Billing itself as "A network for young professionals sharing an interesting in sustainable development and the built environment," Sponge looks to be the coolest group I'd never heard of before this week.
Now, here are the caveats: I don't actually know any of these folks, nor have I been to any of their events, nor do I have any third-party reports of their work except a mention from our buddies over at Treehugger. The Sponge kids could be really mean, or smell bad, or serve as cover for a Romanian Ponzi scheme, for all I know, but, based solely on their website, they seem to just basically rock:
Sponge is a network of open-minded individuals who share a particular interest in sustainable development. These individuals generally work in, or are associated with the development of our built environment; from bricks and mortar through design, engineering and planning to communities and regeneration.Sponge provides a focus for fresh ideas in building; demonstrating how sustainable development can improve the quality of our built and natural environment. ...
The network of young professionals provides a "safe" environment in which to share ideas of common interest, give birth to new ideas and produce workable sustainable solutions. We aim to foster enthusiasm and encourage our members to drive improvement throughout the construction industry. On top of organising events and networking opportunities we hope to help Sponge members to influence policy through surveys and consultation workshops, and to get involved in improving the sustainability performance of specific projects.
Sponge throws or promotes some interesting events, like this showcase for cutting-edge research into sustainable cities. They seem pretty UK-focused, working closely with the BioRegional crowd.
I'd be interested to hear from Worldchangers: have you come across Sponge before? What do you think? What other networks of worldchangers do you belong to and find useful? Do you, for instance, go to the green drinks events?
