Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Students 4 Change - Carrotmob Style



ISB students have made many eco changes over the past 6+ years. Last year we came together to form a mob... a Carrotmob in fact. That group was open to anyone in Thailand & grew to 8000+ members wanting to ban plastic bags. 1397 members showed up to at Villa supermarket to support their move to ban plastic bags!

From that success, we want to spread the Carrotmob concept to other schools. This group is specifically designed for students in Thailand (International and Thai) to create change in their community. We also welcome teachers, school staff, parents and/or community member who want to make positive changes towards a more sustainable and/or socially responsible world.

The Carrotmob concept is awesome and it works! In short, you build a crowd; that's the mob. We build the mob using Facebook and Twitter. Together the mob has consumer power and we help support businesses to make eco friendly changes; this is using the carrot instead of the stick. No protests, boycotts or negative behavior; it's win - win for everyone. At Villa we banned plastic bags, but we could also help restaurants support organic farmers, or help a store use energy saving devices, or biodegradable containers. The opportunities are endless. Usually the businesses are put into a competition (but not always), and the winner gets the mob. By that, I mean the mob shows up on a chosen day to support the winner simply by shopping there.

What do you have to do to help?
The beauty of the Carrotmob is you don't do much to be effective.
• 1st - Join "Students 4 Change"
• 2nd - Use FB, Twitter, and your voice to spread the message to your friends and family in Thailand. The more members we have the more effective it is.
• 3rd - When a winner is chosen and a day is set, just show up and shop!

That's it! There are a lot of International & Thai Schools in Thailand. Imagine if we are all connected for common causes. Together we can make a lot happen.

Our next event is called "ISB EARTH WEEK CARROTMOB" and it is happening on April 29, 2011. If you live near ISB we would love for you to attend. Unfortunately, you cannot see the event on FB unless you join the group. Then the event 'should' be on the right side of the page.

Are you confused?
  • Students 4 Change - is the 'mother' group and can be used for all kinds of events to create changes for sustainability. Any school or group can use this audience to announce their event. It might be a big event in Bangkok that we want all members to attend.
  • ISB Earth Week Carrotmob - is a sub group of people in the ISB area ready to support the first event. Once this event is over, this group will also be over, but not the 'mother' group.

Help Local Businesses near ISB








Let's help local businesses become more eco friendly & sustainable. For Earth Week we have invited businesses just outside Nichada to our Carrotmob competition. Que Pasa, Slider Shack, New York Diner, Subway, and Twist have all accepted the offer.

They were asked to do what they can to be more eco friendly and sustainable.
For example:

  • Que Pasa might put more organic items on their menu.
  • Slider Shack might use only free range meat.
  • New York Diner might decide to retrofit their restaurant to be more energy efficient.
  • Subway may reduce packaging.
  • Twist has already done a lot, but there’s always room for more.

Student teams have already visited each business to analyze their operation and look for areas to improve. We will offer suggestions and resources, but the final decision to make any change is totally up to the owner. During Earth week, the Green Panthers will determine a winner and the winner will receive the support of the mob to show up and shop after school on Friday, April 29th. If more than one business makes significant changes, we will most likely support them as well.

When we did this for Villa a year ago, our goal was 500 supporters. 1397 supporters showed up to make a big statement! Let's do it again.

Please sign up for "ISB Earth Week Carrotmob" by clicking the link.

What do you have to do to help?

The beauty of the Carrotmob is you don't do much to be effective.

  • 1st - Become a member of this group.
  • 2nd - Use FB, Twitter, and your voice to spread the message to your friends and family in the ISB area.
  • 3rd - 2:15 pm Friday, April 29th join us to go shopping to support the winner!

What are you waiting for... let's make our community more sustainable!

More Eco Changes leading up to Earth Week




  • You may have noticed the juice dispensers and new paper cups in the cafeteria. This was to reduce our dependence on plastic bottles for juice. However, now paper cups are used a lot. The cafeteria welcomes the idea of customers bringing their own cup. In the future, we may have more eco friendly disposable cups and maybe a discount for those bringing their own cup.
  • Since the bottled water campaign took place back in October, bottled water usage has dropped of by 66%. Before sales ranged between 1500-1800 bottles a week. Now it is about 500-600/week.
  • Due to success of Meatless Monday and proactive management in the cafeteria, we will hopefully welcome a new vegetarian section to open up during Earth Week which plans to remain at ISB afterwards. It is also likely to offer organic, but that isn’t confirmed yet.
  • “Follow-me Printing”, you print as normal from your computer, then go to a printer, and tap your ID card, the job will automatically come out. With our trial in the Middle School there was a significant reduction in uncollected paper.