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Portland-Oregon

Save the date: Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference returns May 6th

03.13.2010

The Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference returns for its 3rd edition! Please mark your calendar:

Thursday, May 6th, 5 to 8 pm
KEEN, 926 NW 13th Ave. #210, Portland, Oregon

We thank KEEN for their generosity as hosts and sponsors of the 3rd Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference. Beth Meredith and Eric Storm of CreateTheGoodLife.org will hold the space again, [...]

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What does sustainable design mean to you?

02.20.2010
Thumbnail image for What does sustainable design mean to you?

That’s the central question of SHIFT: A Green Salon, a quarterly pecha kucha AIGA Portland holds as part of its sustainability initiative. SHIFT aims to “share and inspire sustainable design”, which is precisely what the 10 speakers did at Ziba Design’s auditorium last Thursday evening during their respective 5-minute presentations.
The presentations ranged from execution aspects of design to more [...]

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Community building with a building: The Sheldon

01.30.2010
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A while back Sustainable Industries reported on an innovative way of developing a retirement community. The Green Light Cooperative will develop The Sheldon with the help and input from its future tenants and operate it as a coop. A single building will thus manage to manifest elements of participatory development, crowdsourcing, and cooperative housing, while [...]

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Report: Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference

01.26.2010

The second Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference took place last Thursday, January 21st. Though as one of the co-organizers I’m hardly an objective observer, I must say Beyond 2020 it turned out pretty awesome. To paraphrase the head of the Olympic Committee, it was the best Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference of all time.
Consider: smooth proceedings, inspiring [...]

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Join us at Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference!

01.18.2010

The next Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference is almost here. This Thursday, sustainable business people will gather here in Portland, Oregon to discuss actionable ways of engaging other business leaders in sustainability.
As at all unconferences, the only things given ahead of time at Beyond 2020 are the structure and theme:

Structure. At Beyond 2020, we will gather at [...]

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The (un)sustainability of pop-up retail: Downtown Portland, Oregon

12.12.2009

The latest Portland Development Commission e-newsletter is touting pop-up shops (temporary retail spaces) in downtown Portland, Oregon as a “success story”:
“Ten days in, designers recoup their investments, exceed sales expectations and gain extra exposure…and Portland shoppers discover one-of-a-kind gifts for the holiday.”
How do pop-up retail stores stack up against the triple bottom line criteria of [...]

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Beyond 2020 returns with the theme “Growing the choir: Engaging business leaders in sustainability”

12.10.2009

The Beyond 2020 sustainability unconference returns Thursday, January 21st, 2010, with the theme
Growing the choir: Engaging business leaders in sustainability.
The sustainability conversations at Beyond 2020 and elsewhere in Portland tend to be productive and reinforce the community spirit. Often, though, they feel like “preaching to the choir”, as one Beyond 2020 participant said. In [...]

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How two local businesses defy conventional wisdom and do well

12.05.2009

Two recent experiences have made me question conventional wisdom.

A co-owner of a small business, which is a seasonal activity destination popular with families, replied this to my question about what her customers want: “I don’t care what our customers want. They’ll come anyway and take  whatever we give them.” (I’m paraphrasing, but only slightly.)

The receptionist [...]

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Word-play business names

12.01.2009

Having recently worked on a brand-naming project, my eye has been attuned to company names around me. Out of the many, the ones using word play have stood out.

Pun: The Title Wave is Multnomah County Library’s used store, selling “books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, videos, magazines and cassettes at bargain prices”. I keep hoping they’d sell [...]

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