People are often quick to jump on the big corporations and businesses out there and label them as the bad guy when it comes to environmental concerns and sustainability. And for most of the time, these complaints are probably fair and have some backing of truth behind them (and are also much needed because they ensure that we are always thinking creatively and critically to develop the best plans). But we rarely take the time to congratulate these same companies for some of the efforts they are making in favor of sustainability.
One of the recent companies is none other than Walmart.
Tomorrow, Walmart will be announcing the creation of the Sustainability Index, which will attempt to analyze and make note of each product's entire life cycle on the packaging of the product. Much like a nutrition label works nowadays, the Sustainability Index would take into account the energy, materials, and natural resources that went into creating a product along with the social implications involved along the way. The Index would then compare various products and rank one another based on a predefined system.
Check the following article for more information on the Sustainability Index.
One of the neat things I find about big companies such as Walmart is that they are able to use their size to influence their suppliers and other similar vendors to move towards a sustainable future. For example, Walmart is planning to create a Sustainability Consortium in which leading universities along with other businesses such as Costco, Target (both of which are competitors of Walmart), General Mills, and Tyson (both of which are suppliers to Walmart) will come together to discuss the Sustainability Index and it's greater use with products and in stores.
Walmart has a history of starting similar ventures in the past. A few years ago, Walmart decided that they were going to help launch CFLs (compact flourescent lights) in the US through their stores. To do so, they made it a priority to place CFLs on the shelves directly as customers walked into the store and at eye level. They were able to sell CFLs in such large quanitity that they're overall price eventually dropped and made it affordable for the consumer. Nowadays, incandescents are rarely used over CFLs and our country was able to make a switch to a more sustainable product.
The key for sustainability in business is to recognize the niche a company serves - then to use that niche to make the biggest impact for sustainable change.
Walmart recognized that their niche was selling stuff. So they decided to promote the selling of a sustainable product (CFLs) in their store to directly influence the behavior of their consumers.
It's easy for critics to dream of an ideal, sustainable society and then criticize big businesses for not fitting into that picture. But the reality of the situation is that we don't live in an ideal world, and that there are times when we have to work alongside the non-ideal to strive for the ideal.
For Walmart, having started from trying to implement a new form of light bulb into the public, they have really stepped up their plan with the creation of a Sustainability Index - which goes to show that big business is capable of striving towards a more sustainable future.
Another big business I have been reading about who has made significant changes in their company to impact the public is that of McDonalds - however the Swedish branch, not the American. Working with The Natural Step (a consulting group that started up the Master's program I will be starting in August), McDonalds systematically redirected their environmental efforts for the organization. Once an easy target for environmental activists of Sweden, Swedish McDonalds is now a wall-respected ethical company working towards a sustainable future. The CEO has gone as far as to ask "Do we need hamburgers at all in the sustainable society?" This lead to the introduction of veggie-burgers and more radical purchasing for the company's meat a few years ago.
When a company is able to question the main item that defines it's company through a sustainability lens (hamburgers for McDonalds) - then that is the point at which meaningful and actual change can truly happen.
I'm a big believer that if properly guided, human beings have the ability and desire to make this world a better place. A big problem with sustainability is that the breadth of disciplines and wealth of knowledge makes it overwhelming and difficult for us to make informed decisions. I'm hoping that my master's degree in Sweden will better prepare me to guide others towards sustainability and show that such changes are not only possible, but already happening all around the world.
This upcoming December, members of the United Nations (along with countless NGO's, researchers, and supporters) will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss future global agreements for comprehensive climate change action. It will mark the 15th UN meeting between nations to address the global environmental situation.
As luck may have it, I have the fortunate timing to be studying in southern Sweden during this period and will most likely have the ability to visit Copenhagen (a 4 hour train ride from my university) during the negotiations.
The Copenhagen talks will mark the last conference from which a set of strategies and goals will be established and agreed upon (as much as possible at least) between countries. Building up to the event, known as COP15, there have been many talks and discussions, the most recent of which happened this past week at the G8 Summit in Italy.
