Month: October 2011

It is estimated that by 2030 the world will need 40% more freshwater and 50% more food and energy. Not only is the demand accelerating due to the worlds rapidly expanding population, but also to climate change, increasing urbanisation and growing prosperity.

Many solutions have been created to help ease long-term problems. The WBCSD Water Project has been examining the impact and has three main areas of focus; increase planning and policy interaction, find new ways to boost resource efficiency while reducing wastes and also find new ways to effectively manage demand. By creating a complex challenge, hopefully there will be a one-size-fits all solution.

This article links to our Commerce class on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and sustainability. We read an article on eco-advantage and had a guess speaker, James Tansey, come in and lead a discussion on these topics. We also had the chance to calculate how efficient we were on an everyday basis and see where we could improve. By 2030, hopefully the rocketing demand for life essentials can be met.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/three-ways-water-food-energy-security

Want to calculate your carbon footprint? http://go-beyond.ca/carbon-footprint-calculator

Maple Leaf Foods has decided to close plants in four provinces which will result in cutting 1,550 jobs. The plan that the company set was supposed to create 1,150 jobs, but the associated plant closures will outweigh that, which results in a net loss of 1,550 positions. Maple Leaf plans on building a new plan in Hamilton, Ontario and will also look for plants in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Brampton, Ontario. Four distribution centres will also be closed and existing facilities and consolidating distribution will be used instead.

The company has been streamlining for the past two years trying to improve its profitability and become more efficient. This has been the biggest move so far by the maker of Maple Leaf. Three years ago, the company was focused on a “Lysteria-tainted meat scandal that led to a massive recall of cured meats manufactured at a contaminated Toronto plant.” This final part of the plan will “deliver significant and sustainable value to its shareholders,” said Michael McCain. (CEO of Maple Leaf) It will close the cost gap with United States and also increase the competitiveness.

Video From Global National:  http://www.globalnational.com/GlobalNational/video/maple+leaf+foods+announces+job+cuts+and+plant+closures/video.html?v=2156695574&p=3&s=dd#video

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/10/19/maple-leaf-foods-restructuring.html

Kashmir has an interesting blog post about how prices for university education are increasing . I was watching the news and also heard something related to this topic. As each year passes, the number of students attending/applying for universities is increasing. Since universities are businesses, they are realizing that more students continue their education instead of working. As more and more jobs come unavailable, people realize how important an education is. An increase in pricing is a smart idea, but is unfortunate for those of us attending universities. Universities do not care about your education. They just want more and more students to spread the word so their population can increase. The number of students that are attending universities is increasing and UBC and SFU will need to do something about it. Working is not seen as a popular alternative any more. This article briefly shows the increase in tuition costs for each province.

You can view my comment on Kashmir’s blog here:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/kashkaur99/2011/10/14/the-mystery-of-increasing-tuition-fees-is-it-supplier-power/

The Canadian dollar has depreciated significantly since October 2008 and recently dropped over two US cents, below 96 cents US on September 20, 2011. On Wednesday the US dollar straightened up against the euro and yen after the U.S. Federal Reserve rose up its aid to the weak economy. Many traders around the world are beginning to get worried and nervous about what is coming. Growth in the economy of China still continues as Europe still faces debt. As we saw in July, the Canadian economy grew, but it still remains uncertain how China and the United States could affect the decrease in the Canadian dollar. This uncertainty in the global economy has pushed investors to a safe option, the greenback (US dollar).  Since January, this was the first time that the loonie dropped below parity. The loonie will not be reaching parity any time soon this year, but it will “not have much impact on consumer behaviour,” says Bruce Cran. Canadians are still going to go over the border and travel to the United States even though the loonie has dropped in value.

For the past two years the euro zone has been trying to fight off their debt by throwing billions of euros at the problem. They are not only throwing money, but giving it away unsuccessfully. This week euro zone finance ministers will meet in Luxembourg to discuss how they will or can increase the strength of the European Financial Stability Facility. The bailout fund that was set up last year by EFSF has been used by Ireland and Portugal. The goal of this meeting will be to see how they can make the most out of this facility, and to develop a successful strategy so they are not throwing away billions of euros. These changes will hopefully be completed just in time for the Brussels summit on October 18^th, 2011, which will be the next “make-or-break moment” for Greece’s future. Hopefully this summit will pull Greece out of this unsuccessful period and will allow them to “get on top of its debt crisis.” In my opinion, I believe that this will be the turning point for Greece, and after the summit Greece will pull themselves through this tough economical period.

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2011/10/3/Moment-of-truth-nears-for-Greece-euro-zone.aspx

On October 4^th, 2011 Apple Inc. has planned to create an event to introduce the new iPhone. This event will be taking place in Cupterino, California where the new I phone will be revealed. Tim Cook, Apple’s new CEO, will be one of the featured guests at this event. The newest I phone, iPhone, will be sold on October 14^th, 2011. This fall event will have a great kickoff since it is taking place around holiday season and more consumers will be looking for newer technology to purchase for presents. This is unusual because in the past Apple released its new  iPhone’s in the summer season, rather than in the fall. This strategy will be a great way to get a great start on the new product since Apple has chosen a great season to start with.

In Rachel Lee’s blog she mentions how disappointing the release of the new iPhone was. The poor quality was not a result of the let down, but the marketing was. Consumer’s waited months and months and Apple did not live up to their expectancy. Apple’s strategy did not work out so well.

http://business.financialpost.com/2011/09/27/apple-confirms-oct-4-iphone-event/