Brightening Our Corner Newsletter - August 2017

RayDay Promises Fun for the Whole Family

RayDay 2017 promises to be the best ever with several new exhibitors, additional booths in the kids’ area, and all of the great things that have become traditions through five years of fun together. 
RayDay will continue to be a zero food waste event this year, and all kinds of yummy cuisine will be available once again from the Food Movement trucks, the Sweetwater van, sustainable wine choices, and in keeping with its overwhelming popularity last year, King of Pops will be back!  Click here to read more and to register.

Carbon Reduction Challenge Finalists Featured in Poster Expo at Georgia Tech

The 10th cohort of students to participate in the Carbon Reduction Challenge at the Georgia Institute of Technology gathered on August 14th in a crowded atrium full of eager visitors. These students came prepared to present their solutions for reducing carbon emissions across a diverse set of organizations that hosted Georgia Tech interns and co-op students this past summer.

A team of Georgia Tech interns who worked with SunTrust were the winners of this Challenge with a program that reduces the financial giant’s CO2 impact by millions of pounds over a five-year period. Read more.

Foundation is Presenting Sponsor for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper's Climate Change Conference

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation is a Presenting Sponsor for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper's Climate Change Conference September 27-28, and Foundation President, Mary Anne Lanier, is the Conference Chair. More than 40 local and national scientists and sustainability experts will explore the effects of changing climate conditions to human, infrastructure and ecological interests in the Chattahoochee watershed and offer solutions for a resilient future for all who depend on the river system. Keynote speakers are Paul Hawken and Dr. Marshall Shepherd. Read more.

The Ray Drives the News on What a Sustainable Highway Should Look Like

Over the past few months, The Ray has seen an explosion of media interest! The Ray team members are excited to have so many opportunities to share its mission, vision, and accomplishments with the world. They are especially thrilled to announce that they have been selected by The Weather Channel to be featured in their upcoming special, "Top 10 Ways To Save The Planet." The special will air Sunday, October 1 at 8:00 PM eastern time, so mark your calendars! Click here to read their latest news.

Biomimicry Global Design Challenge: Five Nature Inspired Climate Change Solutions Advance to Entrepreneurship Accelerator

Five teams of entrepreneurs from around the world have been chosen to participate in the newest cohort of the world’s only business accelerator program dedicated to bringing nature-inspired solutions to market.
 
Over 100 teams entered the 2017 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge, answering the call to apply biomimicry, or nature-inspired design, to develop solutions to reverse or adapt to climate change. In the open category, winning teams have been chosen to receive a cash prize and an invitation to enter the 2017-18 Biomimicry Accelerator, which culminates in the $100,000 Ray C. Anderson Foundation Ray of Hope Prize®. Read more about the finalists.

Ecocentricity Blog: Role-Reversal

John Lanier recalls what it was like to participate in the judging of the 2017-18 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge entries. "Each submission I reviewed involved an immense amount of work from these teams, and I’m grateful to them for the time and effort they put toward the challenge. While as judges we couldn’t advance every team to the Accelerator Phase, I was impressed by every entry I saw." Read more. 

Note:  Ecocentricity is available by weekly subscription and can be delivered to your e-mail box automatically every Wednesday.  When you click through to the blog, enter your information in the orange box in the right column to subscribe.

Recent Radio Interviews

The Ray's Executive Director, Allie Kelly, was interviewed on the Business Hour with Ron Comacho. Click to listen.

Megan Schuknecht, Director of Design Challenges at the Biomimicry Institute, was interviewed on Green Sense Radio.  Click to listen.

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation is the Platinum Sponsor for the Talk with Green Guy Show, which broadcasts weekly on WGST AM650 and iheartRadio.  Click here to access past shows, and be sure to sign up for the podcasts in the Google Play Store or listen on Apple Podcasts.

Upcoming Events

Total Solar Eclipse: August 21, 2017
Georgia Environmental Conference, August 23-25  *Anna Cullen of The Ray speaks in a panel along with Pete Marte of Hannah Solar and Tim Echols of the Georgia Public Service Commission
2017 MetroLab Annual Summit - September 13-15 at Georgia Tech  *Allie Kelly of The Ray will be speaking
Southface's Visionary Dinner - September 19
VERGE 17 Conference - September 19-21 *Harriet Langford and Allie Kelly of The Ray to host a VERGE Talk - "Can One Highway Drive the Future."
Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Climate Change Conference - September 27-28
The Weather Channel Segment on The Ray - October 1, 8PM Eastern. "Ten Best Ways to Save the Planet."
Transform | Energy Efficiency: Current and Future - Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) and Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) Conference - October 16-18