Green Drinks: Lessons from changemakers and the LOHAS movement
In our upcoming session, we have Gouri Mirpuri speaking on the challenges of being green, and Adam Horler speaking on LOHAS. Titled “It’s (Not) Easy Being Green: Running Upstream with 13 Environmental Heroes”, Gouri shares her environmental journey and useful lessons from speaking with 13 environmental heroes in Indonesia, while Adam goes into details about LOHAS and this ever growing market that businesses can tap into, in his talk “LOHAS; what is it, who are the Lohasians, why does it matter?”.
Newton Circus (not the hawker centre) has kindly let us use their premises for this session. Beverages will be available on the night, and affordably priced.
Date: 26 January 2012 (Thursday)
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm (talk will be followed by Q&A, then mingling)
Venue: Newton Circus office, 138 Cecil Street, #01-01 Cecil Court
RSVP: olivia@greendrinkssingapore.com or on our Facebook event page
We hope to see you there!
About Gouri’s talk
It’s (Not) Easy Being Green: Running Upstream with 13 Environmental Heroes
Can individuals really make a difference when it comes to the environment?
Gouri uses a simple but powerful river analogy for selecting projects which create real and sustainable change. She takes this “river challenge” on a quest, and finds 13 real Indonesian eco heroes who are making a difference. The heroes cast light on areas which urgently need attention and offer a perspective on how best to achieve results.
Gouri will be presenting the background story on the 13 interesting projects and highlight how the eco-heroes’ experiences in dealing with environmental challenges present lessons for all of us.
She will end with a focus on one project that she has been spearheading, The Learning Farm (www.thelearningfarm.com).
Join Gouri for a richly illustrated talk on why its Not Easy being Green.
About Adam’s talk
LOHAS; what is it, who are the Lohasians, why does it matter?
They are all around us, affecting social change and striving to protect the natural environment through their everyday habits and purchasing decisions. They look just like everyone else, except they may be better educated, wealthier and female with children at home. they are the ones you see in shops reading the labels on the back of products for ingredients, nutrition information and what the packaging is made of. They separate their trash, respect their fellow man and nature and take care of their physical health.
They are Lohasians and they live Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS).
They are also a growing economic force to be reckoned with and are driving the marketing and product development strategies of corporate behemoths, such as Coca-Cola (seriously…).
LOHAS remains a B2B marketing term in the US, but has morphed into a consumer movement in Asia, where normal people are using the term “LOHAS” as a catch-all for all things sustainable, green, eco, better quality of life.
70% of all Japanese and Taiwanese know what LOHAS is and awareness is spreading rapidly, mainly throughout the Chinese-speaking population in Asia.
LOHAS Asia interviewed 19,000 consumers in Asia in 2010 to understand the LOHAS trends in the markets and has spent two years touring the globe to understand what this all means… for your business.
The 1st LOHAS Asia Forum brings together 400 aspiring social entrepreneurs from around the region to help them target the LOHAS consumer more effectively and to give them skills in technology, branding and communications to be able to reach the LOHAS consumer and succeed.
These people and their businesses are risk-takers, believers and optimists who believe that there is a better way of doing business in Asia. They believe “Business As Usual” is not the answer.
LOHAS Asia, the organization, believes that we can have a modern, convenient life without sacrificing the Planet on the altar of consumerism, by avoiding natural resource depletion and human-induced climate change.
Come and meet Adam Horler and find out more about LOHAS, the Lohasians, the Forum and how this can help your business venture.
OK, la?
About Gouri
Gouri Mirpuri has lived in many countries over the past two decades, and currently calls Indonesia home. She is a “backyard activist” and a writer. Gouri is also the driving force behind The Learning Farm, an award-winning initiative to re-habilitate street youth through organic farming.
Gouri was recently a TEDx speaker on the series of witty, localized cartoons she developed called 50 GREEN TIPS. These tips first appeared in the Indonesian media, and are now being used in over 300 schools and organizations throughout the archipelago.
Gouri has published several books for young adults, and had a regular environmental column in Indonesia’s largest business monthly. The interview columns have been published in a book, “Eco Heroes of Indonesia”.
Gouri’s latest adventure is to help bring The HUB (www.the-hub.net) to Singapore, currently in 32 countries worldwide. This global communal space will be the first ever HUB in Asia for social enrepreneurs.
About Adam
Having charted a highly successful career path through the likes of P&G, L’Oreal, red earth (Esprit), AS Watson and Molton Brown (Kao), Adam decided to leave the “comfy armchair” of corporate life in Nov 2008.
More than half his business life has been spent working in Asia, moving to Hong Kong from England in April 1998 and then to Singapore in Sep 2006.
His personal journey has seen him:
- navigate his way through the shark-infested waters of Corporate life to become a regional CEO and international Board member
- take a year out to play full-time rugby in Hong Kong
- leave Corporate life to pursue a life trying to “do his bit” to Save The Planet, and humanity in the process
His corporate travels have taken him all over Asia; from the capital cities to the countryside; from mega malls to the smallest regional wholesale markets; from Japan to New Zealand to India; all in search of the Asian consumer and what makes them tick.
Adam describes what he saw and how it leads to founding Asia-Pacific LOHAS:
“My business travel in Asia has taken me off the beaten track to small towns and cities, where I saw that progress is not really working. Instead of a better life for those leaving the land and chasing the Western dream, I saw environmental degradation (plastic waste, water and air pollution) and poor quality of life for the people living in these towns (bad sanitary conditions, unjust working conditions, separation from family for long periods).
I guess the knowledge that “business as usual” was not benefiting the average person in Asia sat uncomfortably with me for many years while I worked my way up the corporate ladder. As with many things in life, I shoved this feeling to the back of my mind. It wasn’t until Feb 2008, when trekking in Laos, that I finally felt that I had to change my life and do something to better the lives of people in Asia and also protect the environment and the Planet, which we are so busy wrecking in the name of progress. So, I quit my job as Regional CEO and set out on my journey to find something I could do that would have a big impact.
Asia-Pacific LOHAS is the result of this journey, so far (I do not believe my personal journey is anywhere near over yet, but I am happy with my resting place!). If we can fulfil the promise that Asia-Pacific LOHAS represents, we will be able to educate millions of consumers that consumption can be done in a better way and help facilitate the growth of the LOHAS business community to serve these consumers.”
