Tapping the crowds for sustainable ideas and funding

If crowdsourcing can be used to help tackle economic problems in Ireland—not to mention those of the more personal kind—then why not the global environmental imperative? That, indeed, is just the aim of the Globe Forum, which hopes to use crowdsourcing to help people around the world build a more sustainable future. Now in beta, Stockholm-based Globe Forum operates conferences and an active online community to help match the creators of good ideas with those who can help bring them to life. Specifically, the organization hopes to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, corporations and the public sector in a natural space “where breakthrough solutions can occur collaboratively,” as the site puts it. Its matchmaking service, for instance, aims to match supply and demand for sustainable solutions, with expert facilitation, consulting and project management by the Globe Forum organization. Its intelligence arm, meanwhile, strives to provide market-leading research, industry insight and access to innovation. A crowdfunding section lets potential investors browse through promising new project ideas and fund the ones they like, while projects and organizations with sustainability challenges to be solved can post those in Globe Forum’s “Challenges” section for a little collective brainstorming. After hosting a conference in Stockholm this spring, Globe Forum’s next large-scale event will take place in Dublin in November. Anyone out there still doubt the power of the Global Brain? We didn’t think so. Sustainability entrepreneurs: this one’s for you! Spotted by: Johan Lofmark