As our good friend Max Gladwell has pointed out repeatedly, the social web provides a wealth of opportunities to change the world through social media. Finnish start-up One Did It is shooting for a spot on Max’s list: this small company, which shared its story with us on the Finnfacts Clean Tech Bloggers Tour, aims to promote European approaches to thinking about sustainability through a decidedly Silicon Valley model. Their platform, which combines lifestyle assessment, action tips, and opportunities for friendly competition among its community, provides users with the means to measure the impact of their lifestyle choices, and to see the effects of behavioral changes on their environmental footprints.

What gets measured gets managed: the Ecological Backpack

It turns out that my use of the term “footprint” illustrates my American perspective on environmental impact; One Did It relies on the metaphor of the “ecological backpack,” which originated in Europe, and has really taken off in Germany. While similar to the footprint concept, the backpack approach provides a bit more comprehensive evaluation of the burden your choices place on natural systems.

Read more of this story »