Blog on the Corner

Kenya, my home and my pride

McDonald’s: Learning to be Stewards?

It is the end to another great school year and I can honestly say that I have learnt a lot from this course.  So the big question,

“How has thinking about sustainable marketing changed how you view the world?”

Well before I took this course I felt that I knew a lot about sustainability, but what I found out was that I really knew the tip of the iceberg.  After learning a lot more about sustainability and sustainable marketing I can honestly say that I care more about sustainability than I ever thought I would.  My view of the world has taken a more conscious turn in the sense that I am always thinking, how sustainable is this decision, how are my actions affecting the three pillars of sustainability.  I remember in the beginning of this course we discussed whether we believe that sustainability was just a trend that companies were trying to exploit or if it was something that was here to stay.  If you talked to me then I would have said, definitely just a trend, but know I can honestly say that sustainability is here to stay.  There are a lot of great companies out there who do focus on the triple bottom line and understand that in order to build a better future we need to be responsible for our actions today.  Although many companies do greenwash I feel that know that I have taken this course I will be better educated on which companies are doing the right things and which are just pretending.  I think one of the major things that we stressed in this course was how education was important in the fight for a sustainable future, I truly believe that with the education we have received, we will be able to commit to a sustainable future, which is why I think students at a younger age should have to take a mandatory sustainability course.  It’s been a great year and I’m excited to take what I’ve learnt in this class and apply it to my life.

Cheers

Billy

The amazon basin is perhaps the most unique ecosystem in the world.  Home to the longest river and some of the most exotic speices of animals, the rainforest holds main surprises.  In an expedition into the jungle earlier this year, Yale researchers discovered an incredible bacteria that can not only break down polyurethane (the most common type of plastic) but actually break down polyurethane in a completely anaerobic environment.  This would mean that pestalotiopsis microspora (the fungus) would be able to break down plastics at the bottom of landfills, where there is little to no oxygen whatsoever.  The researchers are hoping to unlock the enzymes that the pestalotiopsis microspora uses in order to test the results on the waste problem that we are currently facing.

Leave it to mother nature to save us from our own wicked ways.  The fungus has yet to show any negative byproducts, however it is important that researches try to understand the chemical break down before they unleash the fungus on our trash.  Although this maybe the solution to degrading harmful plastics, the production of plastics still causes degradation to our ecosystem and it is important to continue fighting for reusable and renewable materials to replace harmful disposable plastics.

With the increase adoption of solar power it was inevitable until we launched the first solar panel into space.  This is exactly what John Mankins is attempting to do.  Mankin’s concept of a space solar panel looks something like this

Solar panels on earth are restricted from harnessing the full power of the suns energy because of the Ozone as well as cloud cover.  By launching a space solar panel, we could harness full solar energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  This technology could turn solar power into the number one source of power on our planet.  Technological advancements in energy conversion has allowed this concept to take off as Energy needs to be transported from the solar panel down to earth.  The panels transport light to a set of photovoltaic cells which harness the energy.  Furthermore, the components of the solar panel in total way less than 440 pounds, which is a drastic change from the original projected weight.  With a reduced weight, the production will be cheaper (smaller components) and transportation costs will also be significantly diminished, meaning NASA (supporters of the project) will have enough budget to create the panel.  If successfully installed, the entire power industry as we know it will take a drastic change, resulting in a huge reduction in emissions and virtually changing the way we think about sustainable energy forever.

