This last week Barcelona has hosted the Mobile World Congress. This is an annual event that gathers different companies and stakeholders related with the mobile industry. Every year, new phones and accessories are presented with the latest technology and gadgets in the world. This year, more than 94,000 people have attended to the Congress.

Companies launch new types of phone every year. The problem is that, even if the ones they have are working perfectly fine, people buy the newest model just to fit in and be in fashion. However, is everyone involved in this lucrative industry aware of the big issue behind it? This high consuming process has some implications that people do not know or do not want to know. For example, the waste they create or the human labour exploitation in the mining process. We must have in mind that giving money to some companies we are contributing to some practices, as the Coltan mining in Congo were many men work in almost slavery conditions to make a living.  And this is only one of all the issues regarding the phone industry.

Even all these facts, I am not against mobile phones. I believe they are a great tool of communication and they have done a lot of improvement for the society. However, I think there are some aspects that need to change in this industry. Here is where companies like Fairphone appear. This social enterprise creates value by making a positive impact through all the supply chain, from mining, design and manufacturing of the product. As we said in class, it is a product that works – it has to be competitive with other products in the market – but also care about ethical values. I believe that this company looks beyond current needs and and are designing a product prepared for the future.  As time goes by, more and more people are being concern about how products are made, under what conditions or what is their environmental impact. I believe that Fairphone is doing an extremely good job by changing some aspects of the industry and making others realize about what do we actually buy when we are buying a phone.

Extract of a documentary of mining in Congo. It is in Spanish, but is very recommendable. The images talk by themselves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofZQ4ZRy-1I

Articles:

https://www.mobileworldcongress.com/what-to-expect/what-is-mwc/

http://news.yahoo.com/dark-side-worlds-lucrative-mobile-phone-industry-111821184.html

It is said that one of the first things that you realize when you go on an exchange is the cultural shock. However, they said that Vancouver was a city with similarities to the cities back in Europe so I did not expect much difference.

I have been in Vancouver for almost two months now and I must confess that there is a cultural shock. Nevertheless, it appears with the small things and actions. For example, the society here is much more aware and conscious about recycling. It took me a while to understand and to get used to separate things when you are throwing them away. However, Canadians are used to it and see it as a normal thing to do. I have heard that you can even get a fine if you do not do it correctly! I could not believe it.

I find this cultural difference quite interesting. That is why, when in one of my classes we talked about Urban Impact, I decided to investigate more about this company. For those who might not know it, Urban Impact is a multi-material recycling company in Vancouver. They work with industrial, commercial and government sectors to help them to reduce and manage their waste, teaching them how to go green.

I think that is a really good idea to base an enterprise in helping other companies to improve their recycling practices. Many of these companies do not have “Green” as their key message. In other words, in the Green Marketing Strategy Matrix they are either in the Shaded or in the Defensive Green position. Most of these companies would not spend time or effort to improve their performance in sustainable terms. However, a partnership with Urban Impact can benefit all. In the first place, they would be decreasing the volume of waste that they create and reducing the negative impact in the planet. In addition, the brand image of the companies would also improve.

In conclusion, I believe that Urban Impact’s activity is a very good idea. It is nice that a community can get together and help one to each other in being more sustainable, making this planet a better place for future generations.

http://www.bcbusiness.ca/people/nicole-stefenelli-winner-clean-tech

Here is another example of a sustainable company. Levi Strauss & Co., the 163 years old clothing company is also taking some action towards sustainability.

This old apparel company has the sustainable values deep in their core business. In an interview Chip Bergh, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Levi’s, he explained how important was this value for the brand. He said this fundamental aspect goes back to the founder of the company, Levi Strauss. For him, it was key that the company performed doing the right thing and giving back what they had been given. This point of view falls directly into sustainability, taking care of the planet and the communities. Due to this fact, sustainability drives the innovative program in Levi’s.

“We use sustainability as a constraint to drive our innovation program. It’s part of who we are, and I think more and more consumers are beginning to recognize that.” – Chip Bergh

Levi’s Waste<Less Collection is an example of what action the company is taking. This collection gathers products made 20% with used materials, specifically plastic bottles. In average, in each pair of jeans you have between three and eight bottles. This collection started in 2013 and from then, they have recycled 11.9 million bottles. Another example is the Wellthread Collection. These clothes are produced with a dye process that saves 65% less water, they have some modifications to ensure the durability of the product and are made of 100% cotton to facilitate their recycling process.

Moreover, they use their brand awareness to educate people. A lot of energy and water is wasted when the product is at their client homes. The majority of people only uses their jeans twice before throwing them into the laundry. With their brand power, Levi’s wants to guide customers to delay their washings, reducing at the same time the used resources.

In my opinion, it is exceptional what Levi’s is doing. In the first place, this company is using their innovation to create new green products and to reduce waste. In other words, they are using the Architect Path to Green Growth.  Secondly, they are not only innovating, but they are also trying to make the society realize about how much waste we create and teaching ways to decreased.