for Safe Water (ASDSW) takes a social entrepreneurship approach by offering technical assistance and capacity building opportunities for communities, local government, and assistance organizations to design and implement affordable water and sanitation services. Since 2006, ASDSW has helped 140,000 people gain improved access to clean water by serving as a facilitator, capacity developer, and project manager that engages communities to prioritize sanitation issues early on, allowing them to take ownership and gain self-reliance for long-term benefits to community health. In this audio interview, Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman talks with ASDSW Executive Director Kevin Lee, the 2010 Tech Award winner in the Katherine M. Swanson Equality category, as he describes ASDSW's work in the Philippines and beyond.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/kevin_lee_safe_water_in_communities

Environmental Sustainability and Clean Energy Mar 30, 2011

Show notes

As United States Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu is a strong proponent for environmental sustainability, charged with helping implement President Obama's ambitious agenda to invest in clean energy, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis, and create millions of new jobs. In this university podcast, Chu talks about the green technology revolution and why America needs it. He offers scientific details of global warming, in particular, and discusses what the government is doing to support solutions and how such efforts are stimulating the economy. His lecture was the keynote of the Energy Crossroads conference titled "Educating the Energy Generation: How Universities Can Empower a Generation of Energy Leaders." This talk was hosted by Stanford's Green Alliance for Innovative Action, a student organization, and co-sponsored by the Woods Institute for the Environment.

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/steven_chu_environmental_sustainability_and_clean_energy

Developing Through Mobile Phones Mar 29, 2011

Show notes

English is indisputably the business language of South East Asia, according to Chamberlain's research. Out of 7,000 people surveyed, 84% indicated a desire to learn the language, and 97% of parents wanted their children to learn it. It is also true that most of Bangladesh's population lives on less than 2 dollars a day. Enters BBC Janala, the project harnessing the power of mobile phones in Bangladesh to bring effective and affordable language learning to the hands of students who desire it most. Each 2-3 minute English lesson offered through the service costs about the same as a cup of tea, a few pennies. Three million calls in the first 15 months clearly demonstrated the need for this type of learning.

Chamberlain is the recipient of the 2010 Microsoft Tech Award in the education category and speaks with Center for Social Innovation correspondant Sheela Sethuraman.

She and her team of managers and producers conducted massive research to properly contextualize and localize content. Their focus is now to take BBC Janala to the next level by turning it into a "financially self-sustaining, economically viable social enterprise."

https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/sara_chamberlain_developing_through_mobile_phones

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