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.