If they were giving out gold medals to Olympic sponsors for sustainability, Coca-Cola would surely take home the gold.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver Coca-Cola is planning on becoming the first zero-waste, carbon-neutral Olympic sponsor. The Olympics have always been at the forefront of the green movement. Now, they are looking for sponsors who are willing to do more than just through down millions of dollars, they are looking for companies to also be sustainable.

The Coca-Cola Company is the longest continuous corporate supporter of the Olympic Games, and has been a sponsor since 1928.

Coca-Cola began implementing recycling efforts during the 2000 Athens Olympic Games, and later evolved with eco-friendly coolers and shirts made from plastic bottles. After sponsoring the Vancouver games in 2006, Coke found that the Olympic Torch Relay staff and Olympic Games staff “recycled bottle” shirts proved difficult when it came to standing up to low temperatures and large amounts of precipitation. Finding a supplier with the right technology to produce the shirts was an extra step in its sponsorship process. However, Coca-Cola keeps moving forward—they are one of the first companies to receive a “sustainability star” from the Vancouver Winter Olympics committee for the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games. In addition to making the Olympics committee happy, they are also giving consumers what they want. Expectations for sponsors of big events are rising and Coke believes their zero-waste sponsorship will surely raise the bar.

According to PlasticsNews.com, at the 2010 Olympics, “visitors will find café furniture made from pine-beetle-salvaged wood, drink out of bottles made from 30 based plant-based materials, and their beverages will be delivered via hybrid vehicles and electric cart. All are elements of Coca-Cola’s first zero-waste, carbon-neutral sponsorship.”
Some of Coca-Cola’s green goals:
1. Ensure that at least 95% of its waste materials is diverted from landfills
2. Arrange for all recyclable materials such as shrink wrap and cardboard trays to be sent to a recycling center in Richmond, BC
3. Collect and recycle 100% of the single-serve plastic bottles from beverages consumed in Games’ venues.
4. Use hybrid delivery vehicles
5. Arrange for all staff uniforms to be made out of recycled bottles

Read more about this at Advertising Age.

What do you think? Is having sustainable, carbon-free corporate sponsors at the Olympic Games important to you?

By Ellen Underwood

The airlines have always had a hard time making a profit. Plenty of airlines have gone bankrupt over the years, feel free to google “bankrupt + airlines” — there is no shortage of results. According to MSNBC.com, “In the United States alone, the Air Transport Association records at least 100 airline bankruptcies since deregulation in 1978.”

So what will the fall out be after the drop some airlines witnessed in 2009? According to the International Air Transport Association, both international passenger demand and freight has dropped off. We’ve already seen Japan Airlines fall into bankruptcy this month and American Airlines, a partner of Japan Airlines, lost money in the fourth quarter as well. One of the causes of the drop off in international passenger demand appears to be a mixture of business travelers staying home as well as vacation travelers. 

 Even with less passengers, some airlines have been able to do well. Southwest Airlines saw a profit in 2009. Thanks to the airlines “bags fly free” campaign, it has increased its market share by 1 percent and now serves more passengers than any other U.S. airline. They have even added service to four new airports and given their employees raises.

Other airlines that reported profits include Airtran and Continental.

The Huffington Post reported that the credit card companies are taking 3 percent of everything donated to Haiti.

I’m sure that anyone who wants to help, wants to help Haiti, not the credit card companies.

According to the Huffington Post, “Thanks to this hidden fee, American banks and credit card companies are making huge profits — somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 million a year — off of people’s charitable donations.”

They do mention that Capital One waives these fees.

Read the entire article.

According to the New York Times, “The number of food stamp recipients has climbed by about 10 million over the past two years, resulting in a program that now feeds 1 in 8 Americans and nearly 1 in 4 children.” They provide this map to show the breakdown.

In a related article, the New York Times claims that food stamps have lost the stigma they once held and that “the program is now expanding at a pace of about 20,000 people a day.” Food stamp use is at a record high.

With unemployment numbers not expected to drop anytime soon and food prices on the rise, how are these “safety nets” going to hold up?

 Short and effective video below. Enjoy.

I’m an iPhone guy, but even I was impressed with this really cool microsite made by Sprint to advertise their Now network.

Perhaps you aren’t aware of the Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) but it is huge. It’s one of the largest trade show in the world with 2,800 companies displaying approximately 20,000 new products in over a million square feet of exhibit space. All the new electronics are showcased there:  laptops, game consoles, and phones. Sounds cool, right?  Unfortunately, if you aren’t in the industry, you can’t get in. But don’t worry, everything at the expo will be on the market before you know it. For now, check out some of the new gadgets and electronics innovations on CNETs CES blog and CNN’s.

While we are on the topic of cool electronics, Google just dove further into the mobile phone space and is now selling Nexus One Android-powered phones.

This list might seem somewhat boring at first. But when you stop to think about the impact of the  choices that we’ve made as consumers you realize that we’ve changed the world. This list is from the Huffington Post.

1. Calling (I prefer texting to phone calls)
2.  Fax Machines
3.  Catalogs
4.  Encyclopedias
5. Newspaper Classifieds (some might say the newspaper entirely)
6.  CDs
7. Dial-up Internet
8. Film & Film Cameras
9. Yellow Pages
10. Wires

Okay, well some of these really aren’t obsolete… yet. However, its still interesting to think about all of the things that we no longer use. Unfortunately, what can you do with obsolete items except throw them away? Think of all the trash that these out-of-date items will create.

So, let me see if I can explain this properly: Citigroup needed to get bailed out. They got billions of dollars in taxpayer money. Now the American people own 36 percent of Citigroup and all of their bad assets. Citigroup decides to borrow money from investors in order to pay back the American people to avoid government interference in their business practices. Government tax authorities decide to give Citigroup a break on their tax obligation. Americans lose out on $38 billion dollars of tax revenue.

Would someone please explain to me why this is a good idea? Anyone else think its time to blow up the government and rearrange things?

Treasury wipes out profit from Citigroup

Watching and reading all of the coverage of Tiger Woods, you can’t miss the stories about Woods losing his endorsement mojo. I don’t get it. Will people actually throw away Gilette razors and stop buying them? (Assuming  that they are currently customers.)

Once again, America proves itself to be puritanical when it comes to extra-marital affairs. However, in some places it’s more accepted.  Opponents are typically the loudest voice so we don’t always know what the general public thinks or even if they care. Answer the Young Money Talks poll and let us know what you think.

Some advertisers are sticking with Tiger and some are not.

I’m one that doesn’t care whether the endorser is appealing, I buy based on value. And I’m still going to buy Nikes.

Wait, my mom said it would rot my brain! That may be true in the U.S. which has had access to unlimited TV for the last 60 years. But in developing foreign countries, TV is being shown to have positive effects.