At the Summit, leaders agreed that it is imperative to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius (about 4 degrees Fahrenheit). In order to reach this goal, the International Energy Agency estimates that US funding in energy efficiency and clean technologies needs to quadruple in order to meet the target. The recent stimulus package allocated 100 billion US$ to green energy investments - in fact, 400 billion US$ will need to be spent annually for the next 20 years if we want to reach this goal.
Despite understanding the true implications of what must be done to lessen our impact on the planet, it's nice to finally see the US stepping up and recognizing its' significant role on climate change and therefore taking a larger leadership role. It reminds me of a quote from Hillary Clinton: "America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America."
However, the G8 Summit also brought up a few issues which must be further worked out before COP15. Although the US and other developed countries are currently the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, it is predicted that developing countries will soon emit more than developed countries (according to the EPA). Two significant developing countries to watch are China and India. Countries such as these claim that it is unfair for countries who have already experienced growth and significant development to limit developing countries by capping everyone's emissions levels. With populations significantly growing in Asia, it is important that whatever decisions are reached in COP15 must properly address the developmental needs of these countries while also recognizing the impact they will have on global warming.
For more information about COP15 and the issues surrounding the conference, check out the following websites:
As luck may have it, I have the fortunate timing to be studying in southern Sweden during this period and will most likely have the ability to visit Copenhagen (a 4 hour train ride from my university) during the negotiations.
The Copenhagen talks will mark the last conference from which a set of strategies and goals will be established and agreed upon (as much as possible at least) between countries. Building up to the event, known as COP15, there have been many talks and discussions, the most recent of which happened this past week at the G8 Summit in Italy.
At the Summit, leaders agreed that it is imperative to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius (about 4 degrees Fahrenheit). In order to reach this goal, the International Energy Agency estimates that US funding in energy efficiency and clean technologies needs to quadruple in order to meet the target. The recent stimulus package allocated 100 billion US$ to green energy investments - in fact, 400 billion US$ will need to be spent annually for the next 20 years if we want to reach this goal.
Despite understanding the true implications of what must be done to lessen our impact on the planet, it's nice to finally see the US stepping up and recognizing its' significant role on climate change and therefore taking a larger leadership role. It reminds me of a quote from Hillary Clinton: "America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America."
However, the G8 Summit also brought up a few issues which must be further worked out before COP15. Although the US and other developed countries are currently the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, it is predicted that developing countries will soon emit more than developed countries (according to the EPA). Two significant developing countries to watch are China and India. Countries such as these claim that it is unfair for countries who have already experienced growth and significant development to limit developing countries by capping everyone's emissions levels. With populations significantly growing in Asia, it is important that whatever decisions are reached in COP15 must properly address the developmental needs of these countries while also recognizing the impact they will have on global warming.
For more information about COP15 and the issues surrounding the conference, check out the following websites:If you haven't heard of this group yet - check them out - Playing for Change. They travel around the world recording musicians singing the same song and then compile it together into one song. Their songs are messages of peace and are an attempt to bring together a global community of people for a more just and peaceful world. Got to love what they're doing!
Yikes it's been awhile since the last post - time to fix that. I guess that goes to show that my senior year has been a bit hectic with wrapping projects up and starting the next step in this grand game of life. I graduated in December and have since been working at Penn State with two groups: AESEDA (The Alliance for Earth Science, Engineering, and Development in Africa) and CFS (The Center for Sustainability).
I recently helped organize a teacher's workshop with CFS designed to provide teachers with curriculum and materials revolving around zero energy homes. The curriculum will be fully completed this summer and will serve as a bridge between schools throughout the country and the Penn State Solar Decatholon Home: the MorningStar. For AESEDA, I have been developing a newsletter which highlights projects at Penn State focused on development work throughout Africa. Additionally, AESEDA is home to the Jamaica project which I have been involved with for the last 2 years, so I have been fortunate enough to continue my research and coordination work on that project. We are in the process of planning a hotel / tourist center on the site which will be used to educate both local Jamaicans and tourists alike about sustainability and how it relates to their personal lives. The hotel will give tourists the opportunity to stay in self-sustaining homes to demonstrate the practicality and possibility of sustainable designs. A biodiesel plant has been designed for the site and will soon be used to power vehicles to transport tourists to and from the site during their stay.
