Last night, I was invited to attend a lovely event hosted by Net Impact London and the Hub Islington. Net Impact is a worldwide network of amazing individuals committed to using the power of business to improve the world and with diverse backgrounds brings together an eclectic mix of knowledge, experience and ideas. Islington was the pioneering hub of now 30 around the world that provides inspiring spaces for like-minded people to come together to work on their initiatives and cross-fertilize ideas. It was lovely to finally get the opportunity to visit Hub Islington - the place where it all started.

Using Christmas as a catalyst for giving and sharing, the purpose of the evening was to bring everyone together to mix, have fun and inspire ‘sharing’ over glass of mulled wine and mince pie.

To kick-start the evening, first up was Phillippa Banister, who recently joined Spots of Time. Spots of Time is an interesting idea based around making it easy for anyone to do fun bite-size activities to benefit others in their community. As Spots of time is based around 12 core activities, we were asked by Phillippa to split into 2 groups and play out two of these. We choose to “create a quiz” and “create a play list” and of course each had to have a ‘christmassy’ theme.

Following I gave a little introduction to Ecomodo describing how it works, some of reasons why lending everyday goods, skills and spaces is good for pocket, people and the planet and how we could re-invent christmas – together.

To uncover the hidden talents in the room, I ended with a wee game, asking each participant to take two stickies (one green, one orange) and offer a skill they would share and describe something they needed. The diversity of skills in the room was incredibly interesting covering professional services, hobbies and advice. As people mingled, several whoops came from the crowd as matches were made. And I’m still amazed that by simply making visible the things people are willing to share, how many new opportunities are sparked in my head – ideas that I hadn’t considered before.

After the party, I started to think about how contagious sharing is. Having spent the evening with a great bunch of engaging people, the very warmth and openness of the event must have left me with a distinct demeanor. As I made my way way home, it seemed to rub off on passers-by and I found myself in conversation with all sorts of people – a chap from Northolt on the tube, a homeless man outside Waterloo and a lady from Winchester. It just goes to show a little sharing can go a long way. Merry Christmas!

As part of their 50th anniversary, the WWF have highlighted 50 ‘green game-changers’ – a selection of business examples from around the world where businesses and entrepreneurs have used environmental challenges as a catalyst for innovation. And Ecomodo is very excited and proud to have been named a Green Game-Changer!

Their new report shows innovative ways to reduce the use of raw materials, restore natural resources and upscale renewable energy to stimulate new thinking to transform business for good and drive a greener economy.

Read the WWF’s Green Game Changer report here.

Recently we were invited to join Se-ed’s National Sustainable Schools Conference at London Zoo to run a workshop around “how schools can become more sustainable and creative with shared resources.” Delegates at the conference included teachers and representatives from primary and secondary schools as well as students of sustainability and staff from local councils.

Through our workshop, we used a series of games and co-creation techniques, to inspire the attendees to think differently about the resources around them and spark new opportunities that shared resources can bring for them and their school.

Alongside describing how Ecomodo delivers new opportunities for schools to fundraise and get equipped through shared resource, we encouraged participants to consider the value of sharing both economically and environmentally, why re-use and collaborative consumption are so important in a the broader context of sustainability; and how schools can act as a catalyst to spread good behaviour throughout their community.

For the session we asked the group to think about how ecomodo can work, not just in the context of their school community, but across all the different communities they as individuals belong to (their neighbourhood, friends, family, clubs etc). We wanted to broaden their thinking to “what local shared resources means” as well as instill the idea that through adopting a new behaviour within one community it enables it to easily spread to others.

Our first game was to uncover the assets of each individual in the room. We asked them to put on the wall at least 3 assets (everyday goods, skills or spaces) they might lend as well as something they may like to borrow. Quickly making these assets visible using post-its immediately gave rise to impromptu discussions around what people could do – even if they just had access to the items on the wall.

“Oh a shredder – now that would be useful”

Next, with a couple of volunteers, we played some further games to show how using Ecomodo to build a community and make resources you’re willing to share visible, can spark a whole host of new opportunities for different activities.

