Sustainable Pensions For A Sustainable Future

This article is about choosing a sustainable pension to contribute to a sustainable future.

Do you care about our planet? Are you advocating for sustainability?

There are many actions you can take to support sustainability and make sure we as a society and our planet have a cleaner, better future. You can move around town by bike instead of driving your car. You can mount solar panels on your house to cut down on your electricity bill.

If you believe these options are not for you and you are looking for something different, here it is – the sustainable pension.

What is a sustainable pension?

Irrespective of your pension provider, all pension plans work the same: your money goes into different stocks and bonds which help companies develop and grow. Therefore your pension savings have a big impact on the future: both as an individual and as a society.

Do you know where your pension money is going?

Have you ever thought about the companies which receive your money? Do you know who they are? What are they producing? Is their business model harmful to the planet?

Here are the main benefits of choosing a sustainable pension:

• You have control over which companies receive your money;
• You can avoid investments in harmful companies (producing fossil fuels, weapons or tobacco etc);
• You can invest in companies producing green energy, new technologies, medicine and health care solutions.
• You can choose companies with a high standard for ethics and responsible business practices.

Choose a sustainable pension to ensure the future is sustainable

Denmark has some of the world’s largest pensions savings so where the Danish place their money matters for their country and the world at large.

The problem is all Danish pension funds invest in coal, oil and gas. The Danish want to avoid catastrophic climate change as a society so choosing sustainable pensions is one way to achieve their goal.

Matter – Let your savings make a difference

Matter is the entrepreneurial initiative of two Danish visionaries – Niels Fibæk-Jensen and Emil Stigsgaard Fuglsang. They are the co-founders of Matter Pension and are supported by a team of five colleagues. Forbes 30 under 30 included Niels Fibæk-Jensen in its 2019 Europe list.

Matter & Skandia – partnership for sustainable pensions

The company is not a pension company; the initiative is a partnership with Skandia, a Danish pension provider.

Matter acts as a lead-generator for Skandia; it assists Skandia in analyzing and screening the investment portfolios associated with the savings of Matter customers.

We believe that pensions should be invested in making a positive social and environmental difference in order to build a world, we actually want to retire in.

Niels Fibæk-Jensen, cofounder at Matter Pension

How the Matter & Skandia partnership works

Screening criteria

The team at Matter has defined a list of criteria based on international UN agreements on areas such as human rights, climate and environment.

Based on this list, they exclude harmful companies that produce weapons, tobacco and fossil fuels, companies that do not respect human rights or are known to be involved in corruption.

They include companies that produce climate and environmentally friendly technologies, medicine and health care solutions.

Working together

Matter screens the investments, while Skandia is responsible for managing the assets and pursuing the highest possible return.

Conclusion

Sustainable pensions are a great way to ensure our future is better for our planet and our grandchildren.

It’s an innovative, long-term solution to the current climate change challenge.

It is also an incentive for today’s global business environment to start transitioning towards business models that are ethical, sustainable, have a positive impact on the workforce, society and planet at large.

Living in the past is damaging to your future

Living in the past is damaging to your future and makes it harder for you to enjoy the present.

What does living in the past mean?

Yes, we think fondly of our childhood years and remember the joyful moments of being a kid and later a teenager.

Our parents were younger, and we got to spend time with our grandparents who fed us lots of sweets, spoiled us rotten and told us wonderful stories. It’s a way to remember our personal history – it’s nostalgia.

It’s normal to feel nostalgic about the good old days.

But when you find yourself sharing old stories with your friends every time you meet over drinks, that’s a sign you should stop and think about it for a minute.

Why am I always talking about the past?

Am I not happy with the present?

The past can’t hurt you anymore, not unless you let it.

Alan Moore, author of V for Vendetta

Stuck between The Golden Past and The Disappointing Present

[bctt tweet=”If you find yourself consistently thinking of or talking about the past, it’s highly probable you are not happy with the present. #livinginthepast” username=”brand_minds”]

Maybe you were more successful in your job; maybe you earned awards for your achievements in sports or academia which made you feel good about yourself, increased your self-confidence and self-worth.

