Month: March 2019

First, what do I mean by socially sustainable? Socially sustainability is one of the least talked about and least understood ways of approaching sustainability. It’s about identifying and managing business impacts, both positive and negative, on people. It’s the social dimension of sustainability, and concerns issues that affect society such as education and health. Examples include human rights, gender equality, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and many more. Our society is unfair and we know it. But I believe we should try our best to mitigate that and contribute in improving the lives of people, which also includes us, by the way, if you forgot that you’re a part of society. Yeah, you. So how do we do that? To continue the ‘Living Spaces’ series, I’m going to bring up how we can approach social sustainability through buildings.

As I mentioned before, buildings or just indoors in general is where we spent most of our lives. So how do we build and design the space around us to contribute to the quality of life, health, education, accessibility, and community? Environmental design is all the talk right now and has been one of the sole focus in architecture when you think “sustainability,” but B+H architects is now bringing the dialogue from more than just green buildings, but towards community-based buildings. The building is, after all, being used by us.

B+H has been involved in numerous projects that promote social welfare, the most familiar one being the AMS Student Nest. The challenge was to “design a welcoming and inclusive student union centre for the University of British Columbia that would embody environmental, social, and economic sustainability.” Through design thinking and survey pools, the project resulted in a centre that was meant to promote community and inclusiveness, a sort of “miniature ‘city’ that is as welcoming as a living room.”

For example, the Knoll, a popular outdoor gathering space for UBC students over the decades, are given terraced seating and stairs. Its curves are extended into the building, as if connecting the outside with the inside. Throughout the AMS Nest, stairs connect all levels of the atrium, enhancing that sense of community.

Another incredible example by one of my favourite architects, is “The Farmhouse” by Chris Precht and his architectural studio, Precht.

They’ve developed a concept for modular housing where residents can produce their own food in vertical farms.

Their goal was to reconnect people in cities with agriculture and help them live more sustainably. They believe that as more people move into cities, they begin to quickly lose touch with how their food is produced. They want to allow people to grow food in their residential homes to eat or share with their local community, and to re-create that connection with nature and environment.

As Precht says, “If food re-enters the centers of our cities, it re-enters our minds and we become reconnected to a life-cycle.” This is an example of building buildings that might be environmentally-friendly, and also promoting social welfare and encouraging community-building. To learn more about “The Farmhouse,” click here and here.

These are just a few examples I know of that encourage social sustainability. Ultimately, buildings contribute to social sustainability by providing an environment that supports and encourages the community to meet their social needs. Do you have any other ideas on what else might make a building more socially sustainable? There are lots more of these buildings around the world that people should be more aware about, and should also act as inspirations and motivations for the thousands of architectural firms globally. The mindset of our builders needs to start changing so that we as citizens can start living more sustainably (of course, there are plenty of other ways to live sustainably). As more environmental and socially sustainable buildings start being built, the next step is ensuring these buildings are planned in a way that is sustainable and convenient within the city.

Sources:

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/social
https://www.archdaily.com/773797/ams-nest-dialog-plus-b-plus-h-architects
https://bharchitects.com/en/2017/02/28/building-a-socially-sustainable-future/

 

 

 

For reading week, I decided to do a road trip adventure down to the States, specifically New Mexico (although we did reach Texas). You can imagine the number of pit stops and the number of little towns we drove through on this trip. What I found interesting was that at every little town we stopped for gas, food or bathroom, there was, without a doubt, always a Wal-Mart. When’s the last time YOU went to a Wal-Mart? I hadn’t gone to one in probably over 4 years. You can imagine my astonishment when I entered this heavenly paradise of consumer goods; there was everything and anything you wanted. It’s like a Costco but 3 times bigger with 10 times more stuff. You need a water bottle? Wal-Mart’s got one. You need a few blankets? Wal-Mart’s got you. You need a tent? Wal-Mart has dozens. You need a pajama onesie? Wal-Mart will make you want one. That’s how I felt while we were making our away around this maze of “consumerism”. It’s incredible how much STUFF there is in Wal-Mart. The heart of consumerism can literally be summed up in one word: Wal-Mart.

