Degrading a protected site, polluting with waste, will soon be liable in the European Union to criminal sanctions, under a law passed by parliament yesterday.
“After eight years of negotiation, the European Parliament has reached an agreement with member states on legislation that will force national governments to apply criminal sanctions to those causing deliberate or negligent damage to the environment.”
With all the great initiatives currently happening on and offline (Laneo included) to promote a collective, citizen based, sense of urgency, a law like this could almost close the circle on improving the “management of our planet”; all that’s left is applying all these good resolutions…
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: society, news, environment
If you want to get involved in a really great initiative and you’re near or visiting the French Alps, then go and check out our friends MOUNTAIN RIDERS and their annual Cleanup Weekend Website here.
This is another great team made up of Skiers, Snowboarders, Mountain Bikers, Climbers and generally passionate outdoor enthusiasts that have been extremely successful at animating a tremendous range of Eco-initiatives from School Classes, Publications, Partnerships (see previous post on the “Defi pour la Terre”) and Guide Books; you can practically not visit the Alp Region without seeing something from this Association !
Probably the favorite moment of the year for us at Laneo is their series of cleanups that they organize with a growing number of local associations and communities. These events draw big crowds of people that are always astonished to see the extent of the mess left behind after the snow thaws – and we guarantee that once you see it, you can’t forget it !
It’s happening this weekend, May 24th & 25th and there are an unimaginable number of ski stations that are involved (and others all throughout the summer), so there must be one near you – Laneo hopes to see you there !!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, society, events
Wired Magazine’s June issue “Inconvenient Truths: Get Ready to Rethink What It Means to Be Green”, will certainly raise a few eyebrows when it comes out next month.
This highly admired magazine has always taken the “out of the box” angle on a tremendous variety of subjects but this time, it’s journalists are tackling one of humanities current hot topics; the Planet.
Their point is that we should embrace change and actually “slaughter some of environmentalism’s sacred cows” such as a) accept genetic engineering, b) embrace nuclear power, c) A/C is ok and others in order to win the war on global warming.
We’re impatiently awaiting the issue to hit our news stands in Paris but whatever we read, we’ll continue to take our bikes to work, each local grown food and prefer sustainable products.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, society, documentation, news, environment
Apparently TYR Sport has filed a federal lawsuit against Speedo (both are makers of great swimwear), on the grounds that their new record-breaking “LZR Racer” suit has created chaos amongst top athletes engagements with it’s competitors and might stifle competition on the eve of the Olympic Summer Games.
Since February when the LZR Racer’s was launched, swimmers wearing the suit have set 37 world records and this has launched a fierce debate on the role this new technology has in competitive swimming. Additionally, many of the worlds swimming governing bodies have been plagued with attacks on the legality of Speedo’s design. These new suits claim to improve performance by 2 percent, which is a phenomenal boost in a sport where 1st and 2nd place are often decided by hundredths of a second.
This isn’t the first time that technology has provoked uproar but once again it’s the poor athletes that are in the pools for 3-6 hours everyday that are getting the “heat”.
But then again, didn’t Mark Spitz win all those Gold Medals in baggy swim trunks ?!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: technology, brands, sports
Climate Counts, a collaborative non-profit organization based in the USA, has just published its new Annual Scorecard that represents how serious companies are about stopping climate change – and how they compare to their sector competitors.
This annually updated scorecard reflects the self-reported efforts of companies to address climate change – or avoid it altogether.
This year in the “Apparel / Accessories” category, NIKE placed 1st with an overall score of 82/100. You can read more about their results (and even download the full report) here. What’s more important, you should raise your voice by sending a message to those companies that participate, via the online form that Climate Counts provides.
Nice to see citizen-based initiatives such as Climate Counts build greater awareness that when consumers take action and raise their voices on issues that matter to them, businesses pay attention.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: brands, environment
I just read some sad news; NAU is closing shop.
For those that don’t know the brand, NAU was a specialty retailer of extraordinary outdoor clothes with an exceptional community backdrop.
They’re description of themselves was “We are a small group of people, committed to the power of business as a force for change. We’re not just looking to make some new clothes. We’re aiming to redefine what it means to be successful.”