Think about any attachments that are depleting your emotional reserves. Consider letting them go.

Oprah Winfrey

Should statements – tools of self-punishment

The past shines brightly and it feels good to return to it over and over again because the present is unsatisfactory or utterly disappointing.

Your present doesn’t match your expectations.

The sign which should tell you that you are disappointed with your current life is thinking or speaking in sentences which start with I should/shouldn’t.

I should have been a successful lawyer…

I should have had a lot of money…

I shouldn’t have turned down that job offer…

Should statements can lead to increased panic, anxiety and even depression. Psychologists say should statements are cognitive distortions.

What are cognitive distortions?

Cognitive distortions are simply ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true. These inaccurate thoughts are usually used to reinforce negative thinking or emotions — telling ourselves things that sound rational and accurate, but really only serve to keep us feeling bad about ourselves.

John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

These shoulds and shouldn’ts are ironclad rules that we use to punish ourselves.

How do we feel when we hear these shoulds in our minds?

We feel guilt and shame. It’s aggression directed towards our own self. It’s punishment and anger. At that particular moment, we hate ourselves. And nothing good comes out of hate.

Suffering is not holding you. You are holding suffering. When you become good at the art of letting sufferings go, then you’ll come to realize how unnecessary it was for you to drag those burdens around with you. You’ll see that no one else other than you was responsible.

Osho

Decisions instead of mistakes

To curb this abusive behaviour, practise awareness – it’s healthier and helps you break the emotional barrier of should statements.

Go past your feelings of shame and guilt and allow for your rational judgement to take place.

You may be thinking about your past in term of making mistakes. Only they are not mistakes, they are decisions.

You never set out to make bad decisions, no one does.

You made good decisions. At that particular time, the reasons behind your decisions were correct. It’s what you decided based on the information you had at that moment. Once you realise this, you will feel empowered.

You don’t have a crystal ball to know the future so you couldn’t have possibly known that your decision would turn out to be negative.

You must also realise the future is outside of your control. Taking all this into consideration, why would you punish yourself with your past decisions?

Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.

Tryon Edwards

Make peace with yourself

Make peace with yourself and your past decisions.

Acknowledge your skills and talents.

Get yourself unstuck with the present.

Start imagining your future and begin working towards it.

Join the Conversation

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CES 2019 and The Future of Technology

CES 2019 — the world’s largest consumer technology show — will set the tone for the tech industry in 2019 and beyond.

The annual event is forecast to attract more than 180,000 attendees and 4,500 exhibiting companies.

Check out the video:

The future of medicine – editing our genes

Genetically inherited illnesses – can we edit them out of our genes?

In 2013, Angelina Jolie wrote a powerful article in New York Times entitled My Medical Choice in which she talks about her decision to have preventive double mastectomy – removal of both breasts. A blood test has revealed that she has inherited a faulty gene which increased her risk of developing breast cancer to 87% and ovarian cancer to 50%. It was a difficult reality for her to face but not a surprise since her mother, grandmother and aunt have died of breast cancer.

What if Angelina’s grandmother could have had her blood tested for this specific gene mutation? Unfortunately the technology was not available at that time. Would she still have died of breast cancer?

Had she known she carried the gene mutation that causes breast cancer, would she have done something to prevent it from being passed onto her female descendants?

These questions may seem rhetorical, but sooner than later, they will receive an answer: no, she wouldn’t have died of breast cancer and no, she wouldn’t have passed the killing gene mutation onto her daughters and granddaughter.

The Gene Editing Tool

CRISPR/Cas9 is the gene editing tool that will soon usher in a new era of disease-free world. The mechanism behind CRISPR was discovered in the ‘90s by Francis Mojica, a microbiologist. Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier & Feng Zang are the scientists who have transformed CRISPR/Cas9 into a gene editing tool.

How does CRISPR/Cas9 work?

The gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 is based on a natural defense system embedded in bacterial cells that recognizes and destroys invading viral DNA.

