by Luke Poliszcuk

Want to learn how to build a house out of six million empty beer bottles or grill a chicken in 14 minutes using only mirrors? Then check out www.eco-ideas.net, a global environmental communication portal launched by Panasonic as part of its commitment to promote the power of ideas and to accelerate the shift to greener lifestyles.

Learn how your everyday lifestyle choices impact the environment and make a difference by joining other like-minded individuals and undertaking eco-actions. See the impact your eco-actions make every day and introduce your friends and family with Facebook and Twitter so they can visualize their impacts too. “We want the world to know how simple ideas for life can change the world,” says Hisao Tsugita, a spokesperson for the Panasonic supported website. “Ideas for shifting our lifestyles are being born everyday, everywhere, so why not have fun sharing and turning them into reality?

Ideas for shifting our lifestyles are being born everyday, everywhere.

Eco-ideas.net features an ecological lifestyle blog that introduces inspiring eco-ideas from around the world through video clips and pictures. The Eco+You section lets users record their eco-friendly actions and see how small changes in their daily lives (measured in the five categories of energy, CO2, water, waste, and community) can create big changes in the world we live in. The Panasonic Eco Update consists of daily eco-activities and news from locations around the world.

For those who have more sense than dollars, the British Council recently launched its E-Ideas Competition to support young Japanese social and eco entrepreneurs. The British Council is the UK’s
international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations, and is best known for supporting student exchanges with the UK and organizing cultural exchanges. However, it also supports youth to enable them to contribute to a sustainable future through theainternational network Climate Change Project and projects such as the E-Ideas Competition.

The E-Ideas competition was established to fund good ideas for realistic solutions to urban issues in the five main areas of waste, water, transport, energy and sustainable design. A total of ¥5,000,000 was up for grabs with the two best ideas each receiving a grant of ¥800,000. Recipients will also become BC Climate Leaders, and be able to take part in events and training courses overseas.

Winners of the E-Ideas competition will be presenting their projects at the Green Leaders Forum at the British Council on June 7, 2010. The Green Leaders Forum is a free monthly learning and networking event for leading thinkers and practitioners from business, NGOs and government, as well as entrepreneurs, media, students, and those with a general interest in the fields of sustainability, cleantech, the environment and society, energy and climate change, corporate social responsibility (CSR), socially responsible investment (SRI), and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).

The June event is a special Green Leaders Forum that will feature presentations by the winners of the British Council’s E-ideas competition followed by workshops to discuss feedback and potential collaboration with green leaders on their projects. For those who are keen to learn more about the winning projects or even lending a hand to help out, this is a great opportunity to get to know the winners and their ideas.