Here's the press release I wrote to announce the launch of the new website I helped develop for the SF Bay Area consortium Sustainable Silicon Valley. I served as "Editor in Chief," which means I advised the group on collaborative writing tools and techniques, edited and posted submissions from our core group to ready part of the site as a launch demo, and filled in the rest of the framework to help other contributors flesh out the site in the future.
Check it out -- the launch event was swish and well-catered (can I eat at Stanford every day?) and the site itself is pretty cool, especially considering we had only six weeks in the pre-holiday season to get the demo ready!
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SOCIAL NETWORKING AND PROJECT PLANNING SITE COULD TURN BAY AREA INTO MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY
EcoCloud, a virtual space for collaboration by Silicon Valley businesses, researchers, and policy-makers, launches at Sustainable Silicon Valley's Water, Energy, Smart Technology (WEST) Summit
Seated at linen-draped tables in an airy conference hall on the Stanford campus, a crowd of over 300 witnessed the launch of EcoCloud (http://ecocloud1.ning.com), a new social networking and information site that aims to revolutionize how the entire Bay Area region approaches industrial sustainability. By connecting Silicon Valley companies with research, financial data, government resources, and each other, the EcoCloud site and the community of interested people it represents could prove to be the "killer app" that saves the planet. Sustainable Silicon Valley, the organization behind EcoCloud, hopes to see their model spread to other regions throughout the U.S. and, eventually, perhaps the world.
For now, the attendees of the Water, Energy, Smart Technology (WEST) Summit were focused on learning how to use EcoCloud to improve their corporate and facility resource use. EcoCloud was one of six sessions at the day-long Summit. Those in attendance included business owners, corporate sustainability officers, facility managers, government officials, and university researchers, as well as individual contributors from firms in diverse fields including architecture, marketing communications, and environmental engineering consultancy.
Drew Clark, IBM Venture Capital Group's Director of Strategy and a member of the Sustainable Silicon Valley Board of Directors, took the stage and began to explain EcoCloud's vision and the history of its development. EcoCloud is designed to act as a platform on which others can build. It's an open website that couples social networking tools such as forums, blogs, groups, and reader comments with authoritative content by recognized experts including the latest research from top academics, information on regulation and compliance requirements, white papers, and case studies.
EcoCloud has its roots in brainstorming sessions among Sustainable Silicon Valley's corporate members in the early Spring of 2010. The group was inspired by the idea of eco-industrial parks, where "villages" of companies group their facilities in order to easily exchange resources in a closed-loop system that mimics the flow of a natural ecosystem. The question was how to connect various Silicon Valley entities virtually, rather than requiring companies to move into physical proximity with each other, incurring bricks-and-mortar environmental costs.
The answer was EcoCloud, an online means of achieving the same goals of efficiency and cooperation. The project developed momentum over a 9-month period and attracted a team of professionals who contributed their skills to bring EcoCloud to life. Throughout development, Clark stressed, the team focused on making EcoCloud "a place where things get done ... not just discussed. This site is not just a switchboard: the top experts are here, and they are active on the site." The involvement of area vendors and project partners, including government agencies, is crucial, as is the inclusion of recent research from area universities including Stanford and San Jose State. The site also provides real-life case studies, which Clark characterized as "recipes for success."
Sustainable Silicon Valley acts as the facilitator, not the owner, of EcoCloud's information and participant interactions. Participants will be the content creators and tool developers. In essence, the site is a framework for creativity and innovation, waiting to be fleshed out by current and future members. "We invite you to be the blogger, be the discussion group leader, be the expertise provider," Clark concluded, then issued a call to action to his audience: "We provide the structure, but it's up to you all to take this and own it and make it into what it can be."
Jeffrey Risberg, EcoCloud CTO and Architect, then took the podium and provided a live tour of EcoCloud. The site is divided into four main topic areas: water, energy, materials, and overall sustainability. Content pages, case studies, and a nifty ROI Calculator are already seeded in the site's Recycled Water section. The EcoCloud team chose as its first goal to increase use of the recycled water resources provided to the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, and Milpitas by the South Bay Water Recycling project (www.sanjoseca.gov/sbwr/). This recycled water can be used in industrial cooling towers, landscape irrigation, and other applications to reduce the need for more energy-intensive, expensive potable water.
Risberg demonstrated how to use the tools on the site, which allow companies to type in a few facts about their facilities and projects and get back concrete figures comparing costs to benefits and showing how much time it will take for a sustainability infrastructure investment to pay for itself and begin putting money back in the company's pocket. A company that implements sustainability improvements, such as reducing energy use or using recycled water, can expect to see improvement in its financial bottom line, a fact that was demonstrated by case studies and examples throughout the course of the EcoCloud presentation.
After Risberg's demo, Clark returned to the stage to inspire listeners with a glimpse into the future of EcoCloud. He explained that the current site represents Phase I of an ongoing plan to add more capabilities to the site, including more tools in addition to the ROI Calculator and the opportunity for companies to exchange resources and sponsor content on the site. Eventually, affiliated EcoClouds could take root in other regions, all of which could inherit relevant and authoritative material, then add local content and resources. "Local resources in each region are really the key. But that's Phase III. We have some work to do in order to get there," he stated.
Clark concluded by inviting everyone in the room to visit the EcoCloud site and sign up as a member. "We really invite your comments about what you would find useful here, and what direction you'd like to see this going in. What would make this the most useful to you? And absolutely get in there and start contributing content." The crowd responded with applause, then broke for lunch and began discussing EcoCloud and its potential effects. Within three days, more than 30 of them would sign up as new members of EcoCloud.
The Water, Energy, Smart Technology (WEST) Summit is a yearly event produced by Sustainable Silicon Valley. Sponsors and supporters of the 2010 WEST Summit included SAP, Santa Clara University, Woods Institute, HARA, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Nalco, Worrell Water, Sustainable Life Media, Eucalyptus Magazine, GreenBiz Group, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Sustainable Silicon Valley (http://sustainablesv.org), a local nonprofit group that is leading the Silicon Valley community to a more sustainable future by engaging and collaborating with local government agencies, businesses, and community organizations to identify and help address the highest priority environmental issues in the Valley.