CRISPR/Cas9 searches a cell’s genetic material looking for a specific DNA sequence then once a match is found, it cuts the target DNA. Once the DNA is cut, the cell will then repair the cut with additional DNA provided by researchers.

What genes has CRISPR/Cas9 edited so far?

1.A team of researchers at The Francis Crick Institute in the UK used CRISPR/Cas9 to successfully stop a gene from producing a key protein called OCT4, causing embryos to collapse. The conclusion is that CRISPR/Cas9 could improve the treatment for infertility.

2. In August 2017, a team of doctors successfully corrected the gene that is known to cause a heart disease that affects 1 in 500 people – hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The novelty is that the correction was done on human live embryos before implantation. 

3. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have used CRISPR to target cancer’s “command center”, increasing survival rates and shrinking aggressive tumors without harming healthy cells in mice.

4. Scientists have edited HIV out of human immune cell DNA, and in doing so, have prevented the reinfection of unedited cells too.

What’s next for CRISPR?

So far, all interventions on DNA using CRISPR were executed on cells outside of the human body, living in petri dishes.

The next step for CRISPR technology is human trials meaning to edit cells inside the human body.

Here lies the challenge: finding a way to insert the CRISPR tool into the human body.

If the scientists are successful, CRISPR will be able to treat a number of serious diseases and even wipe them out forever.

Flying taxis by 2020 – a myth or a real posibility?

According to IGN News, UberAir wants to bring on-demand electric flying taxis to Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth by 2020 and a trip across Los Angeles via air would be roughly the same price as a ride in an UberX.

“Uber’s participation in NASA’s UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) Project will help the company’s goal of starting demonstration flights of uberAIR in select US cities by 2020. Uber wants to “explore other collaboration opportunities with NASA” with a view to open <<a new market of urban air mobility>>,” the ride-sharing company said in a statement, quoted by Economic Times.

Moreover, the flights will have a pilot during initial flights, but could be automated in the future.

“Uber is working with the cities of Dallas-Fort Worth and Dubai to get pilot programs launched. Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price both had expressed support in making the metropolitan area the first to experiment with VTOL and Uber’s Elevate pilot program. Uber also entered into a partnership with Dubai’s road and transportation authority to study demand in the region to work on pricing and network optimization. Dubai is also where Uber will attempt at unveiling the first public demonstration as part of the 2020 World Expo,” wrote Nathan Ingraham for engadget.com.

Accodring to Sarwant Singh and his opinion for Forbes, there are over 15 start-ups, globally, that are actively involved in building a future flying car, by his firm’s count. “The majority of these companies are based in the United States, however, there are participants from a host of other countries including the UK, France, Germany, Russia, Slovakia, Israel, Russia and Japan. Companies such as PAL-V, Terrafugia, Aeromobil, Ehang, E-Volo, Urban Aeronautics, Kitty Hawk and Lilium Aviation, have completed at least one test flight of their flying car prototypes. PAL-V has gone a step further and initiated the pre-sales of its Liberty Pioneer model flying car, which the company aims to deliver by the end 2018,” said Singh.

Also, Airbus plans to test Vahana, their personal mobility flying car by 2018, and  aims to build a mass transit flying vehicle as part of its long term air transport strategy. Furthermore, the company showcased an air drone powered flying car at the Geneva Motor Show, which it plans to develop in collaboration with Italdesign.

As the advantages are easily seen by everybody (less time spent in traffic, non pollution, better views, higher adrenaline, etc), we see no disadvantages yet besides the possible accidents that might happen until the technology is well established.

Still, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin he thinks flying cars are a dumb idea for city travel in a profile about his tunnel plans, on Business Insider. 

“Obviously, I like flying things,” Musk told Bloomberg. “But it’s difficult to imagine the flying car becoming a scalable solution.” According to Business Insider, Musk said flying cars need to generate a lot of downward force to not fall out of the sky, which would result in a lot of wind and noise for people on the ground. He also said there’s a risk of falling debris if falling cars were to get in a mid-air fender bender.

More reasons for not wanting flying cars you can find in this article. But we are pro.

