Life-course

Two weeks had gone since the citizens’ forum. That evening had not resulted in any decisions yet. A month had gone since he had lost his job. The job applications he had sent hadn’t resulted into anything either. Lucas wasn’t worried about it – the compensation from his ex-employee would help him to get by for a while. But Lucas was bored. What would he do?

While scanning through the Sunday papers in the library he saw an announcement of adult education meant for people who would like to be entrepreneurs. Maybe there would be something for me, he thought, and wrote down the Internet address for more information. One of the courses especially sounded interesting. It would be something totally different to what he had done earlier. He felt excitement rising within him. Could this be for him? Could it help him to utilize all the new information he had recently found out with his new way of thinking?

His imagination run wild when thinking about the possibilities that lay ahead of him. Even some of the new ideas would be nice to accomplish. He knew that that would require a lot of hard work but he wasn’t afraid of that. Some luck would also help. But, first he must send in his application.
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Lucas was getting coffee ready for his wife who was due to come home any minute now. He had even bought some locally baked cakes as he felt like celebrating. He had just heard the news: he had passed the interview for getting on that course.

The real cup

Gathering hundreds of people together requires careful planning on catering. Well-organized coffee breaks and meals combined with in-between-refreshments are points that shouldn't be overlooked when planning a successful conference. But what is different when the catering should also be environmentally friendly - well, is it possible?

Real cups and glasses, not to mention the other necessary cutlery, napkins and tablecloths are the basic parts of catering for Solutions local, together - Conference. Locally produced food and drinks are also a must. The first contacts to local restaurants and other service providers were made already last year, and the latest one this week. They have all shown real enthusiasm towards the idea of a sustainably organized conference and have also expressed that "Nothing is impossible - just give me a bit of time to find out."

Cups and locally baked bread are the visible signs of environmental thinking. But where do the cups and napkins go after the coffee break is over? Or where was the flour or butter made used by the local bakery? We need to go to the origins when we think about the life-cycle of a product. Therefore the communication all the way through, from beginning to the end, is important for finding out the real carbon footprint. Very few have thought about it yet thoroughly. Are you one of the forerunners?