Near the end of the session, we asked the participants to put their “school community” hat on and break out into smaller groups to brainstorm this question:

“If we only had .. we could ..”

We wanted them to conjure up new types of projects to engage students, using action based learning, purely inspired through utilising borrowed assets.

And here are some of the ideas that came out of the session:

• Night vision equipment for a project to understand local wildlife to see what comes through the school at night.

• Gardening equipment to understand food and growing

• Costumes & props to re-enact moments in history

• Outside spaces to use as a different space from the classroom

• Specimens from zoos for biology projects & African artefacts for cultural projects

• Sewing machines to learn about recycling and upcycling

• Meteorological equipment for geography and learning about the weather

• Solar panels & wind turbines for science and energy projects

And lots of skills including: willow weaving, story tellers, drivers with transport, singing workshops, artists & craft

We will be shortly running this workshop again at Se-ed’s National Sustainable Schools Conference second event in Leicester on 30 November.

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Click here to find more information about how schools can use Ecomodo to fundraise, get equipped and save money and share resources with other schools locally.

We were recently invited to talk at the Business for the Environment summit 2011 about Ecomodo, as a revolutionary idea that will change the world. Output from this summit will be feeding into COP17 – the international climate summit being held in Durban later this year.

Hosted by Dax Lovegrove (Head of Business and Industry at the WWF) our session included talks about:

• Environmental P&L from Reiner Hengstmann (Global Director, PUMA) & Richard Mattison (CEO of Trucost)

• Zero-emission public transport from Paul Lin (Marketing Director, BYD Auto Company Ltd)

• Zero-emission shipping and logistics from Melanie Moore (Vice President, Environment, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics)

.. and a presentation by John Elkington, Founding Partner of Volans.

Our focus was on dematerialised business and the need for manufacturers and outlets to change how they do business by moving from product to service solutions; from retail to rental. The question: will this work and can a service like Ecomodo disrupt the status quo to bring about more rapid change?

Now I’ve had time to digest and reflect on the summit as a whole, I think I’m even more excited about the need and potential of Ecomodo. My brain has just buzzing with ideas and thoughts.

When we first started researching Ecomodo our minds were set on a far bigger picture but like everything with limited resources, we needed to scale down for launch. For me, taking a day and half to step outside the fishbowl again and listen to the other delegates, has re-opened my eyes to what the future holds globally over the coming decades. The need for us all to instill a “sharing culture” seems so essential, especially when you bring together: global population growth; the upcoming consumption needs of emerging countries and our impending natural resource scarcity.

Ecomodo’s talk starts at 54 mins. More videos from the B4E summit are available on YouTube.

Last week, I spent a fabulous five days at Kew Gardens, hosted by our friends from Start, a great initiative to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives. Though a little rainy over the first fews days, I had the opportunity to talk to lots of wonderful people and the phrase that most sticks in my head as a response about Ecomodo was: “That makes perfect sense”.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank our friends from Start for all their support, as well as share some of the other fantastic initiatives that were hosted over the days at Kew. Here’s some of our favourites with great ideas to start doing things differently today!

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Project Dirt is a great initiative that connects local people around local green projects.

The DoNation is all about sponsorship, with a twist and enables you to replace cash with action.

Eco-Trumps is a game for all ages that entertains while educating players on environmental issues.

MorsBags is – social, guerilla, bagging – by reusing old fabric to make new bags.

Cool it Schools enabling young people to share creative ideas and practical solutions to environmental problems.

Other organisations we loved at Start@Kew and definitely worth checking out are: Onya bags, Joju Solar, Embercombe, StreetCar, Thrifty Couture and the Soil Association’s Bee Happy Plants initiative.

images borrowed from: Murray Freestone courtesy of Start.

Last night London was subjected to some of the worst rioting in the last 30 years – gangs looted shops, set buildings on fire as innocent civilians fled their neighbourhoods in fear of their safety. In the capital, it was the third consecutive night of trouble but yesterday also saw rioting spread to Liverpool, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Led by  Dan Thompson, a group of resilient Londoners have inspired citizens to show the rioters (and the rest of the world) just what their city means to them. Already clean ups have been organised all over the city (and beyond) and 100s of volunteers have stepped up to pitch in. Go to http://www.riotcleanup.com/ for more information of how to help and follow @riotcleanup on Twitter for latest updates. A Facebook page has also been set up. And if you do go to help and see any trouble – stay safe and leave it to the police to deal with.