Peter Diamandis and the future of asteroids

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis is an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions and commercial space. In 2014 he was named one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” – by Fortune Magazine. In the field of Innovation, Diamandis is Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, best known for its $10 million Ansari XPRIZE for private spaceflight. Moreover, he is the Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman of Human Longevity Inc. (HLI), a genomics and cell therapy-based diagnostic and therapeutic company focused on extending the healthy human lifespan. He is also the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Singularity University, a graduate-level Silicon Valley institution that studies exponentially growing technologies, their ability to transform industries and solve humanity’s grand challenges.

In the field of commercial space, Diamandis is Co-Founder/Co-Chairman of Planetary Resources, a company designing spacecraft to enable the detection and prospecting of asteroid for precious materials. He is also the Co-Founder of Space Adventures and Zero-Gravity Corporation.

Diamandis is the New York Times Bestselling author of Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think and BOLD – How to go Big, Create Wealth & Impact the World. He earned an undergraduate degree in Molecular Genetics and a graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Diamandis’ mission is to open the space frontier for humanity. His personal motto is: “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”

In 2016, the Greek Government honored him by issuing a 1.2 Euro stamp into circulation. Also in 2016, the book How To Make A Spaceship  – A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight, Peter’s biography and the story of the XPRIZE was written by Julian Guthrie with a Foreword by Richard Branson and an Afterword by Prof. Stephen Hawking.

His latest business, Planetary Resources plans to mine asteroids and has drawn funding, according to The Independent UK, from Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, real estate mogul Ross Perot Jr, the film director James Cameron and Richard Branson. “These near-Earth asteroids, many of which are much easier to get to than the Moon’s surface, are rich in rocket fuel, construction materials and strategic metals such as platinum. They’re the low hanging fruit of the solar system,” said Diamandis.

His ambitions plan to identify, explore, tag, and eventually mine some of the thousands of asteroids within 5 million to 10 million miles away and which contain valuable resources. “Much of human exploration has been driven by humanity’s search for resources,” Diamandis told PM. “The value proposition of going after resources has fueled humanity and allowed it to make the large investments required to open frontiers.”

“Water is one of the top materials that extraterrestrial resource-hunters will target. It would be valuable to future space missions as both life support and and drinking water for astronauts, and as the material for rocket fuel, which can be made from water’s constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen. They also hope to obtain platinum-group metals, which are abundant in asteroids. Diamandis estimates that a single 500-meter-wide asteroid could contain as much platinum and other rare (on Earth) metals than have been mined in all of history,” writes http://www.popularmechanics.com.

Jeff Bezos – Amazon, the new robots company

“Everything we have been learning so far on this robot can be applied to solve real-world problems,” the designer previously said on his Facebook page.

Bulgarov is famous for working on film series such as Transformers, Robocop and Terminator.

According to The Telegraph, Method-2 is seen as a test-bed for various technologies that will allow the creators to build any type and size of robot in future.

How to find inspiration

When being on your own passion is what drives you the most and keeps you going even when dealing with harder choices or long hours. Knowing that you are working towards a goal and making a dream come true is essential. But what does one do when is faced with a moment of lack of inspiration, where does one find it, especially when faced with a deadline? Even the more creative and inspiration people have found out that is not that easy to answer the question and even they have been faced with this problem.

Here are some of the ideas we have for you and that we know work.

Change the place that you are working from

Being “stuck” at a desk or the same environment may prove out to be a good reason for loosing inspiration or seeing things from the same angel. Going out, even for only an hour, taking out the laptop and working from the park or a nearby coffee shop with a great view may change your opinion about how you see things and help you discover a fresh view. The outdoors can do magic for new ideas.

Do sports

Breaking the work pattern with an hour of swimming or running can clear up your mind of problems and stress. The endorphins being released can help you revitalize your mind and body and also focus better in the future.

Leave your phone behind

By totally disconnecting from your daily work, you get to be again in touch with yourself and your passions and remind you what truly brought you into this path. Meeting new people, talking with friends about other subjects will open yourself to new perspectives and ideas, which will ultimately translate into inspiration.

