SDCA

PETS - THEY'RE KILLING US - a last rant

Can I please have some comment on the impact of domestic pets. I took the ecological footprint - came in at 4.2 planets (sad to say - but flyings bad), but there was no impact given to domestic pets - who fart copious amounts of methane (at least in my home), eat meat almost daily, and are a waste (yes, unless they are doing something meaninful, like stopping the house getting burgled, rather than rolling over for a tummy rub, they are a waste).
In terms of waste - the domestic pet industry is a huge growing industry in the billions - much of it pointless and again, showing the excess and watse of the developed world.
I understand they have some medicinal benefits - assign one to each hospital and school. But if people weren't obese to start with, they wouldn't need an excuse to own a pet- plus pet owners are a mixed bag - notice how they resemble the owners ;-) in looks and weight.
It might sound harsh - but surely I'm not alone in my views that domestic pets should be curtailed. Far better off having pets of local threatened wildlife that have had their forests destroyed by our greed, than another dog or cat.

A smallstep for your lawn, a big step for Las Vegas.

The industry is not always the main culprit in droughts: check out this video, and you will see your backyard choices are important.

It is probably a proof that a sustainable developpement era is coming to the US!

VEJA SNEACKERS !

I give you the link if you are interested in the VEJA company and its sustainable development policy, and also if you want to buy sneackers !!

Eco vandals trash neighboor's Hummer SUV!!!

you thought your neigbor wouldn't approve your choice of car, but this tops it! check the following video of a vandalised hummer..... pretty funny!

Interesting concept: "la théorie de la décroissance" :

I have spent several hours trying to find the english expression of this recent concept, which is called in France la théorie de la décroissance. So, as I think it's a really interesting theory, I'm gonna try to explain it to you guys and maybe you will help me find the english words for it...
La théorie de la décroissance ( maybe decrease theory or ungrowth theory ) is a political, economical and social concept, opposed to the current political consensus around economic growth. It totally tackles the prevailing idea that the increase in merchandises production (goods and services) leads to a better quality of life. So, it suggests that we should decrease both production and consumption, and that it is the only way we have now to respect climate, ecosystem and to save us.
Once one ecological footprint's individuals or groups is superior to one earth, there is no economic development model which allows to keep a viable environment.
Think about it: do you really buy stuff that you really need ? Does your life depend on it ? Many of our purchases are far from necessary: they just respond to artificial needs created by firms and marketing / communication ...
So, you could always argue that we can't stop consuming and producing, and I agree with you. But at least we can think about our ways of consumption and try to make some changes: do we really need all this ?
Moreover,one can always argue that stop consuming and producing would also create unemployment, a decrease in purchasing power, and eventually social violences. It could also seems to be a recessive idea.
I hoped what I wrote was understandable t and if you can help me and tell me if there is an english expression for it and some action groups that exist it would be great !

what s wrong with neoclassical economics???

To illustrate what we talked about this morning i just would like you to read this Robert Solow comment : “if it is very easy to substitute other factors for natural resources, then there is in principle no ‘problem.’ The world can, in effect, get along without natural resources, so exhaustion is just an event, not a catastrophe.”!!!!!

Do we really need to think that hard to solve this one??? C'mon!

It’s late and phone sex service is not available, so I decided to reflect on a solution! Subsequent to my reading of the course article entitled “Economic man, cleaner planet”, I became enlightened by the market-based solutions proposed in the article (as an alternative or complement to conventional “command & control” approach such as heavy regulation)

My solution is simple:

- You want to flush the toilet 35 times per day – PAY FOR IT!!! (i.e. scaled rates beyond a linear cost model…)
- You want to let your lights running all day – PAY FOR IT!!!! (we already have a scaled-rate system in Canada)
- You want an big SUV with an 8 cylinder engine that runs on gasoline? – PAY FOR IT!!! (e.g. additional taxes based on emissions output ratio)

I really believe in the market-based approach. Price sensitivity is a universal concept (mostly anyways), which can very effectively alter purchasing patterns and consumer behavior. Couple this (i.e. pricing strategy upheld by government at the retail level geared towards pricing commensurate with environmental footprint) with a marketing campaign to educate and continue to raise awareness and I believe results would be better than actual (in Canada anyway). If I reflect on Canadian practices (e.g. washing our driveways as Genevieve mentioned), we are definitely not using our scare resources in an efficient manner (i.e. extremely poor service efficiency ratio!!!)

Pressure at the retail level will filter its way up the chain. In addition, how about companies having to contribute to a environment fund based on their environmental footprints (which would really incentivize them!).

All of this seems so obvious…but we don’t need rocket-science to figure this one out! The difficulty lies in the behavioral change needed and this can only come with a highly level of consciousness that comes with education.

I ask: would this be difficult?

Peace in the Middle East,

sAdam

Water crisis in Egypt 2007

Hey Folks,

Take a look at this short but eye opening video clip...Makes you appriciate the clean water you have!!!

