Calling all Earthkeepers

I have an exciting opportunity that I would like to share with the Progressive U community—the “Calling all Earthkeepers” Video Contest, which offers entrants the chance to win $5,000 to further their environmental work. Much like Progressive U, The Timberland Company is working to leverage the web to create social value and activate change.

On June 10, Timberland announced the global launch of the Earthkeeper campaign, a movement to recruit one million people to become part of an online network designed to inspire real environmental behavior change.

The Earthkeeper network is a forum where people who share energy and interest in the notion of protecting our planet can share information and inspiration, and the Earthkeeper campaign will be a way to translate lots of passionate talk and ideas into positive, practical action.

Why TBL developed the EK campaign:

There’s an emerging effort by companies to try to figure out how to engage with consumers about the environment. One key question is how to do it appropriately.

Timberland is widely seen as an innovator in CSR practices, and the company believes that businesses have a responsibility to the community and to its consumers to do "good." Timberland's goal is to inspire environmental stewardship by consumers.

Timberland has been "walking the walk," or “Earthkeeping,” for years, and good CSR practices have been critically important internally. Efforts have been shared periodically w/ a niche group of targeted peers and thought leaders through CSR conferences like Ceres and BSR Annual Conferences, but not much energy has been spent in educating consumers of Timberland's CSR in a way that is meaningful and impactful to this important group.

So, what is the Earthkeeper campaign?

As part of the Earthkeeper program, Timberland has launched an innovative global network of online social networking tools, including partnerships with Changents.com, a strong Facebook presence, a YouTube Earthkeeper Brand Channel and a richly-populated Earthkeeper blog. Uniting these various Earthkeeper “channels” is www.earthkeeper.com, a website which allows users to navigate through the Earthkeeper network based on their level of interest in learning more or engaging in Earthkeeping.

Earthkeepers can share ideas and activities via these online venues, making it quick, simple and entertaining to learn, and discuss greener lifestyles. Earthkeeper forums have been created on YouTube (www.earthkeeper.com/youtube), Facebook (www.earthkeeper.com/facebook), Changents.com (www.earthkeeper.com/changents), and the Earthkeeper blog (www.earthkeeper.com/blog).

How online social networking can lead to real environmental action:

We know that most of us are aware that the environment is in trouble, and that many of us don't know how to fix it. The Earthkeeper campaign helps us see that every little thing we do can help- and, together, we can inspire each other to do more. The Calling All Earthkeepers contest invites us to share our Earthkeeping story, and have a blast while doing it!

Calling all Earthkeepers contest:

• YouTube is a site that most of us use, "just for fun." But what if YouTube was a venue on which real environmental action could be shared, thereby inspiring real eco action among the larger, offline population? The Timberland Company is hosting a revolutionary contest, where everyday Earthkeepers are invited to document and share their own Earthkeeping projects. Earthkeeping can be anything you do to lighten your environmental footprint- from ditching your car for the summer and commuting to work on bike, setting up a communal compost bin in your neighborhood, or adopting an abandoned city lot and creating green space. These projects can be funny or serious, and can be independent projects, group projects, or school projects. Videos can be uploaded until July 26, and will be posted on the Earthkeeper channel at http://www.youtube.com/earthkeepers.
• You decide how you want to share your story: You can simply upload your Earthkeeping video to the YouTube contest- where the winners in each of three categories -- 1. most humorous, 2. most unique/informative, and 3. most motivating/engaging -- will receive $300 worth of Timberland gear.
• And, if you are really inspired, and believe you can start an eco-movement with your concept, enter the "Be an Earthkeeper Hero" competition. To win this phase of the contest, you'll need to attract "backers"- but don't worry, we'll give you the tools to do this using the storytelling platform on Changents.com. You'll upload your video to http://www.changents.com/earthkeepers-int, and start promoting yourself by sharing photos, blog entries, podcasts, Twitters and more. The grand prize winner will receive a $5,000 prize, an opportunity to be featured in a 2009 Timberland advertising campaign, plus $500 in TBL gear.

We'd love to hear what you think of the network, so your comments are welcome- either by posting them to the Earthkeeper blog or Facebook group page.