Marketing has always shaped the world. Whether through promoting and preaching various religions in thousands of years ago, or selling a car today based on a special stereo, marketing has always been around in a certain form.

The problem with marketing today is it can be used to portray anything with a positive light. It is also seen everywhere. One cannot escape marketing and not have their lives influenced by marketers messages. There is also a weaker balancing power as media is becoming more controlled by political and corporate interests. This is leading to people believing things that are harmful to themselves and those around them.

There’s several examples of misleading marketing. Let’s take “All Natural” for example. The legal definition of this word is very loosely based. The following image is a representation of Snapple which displays the “All Natural” label. You be the judge…

Another thing that marketing impacts is Political campaigns. This can lead to terrible people realizing power. Rick Perry was running for Republican Primaries until his extreme views were turned against him. However political ads like this can still get people to believe in hateful messages and give terrible people power:

Despite the negative things that can come from marketing, there are several positives that can also be taken. In this class we have used negative and positive examples of using sustainability as a selling point. I’ve learned that it’s up to the marketer to be creative and differentiate yourself from “Green Washers” by making complex information easily available. Several companies use websites to explain their sourcing, others have interactive videos explaining processes. We’ve learned that mediums that create the largest levels of involvement are the best for sustainable products. Brand advocates are important to spread the word of mouth.

This course on sustainable marketing has further confirmed that corporations can abuse people and there are not enough checks and controls into place to stop this. Profit is the bottom line and it is a problem that has ruined countless lives and will only get worse. I think business schools need to have a stronger emphasis on ethics but would Coca Cola want to hire us if we thought it was wrong to make them more money by putting a leaf on a bottle??

Besides being cynical about it, I can sell people things by adding colours decals, adding apparently meaningless words that seem legitimate, and packaging with some leaves and mentioning something about nature. This won’t last forever, people will figure it out eventually and call out the corporations… but what will they have up their sleeves then?

You know there’s a pretty big problem when an 11 year old is doing a Ted Talks on our food system. I’ve personally been aware of problems from a young age because of the environment I was raised in and the people that influenced me. My Uncle owns a factory pig barn in Manitoba and I can distinctly remember the sows in cages only being able to stand or lie down. The male pigs that would walk around the corridors putting the females in heat. The giant syringes that would be used to impregnate the females. The room that would be cleared weekly filled with huge dead pigs. Finally, the pens filled with fearful babies that would be picked up and moved while screaming by their hind legs.

The design of this system is flawed and is poisoning North America. Within the past decades there’s more meat recalls than ever before. Even as I was in the grocery store yesterday, there’s was a massive recall on anything with Presidents Choice beef in it. It’s amazing to think that there can be anything living in these meats after the processing it goes through including several ammonia baths (according to the documentary Food Inc.). Also more than 1 in 90 children is now diagnosed with autism. There are many arguments relating this to the chemicals in our foods.

Where there’s demand, someone will ultimately find a way to supply. North American eating habits demand an incredible amount of beef, poultry, and pork. Corporations are competing for economies of scale and this is now more important than ever as Americans are getting poorer. Economies of scale in the food system cause other problems like pollution and sickness.

Birke Baehr comments on the importance to reduce consumption of genetically modified products. This is of course very difficult as government subsidies have led to decades of huge corn supplies. Innovation has found a use for corn in almost anything. Going to the grocery store, especially in the USA, shows that corn is in over 3/4 of pre-made foods.

Birke also argues for the re-adoption of sustainable farming practices. Humans have known proper farming techniques for hundreds of years. However recent technological advances have allowed us to dismiss these traditional practices and create synthetic nutrients for crops. This is following a very dangerous trend towards desertification. If technology cannot innovate to lessen our toll on the earth, mass starvations and die offs will occur.

Birke says education is the first step. The biggest fear is that we’ve already missed a generation. Kids learn from their parents and many parents have been put through a corporate designed world of consumption – have it right now, why wait!!

In my opinion it starts with the media. The media has become a corporate pawn and thinks twice before slandering corporate interests. Mainstream media needs to take a critical approach on these factory farms and unsustainable practices. Then it is up for people to rebel against these food choices.

The system needs to be redesigned but it’s easy to keep poisoning the masses with addicting foods and keeping them uneducated.

Bjarke Ingels discusses design of buildings in a distinct way. His creative approach focuses heavily on sustainable design. The idea is that sustainable architecture can increase quality of life, an idea going against the norm. Many people think about sacrifice when they think of sustainability.  Bjarke says a creative design process can create more benefits than sacrifices.

He argues that architects should design cities as ecosystems and focus on closed loops. Heat, energy, waste, and water, not only people are important considerations. Architects should focus not only on the flow of people though spaces, but also on integrating their waste into a usable source for the system.

Through this design focus, the Eight House was created.  The structure mixed shops and offices, townhouses and apartments. The alignment of each of these elements was also distorted. This allowed the angle of each block to maximize views and sunlight.

The city of Copenhagen is an example of a city that has truly embraced this way of thinking. 4% of Copenhagen’s waste is land filled. In Chicago it’s 86%. Most trash is incinerated in turn creating electricity. 3 KG of household trash is equal to 4 hours of light and five hours of heat. The equivalent of one ton of trash is almost two barrels of oil.

