Located in Japan, The Greenheart Project is gaining international recognition as a sustainable business venture that combines international trade and development principles with a social/environmental responsibility focus. The initiative is centered on building solar and wind-powered cargo sailing vessels that meets the demands of impoverished coastal communities throughout the world. The goal is to make it a model sustainable business/social venture that can help improve the economic trade and transportation of these poor coastal communities as well as serving as a promotional platform in building this new trend in sustainable shipbuilding. The end result is that it will meet the needs of the 21st century by applying sustainable business practices with fair trade and green energy.
MAKING IT HAPPEN
This venture not only utilizes clean technology, it embraces low cost production concepts. They are currently running a campaign to raise $120,000 to start the process of building the prototype vessel. This will help get production underway and get the steel work portion of the vessel completed. However, this won’t pay for the entire prototype. According to Gavin Allwright, Commercial Director of the Greenheart Project, “We have other funds and equipment sponsors coming on board. We estimate the first ship will cost around $500,000 and then production models substantially less. This is still low cost, however the ships are designed with the developing world in mind and the systems selected reflect that.”
Considering the projected growth of the developing world and emerging markets in the 21st century, a vessel like this can have a great impact on the future of the cargo ship building industry and the poor coastal communities throughout the developing world. The Greenheart Project continues to seek funding, donations, and partnerships to help finance the prototype, operational costs, and the eventual expansion of a fleet of sustainable cargo vessels. If you believe in promoting free trade and development through clean and renewable energy sources while helping to improve the conditions of the developing world, then the Greenheart Project is a worthy venture you may consider looking into.
For more information, check out their website at: www.greenheartproject.org and a very interesting Youtube presentation at: www.indiegogo.com/greenheart
