Many people think that ridesharing is something that other people are doing: those rock’n roll-ers, virgin festival going groupies, hippies and tree huggers - the fact is that everyone can be interested in ridesharing, really everyone.

There is no demographic hierarchy that applies here. All kinds of people all going all sorts of places, and they are all thinking about how to get there in a way that has the smallest impact on our planet and that does not cost them a lot of hard-earned money. We all care about these things, well most of us do. From Sydney to San Francisco, skaters to triathletes, commuters to farmers, rock ‘n rollers to Beethoven enthusiasts..there is a compelling reason to rideshare, to come together, right now. And I know Eric blogged recently that you can’t be be everything to everyone and I agree with that. But I think we can be something to a whole lot of people and that PickupPal can helps us all get there from here.

-Suesan (Community Relations)

Here is some press on it:

• http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/351547
• http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/07/11/nb-concert.html

Have a great weekend,

Cheers - Eric

The bottom line for us in today’s world is to use the power of the internet and combine it with the people in a neighborhood to make changes and get things done. Carpooling/ride sharing seems a great place to start. (Source: Sometimes it’s the simple solutions)

And she also offers some smart advice on using sites like ours, if you’re concerned about privacy you can use a pseudonym, be selective about what information you provide and: “you can meet someone at an intersection and not in front of your home. (Source: Sometimes it’s the simple solutions)”

Citroen C-Cactus

I would expect a lot of other car manufacturers to follow suit soon.

In any event I was just having this total Seth Godin Moment where you realize that you can’t be everything for everyone - but you should strive to be the best for those that want what you got.

As a quick side note - I find it really inspirational to be associated with leaders like John Mayer, The Dave Matthews Band and all of our other partners in the music industry. There are a lot of things that an artist can do and say and get involved with and when they take the time to commit to something like a partnership with us I really find it humbling. It is this kind of leadership and trailblazing that paves the path to making a difference. Our joint vision is one that sees music fans getting together and making a significant difference in reducing CO2 emissions and working together to double up and cut down. It is more than words - it is a commitment and one that I find very inspiring.

Cheers - Eric
P.S. If you are going to Monday’s show in Toronto come by our booth at the Eco-Village and say hi! (Tell em Eric sent ya!)

We think the synergies are so close with what we are wanting to accomplish at PickupPal, that we’ve decided to form an alliance, and through that, create awareness for each other’s offering. On the surface, what GreenNexxus wants to do sounds similar to what others may be doing in green community building:

However, when you dig deeper, you get some perspective on the depth of knowledge within the organization….GreenNexxus provides the website and tools for all of the Al Gore Inconvenient Truth presenters globally (>2,000 people) to collaborate, sharing knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in giving the presentation and raising awareness for the dire situation the environment is in. In fact, one of the founders, Peter Corbyn, worked with Al Gore to train just over 250 Canadians to give the presentation.

Reach out to them – once there you can sign up and gain info about eco-projects, or start one. You can even donate to non-profit green organizations at their site and get discounts on green products.

If anyone gets it, and knows how to build/support a community in the eco space, it’s GreenNexxus, and we’re thrilled to be working with them.

Brent – EVP Business Development, PickupPal

Effective immediately, PickupPal will no longer charge drivers a 7% commission:

No fees, no accounting, nothing but 100% FREE enjoyment of PickupPal!

This also means that any and all commission amounts payable by drivers to PickupPal are canceled and no longer owing, period.

We are scrapping the 7% commission, effective immediately, because of the enormous environmental and user experience benefits that will result.

We have had such tremendous growth and are proud to be the largest internet ride sharing company in the world. We feel that by removing this commission PickupPal will be able to grow even faster and become one of the world’s leading green-house gas emissions reducers.

On behalf of everyone at PickupPal we thank you our valued members for your continued support.

So please, continue to have fun on PickupPal.com – and from now on, you keep the change!

Sincerely,

John Stewart
Founder – CEO

Then it was off to Calgary for the Virgin Festival and our booth in the eco-village - two days - thousands of fans! All part of the Rock-n-Roll Rideshare program in conjunction with our partnership to get fans to the festival. A ton of awesome interaction with hundreds of new members entering the “Win a Gibson Guitar” contest!

