New sustainability Institute announced

It's with a mixture of excitement and anticipation that I pass on news of the creation of INSPIRE in west Wales to drive change and transformation on sustainability. Exciting times lie ahead - here's the press release:

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is delighted to announce that its new institute for sustainability- INSPIRE (Institute for Sustainable Practice, Innovation and Resource Efficiency) - will be led by Jane Davidson (currently Minister for Environment and Sustainability in the Welsh Government) in partnership with Peter Davies (Commissioner for Sustainable Futures in Wales) who is already a Professor of Professional Practice at the University, and Andy Middleton (Managing Director TYF).

Last month the University called for expressions of interest from external agencies and individuals involved in sustainability to assist in the development which will be up and running from September.  INSPIRE will support embedding sustainability within the University’s curriculum at all levels as well as engaging with the widest number of organisations to develop sustainable practice across all sectors in Wales and further afield.

Professor Medwin Hughes, Vice Chancellor said, "I am delighted to have been able to secure such high quality individuals to lead the new institute. The University of Wales Trinity Saint David is committed to promoting the sustainability agenda in higher education in Wales and to work with all sectors to actively support the sustainability agenda."

Jane Davidson said, "Sustainability needs to be at the heart of how we do business, we cannot continue to use more resources than our one planet can support. I am privileged to have been invited to lead this new phase of the work at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, particularly in light of its existing partnerships with the further education sector and schools as well as the future merger with Swansea Metropolitan University as part of the creation of the dual sector university in South West Wales”.

Peter Davies added, "I am delighted to be able to play a part in the creation of this new institute in south west Wales, particularly as it provides opportunity to work with partners to develop exemplars of rural sustainability in practice".

Jane Davidson continued “I commend the University of Wales Trinity Saint David for the step it has taken in establishing the institute and am confident that its work will enhance the reputation of the University."

Andy Middleton said "INSPIRE will become a focal point for practical innovation in the areas of sustainability that make real difference to the performance of government, community resilience and long term success of business"

The University received some 50 expressions of interest from organisations and individual who are active in the field of sustainability and INSPIRE will be collaborating with them to develop its portfolio so that it can make a real difference to communities in Wales and beyond.

Professor Hughes concluded “The University sees its role as a catalyst in bringing together agencies and individuals who can transform the lives of individuals and communities, particularly within the region of South West Wales.

Living better, with less, for less

Obsolescence is a crime from Vitsœ on Vimeo.

The Future of Transport?

Jay Rogers spoke at Do last month. Some, including many of us down here, think that his innovation platform at Local Motors is a breakthrough in collaboration and creativity.

His talk at Do is free to download here:

Green Dragon's Den Winners

Last week's Hay on Earth Sustainability Workshops at the Hay Festival saw 25 short listed candidates pitch their best ideas to a panel of dragons and members of the public to win one of four £10,000 prizes that were up for grabs through the Welsh Assembly's Sustainble Development Challenge Fund.

The winners were:

Low carbon travel -  B-Bug. Prototype electric vehicles, intended to wean visitors in the Brecon Beacons National Park out of their 4x4s and mobile homes into something quiet and eco-friendly that's powered by renewable electricty from local hydro schemes.

Food  Agriculture - Schools Farmers' Markets. A delightful project that is setting up farmers' markets in schools (mostly primary) that are self-sustaining once established, with the proceeds coming back to the school.

Business & Enterprise - Green Valleys Cash Cow. This already successful project bid for funding to expand their reach from the planned 20 projects to hundreds in communities across Wales, generating as much as £72m over 20 years through the feed in tariff.

Community & Housing - SEED House. A low-carbon, locally sourced demonstration project, to be build at the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth, using simple replicable timber frame and high levels of insulation.

Our next steps are to post the reports from each of the Hay workshops online, which we'll be doing in the next couple of days, tighten the 'R10' real change targets into micro-projects, and then start spreading sparky, clear ideas wherever we can.

Biomimicry Innovation Centre

As a further spin-off from TYF EcoSapiens' work with the Do Project, three of the team from BCI: Biomimicry for Creative Innovation spent three highly productive hours ysterday working with the Innovation and Comms teams from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, generating ideas and opportunities to make the most of their enormous botanical knowledge and expertise through the creation of a Biomimicry Innovation Centre.

With a planned launch  in May 2010, our first steps will involve recruiting a dozen corporate clients who recognise that there are some fundamental new lessons to be learned about product design, business processes and maintaining an flexible, adaptive culture, if they're to weather the storms of price increases and resource constraints that are brewing on the horizon. Following the May launch, four businesses will be invited to 'dive deep' and explore the opportunities to increase reslience, sustainability and profitability by re-working aspects of their work, with inspiration from nature's genius.

To get a taster of the opportunities at Kew, come along to EcoBuild in London on 3 March to hear me and Michael Pawlyn speaking with Nigel Stansfield, Director of Product Innovation at Interface Flor, and ex Grimshaw architect and visionary Gerry Tate.

Drop me a line if your organisation might be interested in getting involved with the BCI / Kew project.