The energy of the conference is appreciably higher today, as this is technically the first day of the conference. (Yesterday was ‘pre-conference’ events). In the big room, Jacqui Ottman (one of Unicycle Creative’s earliest associates and inspirations) started as the keynote speaker and MC. Her straightforward tenets and no-nonsense delivery come from ...
Wanted: Late-Night Bike-Through Starbucks
On my way back from the Sustainable Brands 08 opening night shmooze I decided to seek a warming evening beverage to nurse me through my homework for the night. A drive-through Starbucks loomed on the horizon, so I rode up to the speaker. The zit-faced voice coming through the black ...
A taste of California. Under heatlamps.
The stampede for the Taste of California shmooze fest at the Hyatt’s TUSCA Restaurant was perhaps more restrained than other conferences, but otherwise was pretty indistinguishable. On the patio looking out to the golf course, propane heaters blazed, keeping the 65-degree weather mercifully at bay for the Sustainable Brands 08 ...
The Big Welcome.
We entered the huge, well-appointed ballroom for the plenary speeches. A glowing centre stage fit for a TV talk show, with five overstuffed chairs was flanked by video screens. The lighting was dramatic, the sound and pacing polished. The crowd eager to get to the 7pm cocktails. But there was ...
“We’d like to increase the size of the earth if we could… but we can’t.”
Session 2: Measuring Your Social Footprint Mark McElroy, Executive Director, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Center for Sustainable Innovation Every once in a while I feel like I’m back in school. This session was thick with black-on-white arial-font powerpoint slides, complex theories and TLA’s* (*Three Letter Acronyms), unfortunately scheduled during my ...
If an experience is desirable, there is no sacrifice.
Monday June 2, Session 1: Desirability & Sustainability: The opportunity for brand and design Steve Bishop, IDEO – Design firm based in Palo Alto – 8 offices, 500 people www.ideo.com Green Briefs readers who wanted to send me to this event: 27.3% (first place in category) This session started off ...
Welcome to Sustainable Brands 08
Monday June 2 I cycled up to the Conference Centre at the Hyatt. As usual, no bike rack in sight. Once inside though, more sustainable thinking was definitely in evidence. Hunter Sasser, one of the organizers, introduced me to the various green aspects of the show materials: Shirts – Organic ...
The numbers are in: here’s what you said.
Thanks to everyone who answered the survey on what I should see and blog about from Sustainable Brands 08. Here are the winners. (Stay tuned to see if I actually listen!) Monday June 2: Morning: Desirability and Sustainability: the Opportunity for Brand and Design – 26.1% Afternoon: Measuring Your Social Footprint ...
Revival and Arrival
Sunday June 1, 2008 6:00am – Mouth tastes like reclaimed greywater. Amtrak coffee changes this taste, but does not substantially improve it. 8:00 AM – Breakfast of high-fat French toast with high-corn-fructose syrup and nitrate-preservative-drenched sausage patties may help. I wolf this down as we rumble by the abandoned asbestos-laden ...
Sustainability goes a bit off the rails…
10:30 AM – migrate to the observation car. More glass, more views. Ranger Clint from the National Park Trails & Rails program commentates on the natural and cultural sites as we chug past Puget Sound. This is a nice touch – a rolling play-by-play to the widescreen panorama. A bald eagle lifts ...