“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, designed or removed from production.” – Pete Seeger, Folk Singer & Social Activist
In this day and age, fashion and individuality is highly recommended/recognized. We all have our own ‘style’ and our own brands that we support because they ‘speak to our fashion senses’. We are also always concerned about, and interested in, what is trending in the fashion world. However, who would have thought that fashion would come second, after the oil industry, on the chart polluters in the world?
In an attempt to ‘fix fashion’s pollution problem’, Amit Karla made three valid suggestions:
Design recycleabe clothing
Design compost clothing
Instead of using the long lasting, harsh dyes on clothing, use dyes that can be easily accessible by everyone. He also suggested dyes from natural spices.
I strongly agree that ‘designing clothes with their death in mind’ is a good idea. What do you think?
Climate change is a matter we are all aware of. However, do we know the negative effects climate change is having on nature?
According to the acciona article, the global increase in temperature is having negative impacts on physical, biological and human systems. It also states that each impact affects the other, as all aspects are interrelated.
Physical – melting in the poles, glaciers, snow and ice; drought; flooding in rivers and lakes.
Biological – wildfire among plant lives and the relocation of flora and fauna in search of ‘better life conditions’.
Humans – destruction of crops and livelihood, desease and death.
This article successfully highlights the impacts of climate change. However, I strongly believe that the real questions, at this point , should be:
What are the major causes of climate change?
Is there anything that can be done to reduce/prevent climate change?
As the ‘Green Team’, we should all know that one of the keys to reversing climate change is proper sustainability practices. We might think that we can not make a difference alone but a wise man once said, “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones”. I believe that change start on an individual level and, so, I implore us, from this day onward, to start personal sustainability practices and eventually influence those in our environments to join in the ‘change’.
Under normal circumstances I do not succumb to pressure. However, it was my birthday and my son did persuade me to, well, EAT MEAT! The tragic incident occurred on March 11th, 2019 at, approximately, 6:38pm. I can clearly recall ordering Dahl and Roti from the restaurant for myself and curry chicken for my son. Unfortunately, I didn’t check our bags until we were home and ready to eat. Sadly, my Dahl was missing and my son did jump at the opportunity to force me to eat some of his chicken. Of course, I was reluctant but he eventually persuaded me to consume it.
After the fact, I felt ill. I am unsure if I felt ill because of guilt or because my system got used to the vegetables instead. I intend to go back to my regimen and I also intend to randomly switch and eat meat for a night. The purpose of this will be to note how my body will react to the change. I will let you know the date I plan to do the ‘change reaction experiment’, the process and the results. In addition, because I broke my regimen I intend to extend my time frame to April 12th. It is after the 12th that I will do the experiment.
Plans for my Eat Less Meat journey:
Go back to my original fruits and vegetables diet.
Choose a random date to eat meat. The purpose of this is to see how my body will react to the change of food.
Note the date I disobeyed my regimen – March 11th 2019
Note the date I resume my regimen – March 12th 2019
Post the date I intend to break my regimen – TBA
Note the changes that occurred throughout my journey
Note: Whenever you go to any store please remember to check your bags before you leave.
This video highlights that today, in the 21st century, sustainability is playing a very important role in society’s development. It successfully zoomed in on the changing of technological, ecological and economical dynamics of this growing era. It gives a detailed description of shifts in sustainability practices which, today, focuses on the interest of the end user and sustainable outcome for overall systems. The entire presentation is centered around the effectiveness of sustainability in the modern world. I deem this video as very detailed one. Also, its information and presentation are properly structured. Indeed, it is an excellent educational presentation.
Eat less meat! Promote healthy lifestyle! Rebuild a healthy planet!
At the start of the semester, I highlighted the importance of consuming less meat. Since then, I have been following such practices. It has been a very hard task since my son is always eating meat around me. I have to say that temptation has been playing a very important role in my ‘meatless’ journey. Also, most times, I have to prepare two different meals at home. This tend to be very time consuming. However, I have been doing a good job and I am very proud of my results.
Furthermore, my diet mainly consists of fruits and vegetables. For breakfast I consume fruit smoothes with a side of any nut; lunch- I have vegetable salads, pastas, vegetable loaves, etc.; dinner varies and would be the heaviest meal of my day. I do know that breakfast should be the heaviest meal however, time does not allow me to change this aspect of my diet as yet but I am working towards it. Also, I do try to have my last meal by 6pm everyday, 7pm the latest.
My observations since I start my ‘meatless’ journey:
My skin has a healthy glow.
I am experiencing slight weight loss.
I feel less tired.
I look less droopy than I usually do.
I tend to be more energetic.
Improved cognitive thinking skills .
I have more positive energy/mood through out my days.
I intend to continue this practice for the duration of March. What have you been doing to make a change?
How often do we leave lights and electronics, that are not in use, on?
I live with my 11 year old son and it is a habit for us to leave our electronics running. From time to time, he would leave his games on to go watch the television; while charging his portable electronics. There are also times when we would walk out of a room and forget to turn the switch off. To be honest, these ‘bad habits’ have never been a bother to us. However after researching and reviewing the various types of sustainability practices we conclude that, as small as the action may be, we too can practice sustainability.
My son and I are still constantly working towards conserving. Yes, we still have room for improvement, as we are not yet at the point we wish to be, but it is a start. You too can work towards sustainable practices. Below are some ideas of simple practices that you can still enjoy.
Take showers, not baths.
Don’t leave taps running.
Ride a bike, instead of driving, short distances.
Unplug appliances that are not in use.
Consider going meatless for at least one week.
Use both sides of the paper.