Although there's still lots on my plate, I have been happily kept busy over the past few months. But rest assured, life for Spud isn't slowing down any time too soon, I just decided to go to grad school this upcoming year in Sweden (off to the next adventure). I will be going to the Blekinge Institute of Technology for a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability. It is located on the southern shore of Sweden, so fortunately I won't have to endure too frigid of temperatures during the winter. So if you're looking for a vacation at some point next year and want to visit - let me know!
With lots of decisions to be made (and some already made), I have been trying to balance my focus on the past, present, and future. I find that at times I can get so focused on the next adventure, that I forget to stop and live in the moment. Perhaps the realization that college is ending, and friends are beginning to head off in new directions, has brought this thought to the forefront.
I came across an interesting quote the other day that made me stop and think more about this:
"God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road."
~Isak Dinesen
I wonder how often we expect god to lay the path out ahead of us for the future. We really don't like the mystery of not knowing what's to happen next, humans innately like control. But the future is one thing we have not been able to fully control, regardless of how much time we try to control it. I think our need for control (regardless over what) can be a big hurdle for trying to live things according to god's terms. Whether control is rooted in fear or selfishness, attempting to 'control' our life can really mess up god's larger plan. Now I don't think this gives us a free check to not take initiative on matters and simply sit back for the ride, but rather, giving up complete control allows us to be more focused on the plans which god has already set in motion around us in the present. Our desire to control leads us to constantly focus on the future, rather than the present (which at one point was the future we wanted so much control over).
I recently realized how perfectly orchestrated the past 4 years have been for me at Penn State - with regard to friends, projects, relationships, and personal growth. Now although there was a chunk of 'stuff' that I had some control over - the majority of these 4 years were entirely out of my control at many times, such as:
Time for the next 4 years, time for the next set of stories and lessons. I plan on keeping this blog updated more frequently over the next few years - especially as I head over seas again.
I recently helped organize a teacher's workshop with CFS designed to provide teachers with curriculum and materials revolving around zero energy homes. The curriculum will be fully completed this summer and will serve as a bridge between schools throughout the country and the Penn State Solar Decatholon Home: the MorningStar. For AESEDA, I have been developing a newsletter which highlights projects at Penn State focused on development work throughout Africa. Additionally, AESEDA is home to the Jamaica project which I have been involved with for the last 2 years, so I have been fortunate enough to continue my research and coordination work on that project. We are in the process of planning a hotel / tourist center on the site which will be used to educate both local Jamaicans and tourists alike about sustainability and how it relates to their personal lives. The hotel will give tourists the opportunity to stay in self-sustaining homes to demonstrate the practicality and possibility of sustainable designs. A biodiesel plant has been designed for the site and will soon be used to power vehicles to transport tourists to and from the site during their stay.
Although there's still lots on my plate, I have been happily kept busy over the past few months. But rest assured, life for Spud isn't slowing down any time too soon, I just decided to go to grad school this upcoming year in Sweden (off to the next adventure). I will be going to the Blekinge Institute of Technology for a Master of Science in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability. It is located on the southern shore of Sweden, so fortunately I won't have to endure too frigid of temperatures during the winter. So if you're looking for a vacation at some point next year and want to visit - let me know!
With lots of decisions to be made (and some already made), I have been trying to balance my focus on the past, present, and future. I find that at times I can get so focused on the next adventure, that I forget to stop and live in the moment. Perhaps the realization that college is ending, and friends are beginning to head off in new directions, has brought this thought to the forefront.
I came across an interesting quote the other day that made me stop and think more about this:
"God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road."
~Isak Dinesen
I wonder how often we expect god to lay the path out ahead of us for the future. We really don't like the mystery of not knowing what's to happen next, humans innately like control. But the future is one thing we have not been able to fully control, regardless of how much time we try to control it. I think our need for control (regardless over what) can be a big hurdle for trying to live things according to god's terms. Whether control is rooted in fear or selfishness, attempting to 'control' our life can really mess up god's larger plan. Now I don't think this gives us a free check to not take initiative on matters and simply sit back for the ride, but rather, giving up complete control allows us to be more focused on the plans which god has already set in motion around us in the present. Our desire to control leads us to constantly focus on the future, rather than the present (which at one point was the future we wanted so much control over).