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This immediate response by local individuals has restored my faith in society (big and small) but it can’t stop here. Many small local shops and businesses have been affected. People in London have been left with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Over the coming weeks and months, people caught up in the mix of this rampage will need your continued support to rebuild their homes, shops, businesses and lives.

If you have spare clothes or furniture you are willing to donate add them to sites like Freegle. If you have equipment such as tools for people to borrow, skills or time to help rebuild or a spare space to put someone up – make them visible on Ecomodo to share.

We have also been creating a list of resources to help people who wish to donate or need help.

images borrowed from: Erik Hartberg FLICKR, @Rickontour TWITTER

Our good friends at Start have given us 5 pairs of ‘exclusive’ tickets to give away for the ‘Start Growing: An Open Garden‘ event at Clarence House, between July 27th to 30th (time slots between 10am – 12pm, 12pm – 2pm, 2pm – 4pm & 4pm – 6pm).

If you’re a member of Ecomodo and would like to go – please e-mail us at hello@ecomodo.com with your name and Ecomodo screen name, and if you’re not yet an ecomodo member – sign up – It’s FREE to join.

This event is only open for the public to get tickets on 31st July – so if you would like a special invite as a guest of Ecomodo – just get in touch. First come, first served!

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More details about ‘Start Growing’ ..

Visit to The Prince of Wales’ backgarden at Clarence House, for a wonderful display of sustainable gardening and growing. See exhibits from Garden Organic, Soil Association, The National Trust as well as a fantastic “Forest Garden” installation by “Petherick, Urquhart and Hunt” who are renowned experts in organic gardening.

Guests will also have a rare opportunity to visit The Highgrove Shop, whose products take their inspiration from the gardens at Highgrove and reflect the wide-ranging interests and passions of HRH The Prince of Wales. (Profits from the sale of Highgrove products are donated to The Prince’s Charities Foundation, a grant-making charity which supports a wide range of causes and projects).

Visitors to Start Growing are also most welcome to the exciting event that will be taking place just next door at Lancaster House – our Start Pop-up Restaurant, promoting sustainable eating.  You’ll be able to enjoy a drink or light meal in the Garden, or you may even wish to pre-book the full dining experience and enjoy the splendour and atmosphere of the Grand Hall inside the House, which was recently used to depict Buckingham Palace for the Academy Award winning “The King’s Speech”.

All in all, it will be a wonderful, sustainable and – we hope – inspirational day out.

Have you got a spare drill, ladders or a pushchair you’re keeping hold of until your next child grows into it? If so, why not put it to work and make some money!

Ecomodo.com is an effortless way to make some spare cash simply by renting out your household goods, your skills and any spaces you may have available. And you can save money too by borrowing the things you only occasionally need.

From lawnmowers to tents; golf clubs to awnings, Ecomodo lets you to list your items to lend and see what others have on offer. Items can be lent for free or as a lender you are able to charge for an item, and choose if you want to keep the fee or make a donation to charity.

People all around the UK have started to use ecomodo.com to lend their stuff to make money and save by borrowing.

Recently, Jon made £24 from lending his petrol hedge strimmer to a neighbour just for the weekend. And David from Reading, whilst on holiday in Guernsey, borrowed 2 Kayaks, earning Andre £12 from stuff that would otherwise have been idle.

Byron from Edinburgh fixed his shelves and saved £50 by not having to fork out for a new drill when he borrowed one locally from Jeremy for free. And Jayne in London borrowed Vicky’s iPad for a week to continue with her college work whilst her laptop was in for repair. From the lend Vicky raised £21.16 for a favourite charity The Princes Trust.

To buy these items would have cost the borrowers well over £1000 and though the lenders haven’t earned huge amounts from their stuff it only took a few minutes work.

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How to make money using Ecomodo ..

