When I arrived in Rio for the UN meetings on sustainability the  enthusiasm was about a flight scheduled for Tuesday, in which a new cane-derived jet fuel was going to be used in a flight from Campinas to Rio. All thanks to an innovative company called Amyris.

Is it possible to make a living from creativity? According to renowned designer Donna Karan, it is. In fact, as she says, Haiti is one of the most creative countries she has ever visited. However, for a country to succeed, it is critical to generate opportunities for creativity that will translate into positive economic and financial results. This has been one of Karan’s objectives in Haiti, where she has invested time and money on a project whose purpose is to provide both design guidance and access to higher value markets to artisans in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.

Versión en español

 

Having been in the ground now for two days at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the most interesting things I have heard so far in the sessions I have attended. I have been at the Corporate Sustainability Forum since Saturday. The forum, attended by nearly 2,500 people, is an event to discuss concrete private sector solutions to energy poverty and climate change.