Archive for December, 2014

End of Year Waste Ventures Update

By On December 31, 2014 In Project News With Comments Off on End of Year Waste Ventures Update Permanent Link to End of Year Waste Ventures UpdatePermalink

In 2010/11 Waste Ventures was awarded first prize in StFF/MYOO’s Beat Waste Challenge and reports on 2014’s work:

2014 was an exciting year for Waste Ventures Charities as it marked critical additions to the team and the development of some tremendous initiatives.We have hired a new Executive Director for Waste Ventures Charities. Jo Hill was the Director of Ventures at UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs where she raised £10 million to support the most ambitious social ventures in the UK. She has developed a high impact strategy for Waste Ventures that brings together funders and pioneers to scale up waste picker led services. Already, under her leadership, Waste Ventures has secured investment to replicate the Waste Ventures model in Nepal.

To support our work, we have received generous funding from the Peery Foundationand were recently selected for the Grand Challenges Canada ‘Stars in Global Health’ funded by the Government of Canada.

Outlook for 2015

We are incubating a new set of waste picker initiatives that have the potential to create transformational impact in India. Our current projects include:

Waste Picker Franchise
This is a low cost, high impact model that moves waste pickers off the dump into dignified green jobs, doubling their incomes and diverting 83% of waste away from landfill. We are partnering with Hasiru Dala, a network of 5000 waste pickers and I Got Garbage, an online performance management platform that tracks data daily. We are currently raising funds to grow the franchise model. To set up one franchise costs $10K, generates 10 jobs and creates a long term livelihood for waste pickers.

Waste Impact Bond
We are developing a structured, results based financing mechanism to provide patient capital for the delivery of waste services at scale. The waste sector lends itself to an Impact Bond due to the tangible, measurable results such as:

  • Number of dignified, green jobs created for waste pickers
  • Volume of waste composted and recycled
  • % of waste diverted from landfill

The Waste Impact Bond has the potential to be a future game changer in terms of unlocking millions in long term private finance to mainstream the implementation of waste picker led services across India.

Thank You

In addition to the gratitude I have for our funding partners, I also want to wish you – my friends, family, colleagues, and mentors – a heartfelt thank you for your support to help us tackle one of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. If you would like to know more about our initiatives, feel free to reach out to me at parag@wasteventures.org or Jo at jo@wasteventures.org. We are also humbled and grateful for your continued support and contributions.

Happy Holidays and Warmest Greetings,

 

Parag Gupta
Founder and Board Chair
Waste Ventures Charities

 

Parrys Raines – website relaunch and news of Antarctica Conference

By On December 3, 2014 In News With Comments Off on Parrys Raines – website relaunch and news of Antarctica Conference Permanent Link to Parrys Raines – website relaunch and news of Antarctica ConferencePermalink

Parrys Raines is a MYOOZE, team member of the Plastiki Expedition and supporter of StFF – and she’s still only 19 years of age.

 

Parrys’s CV includes:

Environmental Law Student
Environmental Educator and Adventurer
3 times Australian Representative to UNEP
Sustainability Leader
Climate Reality Leader
Ambassador for Aim for the Stars Foundation
WWF Youth Ambassador and Earth Hour Ambassador
Team member of the Plastiki Expedition
Partner & Aust. Rep. International Youth Accord on Biodiversity
Enviroweek Ambassador

Visit her new website and learn more about the Antarctica Conference here.

 

The Lonely Himalayas – project at editing stage

By On December 3, 2014 In Project News With Comments Off on The Lonely Himalayas – project at editing stage Permanent Link to The Lonely Himalayas – project at editing stagePermalink

StFF beneficiary – The Lonely Himalayas team – reports on progress so far.

A small grant was made to help enable Ryan Stock and his team film a documentary to explore climate change, industrial farming and urban migration on remote Himalayan landscapes.

Click here for the update.

 

 

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Over the last 14 years at Sculpt the Future Foundation, we've been driven to support people and projects that use creativity, passion and ingenuity to support our Natural world or as we have always phrased it amongst ourselves, supporting projects that give Nature a Voice. After some reflection on how to increase our impact, it was decided the time had come to make a few changes, including changing our name to the Voice for Nature Foundation.

However, we’ve never really been one for labels, we know what really matters is not what you're called but rather what you do. Now, more than ever, we will continue to support projects and people that stand up and speak out on Nature’s behalf.

Together we will be a VOICE FOR NATURE.