History of Foresight Green Drinks

The Foresight Design Initiative, and designer Carl Boyd, launched the first Green Drinks in 2003, in order to unite and connect people with a common interest in sustainability issues. Inspired by the original Green Drinks in London, this event is designed to catalyze the connections, awareness, and learning necessary to evolve into a more vibrant and sustainable city. Green Drinks brings together diverse representatives from the sustainability movement, including business people, designers, activists, students, government representatives, non-profit administrators, and artists.

PAST TOPICS

 

2012

January: Transformation City: Annual State of Sustainable Chicago
February: More Than Just Money: Develop a Career with Meaning & Impact
March: Clear As Mud - Voting For Clean Water
April (Biz Edition): State of Sustainable Business in Chicago
April: Green Town Hall Meeting with Chicago’s Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein
May: Redefining Reuse Toward a Zero Waste Chicago
August: Sustainable Innovation: Projects from Immersion '12  

2011

January: Annual State of Sustainable Chicago
February: Food Matters: Local vs. Organic
March: Green Gurus Share Conditions for Transformation
April: Green Town Hall Meeting with Chicago DOE Commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna
April (Biz Edition): State of Sustainable Business in Chicago
May: The Great IL Clean Energy Debate
June (Biz Edition): The Business of Creating Sustainable Communities
June: Is Walmart Right for Chicago?
July: H2O + NRDC
August: Sustainable Innovation: Projects from Immersion '11
September: Behind the Curtain: Making Art Sustainable
October (Biz Edition): Emerging Opportunities in Energy Efficiency
November: Biomimicry: Designing From Nature's Innovations
December: The (Sometimes) Winding Road To A Sustainability Related Career
December (Biz Edition): Sustainable Business Advocacy Agenda 2012

2010

January: Annual State of Sustainable Chicago
February: Premature 10th Anniversary: Looking Back on the Next 3 Years
March: Green Drinks 360: "Green Bite," "You Heard It Here First," and "What's the Big Idea."
April: Green Town Hall Meeting with Suzanne Malec-McKenna
May: Booze in Your Backyard: Local Libations With a Sustainable Twist
June: Land Conservation Goes Brazen
July: Green Drinks 360: "What's Cooking," "City of Your Climate Dreams," and "What's the Big Idea."
August: Sustainable Innovation: Projects from Immersion '10 August: Camp Green Drinks: Film: "The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning"
September: Electric Cars - Wave of the (Near) Future
October: Climate Action - After the Fad
November: Career Transitions
December: Mayoral Candidate Forum: Who Will Earn Your Green Vote?

2009

January (Biz Edition): Learning from Leaders: Greg Christian
January: State of Sustainable Chicago
February (Biz Edition): Green Collar Jobs Update
February: What Does Land Have To Do With It?
March (Biz Edition): Learning From Leaders: Ori Sivan
March: From Vision to Reality: Realizing a Sustainable Dream
March (Biz Edition): Sustainable Business During the Crisis: The State of Sustainable Enterprise in Chicago
April: Green Town Hall with Sadhu Johnston
May: Green Drinks On Location with Sustain Illinois
June: Green Drinks-Northshore: Greeening Your Home
June: The Truth About Weatherization
July: Redefining Value: The Challenge & Promise of Social Venture Enterprises
August: Sustainable Innovation: Projects from the '09 USDS
August: Camp Green Drinks: Documentary Film & Discussion: "Milking The Rhino"
September: Out To Lunch: Tasty Tales From Chicago's Organic Restaurants
October: These Shoes Were Made For Walking: The Sustainable Transit Revolution November: Every Day Design - How Design Influences Everything from Buildings to Behavior
December: Forging Your Own Sustainability Career

2008

January (Biz Edition): Learning from Leaders: Chicago Climate Exchange
January: The State of Sustainable Chicago (Part 1)
February (Biz Edition): Toward a Vibrant Sustainable Business Community in Chicago
February: The State of Sustainable Chicago (Part 2)-Chicago Wilderness: Nature in the Metropolis
March: Rebuilding the Local Food System: How Can We Make Sustainable Food More Accessible?
April 1: Sustaining the Suburban Environment
April (Biz Edition): Learning From Leaders: Irv & Shelly
April 2: Green Town Hall Meeting with Sadhu Johnston, Chief Environmental Officer, City of Chicago
May (Biz Edition): How Hard Can It Be? The Practice and Pitfalls of Greening Your Office
May: The Urgent Evolution: From Green Buildings to Sustainable Urbanism
June (Biz Edition): Support for the Next Step: Resources For Sustainable Businesses
June (North Shore): Residential Renewable Energy: Here & Now?!
June: Think Global, Act Global: Chicago Connections to World Sustainability Issues
July (Biz Edition): The Art of the (Sustainable) Start: Secrets of Chicago Entrepreneurs
July: What Does Money Have to Do With It? Aligning Your Personal Finances With Your Values
August (On Location): Sustainable Innovation: Projects from the ‘08 USDS
August (Camp): Film: Contested Streets
September: Electing Sustainability: Transforming a Green Electorate
September (North Shore): Socially Responsible Investing: Putting Your Money Where Your Values Are
October (North Shore): Growing Up Green: Eco-Parenting
October: Beyond Coffee; Building a Fair Trade City
November: From Local To Global: The Challenges of Doing Something About Climate Change
November (Biz Edition): ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits
December (On Location): Panel Topic: Finding a Fit—Sustainability Careers During a Downturn

