The carrot or the stick?

My typing abilities aren't what they used to be since I've broken my elbow, but Ill try to get the occasional one-armed post to the Insource/Outsource front page.

Behold: The Carrot Mob!

Carrotmob will be a non-profit organization. Our goal is to improve the world by helping companies embrace socially responsible choices. Our primary focus is the environment. We recognize that corporations must keep profit as their top priority. Historically, this fact has meant that the environment has suffered, since companies have made more money by harming the planet. We are going to put rewards in place that will make environmental responsibility the more profitable choice. Companies will do what we want, not because of negative pressure, or morality, or a boycott, or a petition...there are enough sticks out there. We need a big juicy carrot. They will do what we say because they won't be able to resist the profits.

We will create a large network of consumers. We will form partnerships with other larger advocacy groups to use their research and infrastructure. Together we will identify opportunities for improving corporate behavior. For example, let's say there's an environmentally harmful chemical in common brands of soap. We would approach several competing soap companies. We will explain the problem, and see which of them is willing to eliminate the harmful chemical. They will bid for our support. Each company will raise the bar with how much good they are willing to do. Perhaps Company X pledges to remove the chemical. Then Company Y pledges to remove the chemical and reduce factory emissions 20%. And so on. The bigger our network, the further they will be willing to go. We accept the best offer. Company Y agrees to take the steps that we want, and then we make it worth their while with a carrot: Everyone in the network buys millions of dollars worth of their soap, and in the process Company Y gains a wealth of reputation capital as well. The most responsible business decision also gets the most profit. Delicious!

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

To the (smaller) masses...

Large architectural design firms have a massive amount of resources at their disposal - from the 3D printers to the LEED gurus to the eco-marked resource libraries to the specifiers to the continuing education classes to the specialized committees...

What's the little guy to do?

Founded in 2000 as an environmental/software consultancy firm, Square 1 research now devotes the majority of their work to energy efficient environmental design. Co-founders Dr. Andrew J. Marsh [insert bazillion certifications and accreditations here] and Caroline Raines [insert bazillion certifications and accreditations here] have developed and produced a ton of corporate-commercial software programs for purchase -as well as various free software packages- to help designers produce the most energy efficient buildings they can.

Various tools from their website include, but are by no means limited to:

ECOTECT

ECOTECT is the most user friendly and fully featured building performance analysis and design tool on the market today. It combines an interactive building design interface and 3D modeller with a wide range of environmental analysis tools for a detailed assessment of solar, thermal, lighting, shadows & shading design, energy & building regulations, acoustics, air flow, cost & resource performance of buildings at any scale. ...and even more importantly, it has been written and developed by designers for designers, to be as useful at concept stage as it is during final design development.

Solar Tool

With its interactive user interface, the Solar Tool makes the process of accurately sizing and positioning overhangs, shading devices and louvres easy. You will never use manual methods again. This software is a must for architects, planners and building services engineers, anyone who needs to consider the extent of solar penetration into buildings, overshadowing or the most appropriate means of shading a window.

Weather Tool

The Weather Tool is a visualisation and analysis program for hourly climate data. It recognises a wide range of international weather file formats as well as allowing users to specify customised data import formats for ASCII files. It also provides a wide range of display options, including both 2D and 3D graphs as well as wind roses and sun-path diagrams.

Monitor your usage, pig....

As I continue to explore the delusions that come with what is -now- a 102.6 degree fever (WebMD says I have Tuberculosis in their Symptom Checker...I'm going for a second opinion), I managed to find something good that was featured on FOX news (fever delusion or not?).

The Power Cost Monitor claims that it can help you save 20 cents on every dollar you spend on electricity by monitoring what you spend as you spend it. It's real-time feedback on your environmental degradation!

From the website:

The PowerCost Monitor™ is a real-time direct feedback display device for domestic energy consumers. It will tell you at a glance how much electricity your home is currently using and your home's total electricity used in dollars and cents and in kilowatt hours.

For instance, as you turn on or off electrical appliances, you will be able to see the adjustment right away on the clock-sized display which would be located inside your home.

The PowerCost Monitor™ shows only your home's electricity usage in real-time. Ultimately, it is up to you to use this information to reduce your electric bill.

I'm weary, but interested to see it in action.