Bjarke’s video really shows how the design process is important for creating sustainable solutions. The most important part is to start with a framework of what you must have. From there you have an open slate of what you can add, what you can create.  Even after watching this video multiple times, I still cannot believe these radical ideas were actually put into action. Sustainability and the design process go together hand in hand.

Disclaimer: I do not have the Bieber Fever. He’s a good Canadian kid but my opinion of his music (and most of today’s mainstream music) is reflected in the following picture:

EPIC FAIL

And now to business:

Believe it or not, I actually new about the Fisker Karma before Justin Bieber received it as an 18th birthday gift. This is thanks to my daily routine of following car news on youtube:

Justin Bieber was given one for his 18th birthday on The Ellen Show very recently which has thrust the car directly into North American pop culture:

Bieber isn’t the only celebrity to get his hands on one of these cars. Leonardo DiCaprio actually had it last year. Unfortunately there is no DiCaprio-Fever (obviously because it doesn’t rhyme) so the masses remained relatively oblivious to the Fisker Karma. Other high-profilers in line to get their hands on this ride are Vice President Al Gore and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

So you might ask, is it the best thing for Justin Bieber to be associated to this expensive luxury car? Is any publicity good publicity? The answer is yes, the car is actually already sold out for next year. People don’t care about who drives this car; Dicaprio, Bieber, or Jane Doe, the fact is it’s the only plug in hybrid luxury sedan on the market. People in the first world love to think that driving an electric car makes a huge difference and will jump on this car. Producing a volume of around 15 000 cars per year, Fisker should be able to sell out globally, at least for the time beginning. The Tesla Model S is set to be released later this year adding an already established contender to the roster.

So what is the big hype about this car anyways?

The Fisker Karma, as mentioned earlier, is the first luxury sedan on the market that is a plug in hybrid electric vehicle. The car has two batteries producing power to the rear wheels giving a range of about 50 – 90 kilometers. There is also a 290 horsepower internal combustion engine up front to keep the batteries charged when they are dying and to deliver extra juice when the driver demands it. Overall, considering the weight of this vehicle, it delivers some pretty good performance figures. One thing it does lack a bit on is the fuel economy when actually using the internal combustion engine as seen below. Also potential fuel saving is not a reason for someone to purchase this vehicle.

So if you’re not saving much money on gas, the performance figures aren’t spectacular, and even the smog rating is fairly average, why buy a Fisker? The innovators are the only ones moving right now. Technology will continue to improve as will the specs on the above fuel economy chart.

The biggest current problem with plug in hybrids is that batteries weigh too much. The Fisker in fact weighs nearly as much as the huge Rolls Royce Phantom, as seen here:

Before cars like this can move into the early and late majority phases on the consumer adoption curve, battery technology needs to improve. Current examples of plug in hybrid electric cars do not produce enough savings to justify the high sticker price.

While most are only focused on the ‘personal flow’ while using a urinal, there is another flow uses a surprising amount of liquid.

Standard urinals use a lot of water. Let’s say the average urinal is flushed between 40 and 120 times per day. Did you know this uses between 55,000 and 170,000 liters of water per urinal per year (assuming a 6 L flush).

This doesn’t even take into account the hand washing that occurs after. Washing hands takes on average between 1 and 3 litres of water on top of the urinal use. So when men use urinals and wash their hands between 7 and 9 litres of water is used.

This is more than the personal recommended daily intake of water!!!

Consider this:

This is a concept where hand washing and urinal use is combined. After using the urinal, hand washing washes the urine down. Collaboration saves resources!! While this is a cool idea it would only work in a low traffic location, just think of the bottleneck that could be created as this concept would double the time of use. Also washing your hands right above where you urinate might not be the most pleasant option.

Maybe that’s why this product is not widely seen on the market. What’s starting the be widely seen are waterless urinals. They work by containing a liquid that is less dense than urine. This liquid will float on top of the urine, reduce odours, as gravity forces the urine down the drain.

This is what we see in the market and it makes sense, I personally do not want to be washing my hands overtop of urine. Waterless urinal technology and separate sinks is so far the most hygienic and eco-friendly option.

Have you ever thought about the total environmental impact of the energy usage of a Hybrid? When the average person thinks about cars environmental impact, usually only oil consumption and tailpipe pollutants are taken into consideration.

What about other costs like batteries, tires, replacement and repair parts, and most importantly: disposal. The overall cost of energy is not just paid for by the product’s end user.

While a hybrid may not be a bad choice for an individual it may not be a better choice for the earth. When buying a car you must decide what price fits your needs which often includes fuel economy expenses. Will a hybrid really give enough savings on gas to make it worth the premium over an internal combustion engine? What about the creation and disposal of the batteries in hybrids?

Let’s take the process of making a hybrid from the beginning. Below is a satellite image of one of the largest nickel mines in the world in Sudbury, Ontario. The surrounding area is a dead zone, nothing will grow for hundreds of years. Nasa even uses this area to test space rovers as it terrain is similar to that on the moon. This mine and it’s refinery has irreversibly damaged the surrounding environment. Toyota sources over 1000 tons of nickel from it every year.