I am a huge fan of professional basketball.  While there are some great leagues around the world (basketball is one of the fastest growing sports), in my mind, nothing compares to the NBA.  On a sunny April 8th morning, I turned on the TV to watch the New York Knicks (8th place) play the Chicago Bulls (1st place). Now aside from being one of the best games I’ve watched all year

I noticed that on the court there was a NBA Green Logo.  Immediately I thought to myself “here is a blog opportunity”.  After doing some research I discovered some information about NBA Green Week.  From April 4-11 the NBA participated in there Green Week.  The campaign’s main goal is to spread awareness and educate the NBA fan base about how to be environmentally sustainable and lower your impact.  Now before we go and say that the NBA is just greenwashing and trying to market itself as a sustainable league, the NBA has been apart of the NBA cares campaign for years.  The campaign aims to give back to the community through various events and volunteer opportunities.  Green Week is an extension of NBA cares which is already a highly recognized charity.  Some of the goals that NBA Green Week hopes to accomplish are to teach fans to recycle used electronics, leave grass clippings on the lawn (something we talked about in class), and bringing a waste free lunch.  The NBA has a wide target market, many whom are children and teenagers.  By leveraging the NBA brand in order to convey the message of Green Week, they are taking a step in the right direction.

Before I get started on this post I want everyone to watch this video.

As you can see there is a new trend in Japan where they are taking oranges and using them as fruit juice containers.  Now I must admit at first my reaction was “they can’t be serious” however the more I thought about it the better the idea seamed.   Try to think about the environmental impact that this trend could create, instead of buying juice boxes or cans of soft drinks, consumers could simply buy larger containers and reuse their oranges as juice boxes.  This is a great example of dematerialization because it is turning disposable goods into a reusable good.  I think that it is also a great way to teach children the importance of recycling and reusing in a fun interactive way.  Furthermore, orange peels are completely biodegradable and compost-able, meaning they  don’t need to end up in a landfill.  I couldn’t find any information about whether or not the product was recyclable or used recycled materials, however if they are not currently recyclable, that is definitely one way to increase the sustainability of the product.  I hope this catches on and moves to North America.

As we all know, this upcoming summer will be the greatly anticipated London 2012 Summer Olympics.  After experiencing first hand the euphoria that the olympics brought to Vancouver in 2010, I can just imagine the excitement that is surrounding London.  In an marketing perspective, the olympics are a gold mine for sponsorships.  Companies such as Nike, Adidas and Puma have obviously invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the olympics as sport is there specialization.   However, have you ever wondered how the increase in demand for products affects the workers during the pre olympic rush.  Obviously, these three companies expect to move millions worth in merchandise through the span of the games, and in order to meet the demands, production must be at critical mass.  A recent report documented illegal work hours, inhuman wages, sexual assault and physical violence in multiple factories contracted by Nike, Adidas and Puma.  Clearly these companies value the bottom line more than they value social sustainability.  However, we as consumers still choose to purchase there products.

According to The Natural Steps Frameworks (TNSF), firms should build human capital not exploit it.  These companies are in direct violation of The Natural Steps Framework however do we as consumers really care.  Perhaps a few of us do honestly care about social sustainability and will boycott these firms, however the majority of consumers will turn a blind eye to the situation.  This concept is similar to the perceptual defense concept of attention from Comm 362.  On the bright side, people are talking about the issue and actively trying to hold these companies responsible

A concept straight out of James Bond, Mercedes has created their version of the “invisible” car.  Now I say “invisible,” but really the car has LED panel attached to one side and a camera mounted on the other.  The camera takes the video and displays it on the screen, making the car appear invisible.

The video, which went viral over the last couple of days, is Mercedes attempt to advertise their new F-Cell vehicle (hydrogen fuel cell), which they are deeming as a zero emission vehicle, “invisible to the environment”.  Although some vehicles may be low in emissions, the production process can create a mass majority of total life cycle emissionss.  I guarantee that Mercedes, a division of german car manufacturer Daimler AG, is far from sustainable and that the companies overall production is definitely not  “invisible to the environment”.  This campaign is just another attempt for a big car manufacturer to jump on the sustainability wagon, hoping that it drives overall sales as well as improves the companies image.  Well Daimler, this consumer is not convinced.  I am not saying that it is bad to promote fuel cell technologies, I just think that if your company is harming the environment more than it is helping it, you shouldn’t be allowed to position on sustainability.

Here is one of my comments on Felix’s blog