I recently realized how perfectly orchestrated the past 4 years have been for me at Penn State - with regard to friends, projects, relationships, and personal growth. Now although there was a chunk of 'stuff' that I had some control over - the majority of these 4 years were entirely out of my control at many times, such as:
- Being placed on a hallway freshman year with awesome friends who had similar passions and together were able to start up two clubs that brought the majority of our friends together.
- Stumbling across professors with similar interests as mine that eventually lead to the Jamaica project and my current job at Penn State.
- All of the relationships I've had at Penn State and the significance of what they have taught me about my goals and desires for my current relationship with Leah.
- Numerous international trips which arose from random events.
Time for the next 4 years, time for the next set of stories and lessons. I plan on keeping this blog updated more frequently over the next few years - especially as I head over seas again.
So today I was driving and learned the following little bit about the Nobel Peace Prize on the radio. Apparently the guy who the prize is name after, Alfred Nobel, was the inventor of dynamite. Ironic isn't it. One day, Alred's brother died and the following day the newspaper ran his obituary, however the newspaper was misinformed and thought Alfred died. When Alfred read the newspaper the following morning, he saw his own obituary which claimed that the "merchant of death" had finally died. Extremely upset that this had become his reputation, Alfred Nobel spent the next few years donating millions of dollars towards humanitarian efforts. For his work, the Nobel Peace Prize was name after him.
What would you do if you read your obituary and saw how others viewed your life? Would you be proud of your accomplshments, of your relationships, of your attitudes?
I think many of us are guilty have thinking that we have our whole life ahead of us to make a change and that tomorrow is the perfect day to start. But what about today, what if we received a shock like Alfred and decided to make a difference now. In high school, I made a pact with a good friend that we were going to go and change the world after graduating from college. The more and more I approach that day, the more I realize that there is no need to wait until then, true chage can be made as soon as we begin to put others ahead of ourselves. I think service plays a large role in change.
I have been applying for Disney over the past few weeks (pray for me with that whole process) and I have been looking over interview questions and recently came across the one which asks for you to sum up yourself in three words. What would you choose?
A lot of us also feel like even if we wanted to get new words to describe ourselves, that it would be too hard. We have already built up this personalitly and character which our family and friends are used to. But if the 'merchant of death' was able to change his reputation to one which now universally symbolizes peace, I think there's a shot for the rest of us.
What would you do if you read your obituary and saw how others viewed your life? Would you be proud of your accomplshments, of your relationships, of your attitudes?
I think many of us are guilty have thinking that we have our whole life ahead of us to make a change and that tomorrow is the perfect day to start. But what about today, what if we received a shock like Alfred and decided to make a difference now. In high school, I made a pact with a good friend that we were going to go and change the world after graduating from college. The more and more I approach that day, the more I realize that there is no need to wait until then, true chage can be made as soon as we begin to put others ahead of ourselves. I think service plays a large role in change.
I have been applying for Disney over the past few weeks (pray for me with that whole process) and I have been looking over interview questions and recently came across the one which asks for you to sum up yourself in three words. What would you choose?
A lot of us also feel like even if we wanted to get new words to describe ourselves, that it would be too hard. We have already built up this personalitly and character which our family and friends are used to. But if the 'merchant of death' was able to change his reputation to one which now universally symbolizes peace, I think there's a shot for the rest of us.
After quite a few weeks of editing and photoshopping, my new website is up and running. Check it out and let me know what you think:
www.personal.psu.edu/sfm5007
www.personal.psu.edu/sfm5007
So the beginning of the school year has started up again and we are already at another season of Penn State football. As the first friday of the Fall semester, tonight was particularly hectic along the streets of state college. For me, I was able to spend part of the night with some good friends and it was good just to relax amidst the busyness outside the apartment complex. As we started talking, we began to recount the stories and instances of how different friends slowly became integrated into our circle; and it got me thinking about leadership.
