Monday, March 7, 2011

Are you getting the whole pie or just a slice?


So, in efforts to outsource their ‘sales’ department, companies have created programs where kids can sell their products and receive commission on the sale. These programs are by no means evil, in fact they have no doubt raised millions of dollars for schools around the nation, and filled countless stomachs with delectable delights.

But, shouldn’t a fundraiser be more than just asking people to buy an overpriced item they’ll have to wait weeks to receive?

The appeal of food fundraisers is that you selling such an tasty (albeit unhealthy) product that the product will sell itself. But how is somebody expected to shell out $25 for a pizza when they can have one delivered by Pizza Hut for $10?

Well my fundraising idea isn’t selling any product, its simply collecting the old cell phones that people (correctly) have chosen not to throw away. Skeptical? You should be after you’ve being pitched every other fundraiser in the book.

Well, let’s start off with this one simple question: How many phones do you have sitting at your house gathering dust, 2,3,4? If you answered none, I’m betting that either your 10 years old, have thrown them away, or hopefully recycled them.

Collect them up and send them in (shipping’s on me) and I’ll pay you more than a buck per phone. I can either re-sell them for re-use or melt them down for their precious metals like gold.
We’ll inventory them for you, e-mail you the report & send you a check, not points or some other arbitrary abstraction of money.

E-Waste (Electronic waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in America, and wouldn’t you rather have your students/kids being part of the solution and fundraise at the same time?

Are you getting the whole pie or just a slice?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Meet The Boss - Stockholm Central Station

I wanted to introduce you to a really useful site called Meet The Boss I located within my Green group on LinkedIn.

The site is stuffed with video interview of leaders of the worlds biggest companies providing advice, insights and information about how they got to where they are and tips for business success.

The site has some good content on green topics such as sustainability and the triple bottom line but is focused on more general business topics that provide valuable learning.

Below is an interesting example of one of the videos on the site I found fascinating and I am sure you will too!

Stockholm Central Station uses excess body heat as heating for a nearby office building.

According to a report by the BBC, each individual creates about 100 watts of heat but this is noticeably increased when doing non-vigorous activities such as shopping or eating. The Central Station in Stockholm is the ideal place, whereby around 250,000 people pass through per day and there is surplus of body heat. The question is how is the body heat used for heating?

Hit the Video Link to SEE more!