This week, I spent a wonderful morning with the super-smart Sonny Masero learning about Cleanweb.  This is – the overlap between big data and clean tech.  Or – how to use the power of information to change the world.

It reminded me of the Scandinavian strategic response to EV’s – “we will invest in regulation and infrastructure around electric vehicles – however, our national strategy is to own the expertise, globally, in the technology underpinning their operation”.

And it seems to touch on exploding innovation spaces:

• it powers the sharing economy space by providing platforms to share e.g. Zipcar, AirBnB
• it provides the way to collect and transfer mobile information between phone holders and providers e.g. between bankers, weather forecasters, education providers and almost every Kenyan
• it will be the real revenue earner behind innovative new energy management products e.g. Nest

The case is made stronger by the recent acquisition of the Climate Corporation by Monsanto for $1bn.

What data could help you/us/them develop solutions for positive social and environmental change?

Ideas?  Please send them through…

Interested?  Keep watching this space…