Help crowdfund our next three reports

To help fund Blue & Green Tomorrow’s next stage of growth, we’ve turned to crowdfunding, an innovative way of sourcing funding. So without further ado, here’s our pitch, taken straight from our Sponsume page, which you can visit to donate. We begin with an outline of the problem.

Can we change the world for the better?

Our future is looking increasingly uncertain – the environment and our economy are both under huge pressure. And while there are heated debates about whom or what is contributing most to that pressure, we can all agree on two things:

1. Pollution is a ‘bad thing’. We are polluting our environment, poisoning the air we breathe and the land and seas that provide our food. We’re slowly poisoning ourselves and our children

2. Waste is a ‘bad thing’. We’re wasting limited resources at a terrifying rate, creating shortages. Prices will inevitably rise and our future will become more volatile and frightening

There are many ways to live a less polluting and wasteful lifestyle and there are many great people and publishers that promote those lifestyles.

But you need to follow the money…

In reality, it is financial markets that drive most of the world’s activity. For every single dollar, euro, pound or yen traded in the real world economy on real goods and services, 26 (that’s twenty-six) are traded in shares, commodities, derivatives and currency. For every pound spent on low energy light bulbs, £26 is traded on currency, derivative or stock markets. It’s what we invest in that shapes our economy, which then creates the pollution and waste.

http://www.sponsume.com/project/blue-green-tomorrow

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What very few invest in, will shape everyone’s future

Blue & Green Tomorrow follows the money and asks tough questions of private and institutional investors about the future they are investing in.

If we can encourage more people and institutions to invest in companies that are sustainable and then buy more from those same companies, we can harness the considerable power of financial markets to make the world a better place.

“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children” – Native American proverb

We want to tell you about the people and organisations that are doing amazing things in science, technology, construction, business, agriculture, forestry, social enterprise, charity and finance; the ones who are reducing pollution and waste in all their forms; the ones who are building a better tomorrow and represent the most exciting opportunities for investment today.

We want the world to be as blue and green tomorrow as it was yesterday.

Can you change the world for the better? There is no plan(et) B.

How it will work

We write about the people and organisations that are making a difference every single day.

At Blue & Green Tomorrow, we believe in great long-form journalism. Journalism that is evidence-based, impartial, optimistic and responsible. But, great journalism costs and advertisers often want to pay for favourable or ‘bad’ journalism.

Corporate and government press releases aren’t journalism.

That’s why we need your help.

Each month we want to produce an in-depth report on one aspect of sustainability.

Where you come in

Planned reports for the remainder of 2012 will cover:

– Sustainable banking

– Sustainable investment: Part 2

– Ethical retail

– Responsible media – post-Leveson

We’ve already produced three reports, on investment, tourism and energy to show you what we can create and together they’ve been read by over 30,000 people.

We want this to be about our readers rather than advertiser or corporate interests, so if you can help us by pledging as little as £10, we can do this together.

What the money pays for

It pays for the reports – our researchers, writers, sub-editing and designers. Most importantly though, it pays for distribution to the widest possible audience possible. If we can get the reports into the hands of political and business decision-makers as well as the wealthiest investors we might just get them to make some better decisions about what they invest in. Critically we aren’t preaching to the converted but hitting those who might even be sceptical about climate change and its causes.

Who are we?

Blue & Green Tomorrow is run by ex-media (Northcliffe Newspapers, Daily Telegraph, Auto Trader and Emap) and financial services (Abbey, Barclays, AXA, Prudential and Fidelity) chap, Simon Leadbetter. He founded the digital magazine Blue & Green Tomorrow to merge his media and financial services experience with the aim of promoting a step change in sustainable investment.

We are staffed by recent graduates providing experience for those with the fewest opportunities in the current economic climate – ably supported by talented and experienced journalists. Leading them is first class honours graduate and Blue & Green stalwart and Editor, Alex Blackburne. The ‘all-I-want-to-be-is-a-sports-journalist’ when he joined, soon became an expert and quoted writer on sustainable investment and clean energy.

Our award-winning (as judged by David McCandless of Information is Beautiful fame) and seriously-talented data journalist Ben Willers produces infographics that will blow your mind as pieces of information and artwork in their own right.

Join in

We can’t do this without your help.

With your support we can create the reports. With your support we can get the reports into the hands of investors and decision-makers. And maybe, just maybe change the world by convincing more wealthy and powerful people to invest and consume sustainably.

“Because we don’t think about future generations, they will never forget us” – Henrik Tikkanen

To help, you can pledge anything from the cost of coffees with friends to a £2,500 biggest fan level.

For as little as £10 you’ll help us and receive a limited edition infographic postcard from our award-winning infographic designer.

For just £250, you will join our editorial board guiding the direction of the title and helping us commission articles and decide the focus of our in-depth reports.

If you, a friend or family member or colleague could pledge even a little, we can make a difference and produce the independent evidence-based journalism that is sorely lacking in one of the most important debates of our time.

http://www.sponsume.com/project/blue-green-tomorrow

Our climate is changing and what we do today will echo down the generations tomorrow.