Tokyo Eco-Startup Fullcircle Innovations Is Announced as a Finalist in Red Herring 100 Asia Prize

From Glenn Croston's Fast Company blog.

Solving climate change is a big challenge that will require cooperation and innovation on a global scale. Tokyo startup Fullcircle Innovations is taking on this challenge with its offerings at GreenITers.com and EcoAppsFree.com. The rapidly growing on-line community at GreenITers is bringing people together from around the globe to help build solutions, and with EcoAppsFree.com they are taking the fight right to your smart phone, but Fullcircle Innovations isn't stopping there. Their vision is not just about products, but taking things to the next level of sustainability from CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) to CSR 2.0. As a finalist for the Red Herring 100 Asia prize, Fullcircle Innovations may get the boost they need to have the global impact they envision.

The Red Herring 100 Asia prize seeks to identify promising startups with the innovation and entrepreneurship that will drive disruptive technologies of the future. Past winners include Google, Yahoo!, and YouTube. The disruptive technology that Fullcircle Innovations is bringing to bear is designed not just to make money, but to make a difference in the environmental challenges our planet faces.   Time is short, and the challenges huge. The United Nations warned this week at the Convention on Biological Diversity that the world must act now to prevent mass extinctions. The tipping point to prevent the worst case scenario for climate change may be near. Fullcircle Innovations is working to implement the solutions laid by Thomas Friedman in his book Hot, Flat and Crowded: take action today, save what biodiversity we have left, and speed innovations and education for the next generation.   To do this, Flavio Souza, Fullcircle Innovations founder and CEO, envisions the green business world moving to CSR 2.0, in which individuals take responsibility (R) for the work to be done, and group together in social networks (S) of like-minded people who work together to find solutions. The best ideas and innovations from groups like this can be advanced in the corporate world (C) to deliver real solutions, moving from thought to action.   The first key is knowledge sharing, bringing people together in a virtual community to speed education for the future. "GreenITers.com is our answer to speed innovation and education," said founder Flavio Souza. Members from over 55 countries share their knowledge, ideas and creativity to deliver sustainability solutions. The community ranges from academic researchers and industrial IT / CleanTech professionals to interested people who want to help. To bring people together, the site features discussion boards, news, blogs, videos, and whatever else can reduce the barriers of time and distance, talking about topics like renewable energy, green building, electric cars, and of course green innovations initiatives.   To take environmental action, Fullcircle Innovations is developing eco-apps for smart phones at http://www.ecoappsfree.com. Using EcoAppsFree, eco-friendly apps can be tried for 24 hours free where people would otherwise have to buy an app to try it out. They also have an app called greenit! in the works, which would allow you to take a picture of your building or other location and then enhance the image with eco-friendly changes like solar panels and trees.   In the future, Fullcircle Innovations is planning to launch Stop Destroying as their next service in Spring 2011, bringing together under one roof responsible eco-minded individuals investors and eco companies that are protecting the environment in the BRIC region (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The protection issue is even more urgently for developing countries so focusing on the problem in BRIC countries is crucial. A BRIC Cleantech dedicated private-equity fund will also be launched.   Souza believes that information and technology are two essential tools to create and protect a greener planet, using technology to build solutions rather than trying to discard technology. "The way I see it, technology is like a book," says Souza. "A book alone does not change the world; a book just changes people, and people change the world." Time is short. Fullcircle Innovations is doing their best to spread those changes, and do it quickly for all of us.   Contact Fullcircle Innovations: On the web (www.fullcircle.co.jp) or email (media@fullcircle.co.jp).   Glenn Croston is the author of "75 Green Businesses" and "Starting Green", and the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping businesses to start green, go green, and grow green. He is also the creator of the Home Sustainable Challenge, helping people across the country make the most of the emerging Conserver Economy, living well for less.

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