By Carolyn Mansfield*

As companies emerge from recession-induced hibernation, shake off hiring freezes, and start to cautiously advertise job openings again, they’re finding an entirely different landscape than when they did their last round of recruiting.

The holy grail for job seekers? A meaningful, green job.

Many factors have swirled together to create this phenomenon: unemployment rates around 9.5 per cent; buzz about green jobs has caused everyone to see opportunity and want to get in; venture funding is moving increasingly towards green tech, cleantech, and other enviro-initiatives; and stimulus money being promised for green companies and green jobs training.

With all the hope tacked on to green companies and jobs, the stakes are high for green companies that blunder. Continue reading…

An announcement this week by prime minister Raila Odinga that the Kenyan government planned to provide free to the public energy saving light bulbs as part of efforts to address growing energy requirements is stirring the country’s alternative energy market.

A new trend marking a shift to alternative energy products by industry players is quickly emerging.

Stores are now stocking or ordering more of energy-saver bulbs and other lighting products especially from China or India, according to market watchers.

But availability of affordable LED lighting products in the east African nation could be compromised by cheap and inferior products brought into Kenya through corruption and a thriving black market for counterfeits from the two Asian countries.

This should definitely be a cause for worry for established manufacturers like Philips and Osram who are also major players in green off-grid lighting products for the African market.

Continue reading…

A feature article published in Economist on how the global financial crisis could be an opportunity for Africa to emerge from the doldrums won this year’s Africa Business Reporting Awards, sponsored by Diageo.

“Several of the African countries making the most promising strides are those with very few natural resources”, prodded Richard Crockett, in the article, ‘Opportunity Knocks’, a line that must have resonated well with the expectations of the judging panel.

“The emphasis in these good-news countries is on boosting the private sector, reducing corruption and getting the politics right… Even though the underlying problems remain daunting, and even in the midst of the world financial crash, sub-Saharan Africa has a chance to build itself anew”, Crockett wrote.

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The World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a report indicating cement manufacturers had stepped up efforts to reducing their carbon emissions.

Under the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), representing the collective effort of 18 leading cement companies from around the world, the report “Cement Industry Energy and CO2 Performance: ‘Getting the Numbers Right’” documents emissons and energy performance of participating companies .

The Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) system is a sector-wide global information database that provides accurate, verified data on the cement industry’s CO2 emissions and energy performance.

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By Asha-Rose Migiro*

Runaway food prices gave the world a wake-up call last year.

Two weeks ago, another alarm went off: UN food agencies reported that the world’s hungry have surpassed one billion in number.

Two hundred sixty-five million of these people are in sub-Saharan Africa — an increase of almost 12 per cent over last year.

These alarms tell us that our system of growing, distributing, and selling food is not serving us well.

Continue reading…