social responsibility

Just recently, I had the pleasure of learning more about one of our up and coming ventures, Mission Three Ethical Consulting.

Founder Arthur Woods and his team of trained college students provide small businesses with an ethical auditing service in the areas of Health, Environment, and Community. Through this enterprise, student consultants have the opportunity to learn extensively about social responsibility, businesses receive guidelines and goals to develop more ethically-driven operations, and consumers can gain access to information on the ethical standing and goals of each consulted business.

Corneille Ewango was born into a family of poachers and hunters in the Congo Basin forest. Although his family poached animals, his future would turn him against such actions.

After various attempts at being accepted into a university, Ewango eventually succeeded and became a botanist. Even more so, he became a strong advocate of protecting the life of the Congo Basin forest from poachers, miners, hunters, and soldiers.

Although born into a family that was slowly taking resources from the region, Ewango eventually became and still is one of the biggest protectors of the life-plant and animal alike-in the Congo Basin Forest.

Watch this TED Talk to learn how Ewango transcended the traditions of his family and became a strong advocate for the preservation of this region:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRmW03Rd8xM

Found through Youth Venture, and AASHE and its newsletter

Taproot Foundation Web Designer

Want to build a web application that will help pull people out of poverty, strengthen our education system, and protect the environment all at once? The Taproot Foundation is currently seeking a qualified candidate to join the Web Development team at the national headquarters as an AmeriCorps*VISTA fellow. Use your software development chops to strengthen the core operations of the Taproot Foundation, which in turn supports hundreds of nonprofits in communities across the country. This opportunity is ideal for skilled web developers who want to give back to the community, gain technical experience in a start-up environment, and be part of an innovative organization at the intersection of the nonprofit and business communities.

What is greywater?

Water that’s kinda dirty because it’s been used once, but clean enough to be used for something else.

Examples: Water from rinsing fruit that can be used to then water plants; or water from washing hands, laundry, or dishes that can be reused to flush the toilet.

Why I use greywater:

Last year I saw this Greentime video and began using greywater in my apartment. I was amazed by how easy it is to save lots of water.

At Conscious Lifestyle, social responsibility means realizing how our lives and institutions affect other humans, animals, and the environment; and then doing everything we can to benefit, or at least not harm, those entities. Social responsibility involves awareness, concern for others, and courage to do the right thing. I started Conscious Lifestyle as a way to replace apathy and extreme self-interest with social responsibility.

Are you passionate about making the world a better place? Have an idea about how to make your fellow students and your school more socially responsible? Want to turn that idea into a reality?

Conscious Lifestyle is accepting applications for its venture program.

Submit an application for the chance to win:

• Up to $1,000 in start-up funding
• Web space on consciouslifestyle.org
• Monthly skill-building workshops
• Mentoring from a high-performing professional
• Access to a network of social entrepreneurs

To learn more, make sure to check out our FAQs and Selection Criteria.

To apply, download the documents below and email your action plan to mike@consciouslifestyle.org.

Application Deadline: August 1, 2008.