This semester will mark my first semester as a non designated leader for UCM, the group I am apart of at Penn State. For the past three years, I have spent a good portion of my time working on starting up the group and creating activities that encouraged community-building. At the time, I thought I knew what community-building meant, but tonight made me look a few layers deeper at what the phrase means.
During the years as a "leader" for the group, I was consumed with the details of the organization: making sure there was food for the meetings, updating the website weekly (or more likely monthly), and ensuring that activities were designed to include everyone. And although we as a leadership team talked about the purpose of UCM and why this group was important for people on campus, I never took the time to really understand why.
I've had life pretty easy, and it is something I am extremely grateful for, but at the same time it is something that can set me up for missing the struggles that others have had to deal with in their own lives. I started thinking tonight about what the acronym UCM means for me. In my few years with the group, UCM has represented a leadership oppurtunity, a chance to create environments that bring people together, and a place to laugh. UCM is a place where my friends are, where I can relate to, where I can have fun with others.
However, I have always been UCM. I joined UCM before I was officially a freshman. When I joined the leadership team, there was no prior student UCM group, I was part of forming it out of nothing. Essentially, I was always there, and over the years others seem to gravitate to the group and become integrated into our circle. I haven't really had to go searching for friends, they always came to me.
As we talked tonight about the various paths that our friends took to reach UCM, I began to realize that the acronym UCM means so much more to others in the group. For many of them, UCM has been an oppurtunity to connect with true friends for the first time at Penn State, a place where they could finally stop searching. I'm beginning to realize that UCM does not have a single definition.
It's funny how you often learn more about leadership when you step out of it for a moment. I think that is the challenge for leaders; to have the ability to willingly "step out" of leadership. The ability to realize the worth and importance of the group they are leading is essential. And the importance of the group is only as good as the impact the group has had on its members.
As my time at Penn State is slowly winding up (scary to think that, but it is), I'm beginning to see how the hundreds of paths and connections have criss-crossed over the years. Many of them go off in a random direction and die out, but there are those few trails that lead to lasting friendships and experiences. It's nice to know that all along God has been weaving the important paths into my web.
This semester will mark my first semester as a non designated leader for UCM, the group I am apart of at Penn State. For the past three years, I have spent a good portion of my time working on starting up the group and creating activities that encouraged community-building. At the time, I thought I knew what community-building meant, but tonight made me look a few layers deeper at what the phrase means.
During the years as a "leader" for the group, I was consumed with the details of the organization: making sure there was food for the meetings, updating the website weekly (or more likely monthly), and ensuring that activities were designed to include everyone. And although we as a leadership team talked about the purpose of UCM and why this group was important for people on campus, I never took the time to really understand why.
I've had life pretty easy, and it is something I am extremely grateful for, but at the same time it is something that can set me up for missing the struggles that others have had to deal with in their own lives. I started thinking tonight about what the acronym UCM means for me. In my few years with the group, UCM has represented a leadership oppurtunity, a chance to create environments that bring people together, and a place to laugh. UCM is a place where my friends are, where I can relate to, where I can have fun with others.
However, I have always been UCM. I joined UCM before I was officially a freshman. When I joined the leadership team, there was no prior student UCM group, I was part of forming it out of nothing. Essentially, I was always there, and over the years others seem to gravitate to the group and become integrated into our circle. I haven't really had to go searching for friends, they always came to me.
As we talked tonight about the various paths that our friends took to reach UCM, I began to realize that the acronym UCM means so much more to others in the group. For many of them, UCM has been an oppurtunity to connect with true friends for the first time at Penn State, a place where they could finally stop searching. I'm beginning to realize that UCM does not have a single definition.
It's funny how you often learn more about leadership when you step out of it for a moment. I think that is the challenge for leaders; to have the ability to willingly "step out" of leadership. The ability to realize the worth and importance of the group they are leading is essential. And the importance of the group is only as good as the impact the group has had on its members.
As my time at Penn State is slowly winding up (scary to think that, but it is), I'm beginning to see how the hundreds of paths and connections have criss-crossed over the years. Many of them go off in a random direction and die out, but there are those few trails that lead to lasting friendships and experiences. It's nice to know that all along God has been weaving the important paths into my web.
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