1. Sign up to Ecomodo. It’s FREE and always will be!

2. Think about all the stuff around home. Look under your bed and in your shed for those items gathering dust that you only occasionally use. And if can’t think of anything > Get inspired.

3. Take photos of your items and add them on our web-site to lend. It’s FREE to add items – so add as many items as you like.

4. Enter a description, choose a price to lend (for a day, weekend or week) and opt to take a deposit or insurance for extra peace of mind. And don’t forget to upload your photos.

5. Sit back and wait until a borrower in your area needs your item.

6. When you recieve a request – through the site send a message to arrange a convenient time to collect and return. At the end of the transaction receive your cash direct to your Paypal account! Simples!

DON’T Forget: You can add skills and spaces too: Anything from helping someone with a spot of gardening to teaching how to make a fish stew; a spare room to a beach hut.

Lend with confidence on Ecomodo.com. Available throughout the UK.

Do you live in, attend school or run a green group in Wandsworth? If so, you could be nominated for a Wandsworth Council’s Green Champions Awards!!

Categories to enter include recycling and waste minimisation champion, green project or group and green champion and you can enter yourself or nominate someone else. Schools can enter the primary/junior school or secondary/sixth form college category, and in both cases judges will be looking for what the school does to protect the environment and the quality of environmental education they provide to pupils.

The closing date for entries is Monday August 1, 2011. To find out more and how to enter click here.

WOO-HOO! We now have 50 registered good causes for you to donate to when lending your stuff!

Ecomodo.com is an effortless and everyday way for supporters of good causes to fundraise, simply by lending and borrowing everyday objects, skills or spaces with their neighbours, friends and colleagues.

From lawnmowers to tents; golf clubs to awnings, individuals can simply list items to lend and see what others have on offer. Items can be lent for free or lenders are able to charge for an item, and choose if they want to keep the fee or make a donation to charity.

How to start fundraising on Ecomodo ..

1. Think about all the stuff around home that you want to keep but don’t use that often. And if can’t think of anything > Get inspired.

2. Take a photo of your item and add it on our web-site to lend.

3. Choose a price to lend for a day (or week) and select one of our 50 good causes to donate to. If you’re favourite isn’t there just make a suggestion and we will try to sign them up.

4. Sit back and wait until a borrower in your area needs your item.

5. When you recieve a request – arrange a time to collect and return. At the end of the transaction you will have raised money for your good cause!  - Easy!

And if you have a skills or spaces you can also add those to lend  too. It’s easy to and anyone can do it – and much easier than running a marathon.

Good causes on Ecomodo can be any not-for-profit group (from a registered charity, school PTA, social enterprise or community campaign). And though we have 50 good causes registered we are always looking for more. So if you run a charity or not-for profit group then register your good cause for free on Ecomodo. Read more about the benefits and how to get involved.

Here’s the 50 fabulous good causes we have signed up so far ..
Friends of the Earth, The Prince’s Trust, Waste Watch, 10:10, Bricks and Bread, RSPCA (Hillingdon, Slough, Windsor, Kingston & District Branch), Positive Action in Housing, 3rd Guernsey Scout Group, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Cambodian Communities out of Crisis, Care for Children, Children Walking Tall, DARE uk,Earthwatch Institute, Environmental Justice Foundation, Exercise Tiger Trust, Fanconi Hope Charitable Trust, Greener Leith, Food4Macc, FoodCycle, Forces Childrens Trust, Group B Strep Support, Guernsey Climate Action Network, International Aid for the Protection & Welfare of Animals, Islamic Aid, Lungevity, Lemon Aid Limited, Low Carbon West Oxford, Millennium Health Microscope Foundation, Positive Action in Housing Ltd, Puriton Horse and Animal Rescue, Scope, St Martin’s School PTA, The Book Bus Foundation, The Fostering Network, The National Autistic Society, The National Society for Epilepsy, Thrive Africa, UK Youth, Grace & Flavour CIC, Harringay Online, Sheffield Alcohol Support Service, Sustaining Dunbar, Carmarthen Town AFC, Food4Macc, Plant Heritage, Touchwood Project, Giving World, Contact the Elderly and XLP Research Trust.