The SEED Initiative: Supporting Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development
February 11, 2008: The SEED Initiative -- Supporting Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development -- is now accepting applications for its SEED Awards 2008, a global competition designed to recognize publicly and to support five of the most worthy, nascent partnerships that promote economic growth, social development and environmental stewardship. Winners will receive targeted support services to the value of $25,000 to help the initiative scale up. More

SEED Winner Receives Additional International Acclaim
December 4, 2007: SEED Winner Receives Additional International Acclaim:The T’ikapapa partnership, which links small mountain farmers in the Andes who produce local varieties of potatoes with high-value niche markets in both Peruvian urban centers and in international markets, was selected from approximately 1,000 global submissions as the winner of the 2007 BBC-Newsweek-Shell World Challenge. [SEED Initiative web site] More

SEED Partnership: Promoting Biodiversity and Sustainable Development
November 16,  2007: The SEED Awards don't mark the end of the process for its winners, but rather a strengthened beginning. The 2007 SEED winners from Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Sierra Leone and Vietnam will each receive a 12-month program of support services designed to increase their chances of success both locally and on an international scale. More

Beijing Expo Highlights Methane to Markets Partnership
October 31, 2007: More than 90 projects are being showcased at the Methane to Markets Partnership Expo -- the first international forum devoted to methane issues. The Expo is attracting more than 500 participants from 30 countries who are exploring technologies and ideas for cost-effective methane capture and use.More

Building Capacity in Central America to Protect Biodiversity
October 23, 2007: The My Community, Our Earth (MyCOE) partnership is building the geographic technology capacity in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama to map and protect their biodiversity. Through an international competition, MYCOE is supporting 12 teams of university students and their mentors who are working on local projects ranging from identifying biological corridors through coffee plantations to designing participative community restoration of protected areas. The program is also strengthening collaboration among the region's universities, government environmental authorities, and NGOs to encourage multi-institutional approaches that address biodiversity. More

U.S. Conference of Mayors Endorses EPA's Energy Star Challenge
June 26, 2007: Today, the U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed EPA's Energy Star Challenge as a key strategy in meeting the goals of the conference's Climate Protection Agreement. As part of the resolution, the organization will encourage its members to support and take the Energy Star Challenge, a national campaign to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent or more in commercial and industrial buildings across the United States. The U.S. Conference of Mayors represents America's 1,139 cities with populations of 30,000 or more. EPA estimates that if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings in the United States improved 10 percent, Americans would save $20 billion each year in utility bills for commercial and industrial buildings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from about 30 million vehicles. More

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