2007

January: Cultivating "Green" Chicago: Local sustainability organizations, who they are, what they do, and how you can get involved.
February: Green Drinks Green City Game Show
March: From Farm to Plate: Chicago Food Policy Issues
April: Annual Green Town Hall Meeting with Sadhu Johnston, City of Chicago, Commissioner of Environment
May: Every Drop Matters: The Lake and the City
June: Putting our Best Watt Forward: The Great Renewables Debate
July: Sustainable Health Care: Access & Affordability
August 1: Camp Green Drinks #5 viewing, "Design: e2" and "New Heroes" documentaries
August 2: Getting Local on Global Warming: Chicago Responds to the Inconvenient Truth
September: Designing for Sustainability
October: Green Drinks Game Show
November: Philanthropy, Environment, and Sustainability--The Role and Evolution of Grantmakers
December: The Variety of Paths to a Sustainability-Related Career

2006

January: "Paper or Plastic or . . .?" A Better Bag for Chicago. Entries to the second Chicago Sustainable Design Challenge. Special Bonus: Those Darn Interns: Foresight's 2006 Urban Sustainable Design Studio projects!
February 1: Movie Night: "The End of Suburbia"
February 2: Going Sustainable: Resolutions for Better Living in 2006
March: What's Fair About Fair Trade? Is It Just an International Issue?
April 1: Movie Night: Featuring: Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
April 2: Annual Green Town Hall Meeting with Sadhu Johnston, City of Chicago, Commissioner of Environment
May: International Perspectives on Sustainability: The Western European Example
June 1: Movie Night: Featuring: Independent America
June 2: Is It Organic Taste Test
July: When Neighborhoods Evolve: Gentrification Issues in Chicago
August 1: Camp Green Drinks #4 viewing "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces" documentary
August 2: Eco Transportation Show & Panel Discussion on City Planning for More Sustainable Transportation
September: Election 2006: Putting Sustainability on the Agenda
October 1: Movie Night: "Thirst"
October 2: Moving Beyond Congestion—Issues and Solutions
November: Green Living on a Dime
December: Careers in Sustainability: How To Bring Sustainability Into Your Job or Workplace (Combined with Green Drinks--Business Edition)

2005

January: Creating Opportunities in the Sustainability Sector: Finding a Job, Starting a New Program or Enterprise
February: Alternative/Sustainable Transportation
March: Beyond Clean/Dirty Money: The Power of Socially Responsible Investing
April: Impact of Sustainable Landscape Design (in collaboration with Am. Society of Landscape Architects)
May: "Green City Forum": Chicago Sustainability Programs and Issues with Sadhu Johnston, Assistant to the Mayor for Green Initiatives
June: Chicago River Issues
July: Wheels on Fire: Bike Issues in Chicago
August 1: Camp Green Drinks #3 viewing "Taken for a Ride" documentary
August 2: Recycling Beyond the Blue Bag: What To Do With Everything Else
September: Faith-Based Sustainability Initiatives
October: 2005 Audience Choice Winner: How to Talk About Sustainability (and Encourage People to Embrace It!)
November: Art & Sustainability (in conjunction with the "Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art" exhibit at the Smart Museum of Art.)
December: Jobs With Meaning: Aligning Your Values With Your Vocation

2004

January: Integrated (Sustainable) Design of Buildings
February: Green Economics
March: Recycling: Beyond the Blue Bag
April: Organics in the City
May: Chicago Water: Where Does it Go?
June: LEED Green Building rating system - pros, cons, and industry impacts
July: Smart Growth
August: Camp Green Drinks #2; viewing two documentaries: "Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage" and "Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia"
September: Audience Choice Poll Winner: Local Living Economies
October: Green Cleaning & Beyond
November: Environmental Justice: Not in Our Backyard
December: Overlooked Labor Issues and Their Relation to Corporate Social Responsibility

2003

February: Chicago Green Drinks #1, no speaker/panel
March: Kent Lawson of Green Square Inc.
April: Charles Kubert, Environmental Law and Policy Center, on a job-creating renewable energy plan for the Midwest
May: Bil Becker, Aerotecture, LTD, modular wind turbines
June: Corporate Social Responsibility
July: Camp Green Drinks #1; viewing of Blue Vinyl documentary
August: Owners of Local Sustainable Businesses
September: Renewable Energy
October: Sustainable Design Education
November: "Green City Forum": Chicago Sustainability Programs and Issues with Sadhu Johnston, Assistant to the Mayor for Green Initiatives
December: Market-Based Approaches to Promoting Clean Energy Technology