From their launch, which was about the same time as LANEO, I felt we had a great deal in common and I was moved to read their farewell note (which you can and should read on their homepage here); you can’t be more sincere and transparent than they have.
If you want to show you’re support, do as I did and purchase something quickly; you’ll be getting a great a product from a courageous company and on top of that, it’ll be a collectors item.
I hope to see these guys comeback very soon.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: brands
At Laneo we love simple, fun and thought provoking websites especially those that grasp the potential of the web and what some call Web 2.0 (from Wikipedia: ” Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.”).
One of our favorite brands is PATAGONIA and we try and follow every initiative they launch and we especially liked last year’s launch of their so-called “FOOTPRINT CHRONICLES” which they describe as,
“The Footprint Chronicles is an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of ten specific Patagonia products from design through delivery.”
What was deemed as “just a gimmick” from their detractors and competitors was shortsighted; this is a perfect example of how an easy to use tool that provides total visibility into a company’s’ sourcing and production can have a positive impact on not only the manufacturer itself but also, educate the consumer on their clothing and other purchases.
Patagonia went even farther and provided a feedback form that linked directly to their blog and provided them with the input to add, just recently, 5 new products from their spring 2008 lineup!
The point is, using the web to display meaningful metrics on a macro level and promoting user input can produce some big changes in corporate decision making and help steer us all to a cleaner future.
5 stars from us at Laneo!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, brands, environment
Today is Earth Day and Laneo teamed up with some good friends of ours, and renowned French Web Start-Up, MOOVEMENT (Recruiting 2.0), to promote human resources as a determining factor in sustainable development via a dedicated web recruiting site called, ECO-MOOVEMENT.
Richard Menneveux, Co-Founder, and I have often talked about this tirelessly and he has been a leading figure here in France and in Europe on improving the “match-making” between individuals and companies based on intrinsic personal values and innovative technology.
At Laneo, we’re still in the development phase and won’t be recruiting more than 4-5 additional people this year but when we do, we’re going to be looking for “special people” with not only business acumen; people who’s outdoor values match ours and who want to further the environmental cause.
Initiatives like MOOVEMENT are another great example at how leading edge web-based systems are helping bring the “right” people together that is going to make our place, planet earth, a better place to live!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, society, environment
Everyone knows that the dudes at Snowbroader are totally cool but what they just did for the Planet is out of this world!
One of Laneo’s 1st members and co-founder of Snowbroader, Nicolas, just sent me the link to their new on-line store and blew me away when he announced that for every item sold, 1€ was going to be donated to Laneo to help clean up our playground!
If that isn’t concrete stuff, I don’t know what is.
Check out their blog and spread the word; the more we are, the more we can do!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: websites, community
According to the latest news from SIA, Snow Sports sales were up 10.4% in this past and reach $2.97 B for the 2007-08 season. The same source cited Equipment sales “relatively flat” in specialty shops and retail outlets, however the online market increased by more than $40 million, which is no surprise to us at Laneo. Apparel sales seemed untouched and they increased by more than $100 million especially in the Snowboard market.
After a terrible 2006-07 season, looks like things are back on track for the Snow Industry which must be reassuring to most of the people we know working at these companies. We hope that this resurge will also bring about greater focus and investments in environmental products and marketing; rest assured, Laneo will be following it for you!
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: brands, partners
For the 13th consecutive year our friends at SURFRIDER EUROPE held their annual “Ocean Initiatives” on March 21 thru 23rd all across Europe, mobilizing over 15,000 people to help cleanup beaches, lakes and rivers.
This year was again another success with over 335 cleanups taking place (260 of them in France) regardless of the terrible weather conditions across Europe throughout the weekend.
I’ve known Stephane Latxague, Director of Surfrider Europe for about 2 years and am really impressed with the work he and his team do year round walking the talk, teaching and motivating people tirelessly to restore and protect our Planet. It’s this kind of dedication that motivates us at Laneo to continue working hard to help teams like Surfrider Europe to enhance their operations and develop their impact.
Take a minute and checkout their dedicated site for this operation HERE (it’s in 6 languages and has loads of really interesting information, photos, videos, maps…).
Surfrider Foundation Europe works in conjunction with the other branches of Surfrider Foundation all around the world.
Posted by: andrew |
Tags: events, environment
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