It’s so crazy to see how much people consume. It’s all so convenient for them. This is speaking in terms of wholesaler to consumer. There are just so many options of goods for consumers to choose from and buy. People are presented with this consumerist paradise where all their desires can be fulfilled with a swipe of a card. We talked a lot about “convenience” as one of the 4 C’s instead of 4 P’s in the marketing mix (reminder: convenience takes the spot of place). But to what extent is this type of convenience good for society and the planet? Stores like Wal-Mart ends up encouraging people to consume more than they need, and when companies see a rise in demand or positive growth, they make more of that product, which then means increasing manufacturing and resulting in greater carbon emissions.

To add, sometimes these excess purchases end up being a useless object in your home, so during Spring cleaning, it ends up in the dump. Our landfills start to exponentially grow and soon enough, I’ll be walking besides mountain of e-waste instead of real mountains. What then?

Wal-Mart’s Supply Chain

Wal-Mart is actually popularly known for its incredibly efficient supply chain, with more than 11,700 stores under 59 company names, managing an average of $32 billion in inventory. They are committed to driving costs out of supply chains to enable consumers to “Save Money and Live Better.” (Quick thought: Live Better. Are we truly living BETTER from continuous excess consumption? ) Wal-Mart’s supply chain success comes from its: distribution practices, operations of their own fleet of trucks, and using technology for improvements for efficiency, inventory management and product forecasting. Majority of their success comes from the implementation of an efficient and cost-savings distribution method of cross-docking. They also build relationship networks with suppliers to improve material flow with lower inventories; their partnerships are what makes them a leader in operations management. Wal-Mart directly deals with manufacturers, giving the suppliers the power to manage their inventory in Wal-Mart’s warehouses (vendor managed inventory or VMI), hence, streamlining their operations.

Wal-Mart and Sustainability

While Wal-Mart actually has one of the most efficient and innovative supply chain management, how can we make effective distribution channels sustainable? I decided to research Wal-Mart’s sustainability goals to see if they had any and found they had three: “to create zero waste, operate with 100% renewable energy and sell products that sustain [their] resources and the environment.” Looking more into sustainability in their operations, their top initiatives were to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste, and Project Gigaton. So, while Wal-Mart is making organizational moves to become more sustainable (which is great by the way), there’s still that issue of encouraging consumerism that calls for us to consume more than we need to, creating excess waste in the long-run. How do we balance this?

Whose problem is it that we keep consuming so much? Is it the consumer’s or the company’s? Or both? I think it’s both. As a consumer, I can – or should – choose how much I consume and be aware of what I’m consuming. Companies don’t necessarily have to cut the number of products they sell (although maybe this is the move?) but instead, should choose to present and expose me to more sustainable options.

How do we balance how much we want with how much we need? Where do desires come into place and can we curb those desires?  What can massive retailers like Wal-Mart do to have a helping hand in creating a more sustainable world? This speaks to what we discussed in the beginning of the course: what roles do companies have in leading change? I think companies need to start acting by implementing better programs in their business model, as seen by  Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart’s whole business model is providing customers with quality products at low price with convenience; there’s nothing that can be changed about that. But something they are currently doing to be better is the way they do it, which I think is an interesting perspective on the role companies have in leading change. They’re not changing the business that is actually encouraging overconsumption, but instead mitigating that issue by working inwards on their operations. Good or bad – are we avoiding the core source or is this the best we can do right now?

 

Links:
https://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/sustainability/sustainability-in-our-operations

https://www.tradegecko.com/blog/incredibly-successful-supply-chain-management-walmart

One thing I love about the outdoor community is the shared value of responsibility in sustainability and conservation. If you like to spend quite some time outdoors, you’ll definitely have heard of or read the mantras: “Take out what you bring in” or “Leave no trace”. Leave-no-trace camping is becoming a necessary approach to travel in the wild. This whole pack-in pack-out principle emphasizes a zero-waste methodology for exploring the wilderness, with the goal for the camper or hiker to have as little impact as possible on the land they’re visiting. Simply, it’s the best practice we should follow to enjoy and protect our natural spaces.