Cheers - Eric
P.S. Also I was able to meet Gord Downie - lead singer of the Tragically Hip - I have been a fan since January of 1990 - (yeah I am old!)

The practice of greenwashing is absolutely rife, most brand-name products are guilty. This is because green, eco-friendly and environmentally conscious ideas sell more units.

It’s fantastic that green issues are now front page news and part of public debate, but unfortunately this also means that companies are cashing-in on this valuable marketing spin.

My fear is not that people will stop talking about climate change. My fear is that they will talk us to Kingdom Come. ( Source: Monbiot )

It could be dubious claims of sustainability, clever use of terms like “green”, “eco”, “organic” or simply excessive use of the colour green. My own personal favourite is British Petroleums re-brand in 2000. At the time I remember thinking how blatant, but at the same time how powerful the effect is. Here is an oil company, the antithesis of green living, assuming the green guise with this bold sun flower logo.

British Petroleum: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Environmental marketing agency TerraChoice recently published the 6 sins of greenwashing:

1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off
   e.g. paper (including household tissue, paper towel and copy paper): “Okay, this product comes from a sustainably harvested forest, but what are the impacts of its milling and transportation? Is the manufacturer also trying to reduce those impacts?” Emphasizing one environmental issue isn’t a problem (indeed, it often makes for better communications). The problem arises when hiding a trade-off between environmental issues.
2. Sin of No Proof
   e.g. Personal care products (such as shampoos and conditioners) that claim not to have been tested on animals, but offer no evidence or certification of this claim. Company websites, third-party certifiers, and toll-free phone numbers are easy and effective means of delivering proof.
3. Sin of Vagueness
   e.g. Garden insecticides promoted as “chemical-free.” In fact, nothing is free of chemicals. Water is a chemical. All plants, animals, and humans are made of chemicals as are all of our products. If the marketing claim doesn’t explain itself (“here’s what we mean by ‘eco’ …”), the claim is vague and meaningless. Similarly, watch for other popular vague green terms: “non-toxic”, “all-natural”, “environmentally-friendly”, and “earth-friendly.”
4. Sin of Irrelevance
   e.g. CFC-free oven cleaners, CFC free shaving gels, CFC-free window cleaners, CFC-disinfectants. Could all of the other products in this category make the same claim? The most common example is easy to detect: Don’t be impressed by CFC-free! Ask if the claim is important and relevant to the product. (If a light bulb claimed water efficiency benefits you should be suspicious.) Comparison-shop (and ask the competitive vendors)
5. Sin of Fibbing
   e.g. Shampoos that claims to be “certified organic”, but for which our research could find no such certification. When I check up on it, is the claim true? The most frequent examples in this study were false uses of third-party certifications. Thankfully, these are easy to confirm. Legitimate third-party certifiers – EcoLogoCM, Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Green Guard, Green Seal (for example) – all maintain publicly available lists of certified products. Some even maintain fraud advisories for products that are falsely claiming certification.
6. Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils
   e.g. Organic tobacco. “Green” insecticides and herbicides.
   Is the claim trying to make consumers feel ‘green’ about a product category that is of questionable environmental benefit? Consumers concerned about the pollution associated with cigarettes would be better served by quitting smoking than by buying organic cigarettes. Similarly, consumers concerned about the human health and environmental risks of excessive use of lawn chemicals might create a bigger environmental benefit by reducing their use than by looking for greener alternatives.



At PickupPal we’re very careful to manage the ecological benefits of our product. Fundamentally, our product can improve air quality and have an impact on CO2 emissions, but we need the help of our community to do this. As a company we work in a paper-less and office-less fashion, using technology to reduce our burden on the environment and when the team needs to meet face-to-face we do so in shared meeting spaces.

Nevertheless, our product does come under some criticism. This normally centers around the 7% fee that we charge to Drivers for using our website. We came up with this as a way to pay for and maintain our service, but in an effort to make our service as accessible as possible we’ve decided to abandon the 7% fee, making our website completely FREE for everyone to use. There will be an official announcement on this shortly, but I mention to here to further illustrate our commitment to building a product that is serious about green-issues.

- Jonathan

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