Listen to and / or play music

Music is an eternal source of imagination and inspiration and helps you reach into your emotion and feelings. But at the same time it can help you clear up your mind and put ideas in order.

Find a quiet place

Peace can also help if you have a very stressful period of time, with many projects. Time to listen to the ideas in your “head” may be always a good thing.

source: glassdoor.co.uk

Spend time online

Reading and looking through different news and pieces of information helps your brain remain active and ready to spark an idea that can be unique and original. Knowledge is also key to inspiration, as it creates a fertile soil for innovative ideas to emerge.

Brainstorm

Surrounded yourself by people who think differently than you and that live different lifestyles and challenge them to a brainstorming. This process will definitely offer you new perspectives and ideas that you would have never come up with on your own.

Broaden Your Horizons

Traveling is a great way to see how the rest of the world lives. You can get inspiration from seeing new ways of doing things or discovering needs you didn’t know existed.

Study History

History is full of great ideas. What’s more, it often contains the processes and the influences behind those great ideas. Tracing the creativity of great minds in the past can help you find new solutions in the present.

Simplify:

Sometimes a lack of inspiration can come from working on too many projects. Just try and focus on solving one problem at a time.

Keep Pushing:

Anyone can have one good idea. Unfortunately, you need a lot of good ideas to make a business work. The best entrepreneurs relentlessly follow up on their first idea and keep picking away at new problems for as long as it takes.

 

 

The future, closer to us than we might think

By 2045, the futurists, quoted by dailymail, foresee ‘talking’ buildings, windows being replaced by augmented reality screens and self-healing, self-driving planes. Moreover, one expert believes we may even ditch technology completely and go back to pens and paper, while another predicts candles and incense sticks will become heavily regulated over health concerns.

The predictions have been made by artificial intelligence specialists, roboticists and futurologists from Australian universities as well as experts from UK-based plant hire company Hewden. Him, with futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, particularly focused on how buildings will adapt over the next 30 years. By the middle of the century, Dr Pearson believes buildings will have artificial intelligence ‘personalities’ and will be able to ‘talk’ to people. Homes and offices will collect and process data from various sensors to flag up when repairs are needed or when the heating needs to be turned on.

But some innovations are already here, surprising us. Sony is one of the brands that keeps on giving, on several areas and industries. The brand has recently announced a new series of SD cards it is touting as “ the world’s fastest.” The maximum write speed for the SF-G series will soar up to 299 MB/s, while the read speed will hit 300 MB/s. “For comparison, Amazon’s current bestselling SD card can only handle 80 MB/s read and write speeds. The cards will be available in 32GB, 64Gb, and 128GB variations. Part of this increase in speed capability is thanks to the cards’ support of the UHS-II interface, which means the cards sport an extra row of connecting pins for better transfer speeds. Sony has yet to announce pricing for these speedy cards, but they have listed them as being available as soon as Spring 2017,” writes Futurism.com.

According to Business Insider, Ford of Spain collaborated with Espadaysantacruz Studio to create a crib that simulates the conditions of driving to put your baby to sleep. Called the “Motor Dreams” crib, it was created for an ad campaign for their MAX models. It features sounds of an engine, gentle movement imitating traffic, and LED lights that mimic street lights. It’s all controlled by a smartphone app that can reproduce your car’s movement. Ford is thinking more about a real production model. The crib will be given away in a raffle.

“It can intimately adhere to the skin and simultaneously provide medically useful biofeedback such as electrophysiological signals,” said Chi Hwan Lee, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering at Purdue University. “Uniquely, this work combines high-quality nanomaterials into a skin-like device, thereby enhancing the mechanical properties.” You can read more at: https://phys.org/news/2016-11-biomedical-skin-like-bandage-stretchy-durable.html#jCp

What we can for sure see is that the future really looks beautiful. Let’s hope it will also make us happy.

5 Free Instagram Analytics Tools for Marketers

Finding the right strategy that will for sure help your brand is not an easy task. The right Instagram tools can provide analytics to inform your social media strategy and content scheduling. If you are looking for some free tools to help your business on Instagram, we have 5 ideas that would come in handy.