The principle of ‘leave no trace’ started in response to the increase of foot traffic in wilderness areas and the concern of harming the natural species and land in that area. Approximately 16.83 million people visited a national park in Canada during the fiscal year 2017/18 compared to the 12.55 million in 2010/11 (34.1% increase between those two data points).

While you, as a single hiker or camper, might not have a significant impact, the cumulative effect of thousands of outdoor-loving visitors over the last few decades will start to have its consequences.

I’ve noticed that when I do any outdoor activity, I’m suddenly 50 times more conscious about my actions, such as the way I dispose of my food or what I might be stepping on; I’m literally THE sustainable angel when it comes to having to go outdoors. But it’s a shame it doesn’t translate to my everyday activities in the city – now that’s a discussion for another time (Are you the same though? Why?). While most of us don’t intend to harm our environment, many do lack the knowledge of how to preserve it. So here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way from friends and family, as well as online, from outdoor co-op REI to The Mountaineers’ 10 Essential Systems.

7 Leave No Trace Principle

1. Plan ahead and prepare.

• • Get a map, compass and most importantly, a headlamp.
  • Prep for extreme weather and emergencies
  • Make sure you’ve got that booking down (if need be)
  • Bring toilet paper

2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces.

• • Camp at least around 200 feet from lakes and streams
  • Camp where vegetation might be absent
  • Always stay on trail

3. Dispose of waste properly.

• • Bring a bag to put all your finished food and trash in
  • PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT
  • If you gotta poop, dig a hole at least 6 inches deep and at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails. Cover and disguise the hole when done.

4. Leave what you find.

• • Just check them out; let the rocks, plants, all natural objects, and artifacts be.

5. Minimize campfire impacts (be careful with fire).

6. Respect wildlife.

• • Don’t approach them excitedly. Limit your noise if you want a closer look.
  • Never feed the wildlife.

7. Be considerate of other visitors.

• • A nice “hello!” and a smile goes a mile when you’re out in the wild

One thing I’ve done (and many others might be familiar with) to reuse my resources and try to produce as little waste as possible is drinking the water I used to wash my dishes.

Clean water can sometimes become a scarce asset when you’re deep within the wilderness. After washing or rinsing my cooking pot with my scarce clean water, I drink it. Yes, it might taste of mac and cheese but it’s water and I need water.

Another thing is, while packing to go out, instead of bringing granola bars in their mostly plastic packaging, I like to unwrap my bars and put them in my fabric pouch to-go. Although I’m still producing plastic waste, I’m throwing my trash out at home instead of fussing about making space to put my plastic trash. It just skips the step of worrying about plastic flying out of my hands or stuffing it somewhere or forgetting about it.

Anyway, going outdoors sometime soon? Here’s a nice list of 10 essential systems (thanks REI)  you should consider when packing (depending on your activity of course):

1. Navigation: map, compass, altimeter, GPS device, personal locator beacon (PLB) or satellite messenger
2. Headlamp: plus extra batteries
3. Sun protection: sunglasses, sun-protective clothes and sunscreen
4. First aid: including foot care and insect repellent (as needed)
5. Knife: plus a gear repair kit
6. Fire: matches, lighter, tinder and/or stove
7. Shelter: carried at all times (can be a light emergency bivy)
8. Extra food: Beyond the minimum expectation
9. Extra water: Beyond the minimum expectation
10. Extra clothes: Beyond the minimum expectation

However, at the end of the day when we come back to the city, we’re just back to constantly consuming and disposing. Is the way I act when I’m outdoors all just a mindset thing? How do I carry my outdoor mindset to my daily lifestyle?

 

Sources:

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/leave-no-trace.html

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html

https://wikitravel.org/en/Leave-no-trace_camping

https://www.statista.com/statistics/501269/national-park-visitors-in-canada/