Thush

Supplier commmitment

I found an article outlining how Peugot are trying to ensure that their suppliers follow the same guielines as them with regard to sustainable development. For me it is good to see a large company that can exert some power over smaller suppliers having an initiative like this. Large firms need to act as leaders and pull the smaller firms along behind them.

The article is short and to the point so give it a read

Change management in the US

Michael, and the other students from the US, may have seen this article all ready, but for those who have not and are wishing the US would jump onto the Global fight against climate change will be happy to hear that an other large State, namely Florida (good thing the President's brother is no longer Governor..!) will institute new emission laws to combat global warming. They have finally seen the repercussion of global warming on their state...maybe the Governor recently saw Former VP Gore's movie...;-) Please click the attached link

This is the second very large state to embark in the fight against global warming, after California. When will the federal government see that their own people want to see leadership from them and begin to steer this huge ship towards the global fight against GHG. From a change management perspective this is a perfect case study. We all know that to effect change a champion needs to be identified, in this case the US now have two big states on board. This should cause serious pressures on the Bush administration to consider an action plan finally.

Any thoughts!

JM

Water Shortage

There is so many good blogs and I find it unfortunate that I won't be able to read them all carefully. That being, in those I've read, I haven't really seen any extensive discussion on water shortage. This topic is definitely one I have the most at heart and felt obligated to express myself on the subject. I'm making this blog short on purpose so people don't get discouraged by the length and ignore it.

Why is this topic so dear to me?? Because for being Canadian and in the Canadian Forces, I will find myself right in the middle of this upcoming storm. We all know that Canada is inevitably going to be a world target for water supply shortly because of the enormous quantity of soft water we have. As Jeremy stated, if you think the wars for oil are bloody and cruel, we haven't seen anything at all yet. Oil we can live without, not water. You've all seen what we can do to each other for a "nice to have" like pieces of lands or oil. Not a pretty picture at all. Now try to imagine how it will be when we fight for something we need to SURVIVE.

Canada won't be a nice and quiet country for much longer. It has already started by the way... as discussed with another student, the United States are now trying to buy water from us. Want to have a glance at how fast the problem is coming?? Read this.

Please comment. I would appreciate having every nationality's point of view on the subject. Any thoughts on how to tackle the problem??

How you can give value to shareholders and society...

Companies able to tackle issues such as poverty, climate change and population shifts are those most likely to succeed in the future, or so say the World Business Centre for Sustainable Business Development. This YouTube Video outlines views shared by eight global business leaders on the matter. It's called 'From Challenge to Opportunity' and it sets out a "manifesto for tomorrow's global business" as defined by the Tomorrow's Leaders group of the WBCSD. Most interestingly, they discuss in the video why and how four key areas of business and sustainable development need to be profitable in order to be effective.

Enjoy..........

Em

Biomimicry?

I've come across a recent business-related article that may represent an example of biomimicry. The first chapter of 'Natural Capitalism' defines biomimicry as 'reducing the wasteful throughput of materials...by redesigning industrial systems on biological lines'. The example provided later in the text is that of the spider, which produces a silk as strong as Kevlar from digested crickets and flies, without the use of chemical additives. I interpret this point to mean, 'if Mother Nature does it best...simply copy her process'.

Craig Venter, the head of Celera Genomics, garnered fame for leading the team of scientists that mapped the human genome. Venter has made news again in this week's BusinessWeek, for his controversial attempt to patent man-made organisms that may someday be capable of performing specific tasks. The article describes how his new for-profit organization hopes to unvail synthetic micro-organisms that are capable of making fuels such as ethanol and hydrogen.

Though his patents will undoubtedly spark additional controversy, his stated goals fall in line with one of author Paul Hawken's four central strategies of natural capitalism.

- Mike T

Hilary Clinton's Potential Plans- You tube Interview

Hillary describes her plan to create a strategic energy fund that will invest in developing and deploying clean and alternative energy here!

Do you agree 50 billion is enough for the fund??

Sustainably Develop with Nuclear Energy

Ecologists often oppose nuclear as a viable source of energy to ensure our future or to reduce GHG emissions, arguing the nuclear waste and proliferation threats are too dangerous.

I feel the nuclear industry, combined with renewable sources of energy, is the only heavily energy productive system virtually CO² emission free that can provide energy for the increasing demand and help countries reduce and/or maintain their GHG emissions.

As some of you may know, the nuclear industry represents the biggest energy supply source for France. Without this source of energy our country could simply not reach the Kyoto Protocol's goal it signed. It allows France to remain independent as far as energy consumption is concerned. We even export nuclear energy in Europe and we can ensure autonomy on the long run.