An ironic development in engine technology is that the most advanced diesel engines get better fuel mileage on average than a hybrid. They do not have to carry the large weight of the batteries; the low curb weight helps with fuel economy too. Diesel has also steered away from its former image of being a dirty burning fuel for industrial trucks. New ultra low sulfur diesel engines release only marginally more emissions than their gasoline burning counterparts.

There’s no question that a Hybrid is better for the environment while operating on it’s electric engine. However this is mainly at cruising speeds between 40 and 60 kilometers per hour. Acceleration and highway driving requires the gas engine to pair with the electric one.

While hybrids are a step in the right direction for the environment, it is not the ultimate solution. When purchasing a hybrid or even a diesel it will cost more than the regular gasoline powered equivalent. The consumer needs to be aware of the projected break even point if the choose to spend more money on both a diesel or a hybrid. However, purely based on fuel economy and the fact that it’s cheaper than a hybrid, a ultra low sulfur emitting diesel engine is a clear winner in my books. The best diesels can achieve a combined 88 miles per gallon, the best hybrids hover around 70 miles per gallon.

The internet and social media has changed the marketing game completely. It’s becoming less common to use the push strategy of sending out endless flyers to households advertising. Now the most effective way to market is to use a pull strategy through E-Marketing, let consumers be brand advocates. Use different mediums to reach consumers that let them interact and talk about your brand. One of the most effective ways to do this is through social media.

So why are flyers not good for the environment? Well besides the fact that many end up in the landfill, we can also recycle them. Recycling is good right? …

Well recycling is better than creating more garbage but many people don’t realize that their paper recycling is shipped overseas to places like China or Indonesia. The carbon footprint from shipping mass amounts of paper from North America and Western Europe is obviously not a positive thing and this is not what you think of when you’re doing your part throwing your paper into the recycling.

I can honestly say that there are far less flyers coming in the mail than when I was growing up. This has a lot to do with the explosion of internet advertising and use of social media. The coupon business is growing online through email subscription sites such as Groupon. Groupon is using a pull strategy letting it’s users do the talking for it. This allows them to reach a far wider audience than traditional door flyers could ever hope to.

A further trend that’s happening is the use of smart phone technology to target consumers. Certain applications can message consumers when they’re in a certain area to alert them of a promotion at a close by store. This is eliminating the need to hire someone to pass out flyers that end up in the garbage anyways. Technology is quickly replacing the need for paper advertising. Now the only thing we need to worry about is recycling the computers and cell phones once they’re at the end of their life span.

Did you know one of the main economic drivers of China have been a series of 5 Year Plans? These plans have been in place since 1953. The government has completed and often exceeded almost every five year plan since “The Great Leap Forward” from 1958 – 1962. These plans have shaped China’s industrial and manufacturing might that we see today. The plans have also contributed to the terrible toll this manufacturing has taken on China’s and the rest of the world’s environment.

China is the worlds largest polluter releasing around 23% of the worlds CO2 emissions. The US is not far behind at 18% of the worlds CO2 emissions. The world perceives the US as more progressive to China and more sensitive to the earth and it’s inhabitants. It seems counter-intuitive that China’s Government have included environmental goals and plan on reaching them while the US Government has recently been pushing bills to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power.

Part of China’s 2011-2015 five year plan includes cutting carbon emissions by a staggering 17% and reducing energy consumption by 16%. In their previous five year plan (2006-2010) China reduced energy consumption by 19.1%. China also plans to increase forest coverage by 12.5 million hectares.

So what’s the impact if China achieves these goals? In overall terms, it’s slamming on the brakes of a really big truck going too fast. The truck won’t stop but the momentum is being shifted. The anticipated 7% per year GDP growth in China will be achieved in a much more sustainable way. The best thing about these goals is they will continue to be made in the future, this is just the beginning.

I was lucky enough to spend December in Shanghai. One thing that I noticed was there was an abundance of bikes on the road. However, unlike in Indonesia and Vietnam where I traveled previously, a large portion of these bikes/scooters were electric. This was made very apparent to me as they are silent and I almost got hit by one as I went around a corner on the sidewalk.

China has over 100 million e-bikes on the road making it by far the largest e-bike market in the world. With sales of over 30 million units a year, thousands of bikes are added to the road everyday.

These e-bikes are a cheap alternative to get around the city. They can be run for just over 20 cents a day and can retail for as low as $300 US. They’re also convenient to avoid China’s terrible traffic jams.

So, sounds all good right?

Not exactly. 80% of China’s power comes from coal burning power plants. Also these batteries require frequent charging. If you’re a daily driver you’ll need to be a daily charger. This frequency makes replacement necessary in as little as a year in some cases. The batteries contain as much lead as car batteries (10-15kg), and many are not recycled. For those that are, practices are behind western standards leading to pollution. Furthermore many inexperienced riders are killed in accidents.

The most polluting smelters are starting to be closed and cleaner technology is being brought in, all in time for China’s ambition carbon reduction goals of 2015.