Turn lights off when not in use.
Plant a tree.
Use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic bags.
Install a low-flow shower head .
Hope you find this useful. Looking forward to working together to change this world one step at a time.
I really love and enjoy documentaries. If you do too, then this link is perfect for you. I find it very interesting and hope you will deem it informative. Enjoy!
The New York Times described James Rogers as “one of the industry’s most passionate supporters of sustainable energy”. In 1988 Mr Rogers was offered a job for a electrical utility, PSI Energy, that was on the verge of bankruptcy. NYT highlighted that instead of dismissing the environmentalists, James constantly met with them and brainstormed about how to get the company on a solid foundation.
He also met with climate experts, throughout the 1990s, when the public was concerned about climate change. It was he that suggested the passing of the federal carbon cap law in 2001. This law was created to limit the amount of carbon dioxide produced in the United States. Also, any company that releases more than the assigned carbon limit had to cover the penalty expenses.
Mr. James E. Rogers eventually became the chief executive of Duke Energy and, shorty after, he presented Duke Energy board of directors with an astonishing plan. The plan was to ““decarbonize” Duke by 2050, effectively revamping the utility so that it would emit very little carbon dioxide.” Furthermore, Duke`s practices were mainly operating coal-fired generated plants and by 2005 approximately 50% of every was coal generated. This figure fell to 33% in 2017.
Mr. Rogers retired in 2013, but this did not stop him from aiming to positively impact the community. His Energy and focus was geared towards how “rural people in low-income nations could gain access to clean, sustainable energy” and by 2015 he published his book, “lighting of the world”.
Unfortunately, the article zooms in on the death of Mr. Rogers. However, it is quite an intriguing post. Should we focus on 1988, when James was offered the job position, we would notice that he had the option to decline as he was being offered a position in a job extremely close to bankruptcy. Mr. Rogers, however, took the offer and in return made a complete change in the industry. While he had the option to only focus on profitability, he used his ‘power’ to practice, enforce and maintain sustainability. One can also conclude that ‘team work’ and communication played a great role in the success of Duke Energy. This was evident in the variety of extensive meetings that were held with the environmentalists.
I would like to to add that Mr. Roger’s success is reflection of who he was as an individual and what he believed in. This teaches that, your character does play an important role in the growth of your company. Savitz did highlight that ‘who you are defines what your organization stands for’. Sadly, Roger recently passed in December of 2018 but the Duke Energy company and other electric utility companies today still successfully follow the sustainability practices he started.
Proper sustainability practices can be blamed for many of today’s business upward mobility. It is Andrew Savitz that describe sustainability as “the common ground shared by business interest and the interest of the public”. This is to enable businesses to gain profits while ensuring that human beings are satisfied and able to enjoy a clean healthy environment. Therefore, this requires companies going ‘green’; it requires practices which are socially and environmentally friendly; practices that are guaranteed to bring long term success to any business. However, there are some argue that businesses should not have social and environmental responsibilities.
In “The Backlash Against Sustainability (chapter 5- TBL)” Andrew Savitz describes these people as the ‘skeptics’. They argue against the idea of sustainability in general and believe that the aim of profitability should be the goal a business. It is their belief that the government should be held responsible for the social aspects of business. Furthermore, Milton Friedman is one skeptic who strongly believes that the business of a business is to use its resources to maximize profits. He, like other skeptics, would add that anything other than profitability would be a distraction to the business.With that said, what is the true business of a business? Is it to meet the “sweet spot” in society? Is it supposed to be based solely on profitability?
The article entitled “Milton Friedman was wrong: Corporations do have social responsibility” summarizes the answer to our curiosity. It too highlights that, Mr. freeman does enforce profitability over the overall environmental well being on the condition that social welfare is government based, ‘which safeguard the commons by enacting laws and regulatons’. It further went on to state that there are businesses which followed through with ‘Friedman’s restricted definition of corporate responsibility’. However, many are now aware of sustainability rewards to both the business and community. Therefore, it teaches that, indeed, businesses should be concerned about social and environmental welfare of a business.
I do appreciate this article because it zoom in on different perspectives and successfully highlights the importance of sustainability practices. It also teaches that there will be people with contradicting views but we should always focus on how everyone, from stakeholders to customers, can benefit from a business venture. In addition, we can easily conclude that the business of a business is not ‘business’ , as the skeptics do believe, but it is the environamnet on a whole. In other words once the environment is taken care of socially and economically then the business with automatically be on its path to success.
Many strive to make their company more sustainable but are often times bypassing the importance of setting measurable goals. This, however, is not always the case and any company which can successfully integrate into its sustainability approach should be commended.
One such company is the Sustana Group. Sustana group is already one of the leading group in sustainability with one of the smallest footprints among in the recycling of fibers and paper product industry. They, in an attempt to transform into a complete systemic change, recently published their new strategy which “highlights the company’s environmental stewardship, sets benchmarks for future measurement and commits to working continuously to make its footprint smaller each year”. According to Michele Bartolini (senior marketing directing), “This new, comprehensive sustainability strategy will enable the company to address today’s global environmental and social challenges,”
This strategy is note worthy as it is designed to focus on the people, planet and products. Furthermore encouraging a thriving organization and community, environmental stewardship and circular value chain and products. Also, in order to continue to grow and strengthen their sustainability approach they created a very strategic plan to track their impactful goal over the years to come. In addition, in the Triple Bottom Line – “The Age of Sustainability”, Savitz emphasized that sustainability success is totally dependent on a goal oriented team with measurable goals. Therefore, Sustana Group is already on the path to long term success.
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