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Pollution has always been the great evil that has plagued our growing society.

But truth is, development would not be possible at all without some form of polluting emissions into the environment. The key is to balance said pollution with output; which is what mining giant Vale is in the process of doing.

Vale is undertaking a $2 billion Atmospheric Emissions Reduction project that will not only cut emissions by 70% but will also create an additional 1300 jobs. The project’s goal is to reduce specifically sulphur dioxide emissions and is looking at a completion date at the end of 2015.

Here we see corporate social responsibility, innovation, sustainability and company imaging on full display and working harmoniously together. By taking on such an ambitious project, not only are they protecting their environment but it is also a form of marketing for the company. Anything environmentally related these days automatically gives a company or firm the upper hand against their competitors so no doubt Vale knew what they were doing when undertaking this project. As we do see here though, advancement can and usually does come from dilemmas. This is an example of innovation that will drive our society forward while making this advancement sustainable.

Original article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/11/24/sudbury-vale-air.html

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Entrepreneurs, as we call them nowadays, have always been the innovators driving change throughout the threads of our society.

Very recently, the technology era has taken another step forward, online shopping. According to data, 70% of consumers do research online before going into the actual store. Revenues of billions of dollars are brought in directly through online sales annually. However, trillions of dollars are brought in indirectly through online advertisement and online sources. This new wave is driven further by the advancement of the smartphone. Now people can simply reach into their pockets and receive all the information they need.

Although this is indeed a breakthrough in how we shop and acquire information, it also provides a potential issue; one addressed in many Hollywood films such as The Matrix. Though machines will not be taking over the world anytime soon, it can and already has lead to complacency in how people operate. As addressed by the issue of “slacktivism”, thanks to modern technology, people no longer have to spend their time and have a physical presence to protest something. All it takes now is the click of a mouse. So how do we find the right balance between technology and nature? Well, as long as people have the natural instinct to be physically productive and find satisfaction in tangible activities, that issue will not be needing much attention anytime soon.

Original article: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/online-shopping-research-migrating-mobile-drives-sales–1976/

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Why is it that as more young adults are receiving and graduating with higher education, somehow, overall job satisfaction has been constantly falling?

According to a poll conducted by the polling company Woman Trend, 43% of Americans aged 18-29 are unhappy with their current job. This is leading to a large percentage of young adults postponing important aspects of their lives such as buying a house or starting a family.

This gap between the education of the employee and the job they possess is due to the fact that higher education is becoming common place and that there is a large gap present between the lucrative and rewarding jobs and those that require no more than simple hand-eye coordination. Furthermore, there are few intermediate jobs to fill said void.

Although not much can seem to be done in the present, examples throughout history have proved that unsatisfied people will sooner or later band together and force change. In this case, educated, motivated and innovative young adults such as we of this generation will find solutions to this current crisis when the threshold is reached. Until then, we can only strive to aim for even higher education to satiate the requirements of those demanding employers.

original article: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/young-americans-unemployment-numbers-1966/

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The people are as much a part of the business as the products themselves.

Companies have come to realize that happy employees leads to happy customers and of course we all know that happy customers bring in more profits. So if that is indeed the case, why haven’t more companies caught on?

One has capitalized on that; the shoe giant Zappos. Tony Hsieh, CEO, has created a work environment like no other. To hire phone operators, he puts them through extensive training and even offers $2000 during the training to quit. Hsieh says that it is in an effort to hire people who want to work there and is not there just for the money.

The happy employee along with a lenient return policy keeps customers coming back. At the end of the day though, hiring the right employees and keeping them happy is whats keeping Zappos on top of their game and increasing profits annually.