Instagram Insights

If you’ve  set up your Instagram business account, you have access to free analytics through the Instagram app. Instagram Insights provides basic stats for assessing your Instagram marketing efforts. Find out more about your followers, when they’re on Instagram, and what your top posts are. This information will help you choose content more likely to resonate with your audience.

To access these insights, tap the bar chart icon in the top-right corner of the app. The first analytics screen shows high-level insights for the last week and comparison stats for the week before. You can view your total impressions, reach, profile views, and website clicks. It also shows your top posts and stats for your  Instagram stories from the last 24 hours. Swipe to the right to see your reach. Swipe right one more time to see website clicks data.

source: TechCrunch

You can also view your top posts insights, just by tapping the see more link next to top posts and the top six posts from the past seven days sorted by impressions. The tool also allows you to see followers insights. Back on the main Insights page for your account, scroll down to the Followers chart of times when your followers are on Instagram. Also, if you’re running paid  Instagram ads, the Promotions section of the main Insights screen gives you relevant stats on your campaigns.

Socialbakers

With Socialbakers, you can get a free report on your most popular Instagram photos, filters, and hashtags, and all of your interactions with followers. The most useful sections are the most liked and most commented posts because this information can help inform the types of images you use in future Instagram posts.

To get your free report, go to  Socialbakers’ Free Instagram Analytics Tool and click Login With Instagram.

Simply Measured

Simply Measured offers a free Instagram report for users with up to 25,000 followers. The stats and insights are presented clearly and will help inform your Instagram posting strategy. The report lets you quickly see what has worked well in your Instagram marketing, so you can apply these insights to future posts. To get started, type your Instagram account name in the text box and click Authenticate With Any Instagram Account. Then log in and authorize Simply Measured to access information from your Instagram account. When you receive your report, you’ll find three tabs of information: Charts, Scorecard, and Appendix. The buttons in the top-right corner of the screen let you download the report to Excel or export it to PowerPoint.

On the Charts tab, you can view a wealth of insights about your most engaging posts and average engagement per post. Moreover, the Engagement chart shows Instagram engagement over time. See total engagement, engagement as a percentage of followers, and information on likes and comments your photos and videos received.

You can also examine the Scorecard (it gives you some basic stats about your Instagram account) and Appendix Tabs (check out a table of your top posts sorted by highest engagement with the date of the post, type, likes, comments, and total engagement – likes and comments).

Union Metrics 

It offers a free Instagram account checkup to assess how you’re doing on the network. While the report isn’t as comprehensive as some others, it offers handy nuggets of data for marketers. It helps you determine the best time to post,  which hashtags to use, and what content to post more (or less) of. It also highlights your top followers and reminds you to engage with them. To access your free report, click Start Your Checkup on the home page and then sign up for a Union Metrics account.

You can view the number of posts by day. Use the icons in the top-right corner of the page to share, print, or download your report. Scroll down to examine more stats with recommendations from Union Metrics, such as the best time and day to post. You can also view stats and visuals for your top-performing posts. If you click the circles on the hashtag report, you can see more information about the hashtags, which is a handy feature.

Squarelovin

With  Squarelovin, you can get free basic Instagram analytics. The Optimization section offers insights that help inform Instagram posting. The “worst times to post” information is especially valuable. First, you’ll need to  sign up for a Squarelovin account. On your dashboard, you can view high-level stats and access additional analytics screens. On the Postings tab, you’ll get information on your post history and top posts. It also shows your posts by year and month and day and time. The Engagement tab shows information on likes and comments, and highlights the top liked and top commented posts. The Optimization tab shows the best time and day to post on Instagram, but also the worst times to post on specific days.

If you use different filters on Instagram, you can also view the impact of those filters. Moreover, the report lets you see all of the Instagram hashtags you’ve used next to a list of the most popular hashtags. You can quickly see if you’re using top hashtags or if you need to rethink your hashtag strategy.

Understanding whom your Instagram fans are and what content they engage with and when will give you ideas for future content to share on the network.