Earlier this month, the New York Times wrote an article about how Walmart is now aiming to go green in the food department. The company is creating an effort to become more sustainable by working with nonprofit organizations, and by rewarding farmers who show the most progress in reducing emissions through a better use of fertilizer. Walmart plans to use their global scale, to produce more food with fewer resources, support farmers and their communities, and sustainably source key food commodities. The following video provides more information on the efforts Walmart is taking; Walmart Goes Green in the Food Department.

This sustainability approach which Walmart is going after, is a great way to attract attention and good public awareness as people are now caring more and more about where their food is coming from, and how it is made. I feel that Walmart is putting in an effort to create shared value between consumers, itself, and its producers and suppliers.  Walmart saw an opportunity and is taking advantage of it in order to add to their consumer base, and generate more sales and publicity. However, in my opinion, Walmart is using the sustainability approach more as a business tactic then solely for the purpose of creating value in the supply chain. I believe this to be true as Walmart’s core values are not based on this idea as their slogan is”Save Money, Live Better”. They are suggesting that their focus is providing consumers with products at a low cost. Being sustainable can be costly, and this leads me to believing that Walmart is advertising their going green as more of a sales tactic than anything else.

I am fully supportive of Walmart taking action, and developing ideas on how they can become more sustainable, and contribute to society in a positive way. However, I suggest that Walmart provides the public with follow-up information on their programs, and show an action plan for it to be more believable.

Sources:

http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/environment-sustainability/sustainable-agriculture

Deborah Aarts of Canadian Business wrote in a blog the modern day acceptable business wear. She comments on the fact that it is becoming more and more common for casual Fridays to be an everyday look. Deborah particularly singled out Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, who chooses to dress in jeans and hoodies for important business meetings and events. She mentions that people of the older generation are finding it disrespectful, and unprofessional, and dressing casually to a business affair reflects poorly on that person. The following link, Mark Zuckerberg Interview on IPO, gives a brief idea of what Zuckerberg has in mind in the form of business attire for an important event.

Personally, I feel that society should come above such traditional views and focus on what is most important. I understand that business is about professionalism, and being appropriate, however, to me, how a person communicates them self, and how they act in a business setting says more about that person than how they dress. This idea simply coincides with the theory of ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’. For instance, people like Zuckerberg can get away with wearing what they want because they do exceptional work. If the idea is outstandingly innovative and market changing, then in my opinion it should not matter what the person is wearing or not. To expand on this, I know from my personal experience that I get my best work done when I am comfortable, and this may mean wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. Now, I wouldn’t go as far to say show up to an important business meeting in sweat pants, but I feel that a person is most confident in what they are most comfortable in. If that means jeans and a hoodie for Mark Zuckerberg, then a round of applause goes out to him, as he is recreating the unacceptable into an expression of confidence.

Sources:

Aarts, Deborah. “Business Casual Has Become a Little Too Casual.” Business Canada. 17 Oct. 2014. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS6lJg_qC9I>.

Youtube. “Mark Zuckerberg Gives Twitter IPO Advice.” Youtube. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS6lJg_qC9I>.

On October 4th, Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global posted a blog which spoke briefly about a new public-private partnership that plans to aid women in four Latin American countries with starting or building upon their small or medium sized businesses. The partnership will comprise of Ernst & Young, (EY) and the Bureau of Information Resource Management’s Office of Diplomacy as part of the Women Entrepreneurs in the Americas Initiative (WeAmericas). Women can participate in four workshops called “TechCamps” where they will be taught how to utilize new technology in order to better their business.

The new program will be great for initial start-up knowledge and to provide the women with good ideas for brainstorming and creating their own action plan. However I do not see it being continuously beneficial long-term. There is no indication that the women will be provided with follow-up support or connections long-term to the organization, and as a result economic stability may not be maintained for the women of these conferences. The women are expected to be on their own with a strategy plan, and are assumed to be able to carry out that plan for their business following the conferences or mentorship of six months. It is difficult to predict how much the women will be able to take away from the conferences in order to build their business to the stage where it can exist permanently and add to the economic growth of the Western Hemisphere in the long-run. Therefore I believe that this is not a sustainable endeavor.

WeAmericas is a unique and splendid idea with great intentions. However, I feel that it could be expanded further, similar to a membership program, to have available mentorship and advice opportunities for the women for many years to come. This way, they are supported long-term when they need it, and can develop their business, and others in the community more efficiently, and therefore adding to the local economy.

Sources:

Delaney, Laurel. “Enabling Women Entrepreneurs to Make Better Use of Technology to Grow Their Business Globally.” Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global. The Global Small Business Blog, 4 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. <http://womenentrepreneursgrowglobal.org/>.

Office Of The Spokesperson. “U.S. Department of State and Ernst & Young (EY) Announce Partnership in Support of Women Entrepreneurs in the Americas.” U.S. Department Of State. N.p., 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/10/232548.htm>.

As the need and demand for energy in B.C. is increasing rapidly, as expected to increase by 40 percent in the next two decades, B.C. Hydro is planning for the future. The Site C Clean Energy Project, proposes that a third dam and hydroelectric power generating station be built on the Peace River in northeast B.C. This would generate enough energy to power about 450,000 homes in B.C. per year. However, I feel First Nations partner issues come into play in the external factors which impact B.C. Hydro’s business plan for this project. This proposed project which is subject to an environmental certificate, raises very important socio-economic issues for the company. If the dam were to be built, it would cause flooding in the valley, and destroy the existing wildlife and farmland in that area. It would also have a significant impact on fishing opportunities. The Site C Clean Energy project would simply infringe on the Treaty 8 Tribe Association rights to that land, where they hold cultural ceremonies and the First Nations right to hunt and fish. In my opinion, if this project is approved, it would alter the socio-cultural practices of the First Nations in that area, and as it is already known what impact this would have on the surrounding communities, and would therefore change the public opinion and attitude towards B.C. Hydro. With this in mind, B.C. Hydro, should proceed with caution in order to ensure that the social impact of such project will not affect the performance and activities of the business in the long-term.

Sources:

B.C. Hydro. “Site C Clean Energy Project.” B.C. Hydro. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <https://www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/site_c.html>.

O’Neil, Peter. “First Nations Chief to Stage Site C Showdown.” The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver Sun, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html>.