Regarding the choice of new sources of energy to implement to supplant CO² producing industries, renewables and nuclear are too often opposed whereas the two sources can be - and should be - seen and settled as complementary: renewables alone cannot provide enough energy to meet the growing demand but they can surely play a more important part in the energy mix, especially solar for water warming for households and biomass, as other alternatives.

I would also like to make a comment about antinuclear activists' frequent observations about safety and threat of accidents (like Tchernobyl disaster) or of terrorist attacks, and go beyond the technical figures in favour of nuclear facilities' safety and say that I don't think any hypothesis is being neglected to protect France's strategic, economic, environmental long-run plans.

My final words of these lines will bring to mind those of Mitterand back in 1981, and often mentioned during 2007 presidency campaign in saying: Greenpeace does not have a monopoly over environmental matters!

You tube videoEnergy Independence & Climate Protection: The Business Case

Energy Independence & Climate Protection: The Business Case: This you tube videa is tres interesting! It gives snippets from interviews with some of America's top business people with regards to their stance on clean energy. My fellow future managers take note! Enjoy! Emily Fitz

Volonteers wanted

The new Greenpeace campaign against global warming will be photograped by Spencer Tunik (famous for his naked crowd pictures). He is currently looking for vonlonteers for his next photograph: a naked crowd on a swiss glacier.
If you want to volonteer and you are not affraid of getting a cold, click here

According to the last report from the group of intergovernment climat changes experts, we should take drastic measures before the next 8 years or the situtation will be irreversible.

I am not convinced a naked body is the best way to raise awareness on global warming, but if it works, maybe it is worth it.

ARCELOR MITTAL : Corporate social responsability / Sustainable development ???

I think that this morning during the presentation of sustainable development in ArcelorMittal, the two ladies were taking about Corporate social responsability (CSR) instead of SD.

What are the differences between CSR and SD ? It is hard to avoid the confusion between this 2 terms, because CRS is closely linked with the principles of Sustainable Development.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could mean that corporations have the "obligation" to take in account the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, communities, and at the same time ecological considerations.

Sustainable Development sugests that companies should base theirs strategy on financial factors (profits or dividends) on the one hand, but also on the short-term and long-term social, political, economic and environmental consequences of their activities.

By the way, I visited the website of Arcelor Mittal and there is no mention of "environment" in the "philosophy" of the company...link :http://www.arcelormittal.com/index.php?lang=en&page=8

How I was able to cut my electricity bills in half!

I was paying way too much in electricity bills last year in 2006 and I decided to take action. I live in a 1000 square feet (100 square meters) condo in Ottawa Canada with electrical heat. I was paying an average of 400 CDN $ during the winter months.

I visited the Hydro One website called Power Wise for simple tips on how to reduce electricity consumption (that’s the company in Ottawa that provides electricity) and here are the results: my consumption in 2007 dropped to about 220 to 250$ for comparable periods.

Here are the actions I took:
1-replaced old appliances (fridge, old washing machine and dish-washer)
2-Service heat pump and electric boards.
3-Changed all light bulbs for efficient fluorescent light bulb.
4- We also close our computers/ printers when not using them.

Makes sense for my wallet and for the environment. I would like to see a more systematic application of these principles in businesses as a measure to reduce costs.

Actually, that there are some initiatives to implement new policies according to this article. My only critique is that as usual with any level of government, its taking place at a snail’s pace. 2012 - That’s in over 5 years!

McGuinty Government to Ban Inefficient Light Bulbs by 2012

Long term SD growth

Home Depot could be a good example for other companies which think that SD is incompatible with capitalism. Home Depot had been ranked “No. 5 for Most Environmentally and Socially Responsible Companies from the Natural Marketing Institute in March 2007”.

HD has policies for many if not all sections of their supply chain: from purchasing processes to waste management. HD’s website gives detailed information about concrete actions taken by the company to buy, for example, wood in a more “responsible” way: “our sales of FSC certified (by the Forest Stewardship Council ) wood products increased from $16 million to $350 million.”

HD also encourages their customers to reduce, recycle and reuse. They propose tips, environmentally friendly products and energy-efficient products to theirs customers, informing them about advantages of these products for the environment. Information is provided to them through their website, clinics that they offer to customers, signs into theirs stores and information given by their vendors.

Quantitative (qualitative when necessary) goals are fixed in order to self-evaluate their improvements. Results and information about taken actions are not provided in annual reports: HD prefers to updated these information as often as necessary on their website.
Partnerships with governmental and non-profit organizations are part of the company’s strategy in order to achieve their goals of being a good neighbour, taking decisions that will promote sustainable development.

HD often relies on consultants recommendations to help them improve their procedures. Their corporate culture, implemented by the founders of the company, must also play a big part in their employee’s ability and willingness to improve and make sure that their SD policies are taken into consideration when decisions are made.

HD has a global approach towards social responsibility, sustainability and environmental performance by always taking into consideration the impact of their decision on environment and on their communities. They have a wide variety of program, guides and policies which can be view on their website.