Click below to watch the interview:

28th November – 8th December 2011

Durban, South Africa

At COP17 we want to  share the lessons from our international portfolio of One Planet case studies with delegates, we are:

• exhibiting in the UNFCCC exhibition and;
• holding a joint side event with the World Green Building Council ‘Voices from South Africa’ taking place in Room 3 at the International Conference Centre at 6.30pm on the 3rd December. For event details please download the flyer.

You can also follow our blog to find out more about our activities and get inside information on the negotiations.

With an initial focus on the One Planet Communities programme, panel members have been selected for their expertise in areas including urban planning, green building, ecological footprinting, policy, and campaigning.

Its six independent members are: Susan Burns, CEO of ecological footprinting think tank, Global Footprint Network; Jim Heid, President and co-founder of US based sustainable development advisory company, UrbanGreen; Kevin Hydes, CEO of deep green building services engineering company, Integral Group and former Chair of the World Green Building Council; Tony Juniper, UK based author and environmental campaigner; Professor Li Shirong, Professor of construction management at Chongqing University and Deputy Director General of Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission, China; and Raf Tuts, Chief of the Urban Environment and Planning Branch, UN-HABITAT.

They are joined by representatives from BioRegional’s endorsed One Planet Communities partner organisations, with their experience of practical delivery of the One Planet Communities programme: Pete Halsall, BioRegional Quintain Ltd; Geof Syphers, Codding Enterprises and Paulo Reis Silva, Pelicano.

The role of the Expert Panel is to ensure that the ‘planet with a heart’ logo remains, and is increasingly recognised as, a symbol of truly exemplary commitment to, and leadership in, sustainability.

The One Planet Communities programme is using the concepts of One Planet Living and sustainable ecological footprint to create a network of the earth’s greenest neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods will be showcased at the Rio+20 World Summit in 2012 to demonstrate to policy makers, business leaders and civil society that it can be easy, attractive and affordable for people to live happy and healthy lives within a fair share of the earth’s resources. BioRegional are excited and pleased to have the support of the Expert Panel in making this happen.

The Panel will be run using a virtual network, with three group sessions each year – the first is scheduled for 17^th March.

To read more visit the role of the panel and member profile pages of this site.

Local Durban architects East Coast Architects have completed concept drawings for the home, an outline business plan is taking shape and eThekwini municipality is supportive of fast tracking planning permission such that the house is on the ground in time for COP 17 as a best practice exemplar and ‘One Planet’ exhibition centre for overseas visitors, local, provincial and national government and other housing developers.

The home will set a precedent for other homes to be built at Izinga as well as 100 affordable homes at a new town centre urban development nearby known as Bridge City, a joint venture between eThekwini municipality and Tongaat Hulett, which BioRegional is engaging with another developer on to create 100 ‘affordable’ One Planet homes at this site.

Click here for more details

Tune into your region’s CNBC channel at the following times to see several of the ground-breaking projects showcased and an interview with International Director,  Pooran Desai OBE:

CNBC Asia

1st Broadcast: 30 October 17:30 SIN/HK Time

2nd Broadcast: 31 October 09:30 SIN/HK Time

CNBC Europe

1st Broadcast: 30 October 08:30 CET

2nd Broadcast: 30 October 13:30 CET

CNBC USA

Single Broadcast: 30 October 16:00 EST

If you miss the broadcast the film will go up on www.oneplanetcommunities.org early next week.

As a business coach my responsibilities are to coach:

• people who have business ideas and want to develop them into businesses and don’t know how to,
• people who are already in business who want to expand their businesses but don’t know how and they need assistance,
• people who have interest in community development in terms of seeing their community develop in various areas such as better schools, parks in the area, environment and human well being in the areas they stay in.

Sthe Ndzimbomvu, BioRegional South Africa's business coach

A client will come with a business idea and my role as a business coach is to coach that client on that business idea and together with the client turn that business idea into a business that is sound and sustainable. The idea should be based on the TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE requirements in order for me to coach the client. The idea should be ECONOMICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY and SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE in the community.

A client comes with an idea, I listen to the idea and I work with the idea the way the client wants it to be. I have no rights whatsoever to approve or disapprove a client idea. My role is to make sure that I use all the skills and tools I have to lead the client to the right decision.

Our philosophy is to always create a space for the client by doing so allowing the client to talk and make decisions about the life and their business at the end of the day. I do not do things for the client, but the client does everything to allow for internalised learning to take place because I strongly believe in the Samuel Smith philosophy which says help from within is more strong and powerful then help from outside.

I use the T-GROW approach to allow the client to vision and to create the space for the client. It is a very excellent approach, before I never thought it might work but now it touches every single part of my body when I use it.

Oxford.

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London.

We invite you to learn more about the conference… The Sustainability Action Plan for the event is also available.

Read more.