KeepGreenGoing

Sounds a bit goofy, doesn’t it? But Mr. H. Lee Scott, Jr., the oft-maligned president and CEO of Wal-Mart, said about as much during an interesting Q&A session last month at an economics conference in California devoted to discussing “environmental capital.” (As a bonus, click the embedded video for a confusing conversation circling the topic of bottled water).

As part of his talks, Mr. Scott proclaimed that reducing waste (in the form of excess cardboard and plastic packaging) is not only an environmental issue, but an economic one. In his wrap-up remarks, Mr. Scott pointed to the current economic downturn as proof that this is the perfect time for Wal-Mart to cut costs. “When is a better time?” he asked.

Let’s ask the people at IKEA, who have used this common-sense dictum as a base for their business model since day-one. Take this snippet from a longer interview (that’s well-worth the read) with Mr. Thomas Bergmark, IKEA’s head of social and environmental responsibility.

“One of the cornerstones since IKEA was founded more than 60 years ago is to care about resources — we are clever with resources. For the first 20 years, this was only about turning and twisting the materials to utilize them in the best possible way, to save on material and thereby save on costs. But today we know it’s a perfect win-win also for the environment. You save on the resources, you save on the environment.”

This isn’t intended to be Wal-Mart vs. IKEA. It’s more a question of “Why now?” Did it really take Wal-Mart this long to figure out they can save money by cutting waste? Am I missing something here?

Social design organization Design 21 recently launched a power-pedal, bicycle-focused design competition called Power to the Pedal. Today, bicycle use is gaining global recognition and gaining relevance for transportation, fitness and fun.

Citywide bicycle initiatives and other public awareness projects have been increasing more and more over the last few years. However, promoting bicycle use means more than an hosting a “special day,” it means to enable it.

“This competition calls for a biking accessory or add-on for existing bikes that would improve the bicycling experience and encourage more people to make biking their primary means of transport – more convenient, more enjoyable, safer and more integrated into daily lifestyles – whether it’s for commuting, working, shopping, transporting, leisure or all of the above. In your description, you should define the user scenario and design problem that your design attempts to solve.”

Deadline: Wednesday April 30, 2008 at 11:58PM UTC.
Prizes: 1st - $5000 2nd - $3000 3rd - $1500 Most Popular - $500

JUDGING CRITERIA:
Overall effectiveness: How well does the solution provide an answer to the design problem?

Creativity: How innovative and cost-effective is the thinking behind the design?

Practicality: How successfully can the design be produced or put into practice? Can it be adapted for local production? Does it add to the safety of the cyclist, too?

Aesthetics: How strong is the design in terms of overall form and presentation?

Ecology: How well does the design respond to environmental concerns through considerations such as choice of materials, production techniques, life-span, upgrade, durability, weight, recycle, or re-use factors?

Fore more information on the competition, visit the competition page here.

Via Digg